Why Real Estate Agents Should Advertise Their Listings Online

It's no secret that we're in the digital age, and real estate agents have had to adapt in recent years. Today, around 70% of realtors have a website. Wait, only 70%?

That means that nearly a third of all real estate agents don't have the central piece of their online marketing strategy. If you don't have your real estate listings online, then let's talk about the importance of online marketing for real estate agents!

Reaching the Widest Audience

You can reject it all you want, but the fact remains the same; the world is online. We all search for things online when we need information, and we've all had our interest piqued by an online advertisement at some point.

We're not suggesting that physical marketing has no place in today's world, but the internet allows for the widest reach. At least 85% of Americans are online every day, which is a lot more than the amount that commutes to work or read the newspaper. Billboards or other traditional ads will never have the same reach.

Building Organic Traffic

Building organic traffic to your website will pay dividends for your entire digital marketing strategy. Organic traffic is the traffic you don't have to pay for or prompt. They find you via search engines or social media.

Well, organic traffic isn't just a "lucky find." With search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing, you can build organic traffic to your website, even for free! This will start users' journeys with your site on an initial note of trust, which can have higher conversion rates than other forms of marketing.

For example, if you have real estate listings on your website or on a real estate platform, you can optimize this content to allow the right users to find you. Search engines work by matching what they deem as the highest-quality content with relevant users based on their searches, location, and a few other factors. If you have an optimized website and the keywords on your listings match their search, Google may match you with the right users.

This way, when users search for "houses for sale near me" or "homes in [neighborhood] in Ann Arbor", they may find your content. If they're already searching for you, they're far more likely to reach out to you than if they see another ad.

Targeted Real Estate Ads

That's not to suggest that ads aren't effective because they certainly can be. If you think physical ads are effective, you have no idea. Real estate advertising online has become a precise science in recent years, allowing you to target your prospective homebuyers with incredible precision.

Ad platforms on real estate platforms, as well as others like Google or Facebook, allow you to reach people who are searching for homes in your area. Users are far more likely to engage with your ads if you're offering something they're already searching for.

If you're already spending money on advertisements, there's no reason to limit yourself or waste money. Targeting your ads will go a long way toward boosting your conversion rates and 

Offering Virtual Tours

What's better than real estate billboard advertising? Something that will actually engage and stick in the mind of your intended audience. Virtual tours are a great option for those looking to expand their reach and stand out from the competition. 

With this technology, you can offer users a chance to tour a property even if they can't come to visit in person. This way, people moving from San Francisco to Boston won't have to buy a plane ticket just to view a house that they may not purchase.

Virtual tours will also help browsers get a better idea of the property before seeing it in person. This will show that the property is being handled by professionals and may entice motivated buyers to check it out.

Also, this is a great strategy for retaining users on your website. Whether you drive traffic from ads, Statistics have shown that websites with virtual tours retain users for 5 to 10 times longer than those without.

Marketing Integration

The best part about digital marketing for real estate sites is that all of these tactics can work cohesively. For example, there are dozens of ways to drive traffic to your real estate listings, such as social media, ads, or search engine marketing. From there, you can direct traffic to sign up for email lists, notifications, and more.

With the right strategies in place, you can integrate all of your existing marketing campaigns to benefit one another. SEO can help reduce your dependency on ads, social media can help build website traffic, and email campaigns can help build a social media following. The possibilities are endless.

However, there is one key component in all of these examples: your website. Without a proper website, it will be a lot more challenging to boost ad conversions, drive organic traffic, or build an email list.

Think of your website as the center of your entire digital marketing strategy. The more you put into it, the more you'll get out on every front!

Real Estate Agents: Put These Tools to Use

Now that you know some helpful realtor marketing tips, why wait? Put these tips to use today to get ahead of the competition. Every investment you make in your online presence today will pay off in the long run.

Stay up to date with our latest tips for real estate agents, and don't hesitate to contact us with any questions!