Why should a real estate agent have a blog?

Are you thinking of starting a real estate blog but not sure it will will be worth the effort or what the benefits are?

The number one reason to have a blog on your real estate website is to boost traffic to your real estate site and turn that traffic into Clients!

Don’t get me wrong, it takes leg work and it will take more than just one post, but the more posts you build, the more google will rank you and the more traffic you will receive!

There are so many real estate agents striving for the same spot in google, especially the larger your community, the more competitors you have to out rank. Real Estate websites alone are a must to tell people your contact information, listing information but a blog provides rich content which google indexes for your website. From my experience, most agents don’t spend them time blogging but yet they hold the so much valuable information about their specialized city, town, neighbourhood, subdivision or even complex.

Using the key words people would search online to find what you are selling are the words that need to be used within your blog and within the blog titles. These key words are indexed in Google and the more you have, the higher you rank! For example, if people are googling, condos for sale or rent in the Beaches Toronto, and you had a blog all about the beaches in Toronto, their events, the culture, the types of stores/restaurants, the schools and parks, the parking availability, the community pages, the types of housing that can be found etc, this will rank your page high compared to a competitor that simply lists their homes for sale in the beaches Toronto.

The more people reading your blog by finding it when they a google search or ask Siri/Alexa a question, the more likely they will look throughout the rest of your site and reach out to you for further information.

What does a blog tell the reader about you?

A blog post not only tells the reader the information you are providing them, it tell them a bit about you and who you are as a real estate agent. When choosing a real estate agent, you want someone that is highly knowledgeable in the exact type of properties and location you are seeking to purchase or sell. The blog tells the reader that you are very knowledgeable about the area and all that is has to offer. The more posts you have show your commitment and continued engagement within the neighbourhood, town or city.

By using personal experiences withing your blog, you prove to the reader that you are speaking from the heart, and you believe what you are talking about. Using photos of yourself for example attending various events within the neighbourhood, sponsoring festivals and working as a advocate for resources within your area. What drove you to move to this area? What does your family like to do most on weekends within this area?

Regular updates not only make it easier for you to keep on top of it but also the more you do the easier it gets. Regular posts also tells the reader that you have a wealth of information and you are the person to contact for all their real estate questions. Needless for them to continue searching, they have found the person who can answer all their questions.

How to write a real estate blog?

First, what questions would some of your clients be asking, write a list of all the types of questions you have ever been asked about the area you live, schools, homes, rentals, short term, long term, demographics of the area, culture of the area, stores, groceries and restaurants at the area, transportation, climate, municipal resources, community centers, social groups.

Second, now that you have all the questions you think your specific target client may be asking on google, provide the answers to them. Write as much as you can about each topic, provide the best solution you can for a given question. Make each topic a separate blog post. Make the post interesting to read by writing it like you are writing to a friend, using personal experiences, using personal photos, humour if you can swing it and most of all answer the questions people are asking.

Final thoughts, remember, the smaller the target area, the more manageable it is the rise to the top to start. It is better to be the big fish in a small pond to start then the small fish in the big pond and get lost among the players that have been in the market for many more years. As they say, don’t spread yourself too thin, get very good at a small niche market and expand only once you have dominated that. This is often true for all types of businesses.

If you build it, they will come!