How Home Builders Can Use Marketing To Make Their Online Listings Stand Out Against the Competition

Do you have open house after open house but still aren’t seeing any sales? Are your listings sitting on the market for too long?

It takes a lot of work to build a home, but I’m sure we don’t have to tell you that. You have to find investors, get permits, design the home, and then construct it. With so much on your plate, you don’t have time to keep up with the always-changing marketing world.

Stop relying on outdated tactics to sell your home. Make your listings stand out with these home builder marketing tactics.

How To Make Your Online Listings Stand Out Against the Competition

Even though the market is currently favoring home sellers, it is still a highly competitive market. Therefore, you can’t just sit back and expect to sell homes.

First-time homebuyers are struggling to save up enough money to buy a home, and people who can afford it are looking to be wowed.

So, how can you show them that your homes are a perfect choice?

Through implementing digital marketing for home builders!

Here are 6 tactics you can use to make your listings stand out.

1. Invest Wisely in Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

Paid ads are a great way to ensure that your message is getting in front of your target audience.

There are two main types of paid advertisements:

• Google
• Social

As the names suggest, Google Ads are displayed on Google, and social ads are displayed on social media platforms. Sounds simple enough, right?

Google Ads

Within Google Ads, there are two different types:

• Search
• Display

Search ads are shown to people when they are currently searching for something specific and use your keywords. These are the best tactic for generating leads and converting them to customers. 

Display ads, on the other hand, are targeted based on parameters and can be seen on their browser while consuming content on the search engine. Display ads are better for building awareness or running retargeting campaigns.

Social Ads

Many home buyers are already on social media, both for personal use and to look for homes. So, why not target them through this channel?

The key is to remember that most people are on social media to connect with friends and learn new things. So when you create your messaging, make sure that you are not coming off as a brand just trying to sell. Instead, share how you can provide value to the customer.

If you don’t have the budget for social ads, you can still have a presence on social media. Now, let’s discuss how you can use social media to get more buyers interested in your listings.

2. Build a Presence on Social Media

Many businesses are wary about using social media. We are here to tell you that, if you are a home builder, you need to be on social media.

Every platform is different, so we are going to walk you through some social media strategies for each platform that we believe you should be on.

Facebook

Facebook is where people go to connect with their friends, family, and community. As a brand, you can create a community of your own if you approach social media as a way to entertain and educate customers instead of just selling to them.

When using Facebook, take advantage of how versatile it is by making posts with videos and photos, as well as creating polls or events.

YouTube

YouTube is one of the largest search engines out there. People visit YouTube to watch interesting videos and learn to do new things.

You can give virtual home tours to allow viewers to see all aspects of the home from the comfort of their couch. Remember that because YouTube is also a search engine, you can optimize your videos with keywords in your title and description to help get more views.

Instagram

Instagram is a very visual platform, so you should make sure you are using quality photos when posting. Take the photos that you have of your listings and include a short description of the home.

Don’t forget to use hashtags to make sure you are getting your posts in front of the people who are currently looking for homes. Additionally, you can boost your posts, which will naturally put your posts on your targets’ feed.

Speaking of highly visual platforms, let’s discuss Pinterest.

Pinterest

While Pinterest has been cast aside by some as a female-only platform for wedding planning, the gap between genders is shrinking as more men join. One of the most popular categories people look at is interior design and homes.

Pinterest is another platform that focuses on images, but you can still add links to bring traffic to your site.

Speaking of using great photos, let’s discuss our next point: quality visuals.

3. Only Use Quality Visuals

Most buyers are going to be looking online for new homes before ever stepping foot in one. In fact, some home buyers make their decision solely based on what they see online.

Therefore, when it comes to home builder marketing, it is very important that you are presenting homes at their best on the internet. You need to be able to capture every angle with the best quality. If the buyer can’t see the whole house, they won’t be able to picture themselves living there.

So, how can you ensure that your pictures make home buyers want to see your listing in person?

Professional Photography

While iPhones do take quality photos, save portrait mode for taking photos of your dog. For listing a home, you will want to hire a professional who has a real camera, and maybe even some lighting equipment, to take the photos.

They will know what it takes to make the spare room look bigger, the kitchen look brighter, and the front of the home look absolutely breathtaking and irresistible.

Drone Videos

Another visual tool that is gaining popularity is drone videos. With a drone, you can get beautiful aerial shots of the neighborhood they will be living in.

Curb appeal is also very important, and a drone is a great way to capture a wide shot in a more exciting way than a normal static photo. Hire a video production expert to help you make videos that make home buyers want your homes.

4. Perform Search Engine Optimization

SEO is one of the best ways to get eyes on your business. Through local SEO tactics, you can gain visibility without spending money.

First, let’s talk about GMB.

Google My Business (GMB)

Have you ever looked up a hair salon or lawyer? You usually get a list of businesses in your area that provide the service you are looking for. This is because they have set up a Google My Business profile.

To get started you can:

• Create a Google My Business page
• Fill out your profile
• Optimize
• Get reviews

You can even make Google My Business posts, which can be seen temporarily under your results on Google. This home builder marketing tactic is one way to make sure your beautiful listings are seen!

Keyword Research

The first thing you need to do is perform keyword research. You need to find keywords that your target customer might be searching for. Focus on finding words that have high local volume but low competition.

Tools for keyword research include:

• Ahref
• SEMRush
• Google Keyword Planner

Once you have completed your research, group the keywords by topic or search intent. Then, you can assign these groups to different pages.

You want to create a keyword mapping document where you assign one core keyword to each page on your website.

Types of Keywords

The types of keywords you need include:

• Core Keywords: The main keyword a page is optimized for.
• Secondary Keywords: Search terms that are slightly different, but closely related to the core keyword.
• Accessory Keywords: Keywords that come up in the same conversation as core keywords, but aren’t directly related. They often have less search volume but are also less competitive.
• Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI): Search engines use LSI to figure out the overall topic of a page by finding words that frequently show up together. This is not the same as synonyms.

Once you found all the keywords you need, you can begin optimizing your website pages.

On-Page Optimization

Some factors on your website page have more of an impact than others, but it is still beneficial to perform all the steps.

Factors With High Impact:

• Keyword Variations
• LSI Keywords
• Title Tags
• H1 Tags
• Body Copy
• URL
• Word Count

Factors With Medium Impact:

• Anchor text in links
• H2/H3/H4
• Relevant external links

Factors With Lower Impact:

• Bold keywords
• Image ALT tag
• OpenGraph
• Schema
• Site Speed

If you are working in WordPress, Yoast is a great tool you can add that lets you know how your page is performing for SEO and gives you advice on how to improve your rankings.

Speaking of optimizing your website, let’s discuss the next step to getting more people to view your listings: creating a quality website.

5. Build a First-Rate Website

Making a website is easy. Making one that converts visitors into home buyers…that’s a different story.

Whether you are bringing in traffic to your website organically through organic (SEO), paid, direct, or social media you need a quality site to keep them there.

The area where many businesses struggle is functionality and delivering a clear and compelling message. They try too hard to be clever or prove that they are the best, that they forget to think about the customer.

Function Over Form

Designers tend to favor form over function. They want sleek designs and cool content. But sometimes, even the best designs aren’t helping you get more buyers.

Your website should be designed to be user-friendly, and it should push the visitor to take action, whether it’s calling you for an in-person tour or discussing buying.

Compelling Copywriting

A quick, snappy line is great for an advertising campaign. But when it comes to your website, you don’t want to make your customer have to figure out who you are, what you do, and why they should work with you.

By using the StoryBrand Framework, you can tell your customers a compelling story that brings to light their problems and how you solve them.

This brings us to our next point: creating content.

6. Create Content That Adds Value

Every piece of content you put out, no matter which medium you use to distribute, needs to provide value to your customers. Every social post, blog, and video should solve a customer’s problem.

If the content is going to be distributed through search engines like Google or YouTube, you need to make sure they are optimized.

You also want to stay consistent with your messaging and in how often you put out content. Create a content calendar and plan out the type of content you want to make, what it will focus on, and when you want to post it.

Work With an Expert Homebuilder Marketing Agency

Stop wasting money and time on outdated home builder marketing tactics. Stay ahead of the competition, and attract more home buyers to your listings with digital marketing.

Want to learn more about digital marketing for home builders? Download our complete guide.

Need extra assistance in creating a converting website, writing compelling content, managing your social media, putting out targeted paid ads, or performing search engine optimization? You need an expert homebuilder marketing agency on your side.