Consider how savvy real estate agents with big marketing budgets advertise. Online, their ads stand out in crowded social media feeds. Offline, yard signs tout their name and past clients sing their praises to friends and family who are ready to buy or sell a home. These agents seem like they’re building brand awareness in every way possible. But is it enough to make people trust them with their business?
The short answer is no. There’s one pivotal element missing from this marketing strategy: Google reviews. It doesn’t matter if someone is buying a vacuum or weighing which real estate agent to work with. Today, most people – 98% – seek out online reviews before purchasing a product or service. That means agents need to make sure their online reputation, specifically their Google reviews, aligns with their real-world reputation if they want to earn consumers’ trust and business. Here’s how you can do just that, and how Homesnap Pro+ will help.
Establish Your Online Reputation
Reviews live on your Google Business Profile. Any agent can take the time to create one and become manually verified after waiting for weeks or even months. Homesnap Pro+ turbocharges this process by working with Google to verify you instantly so you can start building a collection of reviews right away.
Your Google Business Profile will show up prominently on the search results page, essentially serving as your first impression to anyone who Googles your name. Your Google Business Profile appears to the right of Google search results, and is filled with business information such as contact information, recent listings and deals, business hours, an agent bio, and, crucially, reviews from clients and other connections.
Given the importance of your profile, Pro+ completes and optimizes every section according to best search engine optimization (SEO) practices. This way, your profile appears when people search for real estate agents in your market – establishing you as an agent who deserves to be trusted.
Regularly Gather New, Positive Reviews
Once you have a verified Google Business Profile, it’s time to populate it with positive reviews. As mentioned, reviews establish your credibility and competency: You are a legitimate agent who’s ready to do business.
Getting a sizable number of reviews right after your Google Business Profile goes live is important. But even more crucial is regularly adding new reviews to your profile. Just consider: If your most recent positive review was months ago, a consumer may question whether you’re still an active agent or wonder why clients stopped recommending your services. Even adding just one new review a week will make it clear that you’re the right agent for right now.
Getting positive reviews consistently may sound like a challenge. You have to be consistent in requesting reviews and remember to follow up with everyone who hasn’t followed through.
Pro+ agents don’t have this concern, thanks to the One-Click Review Tool. With the One-Click Review Tool, agents can send a review request to their contact list with a single click. The tool keeps track of who leaves a review and will automatically send up to three follow-up emails to anyone who hasn’t written a review yet. No hassles, no awkward conversations, no endless follow-ups – just the reviews you need to earn consumers’ trust and new business.
Gain Consumers’ Trust – and Google’s
Every positive Google review counts as a stamp of approval for your business. The more you have, the easier it is to build trust — even if people hadn’t heard of you before viewing your Google Business Profile.
Pro+ agents don’t merely gain trust with consumers – they also build trust with Google. The search engine’s algorithm looks favorably upon profiles that regularly receive positive reviews. To Google, positive, consistent reviews indicate a business that is successful, trusted by consumers, and worth sharing with other consumers looking for real estate services. As you gain Google’s trust, the search engine will recommend your profile for relevant, broader queries that don’t specifically include your name, such as “best local real estate agents.” This is a major benefit that will lead to more exposure for your business over time.
Pro+ accelerates your path to building trust with consumers and with Google by instantly verifying and building your profile, rapidly generating new reviews with the One-Click Review Tool, and updating your Google Business Profile with fresh content so it never appears out of date. Join Pro+ and start strengthening your online presence – and earning consumers’ trust – today.