How to Build Real Estate Backlinks

Published On - March 15, 2024

Sabahat Ali Backlink Guides

This post contains the 10 effective link building tactics realtors use. Check it out!

While we [SERPreach] get many questions from realtors, the recurrent one has always been, “How do I get real estate backlinks?”

To create a lasting solution to this need, we answered the question extensively in this blog post.

Beyond the “how,” we’ll also discuss the “why.”

Let’s get to it already!

Use of any of these real estate link building tactics:

  1. Create a linkable asset
  2. Targeted outreach
  3. Guest posting
  4. Directory listing
  5. Google Business Profile
  6. HARO
  7. Join live events & meetups
  8. Brand mentions
  9. Target competitors’ backlinks
  10. Target broken links

Create a Linkable Asset

The first step to a successful real estate link building campaign is to have an asset. What do you have that people will naturally link to?

To answer the question, check through your pages. Look out for these assets:

  • Blog posts
  • Statistics pages
  • Resource pages
  • Infographics
  • Geo-targeted content

What if you don’t have any of the listed assets?

You’re in luck; start creating them today. Here are a few tips to get started.

  • Ensure your blog posts are written using the Skyscraper Technique. This works in two steps:
    • Keyword research
    • Write something better than the top-ranking pages for your target keywords
  • Use standard search phrases like “state of…” when titling your statistics pages.
  • Repurpose your high-ranking posts, resources, and statistics pages into infographics.

Further reading: How to Build Infographics Links

Targeted Outreach

Once your assets are ready, it’s time to build links to them. However, you can’t just get links from any random site talking about real estate.

Hence, the need for targeted outreach.

With targeted outreach, you can streamline the sites to get links from. And while at it, consider these factors:

  • Domain authority — the higher the authority, the more link juice you pass down to your site. The best practice is to go for sites that are more authoritative than yours.
  • Traffic — domain authority scores can be doctored. In other words, your site won’t benefit from a high score with no visitors. So, consider the traffic of your target referring website. It should be at least 1K.
  • Relevance — while the ideal target is niche relevance, I recommend looking beyond that. Work with topically-relevant sites.

How can you ascertain the factors mentioned?

Ahrefs’ Content Explorer

1-targeted-outreach-research

Guest Posting

In addition to your website, you can also build assets on others’ websites. The first [and the most popular] tactic for this is guest blogging/posting.

This technique works like blog posting. But there are a few differences:

  • For starters, the asset is created on someone else’s website — but it must be relevant to your site and business.
  • Furthermore, guest posts fetch backlinks to your site. And you can get up to two of such links [one to your homepage and the other to a product], depending on the target site.

Note:

Guest posting is littered, which reduces its effectiveness. Nevertheless, you can still get results with authoritative websites.

📌 Where to find authoritative websites for guest posting?

  • Use Ahrefs Content Explorer > Use cases > Link building > Guest blogging opportunities.
2-guest-blogging-opportunities

Directory Listing

Directories are like resource pages. They contain relevant information such as names, addresses, and phone numbers. And because of that, they [directories] are one of the places potential customers [your target audience] visit to confirm available houses, book virtual tours, or validate any business.

In other words, directories get a lot of niche, local traffic. And so?

Getting backlinks from directories is about more than just search rankings. The links also lead to sales. All that aside, it’s wise to be listed where your competitors are.

📌 So, how can you get started?

  • Register your real estate business with niche organizations like the Local Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Realtors. 
  • Get on local directories — paid and unpaid
  • Join national and global listings like Yellow Pages and Angie List

Google Business Profile (GBP)

Formerly known as Google My Business (GMB), GBP is Google’s directory for local businesses. In other words, it works like typical directory link building.

Unlike other directories, there are perks to getting listed on Google’s directory:

  • Google Maps
  • 3-pack

Google Maps helps potential customers locate your offices in the city. As such, it is a better tool for increasing in-office visits and consultations, and visibility in your local community.

For the 3-pack, GBP helps you rank higher than organic results for local searches. How so?

Local searches display 3 businesses [and their respective maps] ahead of other results like this:

3-3-pack-result

Hence, the name: 3-pack.

And fortunately,  a well-optimized GBP can get you a feature on the 3-pack result. As a result, your real estate website will get more calls, visits, and sales.

HARO

HARO, Help a Reporter Out, is a platform where reporters seek expert sources for their news stories using well-laid queries.

4-haro-link-building

Ideally, the sought-after sources are business owners or subject matter specialists. In the case of real estate, reporters are looking for “real estate experts.”

In essence, HARO can help you build backlinks to your site — albeit your homepage. How?

Read how HARO link building works!

Overall, HARO’s goal is to help build PR backlinks to your site. However, it is not the only way. There are several alternatives.

  • Help a B2B Writer Out and Terkel are similar platform-query platforms like HARO.
  • Sponsor local events, charities, and alums communities. Then, watch and see the local media houses take up the news.
  • Manually look up local reporters in your area and niche. Build a rapport with them and send your pitch.

Join Live Events & Meetups

Ordinarily, open houses and tours don’t seem like a link building activity. If you are thinking in that line, you’re right. However, think deeper.

Link building is about building relationships. And that is the purpose of the meetups.

Engage other realtors well enough in your live events. You’ll soon be invited to their YouTube videos, podcasts, and webinars.

How do all these convert to links?

  • Starting with YouTube, the host can post your URL in the comment section or info cards.

Read more: How to Build Links With YouTube.

  • Podcasts and webinars have blog post formats where you’ll get a link to your site.
  • Lastly, other businesses and writers will quote your opinions in the guest appearance. All these mentions will send link juice to your site.

Pro tip:

Beyond YouTube, use other social media sites to connect with other sellers.

Brand Mentions

The ideal situation is that you get backlinks when websites mention your brand name or products. However, chances are that the mentions are unlinked.

In that case, you can still get your links. How?

  • First, use a tool like Buzzsumo or BrandMentions to track unlinked mentions.
  • Then, send a pitch to get backlinks. 

Note:

This tactic works best if you build relationships rather than link transactions. Otherwise, the website owners will ignore your message.

Follow the crowd once you’re out of your wits and don’t know what else to do to get quality backlinks. In other words, study the sources of your competitors’ links. Is there a pattern?

Here is how to find the said pattern:

  • Use a tool like Ahrefs’ Site Explorer and Link Intersect to study the backlinks [and commonly shared links] of your competitors.

Further reading: How to Find Your Competitors’ Backlinks

  • Then, check the linked page. Verify the quality and intent of the pages.
  • Create something better than the linked page.
  • Now, pitch to the pages linking to at least two competitors. Why? If they send backlinks to them [your competitors], they won’t hesitate to do the same for your own site.

Broken link building (BLB) works on a value first before rewarding [backlink] and works perfectly.

  • First, you identify the broken external links of a target website
  • Then, you reach out with the solution
  • You present the solution [replacement page] and get a backlink.

So, how does BLB work?

Get started with this beginner’s guide on BLB.

Now, you can build links as a real estate agent.

But what if you don’t have the time to implement any of the 10 tactics discussed?

You can still build links even if that were your case; hire real estate link builders.

Here’s a quick preview

  1. SERPReach
  2. Link Doctor
  3. Single Grain
  4. PRPosting
  5. Real Estate SEO

SERPReach

We offer specialized backlink services for real estate businesses, among other niches. Unlike other SEO agencies, we are strictly a link building agency.

In summary,

We’re your best shot if you only need to outsource your link building needs.

About our services, we offer a mix of 3 services:

  • Niche edit link building
  • Blogger outreaching
  • Guest post link building

Beyond the base services, we also offer customized link building solutions.

Link Doctor prides itself on tailor-made, white-hat link building strategies for real estate businesses. Its focus is on building high-quality backlinks.

Beyond real estate, Link Doctor also services other niches like healthcare, law firms, and e-commerce. So, rest assured that you’re in experienced and capable hands.

Unfortunately, Link Doctor didn’t spell out their services. Instead, they have packages for different budgets like this:

  • Gold package for small businesses
  • Diamond package for medium-sized businesses
  • Platinum package for large enterprises

Link Doctor also offers custom packages.

Single Grain

In Single Grain’s words, they only “employ legitimate, premium, white-hat” link building strategies. As a result, they enhance the trustworthiness and search engine results position of real estate websites.

Beyond real estate, Single Grain also services other niches like SaaS, e-commerce, and education [or MarTech]. In other words, you’re in safe hands.

About services, Single Grain offers a range of services that include:

  • SEO and programmatic SEO
  • Content marketing
  • Paid advertising and CRO
  • Performance creative 

Summarily,

Single Grain combines its services to deliver premium real estate backlinks. You can trust them.

PRPosting

Like SERPreach, PRPosting is also a specialized company. In fact, they [PRPosting] are more of a platform than typical SEO agencies. How so?

PRPosting is an online content distribution platform that uses a combination of:

  • Content marketing [guest posting particularly]
  • Concealed marketing and link building 

They [PRPostng] use the services to build quality links to realtors. And with a network of 23K websites and manual placement, PRPosting is a top player in this space. In other words, you can trust their services.

Real Estate SEO

The clue is already in the name. This link building agency primarily serves real estate businesses. As such, they can help you achieve the end goal of SEO — higher search ranking positions and better revenue.

To ensure the end goal, Real Estate SEO uses a robust, 5-step process to deliver quality backlinks. Here is a breakdown:

  • Competitor analysis
  • Data-driven backlink strategy development
  • Database collection
  • Content production
  • Link placement

In addition to creating new backlinks, Real Estate SEO also manages existing links. This makes them a top choice for any realtor.

Now that you know the “how” and “who” of real estate link building, let’s discuss the “why.”

I’ll give you 3 tangible reasons:

  1. Search engine results pages are crucial to homebuying decisions
  2. Breaking into the high competition in the real estate industry
  3. Affordability

Appearing on Search Engine Results Pages

According to Real Estate in a Digital Age [by National Association of Realtors], 2021, 97% of all home buyers use search engines to search for homes.

Beyond real estate, search engines are critical to all local businesses. How so?

Prospects [potential clients] use them [search engines] to seek information before purchase.

Google, in particular, is used a lot. According to the Local Consumer Review Survey [by BrightLocal], 2024, consumers use Google at least 35% more than any other search engine.

5-consumers-use-google-more

Now, imagine getting to the top position on Google search results pages.

Think about all the potential visibility, traffic, and sales. Mind-blowing, eh?

Now, you might be wondering how backlinks help with all these?

Backlinks are confirmed ranking factors. In other words, they boost search rankings. In essence, the more quality links you have pointing to your real estate website, the higher the chances of ranking high on search engine results pages and being seen by homebuyers.

Breaking Into the Competitive Real Estate Industry

The real estate market is booming, with a current estimate of $119.76tn [Statista Data]. Yet, it is expected to grow to $142.88tn by 2028.

6-real-estate-market-share

Such a lucrative industry will undoubtedly attract competition, and it does. You have to compete with the likes of Redfin, Keller Williams and Coldwell Banker.

How will you level up?

Short answer: real estate link building…

Search engines level the playing field. They provide the tools to break into the fiercest competitions and even scale.

For the real estate industry, it starts with getting backlinks. Then, you get to the top positions on search results.

The visibility [from search results] will create a ripple effect, boosting your conversion, sales, and real estate business growth.

Affordability

Compared to traditional advertising, SEO, Search Engine Optimization, [the umbrella category for link building] is affordable. How so?

  • Backlink building can be free, as discussed in “How to Get Real Estate Links.” Take GBP, for example. You don’t need to pay for anything. Just create a profile and send links from popular, high-traffic directories.
  • Even when you pay for SEO [paid search], the rates are still relatively low compared to media houses.
  • Lastly, you don’t have to go head-to-head with real industry leaders on highly-competitive keywords. You can start with the easy-to-rank terms and work your way up.

Either way, you’ll spend significantly less than traditional marketing while achieving the same results [visibility and sales].

  • Set a goal
  • Build links
  • Check your backlink profile
  • Monitor rankings
  • Tweak, remove, and/or add

Set a Goal

You can only tell if your real estate link building campaign is successful with a set goal. What do you hope to achieve? How many backlinks are you targeting?

Such questions should be the cornerstone of your goals.

Thankfully, there is a shortcut. How?

  • Take your campaigns one keyword at a time
  • Use the keyword difficulty to know how many backlinks you need to build
7-how-many-backlinks-do-you-need
  • Now, you have a goal to achieve

Once the goal is set, start building backlinks to your real estate website or pages using the tactics discussed earlier.

Here is a quick summary:

  • Create an asset
  • Guest post to promote the asset
  • Reach out to websites linking to similar assets [from your competitors]
  • Find if similar assets [from your competitors] are broken. Explore the opportunity.
  • Leverage your popularity and target brand mentions.

Overall,

Don’t be limited to just one link building method. Combine everything to get quick but sustainable results.

After building links, check if they reflect on your backlink profile. Mind you, I’m not talking about their effectiveness yet.

You should see that 100 or 1000 backlinks are pointing to your website. This will help you confirm if other websites are linked to your site.

So, how do you check?

  • Go to Ahrefs > Site Explorer > input your domain URL
  • Look towards the left tab > click “backlinks” under “backlink profile.”
  • Check for new links
8-new-backlinks
  • Confirm that your new campaigns yield results 

Monitor Rankings

Unlike the previous step, we won’t focus on whether backlinks are added here. Instead, we are checking the effectiveness of the links. How?

The questions can help:

  • What changed since the backlinks were added to your site?
  • Has your ranking for the target keyword increased [or decreased]?
  • How many positions up [or down] did your page increase [or decrease] on search results]

In short, monitor your rankings.

Note:

You can monitor your rankings manually, but that approach is stressful. Use a Rank Tracker instead. Ahrefs or Semrush can help.

Tweak, Remove, And/or Add

Not all backlinks are healthy for your site. Some will tank your rankings rather than increase them. Unfortunately, you can’t tell the difference when choosing — if you’re not an expert link builder.

So, what can you do?

  • Use Google Search Console.

Google Search Console, GSC, is a free tool from Google that checks the health of your sites. In the event of toxic backlinks, it will alert and guide you in removing them. Here is how:

  • Log in to your GSC dashboard
  • Scroll through the left tabs; search for security & manual actions > manual actions > fix any issues there until you have this:
9-check-manual-actions

If GSC suggested removing [or disavowing] a backlink, don’t fret. Remove the link and replace it with another.

The real estate industry is highly competitive. To get into the playing field and get ahead, you need backlinks.

As discussed, you can get backlinks in different ways. First, ensure you have linkable assets on your website. Then, create them [assets] on others’ websites.

Overall, focus on building relationships. Getting links after will be seamless.