How Technical SEO for Real Estate Can Boost Your Website's Online Presence
Understanding Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is now a necessity for any agent who wants to make their mark online. Technical SEO for real estate is one aspect of SEO that might sound intimidating for beginners, but don't worry. In this blog, we'll explore the basic components of technical SEO and support you in boosting your website's visibility.
Real Estate Webmasters' CEO, Morgan Carey, sharing his technical SEO expertise on REW Academy.
Establish a Good Site Structure
In technical SEO, the structure of your website can be considered the blueprint of your online presence. A flat structure allows for more accessibility for users and crawlers, resulting in one less click to reach your content and a higher indexability overall. Organization can also be considered an aspect of site structure. Related pages should be combined as logically as possible, and an internal linking strategy must ensure that every page has links. This will prevent orphan pages, which are isolated sections of a site that will likely not be seen by users or crawlers.
We recommend submitting an XML sitemap through Google Search Console as well. A sitemap will act as a navigation guide for crawlers and show them your most important pages. A well-planned structure that emphasizes usability will lay a strong foundation in your technical SEO. You may also consider using Real Estate Webmasters' SEO pillar structure (see below) and think about linking your own listing pages, blogs, and sub-pages strategically to strengthen your main page.
Real Estate Webmasters SEO pillar structure.
Navigation = Better Crawlability
Navigation is another important factor in technical SEO and in improving your website’s ranking. To optimize navigation, you have to create URLs with a consistent and logical structure. This will make it easy for users and search engines to understand the context of your pages. Organizing content into categories also creates a logical hierarchy, boosting your pages' crawlability.
Don't forget to use internal links throughout your website to enhance navigation and improve your SEO performance. Anchor links (a type of internal linking that utilizes clickable texts) should be descriptive and relevant to the page they're connecting to. This promotes user exploration and improves the visibility of deep pages.
Redirecting is another thing to keep in mind for better navigation. This can be useful if you need to redirect internally away from a certain URL, but you want to avoid them as much as possible to avoid unnecessary strain on your website. Try updating some links directly to keep your website optimized.
Waterfront Properties' Featured Communities page with internal links.
Avoid Duplicate Content
Duplicate content can be harmful to a website's ranking, which highlights the importance of publishing original content across your website. Search engines favor unique, high-quality content, so avoid duplication from external sources and within the site. Always use proper headings (H1, H2, etc.) as well so search engines can clearly understand your page content. Sometimes, it might be impossible to avoid duplicate content, such as when a blog post is featured in different comment pages. In this instance, use the “no index" tag to stop search engines from indexing these pages. This tag tells crawlers that these pages should not appear in search results, which will manage the issue.
Page Speed and Mobile Optimization
Website speed and mobile performance are key components of technical SEO. If your pages take too long to load or are difficult to use on mobile, you may see an increased bounce rate that could hurt your ranking. Our Renaissance website was awarded perfect scores in each category by Google's PageSpeed Insights, demonstrating our dedication to providing the best real estate website for SEO. Through this, Renaissance creates better user satisfaction, which translates into higher conversion rates.
If you're a Real Estate Webmasters' client and you're having an issue with website speed, please reach out to your Account Manager to discuss WPO (Website Performance Optimization). We can help get your website back up to speed (no pun intended).
Real Estate Webmasters' PageSpeed Insights results showcasing perfect score across all categories.
Image Optimization
Let's be honest, image optimization can often be an afterthought. Utilizing next-gen formats such as WebP can help your site improve speed and user experience significantly. Converting images to WebP will maintain the quality of images but decrease the file size, which improves load time. Additionally, it shows search engines that your site prioritizes user experience and speed.
Carly Carey Real Estate Team's community page featuring an optimized image.
Use HTTPS
Websites should be utilizing HTTPS for security reasons. Anyone that is processing sensitive user data, such as credit card information or passwords, should be using HTTPS as it encrypts the data sent from the user's browser to your server. Since HTTPS is an important factor for SEO rankings, it is essential to prioritize its implementation.
Carly Carey Real Estate Team utilizing HTTPS in their URL.
Monitor Your Performance
Maintaining the technical health of your website is very important, and two tools you'll want to use are Google Search Console and PageSpeed Insights. Search Console allows you to monitor the indexing on your site, identify issues like crawl errors, and request indexing for updated pages. You can manage many of the technical SEO elements under the Indexing - Pages tab, but please take note that not every error in Search Console must be addressed. We recommend consulting with an SEO Specialist before taking any major action.
PageSpeed Insights focuses on performance and shows how fast your pages load on desktop and mobile. It also reports on what is slowing your site down in particular and and suggests improvements. Checking both of these tools routinely will allow you to address problems early, and assure your website is fast and working properly.
A sample website performance on Google Search Console.
Continue Learning
The learning never stops! Continue to level up your technical SEO skills with our updated REW Academy and the new Resources page. The REW Academy houses a collection of tutorial videos, walkthroughs, and webinars to help you stay updated with our product features, as well as current SEO and PPC strategies. We recently revamped the page with a new layout, search bar, filters, video player, useful buttons, and so much more! Take advantage of this free platform and watch videos to improve your technical SEO for real estate.
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REW Academy's SEO video category.
Plus, visit the new Resources page to get your hands on all our guides, articles, and informative blog posts. We built this page to give you a one-stop hub for all of your educational needs, and to stay updated with all of our new content. Bookmark the Resources page for easy access!
Our learning resources cannot be complete without the REW Forum. Join our community of real estate professionals, and feel free to ask questions, build connections, and share your insights. We look forward to seeing you there! Don't hesitate to also contact us if you need professional SEO support.
Technical SEO for Real Estate FAQ
Why should I improve my technical SEO?
Having good technical SEO means better visibility, higher rankings, and more eyes on your listings.
What's a sitemap?
A sitemap tells search engines which pages on your site matter most. Submitting one helps ensure your featured listings or blog content get crawled and indexed.
What’s one thing I can do today to improve my SEO?
Add or update internal links. Check some of your blog posts or listing pages and make sure they point to relevant community pages or lead-gen content.