SEO for Real Estate Investors, ROI, and The Future of Investing

Posted this in another group where people were downplaying the importance of SEO.

“You can buy leads anywhere! I don’t even have a website.”

Here’s my response:

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One of our clients generated 200k in deals from SEO last year.

💁‍♂️

Because:

The leads are free.

Unlike PPC – where you have to pay for every click or the leads stop…

Or direct mail – where if you stop sending letters, the leads stop…

SEO leads keep coming – month after month.

This is exactly like investing. Build the asset, it produces cash flow.

Biggest pool of potential leads, as well (in most markets) – typically close to 4x the monthly click volume of PPC.

Downsides:

– It’s hard.

– It’s takes time – often months – before any results are seen.

– It’s constantly changing

– High competition

If you’re investing for a longer time horizon, SEO makes a ton of sense.

If you need a deal tomorrow or you go broke, SEO probably won’t work.

A side benefit:

Much of the work that a good SEO person will do for you will also help conversion rates…

Meaning more people that land on your site will contact you/become leads.

So there’s a multiplicative effect at work here:

SEO work produces it’s own leads…

But also makes PPC more efficient…

And makes your mail more efficient.

(Mail works because even if you don’t include a web address, they’ll typically google you first anyway).

As many people have said:

YOU DON’T NEED A WEBSITE.

But I also don’t know why you WOULDN’T have one, and invest in it.

One more thing:

We are in the middle of a seismic shift in REI.

The service that investors have provided – A fast and convenient way of selling a house – is being commoditized.

Increased competition amongst REIs…

But also the entry of iBuyers into the space

(Zillow, Trulia, OpenDoor, etc)

Means there is more and more ways to sell that DON’T include an investor.

This means investors are now entering the type of market most of the world has already been in:

A commodity market where people shop primarily on PRICE and RELATIONSHIP.

Similar to agents, who for decades have been putting in the work to form and maintain personal relationships, become local celebrities, etc.

Investors will increasingly need to do the same.

Websites – and everything that goes with them, like content, social media posts, PR, etc –

Will play a huge role in this process beyond “just” generating leads.

When someone has MANY ways to sell a house fast and conveniently, often without leaving their browser window…

Why would they sell to you?

However you do it, you need to start thinking about that question now.