Leveraging SEO Press Releases To Drive Real Estate Inquiries

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This is part five in our five-part series, “Online Real Estate Lead Generation Strategies that Actually Work.”

Press release publishing is one form of marketing that’s undergone a major metamorphosis since the Internet came to town. In the past, a press release was a document that was sent to the media, seen only by a handful of editors, and likely shredded without fanfare.

Today, online press releases are powerful sales tools that put your content directly in front of your target audience at the moment they’re searching.

Press release marketing is  beneficial for those that have niche or localized keywords — like real estate professionals.

Boston real estate professional Paul Campano has been using press releases to drive leads and sales online. Paul sells a lot of unique properties — including a converted church, a mansion and a firehouse.

Why Is Press Release Marketing So Effective for Realtors?

In plain English, when you publish an optimized press release on a high authority press release distribution site, search engines index it within minutes. If there’s relatively low competition for the keyword (for example, neighborhood specific keywords, “slang” words that locals use for certain areas of town, etc.), the press release has a tendency to rank quickly in the search engines.

Additionally, press releases can be used as leverage to get even more coverage. Local papers and online resources are hungry for content about the local area. Send out a round of media alert emails that include a link to your published press release along with information on why the news benefits their readers, and you can get your content placed in front of a wide audience for free — in what could have cost you hundreds of dollars worth of ad space.

Paul’s Top Tips on Press Release Marketing

1. Have an angle. If you’re looking to gain wider exposure by catching the attention of local journalists, look through your portfolio of homes for sale for interesting angles. It’s journalistic suicide to cover outdated topics that have been talked about repeatedly. However, if you can put a unique spin on a topic, you may be surprised at how easy it is to get additional coverage. “I just had a property featured in a major Boston paper,” says Campano. “It was a unique eco-friendly home built with cutting-edge green technology, and the building had a very interesting history, so I thought it had all of the elements to make a good story.”

2. Choose topics that are popular or trendy. If you want visibility, you need to write about what people are looking for. This is particularly true when it comes to search engine visibility. If after doing keyword research, you find that your target audience is searching for “eco friendly housing in Boston,” then you need to optimize your press release for these terms. “I send out press releases when I have unique property and feel there may be some interest in the type of home or location,” says Campano.

3. Be quotable. Journalists and bloggers look to press releases to develop stories — and stories have character. When writing a press release, the content body of the release should be factual, not opinion. However, you’ll want to include one to three attributed quotes in your press release to inject some opinion, style, and character that writers can use in their stories. “I always include a quote or two in the press release that stand out or would make good sound bytes,” he says

You don’t have to have earth-shattering news to publish a press release. The story doesn’t need to be worth of the New York Times front page. This kind of thinking stops many people from leveraging the power of a press release. Remember, today’s press releases aren’t only seen by journalists. Optimize them for the terms that your target audience is looking for and you’re positioning in front of an entirely new online audience.

Christine O’Kelly is a the founder of the SEO content writing firm SEO Content Solutions and Cofounder of the online press release distribution service, Online PR Media. For more information about how to write press releases download the free eBook, “The Results Driven Press Release Formula” available for instant download at OnlinePRMedia.com.

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