A few times every year, Google undergoes a core algorithm update. These updates change what Google features when people enter queries in a Google Search bar.
Some Google updates are bigger than others, and the core update that finished earlier in June is one of them. The takeaway? Content written and posted by actual humans is in. Content written and managed by artificial intelligence is out.
For agents, this is yet another indication that Google is putting even more emphasis on a verified, human-produced Google Business Profile and accompanying reviews. When consumers search for a real estate agent online, they are less and less likely to be served with gimmicky, keyword-driven brokerage or agent landing pages. Instead, Google wants to give consumers content they know is legitimate – and that’s where Homesnap Pro+ can help you.
Homesnap Pro+ completes and verifies your Google Business Profile, and then makes it easier for you to collect the reviews necessary to appear at the top of consumer search queries for local agents.
Learn how Pro+ is optimized for a smarter, better Google Search experience, and why Pro+ agents will thrive through this Google core update and the ones to come.
Pro+ Content Focus 1: Verified Google Business Profile
Google’s emphasis on displaying informative, human-generated content makes the Google Business Profile even more important for agents.
A refresher: Your Google Business Profile is the information box that appears on the right side of the screen when people search your name online. Your Business Profile is chalk-full of your business details, including contact information, operating hours, address, recent photos of your listings, and reviews of your real estate services and acumen.
Having people hear your name from friends, family, or acquaintances isn’t enough. When consumers search for you online, having a complete Google Business Profile is proof that you’re a credible, trustworthy agent who is ready to do business.
For your business information to appear as a Business Profile, Google must verify it. This can take weeks – and take away from time you typically spend with your clients. Pro+ handles that verification for you and syncs your Homesnap information to your Business Profile. This way, you save time and effort – and ensure that you enjoy a professional, verified online presence that marks you as legitimate in the eyes of buyers and sellers.
There are agents who have tried to circumvent the Google verification process in the past by loading their website with spammy, keyword-rich descriptions. Google penalized that kind of gimmicky content this month – and most Google watchers expect that to continue in the future.
Don’t take shortcuts or risk having your online presence de-ranked and dismissed. Get Pro+, complete your Google Business Profile, and enjoy automatic, hassle-free verification.
Pro+ Content Focus 2: Human-Written Google Reviews
Verifying and completing your Business Profile is only the first half of navigating a smarter, more discerning Google algorithm. The most recent core update – and the updates yet to come – reinforces the primacy of Google reviews for your online reputation.
Put simply, reviews determine whether Google believes you’re a worthwhile business provider. When consumers enter search queries like “real estate agents near me,” Google wants to serve results actual people can use. To do that, Google puts the most stock in highlighting content written by actual humans. Hence, the emphasis on Google reviews.
Agents who appear at the top of searches for queries like “real estate agents near me” tend to have dozens of positive Google reviews.
These reviews are provided by clients, fellow agents, friends, family, neighbors – anybody who knows the agent and can speak to their real estate acumen. In Google’s eyes, positive reviews from real people are gold. But a lack of reviews – or negative reviews – signal to Google that an agent isn’t accomplished, or competent, or worth displaying when people are searching for real estate services.
Getting these reviews is essential, but can be time-consuming. Digging up contact information, sending emails and texts, making calls, keeping track of who has and hasn’t left a review, following up again and again – we get it, you’d rather spend your time touring homes and closing deals.
Homesnap Pro+ gets you reviews without hassle or stress. Pro+’s One-Click Review Tool means you can solicit reviews from each of your Homesnap contacts, all in one click. Better yet, the One-Click Review Tool automates up to three strategically-timed follow-ups, boosting your odds of getting more reviews without sucking you into games of phone tag or exposing you to the awkwardness of writing a new follow-up email every week.
The key to succeeding online is to burnish your reputation on Google. And the key to appearing at the top of Google search results is to have a verified Business Profile with legitimate, human-generated content.
Cheap tricks, keyword stuffing, SEO games – they just won’t cut it anymore. That’s good news for agents who upgrade to Homesnap Pro+, as they establish a positive online reputation, attract more and better attention from buyers and sellers, and win new business.