Guide to Google Business Profile for Real Estate Agents

Google refers to real estate agents as "individual practitioners," meaning they are typically in a public-facing role and have their own customer base. For this reason, a real estate agent can create a Google Business Profile listing apart from the agency itself. It's essential to remember that some businesses may not like this, as you are now a direct competitor to the local office to which you belong.

Adding a Google Business Profile listing as a realtor is pretty much the same as adding a storefront business, except there are a few differences and requirements regarding the name of your listing, the address, and the type of content you may share. Let's take a look at how to add, claim, and optimize your realtor Google

Business Profile listing.

To add or claim a Google Business Profile listing as a real estate agent, first, go to business.google.com. From here, you will want to search for your listing (even if you have never created one). The reason for this is that sometimes Google will create listings automatically that can be claimed. Checking to see if this is the case for you will help you avoid duplicate listings. If you are unable to find your listing, then you can take the step of creating a brand new one.

Generally, Google is pretty lenient when naming a business on Google. The only thing they do not like business owners doing is stuffing keywords in the name to try and get more visibility on search engine results pages (SERP). This step, however, is much different for real estate agents, and it is critical that you follow the guidelines set by Google when naming your GMB listing as a realtor.

Whether or not you are a part of a location with multiple real estate agents or a solo realtor who happens to be the only public-facing realtor belonging to a real estate agency, the rules will change.

If the real estate agency location has multiple real estate agents, there should be a listing for the organization and each practitioner. When naming these listings, the agency (organization) takes on the brand and the realtors (practitioners) will only add their names to their personal realtor listings. Here are some excellent examples of what the listings for this scenario would look like:

If you are a real estate agent that is the only public-facing agent for a branded organization, then your name will differ from that of a location with multiple agents. A good example of this would be Real Estate Agency Name: John Smith. Google recommends this format in its Guidelines for Representing Your Business on Google.

NOTE: It is not recommended that you put keywords in the name of your listing. This is known as keyword stuffing and could potentially get your listing banned from appearing on SERPs. An example of keyword stuffing would be John Smith, Real Estate Agent. Instead, choose "Real Estate Agent" when entering your listing's category.

After adding your business to Google, you have to verify your business listing before any changes to your listing will take effect. This can take a few days, depending on the method of verification that you choose. While waiting for the confirmation, be sure that everything in your listings "Info" section of the dashboard is filled out as thoroughly and accurately as possible. Google favors listings that completely fill out all aspects of their GMB.

In addition to filling out the business information, it's vital that your listing has something to give your potential clients trust in your name and your business. For this reason, you should encourage past and current clients to write a review on your listing. Another thing you can do to optimize your listing is to add photos and posts regularly so visitors can see that you are engaging with your listing and are ultimately excited about helping clients.

The most important thing to remember as a Google Business Profile listing owner is that you cannot just set it and forget it. For Google to favor your listing and rank it higher on SERPs, you have to update it weekly with images and posts and receive consistent, highly-rated reviews. This will ultimately help your chances of ranking higher on SERP and seeing the traffic flow. All you have to do now is seal the deal.