When marketing our real estate services on the web we might forget how important it is to stay not only global but also local in our efforts. Even though some prospects will be relocating from other areas of the country, there are still plenty of people who are just looking to move within the same area. And even relocting people will most likely check out local services and search for local businesses.
Local web advertising is also very important for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, especially that now in many cases Google puts their top Google local results at the top of local keyword searches (i.e. you city real estate).
There are several ways that you can ensure that potential buyers and sellers find you before everyone else by using local web advertising.
1. Google Local
Google Local is a free tool that promotes your business and adds instant credibility. It is similar to an online “Yellow Pages” service available to people searching for nearby businesses. If you want to appear in the search results, you must have your business added to the directory.
Go to http://local.google.com.
At the bottom left, click on the “Add/Edit Your Business” link. Follow the prompts to add your business.
To weed out bogus postings and online-only businesses without a physical, local location, Google will send you a postcard with an activation code. Be certain you supplied a physical address where you actually check your mail. With the postcard and activation code in hand, come back to this site and enter your code. Your real estate business will now appear in searches, like those in “maps.google.com”.
Make sure you add your website URL as well so that interested prospects can visit your website for more info.
To make your listing stand out even more, you can add a coupon for your business listing, such as a "free home evaluation" or a "$500 rebate for buyers". Coupons will appear alongside your business listing on Google Maps. Adding coupons to your listing in Google Maps will bring new customers to you. The better savings you offer, the more customers you'll gain.
2. Yahoo Local
Similar to Google Local, Yahoo also has a site to list businesses.
Go to http://local.yahoo.com.
At the bottom center of the page, click on “Add/edit a business”. Choose the type of listing you would like to add. To use the free listing, click on the “Basic” option. Sign in to Yahoo! (create an account if you don’t already have one), and follow the prompts.
That's it. With 5 minutes work you just gave yourself a better shot at generating more real estate leads for absolutely free.
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