Simple Tips to Get More Inbound Customer Calls and Website Visits (for Real Estate Agents)

Let’s be candid: the home buying/selling process begins on Google.

  • “Best real estate agent in {CITY}”

  • “Selling a {CITY} home in 2021”

  • “Homes for sale nearby”

On-and-on the queries go. And these days Google’s doubling-down on 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹-𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀. Whenever Google infers a searcher is looking for something (geographically) local:

🏧 Nearby ATM
🌮 Delicious tacos
🏡 Resident REALTOR®

… it’ll display Google My Business (GMB) listings. And whether that search goes down on Google.com or via Google Maps, it’s all fueled by GMB.

(My point being, if you’re not currently treating your GMB with the utmost care—suffice it to say—you oughta 😇.)

Today’s video is concentrated on ONE simple (and critical) step to greatly improving your GMB’s performance -- as in more clicks and calls! That step: PHOTOS 📸.

In fact, a (relatively) recent BrightLocal study found that GMBs w/ 100+ photos produced 520% more inbound, customer calls AND generated 1,065% more website clicks. So add away :D

  1. Vary your images: headshots, lifestyle photos, behind-the-scenes, in-the-field, with-your-team, listings and more!

  2. Kindly ask key customers if they’d be willing to upload a photo of your biz. Those photos get marked as, “By customer.”

  3. While there’s debate over what underlying data Google does or doesn’t consider SEO-wise, I’d recommend pulling all the stops nonetheless: keyword-titling the file name, adding geo-tags and ALT text (**here’s a video guide to reference: bit.ly/JP-Geo-Tag), and, once the image is uploaded in GMB, list its category: “at work” or “team.” IMO, the more you give Google, the more it gives you!

  4. GMB photos crop/format differently depending on where viewed: mobile VS. desktop, maps VS. search. So upload some photos in landscape and others with square dimensions.

  5. Google decides which photo to display as your, quote-unquote, “Profile Image.” That said, you can mark the pic you prefer as your listing’s “Cover.” There’s no guarantee it’ll always display as your primary image, but it should get some amount of prioritization. You can also designate a “Logo.”

  6. Last thing: get your GMB verified.