How Estate Agents Can Prosper in 2021

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s extension of the stamp duty holiday until 30th June 2021 presents a lucrative opportunity for estate agents who may find the stamp duty suspension boosts property sales and grows profit margins. 

Already the market is seeing a surge in activity, with online searches following the announcement reaching record-breaking levels. According to Rightmove, 9 million people visited their website on 3rd March, surpassing all previous records. 

Perhaps, Britons are looking to upsize their homes to facilitate home working - and who could blame them? I’d also quite fancy an extra room for a ‘man cave’ complete with a pool table and a bar!

Fantasies aside, Sunak’s extended stamp duty suspension alone won’t be enough to bring in more money to estate agents’ coffers. Partners and managers at estate agencies need to decisively act to win clients at a potentially prosperous time for the property market. 

How Can Estate Agents Win More More Valuations? 

Considering that the vast majority of consumers start looking for goods and services on Google (92.47% of them, to be precise), it’s probably safe to say that savvy estate agents go all out on trying to be seen at the top of the search engine’s hallowed results page. But what’s the best way of getting there? 

Some would have you believe that relentless blogging to boost your website’s SEO is the way to go, while others will spend big on ads. Both methods have their merits, but there’s a better, more cost-effective, more time-efficient way that’ll likely see a much greater return on your investment. 

Local 3-Pack For The Win!

The local 3-pack is Google’s listings of three businesses that appear in the search results when using search terms like “near me” or “near [Location].” 

The local 3-pack gets 44% more clicks than bog-standard organic search results and the paid ads on Google.

If you can get your estate agent to show in the local 3-pack consistently, you’re on to a winner. 

How To Get Into The Local 3-Pack

A sizeable chunk of Google’s ranking factors for the local-3 pack is within your control, namely review requesting, review responses, and maintaining business listings’ accuracy. By taking action around the following three areas, you maximise your chances of getting into the local 3-pack where you’ll be seen and chosen by customers. 

Request Reviews

Google prefers businesses that have a substantial number of reviews over those that don’t. You should aim to request reviews from all your clients to boost overall review volume and please the Google gods. Not only will requesting reviews help with your Google rankings, but it will also serve to give you insight into what’s pleasing clients and where your business is falling short. 

Respond to Reviews

Once the reviews are coming in thick and fast, you’ve got to deliver timely responses to those reviews - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Google likes review responses as it shows you value your customers and their feedback. 

Maintain Accurate Listings

Google’s guidance is clear about the importance of business listings: 

‘To maximise how often users find your business in local search results, ensure that your business information in Google My Business is accurate, complete and engaging.’

The Challenge

The steps involved in boosting your chances of accessing the local 3-pack are quite simple. However, doing it at scale consistently is challenging, especially when managing multiple locations. Like many things worth doing, it takes time, and it needs the right tools for the job.

Take Action Now

Fortunately, I know a thing or two about getting into the local 3-pack and the tools you need to do it. My company, Reputation, has a track record of helping estate agents such as Curchods and Leaders Romans Group to maintain their listings, increase review volume and response rate to achieve visibility where it matters most.

Why not get in touch with me for a chat about how we might get your estate agents into Google’s local-3 pack so you can be found and chosen by customers eager to buy property in 2021?

Hope to chat with you soon!