Have you Googled yourself lately? Controlling your online presence as a real estate agent is a must. And not just for search engine optimization (SEO), but for your personal information as well. For your professional Google rankings you definitely want to be number one. But you don’t want that old Facebook post of you doing a kegstand in college to appear at the top. The fact is that most people that aim to hire you will be Googling your name. You want them to see the professional version of yourself as you are today. So let’s talk about some ways you can control the information you find about yourself online.

We know that over 90% of all home buyers start their search for a home on the internet. They’re going online to find what they want in a home, not an agent – not at first anyway. When they find some great houses, that’s when they’re going to start checking out agents. They could find your name in any number of ways… From a Broker, social media, ad, etc. Of course they’re going to check out your reviews before they even call you. They’re likely to learn a lot about you online from the information you and others have put out there.

Let’s start here…

So today I want to just challenge you to do a Google check-up! Open a private (incognito on Mac) window – that clears off all the cookies so you’re search results are fresh. If you haven’t yet started a “Google Business” profile, you need to do so as soon as possible. When you have a business profile with Google it will show your information over to the right of the screen. This makes it easy for potential clients to find you and know you’re legit. Having this profile will really help control your online presence. It can also help with your search engine optimization and Google rankings for you as a business.

Now I’m going tell you a couple of things that you want to look for when you do your general Google search.

The main question is: Who is controlling the conversation about you? If your website, social media, or USDRE profile pop up first, you’re golden! But, especially if you’re a new agent, that’s not going to happen. More than likely, your agency will show up. Or there may even be no professional information about you at first. This is rough because you absolutely have to have an online presence in the real estate community. You should be controlling the narrative about yourself.

What to be aware of…

A couple problems arise with agents and Realtors, new and experienced. A lot of agents use different names to advertise themselves – your regular name and business name. In fact, business names tend to change over time and some people use a different personal name if they get married. Or they associate themselves with their Brokerage on all their social media.

I cannot stress this enough… Use one name, one email address, and one phone number for your career. The best thing to do is get a Gmail – that’s never going away at this point. Use your personal name and don’t change it if you get married. Your phone number is a little tougher but try and stick with the same one, even if you move out of area. You can even get a toll free number and have that routed to any new cell phone you get. This will ensure consistency over time and if there’s one thing Google SEO loves, it’s consistency. When you find yourself online, make sure it’s the same you over time.

Search engine optimization will help put you at the top of your Google search. You can do this by having your own website and making it as findable as possible. This includes adding images with tags, using keywords, and staying active. For social media, staying engaged and adding new content on a regular basis is important. Control your online presence by controlling the narrative. Put out as much information about yourself as you can on as many websites as you can. This won’t put you at the top of Google overnight but it will slowly bring your information to the top.

Talking about reviews

Talking about yourself online is necessary but you also want others to talk about you too. You want a lot of reviews across all the websites you’re featured on. Do not be afraid to ask clients to review you. I always tell a happy client, “Hey, if you liked the work we did together I would really appreciate a review from you!” And I have a link ready to send them via email so they don’t have to think much about it. Most websites have their own review systems which is actually why I like USDRE so much. They gather reviews from across the web so it’s really comprehensive for buyers and sellers.

Obviously, Google rankings are going to be how potential clients first see you as an agent. The better the information out there, the more information, the easier it will be for a potential client to make the decision to call you. Then it’s up to you to wow them with your work ethic and knowledge. This is your time to shine and make sure you give every client your full attention. As if they were your one and only client! Finding you online is their first step to hiring you. You need to make that information attainable, easy to understand, and compelling!

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