Key Lessons Learned from
This Real Estate SEO Project.
When I first partnered with this real estate agency in Olympia, Washington, their online presence was barely making an impact. Despite having a strong portfolio of property listings, deep knowledge of the local market, and a reputation for excellent client service built over several years, their digital footprint told a very different story.
Their website, which should have been a central hub for lead generation and client engagement, was attracting fewer than 50 organic visitors per month—a number far too low for a business operating in such a competitive, high-value industry.
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Even more concerning, none of their most important keywords—such as “homes for sale in Olympia,” “Olympia real estate agents,” or “buy a house near Capitol Lake”—ranked anywhere in the top 20 search results. This meant they were essentially invisible to the very people searching for services they offered every day. Potential clients were instead finding and engaging with larger competitors, national property platforms like Zillow and Redfin, or local agencies with better SEO strategies in place.
The website itself lacked the fundamental SEO elements needed to perform well in organic search. There was no structured content strategy targeting search intent, minimal keyword optimization, and technical issues such as slow page load times, broken internal links, and a non-mobile-friendly layout that negatively impacted both user experience and search engine rankings. In short, the site didn’t reflect the agency’s credibility or local authority, and search engines weren’t recognizing it as a valuable resource.
Additionally, the site had not been updated in several years, with outdated design elements and limited property filtering capabilities that made navigation difficult for users. Without engaging blog content, local landing pages, or lead capture mechanisms, the website wasn’t equipped to convert even the small amount of traffic it was receiving.
This digital stagnation left the agency heavily dependent on offline methods like word-of-mouth referrals, print brochures, and local advertising. While these traditional channels provided some traction, they didn’t offer the scalability, precision, or consistency that digital marketing could provide. As a result, the agency was falling further behind competitors who had embraced online visibility as a core strategy for growth.
Critical Issues
Holding Back Visibility
Before the project began, the Olympia real estate agency struggled with low online visibility and poor lead generation. Weak technical SEO, poor keyword targeting, and a lack of authoritative content made the site nearly invisible in search results. Additionally, an under-optimized Google Business Profile hindered its ability to compete with local realtors.
- Poor Keyword Targeting: The site did not rank for competitive real estate queries such as “homes for sale in Olympia, WA” or “real estate agent in Olympia.”
- Low Technical SEO Health: Missing SSL certificate, improper redirects, and slow mobile performance were affecting both rankings and user experience.
- Weak Content Strategy: Most property listing pages lacked unique descriptions or keyword optimization. There were no neighborhood or local market content pages to attract top-of-funnel traffic.
- No Local Authority Signals: The Google Business Profile (GBP) was incomplete, with only 2 reviews, which limited local visibility.
- Lack of Backlinks: The site had fewer than 10 referring domains, with no links from trusted real estate or local business directories.
Data-Driven
Local SEO Strategy
To address these challenges, I developed a comprehensive, real estate-focused SEO roadmap tailored specifically to the Olympia market. Rather than applying generic SEO tactics, I focused on building a strategy designed to position the agency as a trusted authority for local property buyers and sellers.
The first step was conducting an in-depth technical SEO audit, identifying critical issues like the missing SSL certificate, broken redirects, and slow mobile loading times. Fixing these issues improved the site’s crawlability, indexing, and user experience, laying a solid technical foundation.
Next, I created a targeted keyword strategy that mapped high-intent search terms—such as “homes for sale in Olympia WA” and “Olympia real estate agents”—to relevant pages. This was paired with a content overhaul, where I rewrote property descriptions, added unique neighborhood pages, and introduced data-driven market insights to attract both top-of-funnel and ready-to-buy audiences.
To build local credibility and trust, I optimized the Google Business Profile (GBP), encouraged satisfied clients to leave authentic reviews, and ensured the agency’s NAP (Name, Address, Phone) details were consistent across all major real estate and local business directories.
Finally, I implemented a white-hat link-building strategy, earning backlinks from high-authority real estate blogs, local news outlets, and regional directories. This not only improved domain authority but also boosted the website’s relevance and trustworthiness in Google’s eyes.
Key Milestones Achieved Through Strategic Plan
The SEO strategy delivered exceptional and measurable growth, transforming the agency’s online presence and positioning the real estate company as a dominant force in the Olympia market. By combining technical SEO enhancements, strategic keyword targeting, and content-driven authority building, the agency not only achieved higher search engine rankings but also significantly improved lead generation, brand visibility, and local market trust.
- Organic Clicks: Increased from just 36 clicks per month to over 4,030 monthly organic clicks, driving a steady flow of qualified website traffic.
- Search Impressions: Expanded from 10,200 to 237,000 impressions, reflecting a massive boost in online visibility.
- Keyword Rankings: Secured Top 3 positions for 20+ high-value keywords, including “Olympia real estate agents,” “buy homes in Olympia,” and “Olympia property listings.”
- Google Business Profile (GBP): Reviews increased from 2 to 24, while profile views and local search visibility increased.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): Improved from 0.4% to 1.8%, indicating a stronger alignment between optimized metadata and user intent.
Essential Learning Points for Real Estate SEO
This project proved that real estate SEO success comes from combining hyper-local content, technical optimization, and trust-building strategies. By targeting neighborhood-specific keywords, creating unique property descriptions, and publishing market-focused content like community guides and trend reports, the agency positioned itself as a local authority in Olympia.
On the technical front, I improved site speed, fixed mobile usability issues, implemented secure SSL, and optimized the site structure for better indexing. The Google Business Profile was fully optimized with accurate details, professional images, and a strong review strategy to build trust.
As a result, the agency gained strong local visibility, outranked competitors, and began competing effectively with national platforms like Zillow while generating high-quality organic leads.
Key Success Outcomes in 8 Months
In just 8 months, this real estate agency went from being practically invisible online to becoming one of the most visible and trusted real estate brands in Olympia. Through a customized local SEO strategy, their website not only ranks higher but also attracts ready-to-convert buyers and sellers, turning their digital presence into a steady source of revenue.