Call Us: 020 7801 9875
Standing out in search results is more important than ever for estate agencies. Whether it's through organic rankings or paid ads, visibility on Google can make or break your business.
In this blog, we’ll explore how estate agencies in the North West of England are performing online, using data-driven insights from our custom market intelligence tool. We’ll look at which agencies are dominating local searches and why ranking highly is crucial. We’ll also break down the importance of SEO, PPC, and domain authority in boosting visibility. Plus, we'll touch on how new trends like AI are shaping the future of online marketing.
In collaboration with our partner Roar, a digital marketing agency focused on data-driven and location-based marketing, we’ve been tracking a broad range of relevant search results every month for the past few years.
As a result, we've developed an extensive data set that provides insights into how estate agencies are discovered on Google across the country. Today, we can take a closer look at the data specifically for the North West of England.
The market intelligence tool is a custom tool built for us that specifically looks at the Google visibility of Estate Agents in the UK. The tool is designed to benchmark and rank agencies based on the number of searches they appear for in their operating area, such as "estate agent near me" or "house valuation Carlisle."
It runs tens of thousands of hypothetical searches every month in over 4,000 locations to assess which agencies are ranking highly on the first page of Google, whether via SEO, PPC or local listings. The data is segmented into organic searches, paid searches, and map listings.
Agencies are ranked based on the number of unique searches they appear for. The more searches you rank for, the more reach you have.
Note: this is not actual search volume, that data can only be obtained through Google Analytics or Search Console. These hypothetical searches give you an indication of the types of searches you rank for, not what people are searching. Four unique searches would be: "Value my house in Cheshire", "House for sale Cumbria", "let my flat in Manchester" or "house rentals Blackpool" but this does not mean only four people searched for your agency.
Reeds Rains are key players, covering a substantial number of locations (328). Notably, Reeds Rains benefits from 224 reviews and an excellent average branch rating of 4.6, showcasing their ability to maintain both visibility and customer satisfaction. Their balanced approach, covering a wide range of locations and achieving high rankings, positions them as a regional leader in the North West.
With a slightly different approach, Martin & Co cover fewer locations, but their visibility across organic searches helps them stand out. Entwistle Green also shows a balanced approach, appearing in both organic and map searches across 83 locations, with an average position of 3.9 and strong reviews. These regional players maintain competitive rankings by leveraging map visibility and maintaining customer satisfaction through strong branch ratings.
We can run the report specific for your agency, free of charge, to give you a detailed and personalised understanding of how you compare with your competitors at the town level, across your county or in the targeted postcodes you operate in. Please just get in touch and we'll be delighted to help.
Domain authority plays a key role in determining how well an estate agent’s website will rank in search engine results. It’s a score out of 100 that helps search engines assess how reliable and credible your site is.
Tools like SEMRush and Ahrefs can be used to measure this score, which is influenced mainly by the quantity and quality of external websites linking to yours. A higher domain authority generally means better search visibility and rankings, as search engines regard your site as more secure and trustworthy.
Several factors contribute to a strong domain authority, including a robust backlink profile, high-quality content that earns natural links, a solid presence on social media, optimised on-page SEO elements (like meta tags and URL structure), and a user-friendly website with fast loading times and mobile responsiveness.
Smaller, local estate agents often can’t compete with national companies or big property portals on a broad scale, but they can excel in local searches. By building strong domain authority and applying effective local SEO strategies, smaller agencies can rank highly for local search terms and attract relevant, quality traffic.
Websites with higher domain authority are better positioned to rank for competitive keywords, even with fewer backlinks, because search engines already view them as high-quality sites. If you're looking to boost your organic search rankings, improving your domain authority and increasing backlinks is a great place to start.
Paid search advertising is becoming increasingly important in digital marketing, offering a fast way to boost visibility compared to the slower process of SEO. It’s particularly useful for estate agencies looking to quickly fill a short-term visibility gap. These ads often appear at the top of Google search results and are designed to match closely with user search queries, which increases the likelihood of clicks.
In the North West of England, estate agencies such as Gascoigne Halman and Bridgfords, alongside online platforms like OnTheMarket, Yopa and Purplebricks, effectively use PPC to secure prominent positions in search engine results pages (SERPs).
PPC allows estate agencies to target specific keywords and locations, helping them reach potential buyers or sellers in their local area. Additionally, agencies can use remarketing to re-engage users who have previously visited their website to browse properties or research area guides. These ads can also be displayed on social media platforms, encouraging users to return to the agency’s site for another look.
Basic SEO practices are essential for long-term online visibility, and we cover these in detail in other dedicated posts. Once you've implemented the essentials, such as content marketing, optimised meta descriptions, and title tags, you can move on to more advanced tactics like long-tail SEO. This involves targeting more specific, niche search terms that are highly relevant to your agency and potential customers.
For instance, optimising your website for terms like "3-bedroom house for sale in Manchester" can attract valuable traffic. This can be achieved by creating engaging blog posts, detailed area guides, or optimising on-page content to ensure it ranks highly for relevant searches.
Improving your site's technical SEO is also crucial. Enhancing factors like page speed, mobile responsiveness, and a solid backlink strategy will all contribute to better rankings. Together, these efforts signal to Google that your site is trustworthy, user-friendly, and relevant to the search terms, boosting your domain authority and increasing your visibility.
The answer is simple: always. SEO is not a one-time task but an ongoing process that should be regularly maintained. However, it can be overwhelming to know where to start, especially with frequent updates from search engines.
We recommend developing an SEO strategy with a digital marketing agency and continuously working on it. If you're building or redesigning your website, optimising from the start is critical. Platforms like Homeflow offer the tools needed to ensure your site is SEO-friendly from the ground up. As you update content for a new site, you can implement fresh keywords and meta descriptions to improve search rankings.
If your site is already live, making regular, small SEO improvements can still have a significant impact on your overall search performance.
Let's take a closer look at Cheadle Hulme as an example, to see how different types of agencies perform at a town level both organically and via paid search.
In Cheadle Hulme, North West England, several estate agencies have managed to establish strong search visibility across organic, paid, and map searches, as of October 2024. Snapes stands out as a top performer, covering 5 searches in 1 location and holding a strong average position of 2.6 on Google. Their visibility spans across organic, map, and paid searches, demonstrating a balanced marketing strategy that leverages multiple channels for broader reach. With an excellent branch rating of 4.7 from 102 Google reviews, Snapes appears to maintain high customer satisfaction alongside its impressive search visibility. Their ability to feature prominently in all search types makes them one of the top local players.
Bridgfords also shows a solid presence, ranking well in both organic and map searches, with an impressive average position of 2nd across 4 unique searches. Their customer reviews reflect a strong reputation, with a 4.3 rating from 103 reviews. Bridgfords appears to have invested in their local SEO efforts to ensure consistent organic visibility, backed by map search results, making them a trusted and visible choice for local property seekers. Other agencies like Reeds Rains and Mitchell Williams also shine in organic rankings, showing that local SEO strategies are crucial for long-term search success.
On the other hand, national players like Purplebricks and Yopa heavily rely on paid search to boost their visibility in this local market, compensating for their weaker organic rankings, as they do across the country. This suggests that while these larger, online-focused agencies have a strong national presence, they may be struggling to compete as effectively in organic rankings against more localised competitors. Purplebricks also appears in map searches, reflecting a multi-channel strategy to maintain visibility in Cheadle Hulme, though not to the extent of more established local agencies.
Niche agencies like Snowden Wilkinson and Shirley Rose rely purely on organic search visibility, demonstrating strong local SEO efforts without using paid or map-based strategies. While this approach keeps their marketing costs lower, their limited visibility in paid and map searches might hinder them from capturing a wider audience.
Overall, agencies that balance organic, paid, and map strategies, like Snapes and Bridgfords, are well-positioned for sustained success in this local market.
AI, particularly generative tools like ChatGPT, are transforming the SEO landscape and how people search for information. Some users already prefer these platforms for quick, concise answers over traditional search engines, potentially diminishing the dominance of classic SEO tactics.
To optimise for AI-driven responses, there will need to be a greater emphasis on producing high-quality, context-rich content that aligns with AI algorithms and natural language processing models.
For instance, asking ChatGPT "Who is the best estate agent in (town)?" results in different top agents each time, highlighting the dynamic nature of AI-generated search results. This makes it crucial to stay updated with AI trends to maintain SEO success.
Google's AI, Gemini, aims to improve search capabilities by providing more nuanced, context-aware results that better understand user intent and deliver highly personalised responses. This could lead to more accurate and relevant search outcomes, reducing the need for users to sift through multiple pages.
As AI evolves, businesses will need to adapt their digital marketing strategies to maintain visibility and relevance in this new era of search.
1. Request a Company Report: Analyse your firm's performance, identifying strong and weak areas within your company intelligence report. You can also see how your competitors are performing in your area too. (You can request analysis on your agency with the form below).
2. Check Your Domain Authority: Use tools to see where you stand and how easy it will be to improve your ranking.
3. Optimise Technical SEO: Ensure your meta titles and URL structures are optimised.
4. Consult with Experts: Book a free consultation with Homeflow to analyse your paid and organic rankings and provide actionable insights to improve your digital marketing strategy. Whether that’s an updated website, performance marketing techniques or a custom strategy based on your specific needs.
By following these steps, you can enhance your visibility, attract more clients, and stay ahead of the competition in the North West.
