How to Earn Google's Trust

As a real estate agent, you naturally value the power of in-person interactions when developing relationships. What you may not realize is that developing relationships – which is, at its core, about earning trust – often begins online.

Consumers, even those who receive a referral, regularly turn to the internet to find and vet people they're considering doing business with. Reading reviews of other people's experiences is a powerful form of social proof – consumers want to know that you're worth their business.

If consumers can't find online testimonials about your services, they'll turn to other agents. You won't even have the opportunity to win them over in-person. It might be enough to make you wonder: How many leads am I missing out on right now because I don't have a strong online presence?

When it comes to earning trust online, a strong Google presence is key. Google is the dominant, most-trust search engine. As such, Google is where consumers are most likely to start their real estate journey and identify the agent they want to work with.

Think of winning trust online as similar to winning trust in-person. Strong testimonies from past clients and colleagues will demonstrate your trustworthiness. Having fully updated business information and up-to-date listing photos establishes your professionalism. This helps you earn Google's trust, vault to the top of Google search results, and win new business.

1. Establish a Strong Google Business Profile

The first way to earn Google's trust and demonstrate excellence in online search results is to have an informative, comprehensive Google Business Profile. This is the information box that appears on the right-hand side when consumers search for you online. Your Google Business Profile displays your contact information, a description of your services, recent listings photos, and, crucially, reviews of your services.

Google values the business profile because it helps to winnow down search results. Consumers can be served listings of active, legitimate real estate providers when they search terms such as "real estate agents near me." Google will "verify" profiles that are comprehensive and have positive reviews – signaling to searchers that you are a legitimate professional who has earned Google's trust and is ready to do business.

Remember that both consumers and Google will place more trust in your profile if it is updated regularly. To maintain Google's trust, include up-to-date contact information, listing photos, and reviews.

2. Solicit Positive Reviews

As mentioned, reviews are an essential part of your Google business profile. And when it comes to fully securing Google's trust, reviews are an absolute necessity.

Google reviews do more than just give consumers a sense of your abilities as an agent. Google also factors in these reviews when deciding whether to serve your business profile alongside other high-performing agents when people search for terms like "local real estate agents."

Just take a look at this search result for local real estate agents. The listed agents all have dozens of positive Google reviews in addition to a complete Google Business Profile. Clearly, having as many reviews as possible is crucial to earning Google's trust and appearing at the top of search results.

Just like the other information on your Google Business Profile, reviews are weighted in part by recency. So, continue to solicit reviews as your network expands. That way, you'll rise in Google search results and maintain your position over time.

Once you earn Google's trust, you'll experience substantial benefits.

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.