Real estate SEO puts your agency in front of homeowners and landlords when they search for an agent or property manager in your area. I'm Caleb, a local SEO specialist with 7+ years' experience. I focus on the searches that bring in appraisals and rent roll growth, not the buyer searches the portals already own.
By Caleb Johnstone, Local SEO Specialist · Updated October 2026
7+ yearsExperience
Real estate SEO is the work that helps your agency show up on Google when people in your area search for an agent, a property manager or an appraisal. It covers your Google Business Profile, your website content, your reviews and how your agency appears online, so search engines can match you with potential clients nearby.
The part most agencies get wrong is which searches to chase. Buyers searching "houses for sale" in a suburb almost always land on realestate.com.au or Domain. The searches an agency can actually win are the ones from vendors and landlords looking for someone to sell or manage their property. Those are also the searches that turn into listings and management agreements.
realestate.com.au
property.com.au
domain.com.au
forsalebyowner.com.au
No agency websites in the top 9
Map pack of local agencies
Local agency websites
RateMyAgent and portal agent profiles
Here's roughly how many times a month people search for some common real estate terms. Buyer searches are much bigger, but the portals own them. Agent and property management searches are smaller, and they're where your next listing comes from.
Houses for sale Gold Coast
9,900
Real estate agents Gold Coast
1,600
Real estate agents Brisbane
1,300
Property management Brisbane
1,000
Property management Gold Coast
390
Real estate agents Burleigh Heads
90
Morgan Insurance Brokers
Morgan Insurance Brokers isn't a real estate agency, but the challenge is similar: a local, high-value service where a handful of competitors fight for the same searches. Comparing July to September 2025 with July to September 2026, their average position across non-branded searches moved from 39.8 to 17.6, and enquiry actions from ChatGPT grew from 73 to 187.
Read the full Morgan Insurance Brokers case studyBeforeJuly to September 202522.8
AfterJuly to September 20262.3
BeforeJuly to September 202539.8
AfterJuly to September 202617.6
Real estate has its own rules online. An SEO strategy that works for a plumber or an accountant needs adjusting for an agency, starting with which keywords are worth targeting.
realestate.com.au and Domain have far more listings, links and authority than any agency website. Trying to outrank them for "houses for sale" searches is usually wasted budget. Your listings already appear on the portals, so your website's job is winning vendors and landlords.
When a homeowner searches for an agent, the map pack often shows before any website. Categories, office details, photos of real sales and a steady flow of reviews decide whether you get the call or the agency next door does.
Copy-and-paste suburb pages with the name swapped are easy to spot, for Google and for vendors. A good suburb page shows what you've actually sold there, what the street-by-street market looks like and why you know the area.
Landlords search for property managers separately from sales agents. A dedicated property management page, with fees explained and real service details, can grow your rent roll without competing with your sales team for attention.
My real estate SEO services cover the pieces that win more appraisal requests and management enquiries. I start with whatever is costing you listings right now.
The right categories for sales and property management, accurate office details, photos of recent sales and a review process that runs after every settlement.
Learn more about Google Business Profile optimisationPages for the suburbs you actually list in, plus selling, property management and appraisal pages that answer the questions vendors and landlords ask before they call.
Learn more about keyword researchLearn more about on-page SEOClear agent bios with recent sales, suburbs covered and reviews, plus complete RateMyAgent and portal agent profiles. Those profiles can rank for agent searches too, and Google and AI tools look for signs that real, experienced people stand behind the business.
Real estate sites carry hundreds of listing pages that come and go. I make sure sold and expired listings, duplicate pages and slow templates are not dragging the rest of the site down.
Learn more about technical SEOConsistent office details across directories, plus links from local sponsorships, community groups and media your agency is already part of.
Learn more about local citationsLearn more about link buildingAppraisal requests, calls and management enquiries tracked in GA4, so you can see which pages bring in listings, not just traffic.
I review your website, Google Business Profile, agent profiles and the agencies showing up ahead of you for vendor and landlord searches.
I don't publish a set price. The number of offices, suburbs and the state of your website change the scope. I audit, then quote. No lock-in contracts.
Each service gets a target page, and suburb pages only go where you actually list and people actually search.
Profile updates, page improvements, reviews, citations and links, worked through monthly in priority order. I handle the strategy and briefs, and your agents supply the local knowledge.
A live dashboard for rankings, plus appraisal and enquiry conversions in GA4. I keep a cap of 30 clients so every campaign gets proper attention.
Move the sliders to match your business. It's a rough estimate to help you think about the opportunity, not a forecast.
Estimates only. Results depend on your market, competition, website and how quickly changes are made. I don't guarantee rankings or revenue.
Get a free auditMost of this comes down to chasing the wrong searches or cutting corners.
Google Business Profile and review improvements can lift map pack visibility within a few months. Suburb and service pages usually take three to six months to build momentum, and longer in busy capital city markets. It depends on your competition, your website's starting point and how quickly changes get made.
Google Business Profile, reviews and technical fixes
Suburb, selling and property management pages gain ground
Competitive suburbs and more appraisal enquiries
It is the work that helps your agency appear on Google when people search for an agent, a property manager or an appraisal in your area. It covers your Google Business Profile, website, reviews, local citations and links.
For buyer searches like "houses for sale" in a suburb, almost never, and it isn't worth trying. For vendor and landlord searches like "real estate agent" or "property management" plus a suburb, local agencies regularly rank in the map pack and organic results. That's where I focus.
It depends on how many offices and suburbs you cover, your competition and the state of your website. I run a free audit first, then quote. No lock-in contracts. For a broader guide, read how much SEO costs in Australia.
Map pack improvements can show within a few months. Suburb and service pages usually take three to six months, and longer in competitive capital city markets.
No. Start with the suburbs you actually list in and want more of. Each page needs genuine local detail, such as recent sales and market insight. Thin copy-and-paste pages can hurt your whole site.
Yes. Landlords search differently from vendors. A dedicated property management page, with fees and services explained clearly, gives you a better chance of ranking for those searches and growing your rent roll.
Indirectly. RateMyAgent and portal agent profiles can rank for agent searches themselves, so a complete profile with recent reviews gives vendors another place to find you. Your Google reviews still matter most for the map pack.
It helps. AI tools rely on clear, consistent information about who you are, where you work and what clients say about you. The same work that improves your Google visibility makes your agency easier for AI tools to describe accurately.
No, and be wary of anyone who does. What I can promise is the work gets done properly every month and you can track everything on your live dashboard.
Send me your website and the suburbs you want more listings in. I'll review your site, your Google profile and the agencies ranking ahead of you, then tell you what I'd change. No hard sell.
I also work with tradies, law firms and dental practices, and help businesses in Brisbane, on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast.
