10 Costly SEO Mistakes Real Estate Agents Must Avoid in 2025 (and How to Fix Them)

For any online marketing plan, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the main aspects that one needs to pay attention to. SEO boils down to following certain parameters that aim to make your real estate website and content much easier to find online by your ideal clients.

While SEO can feel overwhelming, for real estate agents running their own website, it’s about making small, consistent improvements. Rather than focusing solely on what to do, let’s identify what NOT to do. Avoiding these 10 common, outdated, or harmful mistakes will immediately improve your site’s health and ranking potential.

There are many checklists of what to do for good SEO, but we think it’s also important to remind people (especially those just starting out) on what NOT to do.

So, here’s some quick rules of thumb on some SEO mistakes realtors should avoid.

Mistake 1: Using Keywords TOO Much (Keyword Stuffing)

Stop keyword stuffing!

Keywords are indeed important, but excessive use is detrimental. The practice of keyword-stuffing—shoving the same phrase into content, titles, and alt text—is an outdated tactic that results in redundant, annoying, and spammy content. Modern search engines like Google are sophisticated enough to understand the context and synonyms of your topic. Overusing a keyword can now earn you a penalty that lowers your ranking.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Focus on natural language and the intent behind the search. When writing an article, use the target keyword in the main heading $\text{H1}$ and a few times naturally in the body. Then, use 3-5 related, long-tail keywords (e.g., instead of just “Toronto condos,” use “best affordable condos for first-time buyers in downtown Toronto”).

To keep up-to-date with what works and what doesn’t, make sure to read up on the topic from time to time. There are many reliable sources online, and you can check the official Google developer blog as well.

Mistake 2: Ignoring Website Speed and Mobile Experience

Since 2021, Google’s Core Web Vitals have been a primary ranking factor. A slow-loading site, especially on a mobile device, offers a terrible user experience, leading to high bounce rates and signaling to Google that your site isn’t high-quality. Since over half of real estate searches start on mobile, this mistake is critical.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Test your website using Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool. Focus on the mobile score. If it’s low, talk to your website developer about optimizing image sizes (compress them!) and leveraging browser caching.

Mistake 3: Publishing “Thin” or Generic Content

Simply posting short, generic articles like “5 Tips for Buying a Home” without adding unique local insight is a costly mistake. Google heavily favors E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness). Content that lacks depth, originality, or verifiable expertise will struggle to rank against robust competitors.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Go deep and leverage your local expertise. Instead of a generic post, write about “The Ultimate Guide to HOA Fees in the Maplewood Suburb” and include a custom video tour or an interactive map of local amenities you’ve personally experienced.

Mistake 4: Linking to Unrelated and/or Questionable Websites (Bad Neighborhoods)

While you don’t control other people’s websites, you do control which sites you link to from your content. Linking to irrelevant sites, or those known for spam, viruses, or malware, reflects poorly on your own site’s trustworthiness and can lead to a penalty from Google. Links should provide legitimate sources, references, or context for your readers.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: When citing data (e.g., market stats), link only to authoritative, high-quality sources like local government sites, reputable news outlets, or the National Association of Realtors in the US (NAR). Perform a quick search on any new site you link to to ensure its legitimacy.

Mistake 5: Forgetting to Optimize Images (Lack of Alt Text)

Real estate websites are naturally image-heavy. Forgetting to optimize images is a dual mistake: it slows down your site (see Mistake 2) and misses a huge opportunity for keyword optimization. Search engines cannot “see” images; they rely on text.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Every listing photo or blog image must have descriptive Alt Text. Instead of “kitchen-photo-1.jpg,” use “Alt Text: Modern renovated kitchen with marble counters in 123 Main Street, [Your City].” This helps both search engines and visually impaired users.

Mistake 6: Not Addressing Search Intent

The biggest shift in SEO is focusing on Search Intent: why is the user typing that keyword? Realtors often create content that only addresses transactional intent (ready to buy/sell). They neglect informational, commercial, and navigational intent, missing out on crucial early-stage leads.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Categorize your content based on intent.
- Informational: Blog posts answering common questions (e.g., “How is the property tax calculated in [My County]?”).
- Commercial: Comparison articles (e.g., “Best Smart Home Devices for Resale Value”).
- Transactional: Your listing pages and ‘Contact Me’ pages.

Mistake 7: Reusing the Same Content Over and Over (Duplicate Content)

Posting the exact same “I am the #1 realtor in [YOUR LOCATION HERE]” text across various pages (e.g., the homepage, the About Me page, and multiple city pages) is classified as duplicate content. Search engines have trouble deciding which version to rank, often hurting all of them.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Ensure every page and blog post has unique, descriptive text in its body content, $\text{H1}$ , and $\text{SEO title tag}$ . If you must repeat content (like a service description), use a canonical tag to tell Google which version is the “master” copy.

Mistake 8: Neglecting the Importance of Internal Linking

Internal links (links from one page on your site to another page on your site) are vital. They help search engines discover and understand all the content on your site, distribute “link equity” (ranking power) across your pages, and, most importantly, guide users deeper into your site.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Whenever you publish a new blog post (e.g., about a new neighborhood), go back to 3-5 older, relevant blog posts and add a contextual link to the new article using relevant anchor text (the clickable words).

Mistake 9: Skipping Local SEO Optimization

For a realtor, your service area is your most valuable keyword. Many realtors fail to fully optimize for Local SEO, missing out on the highly motivated “near me” search traffic that converts at a high rate.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Claim and fully optimize your Google Business Profile (GBP). Ensure your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) are consistent across your website, GBP, and all social profiles. Actively encourage clients to leave reviews on your GBP.

Mistake 10: Focusing on Only SEO and Ignoring UX

It is very easy to get lost within the technical aspects of SEO. As one strives for the highest search engine rankings, they often forget that the ultimate goal is to convert visitors into clients. A technically perfect SEO score won’t matter if the site is confusing, has broken contact forms, or uses poor visuals. Keep in mind that user interaction is key for website visitors to find what they’re looking for on your website.

Actionable Fix for Realtors: Install a simple heat mapping tool (many free options exist) on your website. Watch where users are clicking (or not clicking) and adjust your calls-to-action, navigation menu, and visual layout based on actual user behavior, not just SEO metrics.

Last Updated on October 28, 2025 by myRealPage

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