The Most Profitable Keywords In Real Estate
I have been networking with agents over the last few weeks about marketing their business online. Despite the fact that they all came from different backgrounds, ages, genders, and just about anything else you could think of, there was one commonality amongst them all, which I find problematic. Each one of them said their primary goal was to rank for the keyword “San Diego real estate”.
Why do I see that as a problem? Because I am concerned that they are about to spend too much time and money on achieving a high ranking for a keyword that will not only be incredibly difficult to obtain, but isn’t even among the most profitable keywords available.
Profitable keywords imply an action. San Diego real estate implies nothing. It is just a thing. San Diego real estate for sale implies an action. People want something that is for sale, presumably so they can buy it. Component #1: Action.
It is natural to think that a keyword as broad and generic as San Diego real estate is going to be the most profitable due to the shear search volume. However, the truth is that the most powerful keywords are far more focused and have less search volume. They may be something like Rancho Santa Fe homes for sale. Rancho Santa Fe is one of the most beautiful areas in San Diego County. Somebody that searches Rancho Santa Fe homes for sale is far more focused in on what they want and therefore far more likely to take action and buy.
But the more focused approach doesn’t end there. Even better than Rancho Santa Fe homes for sale would be something more focused. Something like Rancho Santa Fe Farms homes for sale, Fairbanks Ranch homes for sale, The Bridges homes for sale, or Rancho Santa Fe Covenant homes for sale. These are all individual neighborhoods within Rancho Santa Fe. People that type keywords like these into the search engines know exactly what they are looking for.
Sure, they have far less search traffic, but the leads you convert from keywords like these are buyers or sellers that are laser focused and are just searching to find a relevant resource that they can rely on. You can be that resource. Component #2: Laser Focused Keywords.
1 + 1 = Success
Put component 1 and 2 together and you have an ultra profitable keyword formula. Best of all it is easier to rank for these keywords than any of their more competitive, yet less effective generic counterparts. Not only that, but because these people know what they want you will end up spending less time showing them around all over town while they figure it out. Profits and efficiency all at once. Beautiful.
Build a page for each neighborhood that you would like to work in and focus your SEO toward action oriented people that know what they are looking for. You will reap the rewards.
Alex
Posted at 19:45h, 21 MarchAloha Daniel,
You make very good points. Although traffic volume will be considerably less for more focused search terms, the type of visitor from those queries will be much more likely to be a serious lead.
Sabine Taylor
Posted at 04:15h, 23 MarchWe will save on gas and close faster..and I am all about a fast closing done right.
Chris Adams
Posted at 17:53h, 30 MarchThe best types of leads I’ve seen are the ultra-focused visitors searching actual addresses and MLS numbers, the conversion rates on those are through the roof.
Bad Credit Mortgage
Posted at 09:28h, 22 MarchKeyword of any website must be strong and common, which help get traffic more and more.
Malcolm Johnston
Posted at 19:59h, 22 MarchI agree with Alex’s comment. Very specific search terms probably yield people who are in a more advanced stage of their search and are a “hotter” lead.
contractor NYC
Posted at 02:47h, 23 MarchNice post and I agree with the formula of an ultra profitable keyword. These are good points to success.
Janice
Posted at 20:51h, 23 MarchI just recently discovered this for my self. It took lots of effort on my part to rank on page 1 of Google for Philadelphia homes for sale – yes it brought lots of traffic to my site but I realized that people using such a broad search term were at least a year away from purchasing. I’m now working on ranking for each neighborhood in Philly.
Chris Adams
Posted at 17:51h, 30 MarchYou hit the nail on the head – the term will bring in TONS of traffic, but if you don’t have an effective way to get them into the sales funnel then its wasted opportunity. You need a persuasive offer to get them to sign up to an email list of some kind, that way you’re in constant contact with them for the ensuing year.
dowelltaggart
Posted at 23:02h, 24 MarchI agree that long tailed keywords attract better clients. Short tailed keywords look impressive. I like it when a potential client tells me that my websites are everywhere. Action keywords and long tailed keywords get me less traffic but the traffic is higher quality.
Justin Britt
Posted at 03:46h, 25 MarchI can confirm, a visitor coming from the keyword “Hawaii real estate for sale” has a higher conversion rate then “Hawaii real estate,” but not by much. This leads me to believe that most people searching for “Hawaii real estate” are actually looking to buy, but not all.
And because there’s so much more traffic coming from the head term, you’ll still get a lot more serious leads from it. With that said, you want to be there for both terms!
Dan
Posted at 05:17h, 27 MarchGlad you all enjoyed the post. Thanks for the comments!
Can MLS Companies Level the Playing Field? - GeekEstate BlogGeekEstate Blog
Posted at 03:23h, 29 March[…] 2) Displaying addresses (you’re not supposed to) = more traffic from long tail This was one of Hawaii Life’s (unintentional) violations. We were displaying addresses that brokers had marked “not to show.” Of course, there are many reasons why a broker might not want to display an address, including this Craigslist rental scam. But how does this help with search engines? Well, if I’m displaying an address on a webpage that my competitors are not, then when somebody does a long tail search for that address, I’m going to come up in Google and they won’t. And, as you are probably aware, long tail searches are some of the most profitable keywords in real estate. […]
Chris Adams
Posted at 17:49h, 30 MarchExcellent tip on targeting “action” keywords, or as I call them, transactional. There’s a lot of search engine traffic that is not transactional, but so many people get caught up in the numbers game.
I don’t think targeting a term like “San Diego real estate” is a bad idea for an established brand and for a company that has an effective way to get their visitors into the sales funnel – but if a person or company can’t answer yes to both items then they should target longer tail terms.
At the end of the day what matters are the number of conversions – not hits, not traffic. If you’re SEO campaign isn’t making you money then you’re doing something wrong.
GMAC Mortgage
Posted at 21:50h, 08 AprilThere are definitely two ways of playing the SEO game; trying to gain as much traffic as possible but focusing more on volume or trying to aim for the longer tail keywords which may bring better conversions. Rankings for the long tail keywords are obviously easier to obtain. I agree with Justin that you probably will want to rank for as many terms as possible; the broader terms and the targeted one as well.
Las palabras clave más importantes en el negocio inmobiliario
Posted at 10:21h, 14 June[…] Este artículo viene de Geek Estate Blog, escrito por Daniel Beers. Traducido al castellano por Adam Davis y Nicolás Woller. Comparta y Disfrute: […]
Real Estate Services
Posted at 11:19h, 09 Augustwe’ve used our cutting-edge technology to respond immediately to customers, whether they’re down the block or across the ocean.
Clint Wilde
Posted at 17:46h, 16 SeptemberGreat post. In my niche there are people who are searching nationwide for a certain style of home (craftsman bungalows), or they are searching for certain styles of homes in general areas, and the city is not as important as the style. When I moved to Dallas, I wanted a bungalow but there was not a place to go to find them. I have since started my site: http://craftsmanbungalowsforsale.com, and I have found that individual pages, as long as they contain content for a particular city are being found in the search engines. So I agree that it is better to have the name of the city/area/neighborhood in the url, but as long as you have it on individual pages, it will still get found.
Again – great post. This is exactly what I have thought about myself.