When 1,500 U.S. consumers were asked what type of research they performed before hiring a real estate agent, nearly 43 percent said they seek advice from a neighbor or friend. More than 34 percent say they check the agent’s website.
When the second most popular way of finding agents is by trolling their websites, it’s critical to take a good look at your online presence. Blogging has benefits.
Listings, listings, and more listings
Here’s a “well, DUH” for you: To capture website leads you need visitors to your website. There are several ways to generate more traffic and blogging is one of the best methods.
Merely having a blog on your website will increase the site’s number of visitors, according to a Hubspot study. In fact, companies that blog receive 80 percent more visitors and small-business bloggers (which is what you are) get 126 percent more leads.
The bottom line is that if you promote your posts widely and consistently, you’ll drive more traffic to your website. 
SEO
And, if you search engine optimize your blog using long-tail keywords, you’ll be focusing on traffic that is more likely to convert.
Examples of short and long-tail keywords in real estate include:
- Short: Lake homes
- Long: Lake homes for sale in Madison
- Short: Homes for sale in Phoenix
- Long: Homes for sale in Phoenix with a pool
- One-story homes in Las Vegas
- One-story homes for sale in 89123 under $200,000
Real estate consumers are using longtail keywords to find you
Agent Steve Jolly of nashvillerealestatenow claims that he counted “21,050 keywords that were used to find my website” over the course of one year. More than 90 percent of those keywords were longtail.
In a nutshell: Although long tail key phrases will result in less traffic, what you do get will convert easier. And, when you think about it, are you in the traffic-generating or lead-generating business?
Finally, if you’re posting valuable, high-quality content, you may attract inbound links – the holy grail of anyone seeking to rank in Google.
If you want Google to see your site as authoritative, having high-quality inbound links is the only way to do it, according to Jayson DeMers at Search Engine Land.
Blogging helps build trust and establish expertise
The folks at Google asked real estate consumers what is important to them when choosing an agent and nearly half of them said “trust,” according to Tom Ferry.
So, how do you create trust? Through your online presence.
Blogging helps you appear human instead of as a brand. Regular blogging, on a schedule, helps people trust you as well. You show up, you are consistent – those are all qualities consumers seek in an agent. 
A blog will help you to position yourself as an expert in your niche
The How
Stuck for topics? Think about your clients and the questions they ask. The chances are good that others have the same questions.
There are at least a gazillion (ok, an exaggeration, maybe a bazillion) pieces of online advice about how to write blog posts. The key thing is to know your audience before you sit down to put fingers to keyboard:
- Buyer or seller?
- What pain point is your topic addressing?
Keep the answers to these questions in mind to remain focused as you write.
Make the post easier to read by structuring it so that it has lots of white space. Chop up overly long paragraphs and use photos, subheadings, content boxes and block quotes.
The When
How often should you post to your blog? Businesses that “published 16+ blog posts per month got about 4.5X more leads than companies that published between 0 – 4 monthly,” according to a Hubspot survey.
Sounds a bit excessive, doesn’t it? Other than agents who outsource their blogging, who has time to write four blog posts a week? Nonetheless, the takeaway from this survey is that blogging more often results in increased lead generation.
Not only does inbound marketing work, it’s far less expensive than most other types. If done right, blogging is inbound marketing on steroids.
Another way to get more listings, send the Timing is Everything postcard from the Fence-Sitter Series to at least 100 new prospects in an area where you want more listings.
PLUS: Whenever you have a moment…here are 3 things to check out that will help you CRUSH IT in 2018!
1. The Free 2018 Real Estate Business Plan
Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan – Click Here
2. The Online ROI Calculator
Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! – Click Here
3. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan
The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here
Also…check these out 🙂
3 Click Postcards – Just snap, tap, send all from your mobile phone
MLS Mailings – Automated Just Listed, Just Sold Postcards
Market Dominator System – Become a neighborhood brand