Google refers to real estate agents as “individual practitioners”, meaning they are typically in a public-facing role and have their own customer base. For this reason, a real estate agent is able to create a Google My Business listing apart from the agency itself. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that some businesses may not like this, as you are now a direct competitor to the local office to which you belong.
Adding a Google My Business listing as a realtor is pretty much the same as adding a storefront business, except there are a few differences and requirements when it comes to the name of your listing, the address, and the type of content you may share. Let’s take a look at how to add, claim, and optimize your realtor Google My
Adding and claiming your GMB listing as a real estate agent
To add or claim a Google My Business listing as a real estate agent, first go to business.google.com. From here, you are going to want to search for your listing (even if you have never created one). The reason for this is because sometimes Google will create listings automatically that can be claimed. Checking to see if this is the case for you will help you avoid any duplicate listings. If you are unable to find your listing, then you can take the step in creating a brand new one.
Naming your real estate GMB listing
Generally, Google is pretty lenient when it comes to naming a business on Google. The only thing they really do not like business owners doing is stuffing keywords in the name to try and get more visibility on search engine results pages (SERP). This step, however, is much different for real estate agents and it is critical that you follow the guidelines set by Google when naming your GMB listing as a realtor.
Depending on whether or not you are a part of a location with multiple real estate agents or a solo realtor who happens to be the only public-facing realtor belonging to a real estate agency, the rules are going to change.
For multiple real estate agents at one location
If the real estate agency location has multiple real estate agents, there should be a listing for both the organization and each practitioner. When it comes to naming these listings, the agency (organization) takes on the brand and the realtors (practitioners) will only add their names in their personal realtor listings. Good examples of how the listings for this scenario would look like:
- Name of Real Estate Agency
- John Smith, Real Estate Agent
- Jane Doe, Real Estate Agent
- Gerald Miller, Real Estate Agent
For individual real estate agents belonging to an agency
If you are a real estate agent that is the only public-facing agent for a branded organization, then your name is going to differ from that of a location with multiple agents. A good example of this would be Real Estate Agency Name: John Smith. This format is recommended by Google in its Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google.
NOTE: It is not recommended that you put keywords in the name of your listing. This is known as keyword stuffing and could potentially get your listing banned from appearing on SERPs. An example of keyword stuffing would be John Smith, Real Estate Agent. Instead, choose “Real Estate Agent” when entering your listing’s category.
Optimizing your real estate GMB listing
After adding your business to Google, you have to verify your business listing before any changes to your listing will take effect. This can take a few days, depending on the method of verification that you choose. While waiting for the verification, be sure that everything in your listings “Info” section of the dashboard is filled out as fully and accurately as possible. Google favors listings that completely fill out all aspects of their GMB.
In addition to filling out the business information, it’s important that your listing has something to give your potential clients trust in your name and your business. For this reason, you should encourage past and current clients to write a review on your listing. Another thing you can do to optimize your listing is to add photos and posts regularly so visitors can see that you are engaging with your listing and are ultimately excited about helping clients.
Seal the deal
The most important thing to remember as a Google My Business listing owner is that you cannot just set it and forget it. In order for Google to favor your listing and rank it higher on SERPs, you have to keep it updated on a weekly basis with images and posts, as well as receiving consistent highly-rated reviews. This will ultimately help your chances of ranking higher on SERP and seeing the traffic flow in. All you have to do now is seal the deal.
Originally published at https://www.asapmaps.com on June 9, 2020.
