Property services – whether its estate agents, landlords looking to rent out properties or even commercial property services – face some unique challenges when it comes to SEO. As any SEO agency can tell you, targeting for the right location is vital and property specialists understand this more than anyone.
Yet what else do these niche companies need to keep in mind? Every business is different, of course, but we recommend answering the needs of users, optimising your website structure and even engaging in social media.
Location Keywords
It goes without saying that the majority of your keywords should involve locations. While people may very well search for “homes for sale” or “offices to rent”, they’re also going to look for specific areas. These keywords might form some of your longtail results, but, when combined, they can also represent the majority of your views. Furthermore, they also represent people who are further along the process of buying.
However, you may also want to consider how niche you go and this will depend on both your audience and a thorough keyword analysis. For instance, people from out of the area might very well look for “apartments in London”, but there will also be people looking for specific regions, such as “apartments in Soho”. If you offer services in any specific areas, don’t be afraid to reflect this in your website, content and keywords.
Answering User Questions
Similarly, there may be other areas or queries that users are actively searching for. Not everyone is familiar with the processes involved in buying or renting property, so try to have some content that answers these needs.
Again, you can use localised content to draw in the right traffic. Offer guides on why certain areas are great for homes/offices etc. This might not result in sales, but it will increase traffic and visibility, as well as brand exposure to people who are just starting to consider a new purchase/rental option. Online tools such as Answer the Public are always a great way to get an idea of what people are searching for.
Website Structure
Depending on how your website is laid out, you may have problems with URL generation. This is a similar issue faced by clothing stores. If you have a branching website structure, where people can search via different categories, in different orders, you end up with different URLs. For example, if someone searches via location>building type>cost or location>cost>building type, make sure the final property listing isn’t generating different URLs. This wastes your crawling budget and link opportunities.
Instead, ensure your website has a dynamic filter – this will still allow people to search via respective categories and metrics – that link to fixed, static URLs.
Social Media
As we’ve touched upon earlier, property services have a unique mix of local customers and people from out of town. Because of this, a strong social media presence can be great. If you’re constantly sharing new properties in various areas, as well as any local news or developments, this can be a great way to reach out to new traffic and gain a stronger backlink profile in the process.
How you do this may very well depend on your business. If, for instance, you specialise in a few specific cities or areas, it might be worth having separate channels for each.