In 2024, with high interest rates and a cost of living crisis affecting us all, selling up and moving might is a big step for anyone to take. These conditions make buyers and sellers more cautious, prioritising agents who demonstrate market understanding, value and a sensitivity to their position.
A strong online presence reassures potential clients of an agent's capability to navigate tough economic times, helping them make informed decisions and secure the best deals amidst financial uncertainties.
It also ensures that your agency is seen first when buyers start their search.
Information is our greatest asset and benchmarking against other, similar agencies in the market is the perfect way to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your agency when you first start estate agent marketing. Learn which agencies outrank others, who is lacking on the digital front and if there’s anyone streaming ahead with coverage in multiple locations.
Benchmarking is a marketing tool we've designed for estate agencies to evaluate their online performance. It allows agencies to compare their website's reach, engagement, and performance metrics, such as user sessions, page views, and site speed, against other agencies of a similar size.
At Homeflow, the tool is free and simply requires sharing Google Analytics data. It couldn’t be easier.
Whilst benchmarking does involve access to agency data you can rest assured that it is kept entirely confidential by aggregating data and not sharing specific performance details. This service aims to help you understand your online strengths and weaknesses relative to your competitors, assisting in making informed marketing decisions.
Unique to our digital marketing partner Roar Digital, we also use a market intelligence tool: this is populated using national market data that ranks all estate agents in England and Wales, showing which agency has the greatest digital visibility and presence.
Whilst the national report is useful to agencies who are just starting to improve their online visibility, it’s the personalised company reports that really shine through when improving your estate agent marketing plan.
An individual report tailored to your specific agency highlights the locations in which you appear most, for which keywords and compared to all local and national competitors. You can see why your neighbour is outranking your PPC campaigns or if someone has started an SEO strategy and is beginning to take your organic traffic.
Ranking high on Google in all branch locations is an imperative part of estate agent marketing because it directly impacts visibility and trust. In a competitive market, being at the top of search results ensures that potential clients see your services first, significantly increasing the chances of generating leads and securing business. High search rankings are perceived as endorsements of credibility and authority, making them essential for attracting both buyers and sellers in today's digital age.
Keywords should guide your content - this means writing blogs and articles around the things your ideal customers are searching for. You can get help from tools like Ahrefs and SEM rush.
Using keywords in the right places, such as in headings and subheadings, in your image titles and throughout your text, is a great first step to ranking high on Google organically.
You can also use more technical elements such as backlinks, fixing internal links and improving on-page links, alongside aspects such as site speed and loading times.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is crucial because it allows estate agents to target potential clients actively searching for property services online. By using keywords relevant to their specific housing market, estate agents can display their ads to users who are already interested in buying or selling property in their local area, leading to increased website traffic and more valuations.
The main types of PPC used in estate agent marketing strategies are Google ads, Social ads (advertising on Facebook or Instagram or other social media networks) and Microsoft ads.
PPC campaigns offer measurable ROI, enabling agents to understand the effectiveness of their ads in real time, adjust their strategies accordingly, and ultimately drive more sales and listings by reaching the right audience at the right time.
An estate agent can use social media advertising to target specific demographics and interests, showcasing property listings with high-quality images and videos or targeting landlords and vendors with specific copy and ads. By engaging with followers or by remarketing to those who have already been on their website, estate agents can increase brand visibility, drive website traffic, and generate leads, all while building a community around their brand.
Your website is your digital agency window, it’s what draws people in.
A modern and functional website for estate agents is essential for showcasing property listings with high-resolution photos and virtual tours. It should offer intuitive navigation, responsive design for mobile users, powerful search filters, and clear contact information. Integrating customer testimonials and a blog can also enhance credibility and engage potential clients.
By keeping the user experience in mind you’ll reduce bounce rates and confusion. Users who click on a site expect certain things and if the site doesn’t deliver on those expectations we risk losing the user altogether and they bounce away from the site, or worse… click on a competitor. Read more about how Estate agents can integrate seamless UX design to their website in our recent blog Estate Agent Website Design Mistakes and How to Fix Them.
Things change so quickly online it’s hard to know what the best practice is when designing a website for optimised estate agent marketing. Should you use a relaxed informal tone to relate to your users or is it still better to write in a formal and professional manner? Designing a website is more than just shapes and colours, it’s an experience for users. Guiding them through the stages to a conversion, whether that’s a valuation request or property enquiry.
Having a well designed, modern website is the key starting point for standing out online. It is the foundation for all your digital marketing efforts, it’s the one feather you absolutely must have in your hat.
Some businesses feel that branding is simply a logo and colour scheme, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Your brand is the very essence of who you are, it dictates how your users see you and how they interact with you.
Your brand is what distinguishes you from your competitors, and a favourable and well known brand is worth its weight in gold. Being recognised on social media, Google or other platforms is vital to standing out online amongst a huge number of competitors, so building and maintaining a brand is a key part of your marketing strategy.
One place to strengthen your brand, through both nurturing users and bringing in new leads, is through email marketing. You can run monthly newsletters with tips on how to prepare your property for sale, articles on recent legislation changes, and more. You should be offering value to your users so that when they are ready to sell, they trust you and come to you.
These nurturing campaigns enable you to create content on the topics your prospective clients are most likely to be interested in, allowing you to seem in tune with your users, anticipating their needs and wants and adapting to the market around you. This is the hardest part of estate agency marketing.
Establishing a strong online presence is not just beneficial but essential for estate agents. The strategies outlined, from leveraging SEO and PPC to optimising website design and engaging in effective email marketing, are crucial for standing out. These approaches not only enhance visibility and credibility but also ensure that your agency remains at the forefront of potential clients' minds. Adopting these practices allows for a more informed, strategic approach to estate agency marketing, crucial for navigating the complexities of the current market.
