Steps To Top SEO Ranking for Your Chicago Real Estate Firm

Home values in Chicago have increased over the last few years, and experts predict an upward trend. The future looks bright for the area's real estate companies. They can optimize their sites for more clients by using local search engine optimization (SEO).

An expert mobile app development agency reveals steps to promote ranking for real estate companies. They include:

1. Understand the local audience.
2. Perform an SEO site audit.
3. Include long-tail keywords.
4. Create local real estate content.
5. Add the real estate agent's schema markup.
6. Improve your backlink strategy.
7. Use the internal search engine.
8. Prioritize ADA compliance.

It’s time for local SEO. Let’s go!

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1. Understand the Local Audience

By understanding the local audience's needs, interests, and preferences, Chicago real estate firms can create relevant content that engages their target customers. It improves user experience, a crucial ranking factor for search engines.

Local real estate firms can earn high-quality website backlinks by building relationships with local businesses, organizations, and influencers. These backlinks signal to search engines that they are a valuable resource for the local audience. Chicago real estate firms can understand their audience using these local SEO strategies:

• Conduct market research to gain knowledge of the local audience through surveys, focus groups, or online research.
• Explore website analytics, including data on the pages visited, time on the website, and actions taken, such as filling out a contact form or requesting a showing.
• Use social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to engage with the local audience.

2. Perform an SEO Site Audit

A site audit can identify technical issues that may be hindering SEO performance. These issues include broken links, missing metadata, duplicate content, slow page speed, and mobile responsiveness issues.

Site audits help real estate firms organize and simplify their website architecture. They also help evaluate content quality and relevance, allowing real estate firms to tailor content to their audience.

Finally, a site audit provides insights into the SEO strategies of competitors. By analyzing their website structure, content, and backlink profiles, real estate firms can identify opportunities to improve their SEO performance. A site audit for a local real estate firm involves these steps:

• Evaluate site speed, mobile responsiveness, broken links, missing metadata, and duplicate content using tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Screaming Frog.
• Assess site architecture and navigation.
• Analyze on-page content and look for opportunities to improve the content strategy.
• Evaluate the backlink profile to identify low-quality or spammy links that may hurt the website's SEO performance.

3. Include Long-Tail Keywords

Long-tail keywords are more specific, targeted, and less competitive than short-tail ones. Because they contain more words, they provide more context about the searcher's intent, assisting websites in attracting the right audience.

For example, the long-tail keyword "2-bedroom apartments for rent in Lakeview, Chicago" is more specific than the short-tail keyword "apartments for rent in Chicago." Seekers of two-bedroom apartments easily get help, and businesses with such rooms get the clients they want.  

Long-tail keywords attract a more targeted audience actively searching for a product or service, thus increasing conversion rates. They are also becoming even more important for SEO due to voice search. These methods help rank long-tail keywords:

• Use tools, such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, and Moz Keyword Explorer, to identify long-tail keywords.
• Analyze competitors' websites to identify the long-tail keywords they are targeting.
• Look at the search queries that are driving traffic to your website. Identify patterns and trends in the long-tail keywords generating the most traffic.
• Consider adding local modifiers to your long-tail keywords, such as neighborhood names, zip codes, or landmarks.

4. Create Local Real Estate Content

Local content targets an audience in a particular geographic location. With it, real estate firms can attract more qualified local leads and improve conversions.

Creating valuable local content helps real estate firms establish themselves as authorities in their market. Through their content, they can provide helpful information about local real estate trends, insights, and the overall market.

Additionally, real estate firms can rank higher for local search queries by including local keywords like neighborhood names and other modifiers in what they publish. Creating optimized local content is easily done by following these techniques:

• Research Chicago's local real estate market, including trends, prices, and neighborhoods.
• Focus on local keywords.
• Create valuable and informative content like blog posts, videos, and infographics.
• Use community events and activities as a source of inspiration. Write about upcoming events in Chicago that showcase attractions or highlight the benefits of living in a Chicago neighborhood.
• Leverage social media to promote content and engage with your target audience.

5. Add Real Estate Agents Schema Markup

Schema markup for real estate agents gives search engines information about a firm's agents. It can include the agent's name, photo, title, phone number, email address, and social media profiles.

By adding schema markup for real estate agents to their websites, Chicago real estate firms can increase the likelihood of a rich snippet appearing in search engine results. To add real estate agents' schema markup, remember these steps:

• Identify the real estate agent information to include in the schema markup.
• Create schema markup code using Google's Structured Data Markup Helper or Schema.org's Schema Markup Generator. Select the schema type and enter the agent's information.
• Add schema markup to the website. Plugins, such as Yoast SEO or Schema Pro, can help you do this.
• Track search engine ranking, traffic, engagement, and conversions.

6. Improve Backlink Strategy

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. Search engines see your website as trustworthy and authoritative when reputable websites link to it, thus ranking it higher in search results.

A good backlink strategy improves a website's relevance to the local market. A Chicago real estate firm can strengthen its backlink strategy for local SEO through these techniques:

• Focus on building relationships with local businesses and organizations.
• Contact local publications for guest post opportunities.
• Submit websites to local directories and review websites such as Yelp and Zillow.
• Create high-quality, helpful, informative, and relevant content to encourage other websites to link to yours.

7. Use Internal Search Engine

A website's internal search engine lets users find listings, articles, and other content, helping boost page views, another search engine ranking factor. Furthermore, marketers can discover new long-tail keywords and phrases by analyzing users' internal search engine queries. They can then optimize content and improve the ranking for those keywords and phrases. 

Add an internal search engine to a local real estate website through these steps:

• Choose a search engine plugin available for different website platforms, such as WordPress, Drupal, and Joomla.
• Install the plugin on the website and activate it.
• Configure the plug-in's search algorithm, results page layout, and index settings.
• Add the search box to your website in the header, footer, or sidebar.
• Test the search engine to ensure that it is working correctly.

8. Prioritize ADA Compliance

ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance refers to making digital content (e.g., websites) accessible to individuals with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, or physical disabilities.

An ADA-compliant website ensures that all users, regardless of ability, can access and interact with the website. ADA compliance is vital for real estate websites because real estate is considered a "place of public accommodation" under the ADA. Non-compliance can lead to legal action and penalties for discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

An ADA-compliant website demonstrates a commitment to diversity and inclusion, which can improve brand image and reputation. Real estate websites must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Here are some steps to take to ensure compliance:

• Use an accessibility checker to scan the website and provide a report of any issues to address.
• Follow the WCAG guidelines, a set of recommendations for making digital content accessible to individuals with disabilities.
• Provide alternative text for images to help the visually impaired and use screen readers to navigate the website.
• Use descriptive link text to provide information about the linked page's content. Avoid using generic link text such as "click here."
• Ensure keyboard accessibility without the use of a mouse.
• Provide closed captions for videos.
• Use clear and straightforward language.
• Conduct user testing with individuals with disabilities to ensure the website is accessible and user-friendly.

Summing Up

By following these optimization steps, Chicago real estate firms can maximize their ranking in local search results. They can reach their customers, promote listings, and exhibit their authority in the local market.

If you need help to rank your local real estate firm, call Digital Authority Partners (DAP) for expert local SEO help.