Real estate SEO is a specific problem. Generic SEO playbooks fail because the industry has its own ranking signals: IDX feeds, local search intent, Google Business Profile dominance, and a listings market that changes daily. This is the stack we ship for brokers who want to compete for “homes for sale in Westmount” — and win.

1. Your site's technical foundation

Before anything else: a real estate site has to be fast, mobile-first, and correctly structured. Most broker sites fail here because they're running an out-of-the-box IDX template with heavy third-party scripts. Targets:

  • Core Web Vitals passing on mobile (LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200ms).
  • Clean URL structure. /neighbourhoods/westmount/ not /?p=23&loc=wm.
  • Proper schema markup. RealEstateListing, LocalBusiness, BreadcrumbList, and Review schema.
  • IDX SEO configured, not just IDX display. Most IDX providers serve listings in iframes invisible to Google — fatal.

2. Neighbourhood landing pages (the actual leverage)

The single highest-leverage SEO asset for a broker is a neighbourhood page for every market you serve. One per neighbourhood, not one per city. “Real estate in Montréal” is a terminally competitive query; “condos for sale in Griffintown” is winnable.

What a real neighbourhood page contains:

  1. H1 with the neighbourhood name and the intent verb (“Homes for sale in Westmount”).
  2. 800–1,500 words of unique, useful content about the neighbourhood: schools, commute, market dynamics, recent sold comps.
  3. A live, indexable IDX feed of current listings in that neighbourhood, not an iframe.
  4. 3–5 sold comps with dates and outcomes (proves market knowledge).
  5. Local schema markup and internal links to surrounding neighbourhood pages.
  6. A CTA that's specific to the neighbourhood, not a generic “contact us.”

3. Google Business Profile — the undervalued asset

The map pack (the three local listings that appear above organic results) is where the majority of real estate search clicks now go. Ranking in the map pack is 60% Google Business Profile, 30% site authority, 10% reviews. Optimize accordingly:

  • Primary category: “Real Estate Agency” (not “Real Estate Broker,” which has lower volume).
  • Service areas for every neighbourhood you work — not just your office city.
  • Weekly posts (yes, weekly): market updates, new listings, sold comps.
  • Photos uploaded regularly, tagged with location.
  • Reviews: minimum 50, ideally 100+. Response rate matters. Review velocity (how many per month, recently) matters more than total count.
Most brokers compete for organic SEO when the actual opportunity is Google Business Profile plus neighbourhood pages. Get those two right and you own local search before you touch a backlink. — Where the traffic actually lives

4. Review velocity and the trust signal stack

A site with 200 recent Google reviews will outrank a site with 20 old ones, all else equal. Build review collection into your transaction workflow:

  1. Automated ask 48 hours after closing (not same day — the adrenaline is wrong).
  2. Direct link to your Google review page, pre-filled where possible.
  3. A second channel for clients who need a nudge (SMS, not email, for higher response).
  4. Response to every review — positive and negative — within 48 hours.

5. Links — the hardest part, still necessary

Real estate SEO eventually hits a ceiling without links. The cleanest sources for a broker:

  • Local media. Quotes in Montreal Gazette, La Presse, and neighbourhood blogs when market commentary is newsworthy.
  • Industry associations. APCIQ, CREA, local chamber of commerce membership pages.
  • Community involvement. Sponsor a Westmount school fundraiser — get a link.
  • Data content. Publish a quarterly neighbourhood price report that journalists cite. Pays for itself.
Operator read

Brokers who hire SEO agencies almost always get sold backlink packages first. That's the wrong first move. Fix technical, build neighbourhood pages, dominate GBP — then pay for links. In that order.

What twelve months of this looks like

Months 1–2: technical audit, fixes, schema. Months 3–4: neighbourhood pages shipping — aim for 20 by month four. Months 5–8: GBP dominance, review systems, local content velocity. Months 9–12: link building, data content, and measurement maturity. By month 12, a well-executed program has a broker ranking for 50–200 neighbourhood-specific queries, dominating local pack, and generating 40–60% of new business from organic.