This is the final article in a series on the value of SEO (read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). Today, we're continuing the series with the second of three case studies that explores how top performing brokers leverage SEO for success in real estate.

Justin Havre & Associates
RE/MAX First
Calgary, AB

Justin Havre lead CIR Realty in performance for several years and was the first agent to ever reach the top award level at CIR Realty—an accomplishment that hadn't been achieved in the company's first 32 years. After reaching the top, Justin decided to move his team to work on a strong international brand, RE/MAX.

Justin's team is made up of 17 agents. His recent awards include:

• #1 Team in CIR Realty for Production in 2013, 2012 & 2011
• #2 in CIR Realty for Production in 2010
• #1 in CIR Realty for Production in 2009
• Member of the Calgary Real Estate Board's Million Dollar Club
• Cirrus Pinnacle Award
• Cirrus Elite Award
• Cirrus Circle Award
• Directors Platinum Award
• President's Platinum Award

In 2013, Justin's business almost tripled in terms of transactions compared to 2012. This year they are on pace to double last year. Justin added, "My leads were actually a bit down this year, but I have been doing radio advertising, putting in guaranteed sale programs, widening the net and focusing on improving my conversion rate. It's working. I'm also working hard to balance my business more evenly for buyers and sellers. We are currently at 60% buyers/40% sellers, which is an improvement from previous years."

Find The Right Partners and People

"When it comes to marketing," Justin explained, "the key is finding the right people to do the right work, whether it is to build your website, help you with SEO, whatever. Everybody promises the world but not everyone delivers. I went down some wrong roads, spent a lot of money before I found the partners that worked."

The key though, is that even though Justin went down some roads that turned out to be dead ends, he kept going. He invested in his business. He said that he was told early on by someone he truly trusted, that he should always reinvest 25% of his revenue back into the business. He feels many Realtors are not willing to do this and simply don't reinvest money into their own business. He added that you don't have to spend a lot and, when money is tight, don't over extend yourself. "If you have a limited budget, start with a template site, don't spend more than you have on a custom site. With our vendor, you can add to that over time as you get more income to reinvest. The key is, whatever you decide to do, do it well before you move on to other marketing projects.

Multiple Websites

Justin uses multiple websites to go after different users and different market segments. To optimize each site, he will use different keywords for each website.

Justin points out, "If I can get a number of websites in the top 10 of Google, I should be successful, but our market is very competitive and you aren't going to get all of the leads. It's really not just about your website rank though, it's really about the number and quality of the leads you're getting. More is not necessarily better. The key is conversion. Too many and the right attention is not paid to each one, follow ups are not done. Today in my business, I don't have any issues with the number of leads I am getting. My focus is improving my conversion rate and I am spending more time and money doing that. I am also spending more energy staying in touch with my former clients, as well. The contacts probably mean more than any new lead in the long run if maintain consistent contact and continue to give them useful information after the sale."

Justin clearly invests in his business and this has translated into continue growth each year. He provides professional coaching for the agents on his team through Dirk Zeller. He works closely with his web service provider, Real Estate Webmasters, and he uses hires professional help for his SEO needs. As he stated in the beginning of this article, the key is finding the right partners.

Lessons I Have Learned

I asked Justin for any lessons he has learned and things he might do differently today. He told me, "Looking back at some of the things I felt were dead ends, I realize now that some of these may have worked if I spent more time on them. In the early days, I tried to do too much and maybe spread myself too thin. Working with clients can cause the same problem. The more people you take on, the less you can do in terms of service. The same is true for leads. You have to either balance the workload according to what you can really do well or you need to ramp up your resources and agents to meet the need. My advice is to focus on a few things and do them well. Don't try to do it all or you spread yourself too thin. Build one site and get it right. Apply the system after you know it works. Now that I have things in place that work, I feel I can take that model anywhere and do it successfully."

More Articles in this Series

• Introduction and SEO Tips
• Case Study: Ashton Real Estate Group
• Case Study: LIV Real Estate

About the Author

Mike Audet recently joined Real Estate Webmasters as Vice President of Business Development. Mike was co-founder of the WAV Group, one of the real estate industry's leading consulting companies. For ten years with WAV Group, Mike helped real estate companies, franchises, MLSs, associations and technology vendors improve their business in numerous ways from technology audits and selection, to strategic planning, research and executive coaching.

Prior to forming WAV Group, Mike was an executive with Interealty, the industry leading MLS Company that was purchased by CoreLogic and Moore Data, another leading MLS company now owned by Black Knight. Mike was recruited and joined Microsoft to help them launch HomeAdvisor and was also instrumental in developing one of the first CRM systems with Microsoft, called Realty Desktop. Mike has worked extensively in the international real estate community as a vendor and consultant, providing technology to European clients as a vendor, helping RE/MAX Europe sell master franchises throughout Europe, and launching the first MLS in Brazil With WAV Group.

Real Estate Webmasters – Enterprise Consulting Services

With Real Estate Webmasters, Mike is focused on Enterprise level accounts and in helping our larger business partners improve their overall business and technology services. As part of this process, Mike provides free Enterprise level consulting, conducts ongoing customer research, and assists with ongoing product and business improvements. If you would like a free consult on your current technology services and explore ways we can help you grow your business by improving your overall technology offering, contact us at [email protected].