As any property industry marketer knows, the key to driving customers to estate agent websites lies with Google – and, crucially, its algorithm.

We’ve talked a lot about the algorithm on these pages – it’s likes, dislikes and annoying tendency to shift over time.

But, according to the search engine optimisation (SEO) experts, there are more than 200 factors at play when it comes to making your content rank for Google. Some of these are straightforward and logical some are more controversial in the SEO world and others are strictly for the nerds!

In this piece we look at the top eight factors for ranking on Google – all of them things you can do now to improve your content and bring more people to your site.

1. Quality content is king

Creating lively, fresh and well-written content that speaks to your audience is and will always be your number one goal, when it comes to attracting customers and ranking for Google.

This works because you’re doing exactly what Google wants you to do, offering people the information they want in a way that appeals.

By developing content that addresses your niche audience’s needs, and answers the questions that keep them awake at night, you will get the right people to your site. What’s more, you’ll get them to stay there or even share your content, boosting your site’s credibility with Google even further.

Remember, there is a lot of web content out there so you need to ensure yours is of the right quality. A readable style, lively authorial voice, good real life case studies and careful grammar checks all improve written content. Adding great videos will help too.

While tools like Chat GPT will speed up these tasks immeasurably, remember that Google is looking for the authentic and original.”

These days, it’s easy to look to AI to help your content creation. While tools like Chat GPT will speed up these tasks immeasurably, remember that Google is looking for the authentic and original and will penalise you for using tools which merely scrape other websites for content.

2. Backlinks remain crucial

Getting reputable websites to link back to yours is one of the key ways to catch the eye of the Google algorithm. Good backlinks boost your site’s credibility and help you move up the rankings. Some companies offer you ways of generating multiple low quality backlinks – avoid this. Google is able to spot and penalise such techniques.

Encourage backlinking by providing quality content that other sites will want to share – by talking about local events, for example or positioning your CEO as an industry expert for guest blogging.

3. The technical bit

You also need to be on top of the technical aspects of your website’s SEO or you risk creating content for no reason. This means whether your site is mobile-responsive, how quickly your pages load and whether you’re properly set up for crawling and indexing so Google can find you.

You may need to seek professional advice to get this right if you don’t have the right expertise in-house.

4. Keywords still count

While ranking for Google is about so much more than stuffing your content with keywords, they are still relevant and important. Keyword optimisation is about using the terms your ideal customers are searching and employing them in a natural and organic way. Do plenty of research into the right keywords for your audience, looking at what works for your site – and those of your competitors.

When thinking about keywords it’s always worth going local.”

When thinking about keywords it’s always worth going local. Focus on terms such as ‘estate agent + your location’ particularly if you offer specific services or cover sought-after neighbourhoods.

5. Are you offering a good experience?

Improving user experience isn’t just about giving your visitors a site that’s easy and pleasurable to use. It’s important to your rankings too – Google wants to promote the sites that give people a good experience.

The algorithm will be measuring how easily people can move around and find what they want, how long they spend on your pages and where they go. All of this is worth analysing and improving both for your customers and your ranking.

6. Get to know about schema markup

Schema Markup is so important that I wrote a whole blog on it. It sounds complicated but is simply about adding code to your site that helps Google understand your content.

There are different types of schema markup to use in different ways. For example, property schema markup helps boost your listings pages and there is a review markup, which can highlight excerpts from your testimonials, giving customers quick access to this useful content on the search engine results pages (SERPs).

7. Social content is important too

Encouraging people to share your content on their favourite social platforms can do wonders for your ranking. Make this as easy as possible by including sharing buttons – and making your content so rich and useful that people won’t keep it to themselves.

8. Your brand counts

Finally, while great website content is important for boosting your brand’s credibility, this works both ways. People’s perception of your brand, especially online, can have an impact on your ranking. So make sure you are presenting your business in a strong, consistent way that promotes your values and local reputation.

Got a question? Need help with your SEO? Visit www.artdivision.co.uk