In Part 1 of this deep dive, we broke down Eric Engelbert's real estate SEO strategy, which he shared with us on our recent /RealEstate episode.
Today, we aim to turn his strategy into a simple, repeatable action plan you can start using right away.
We'll break down exactly what Eric does, step by step. He demonstrates his process using his Real Geeks website, but Eric's approach works for any real estate website.
To catch the full episode on SEO for Real Estate with Eric, check it out on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Eric’s first rule is to hyper-focus: “Start with your neighborhood… build a page specifically for that… homes for sale in that neighborhood.” If your MLS doesn’t expose the neighborhood cleanly, “you can create a polygon search that’s just that neighborhood.”
Why this works: your first wins won’t be on “[City] real estate.” They’ll be on hyper-relevant, low-competition searches tied to a tight area plus a clear intent (e.g., “North Raleigh Big Block Square homes for sale”).
This, in SEO, is what is called long-tail keywords. And they're exactly what you should be targeting if you want a shot at ranking as high as (or sometimes even higher than) big players like Zillow or Realtor.com.
· Listings up top. The first thing your page should display is the properties, because that's what users want to see. Then, underneath, you can have the written content where you share your opinion, as well as helpful recommendations about the specific neighborhood (local restaurants, parks, events, etc.).
· A short intro paragraph for humans (and snippets). This two-line description of the page should include your targeted long-tail keyword.
· A few internal links to nearby neighborhoods or relevant styles (“single level,” “with pool,” etc.).
· A simple contact form and a “save this search” CTA.
Remember: it doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be.
As Eric puts it, “If the page sucks you can go back and rebuild it.”
“I write this housing report every week… it comes out every Monday.”
The format is straightforward:
· Local snapshot: inventory, new listings, pendings, solds, average/median DOM
· Context paragraph: how your area compares to the national chatter
· Plain HTML tables: not screenshots — “Google can’t crawl screenshots”
Eric keeps every week on one living URL, something a Google employee told him resembles a “super blog.” Over time, this page becomes an authoritative hub for your market. You’ll also get faster at writing it: “I can do this in about two hours… one time a week.”
Pro tip: include “last updated” near the top and anchor links to each week. If your page gets too heavy, create a yearly archive (e.g., /housing-report-2024) and keep this year on the main URL.
Eric’s long-tail philosophy is clear: “How can I get more granular?” He stacks pages like:
· City → Neighborhood → e.g. "single level"
· City → e.g. "Spanish style homes"
· City → 3 bed, 2 bath → e.g. "$800k–$900k"
· Lifestyle themes like "ocean view homes under a million dollars"
Each page promises a very specific set of listings and delivers them first. Real Geeks (or your IDX) does the heavy lifting on inventory; your job is a tight headline, a sentence or two, and a clean path to save the search.
When Eric started studying Google Search Console, things clicked: “Every month I get an email about what pages are ranking, what new queries are coming in and so I’ll go and focus on those pages… then they rank even more.”
What to look for weekly:
· Queries (search terms people are using to find your website) → If quiry impressions are rising but your CTR (click-through rate) is low, update your page title and meta description so your page looks more appealing in search results.
· Pages in positions 8–20 → Low-ranking pages can often improve with small on-page tweaks—like adding a paragraph that answers a specific question or creating a link to that page from other relevant pages on your website.
· Queries that reveal new intent → When new queries appear, consider creating a dedicated long-tail page targeting that search intent.
When we asked Eric whether he thought about Google or the consumer first when writing a new page, he was quick to answer: consumer always comes first.
However smart you think Google is at understanding what consumers want, it's smarter.
That means that optimizing for the consumer will always help you optimize for Google's algorithm by default.
That’s why Eric's listings load first, why pages match the exact user's query, and why he keeps commentary short and useful. Yes, you’ll want to add supporting text for crawlers, but the main event must be what the searcher came for.
“I don’t think anyone actually navigates to my homepage.”
With long-tail SEO, visitors land inside your website. Put your energy into the pages that rank and convert, not polishing a homepage no one sees.
Eric is candid about rebuilding: “I did use [a vendor] to hammer out a whole bunch of pages… they all kind of look the same and Google doesn’t like that.”
From that point on, he decided to revamp his whole site. And he's been refreshing about 10 pages a week with unique copy and better structure.
It’s normal to evolve.
· Replace image charts with crawlable HTML tables.
· Split heavy pages into yearly archives.
· Update bland titles (“Irvine”) to intent-rich ones (“Irvine homes for sale”).
· Move old commentary below listings.
· Add internal links from your weekly report to relevant inventory pages.
Eric's honest about the grind: “It’s been a grind for sure. And I wanted to quit.” His current cadence:
· 2 hours every Monday for the report
· Ongoing: review Search Console, tweak risers, and add/refresh ~10 long-tail pages when you can
If you’re starting from zero, his advice is blunt and right: “Go ahead and dedicate a couple hours a day for… the next five years.” (You won’t need that forever—but the mindset helps.)
Not everything needs to be a listing page. Eric’s blog about “a golf course that’s closing in Irvine” draws steady views because locals care. These posts earn links and brand searches, which helps your whole domain. They also allow you to become the most knowledgeable realtor in your area, which improves your reputation.
If locals already know you're the person with the best recommendations on when to eat, which parks to visit, and which events to sign up to, then they'll also trust you know most about the home market.
Eric isn’t trying to “beat Zillow” on the broadest terms. He’s building a library of answers for specific buyers and sellers in Orange County—and he’s winning where it counts:
· Rankings for competitive phrases like “Orange County Housing Report” (often #1)
· Constant impressions for mid-to-broad terms because his hub is strong
· Real lead volume without ads: “I think I’ve had 130 leads in the last 30 days. Those are all organic. I have no paid traffic at the moment.”
· Pick your neighborhood. Create a polygon search.
· Build the page. Listings on top, 2–3 lines of copy below, one CTA.
· Publish your first weekly market mini-report (numbers + one paragraph + HTML table).
· Open Search Console. Note 3 queries you already show for.
· Improve the title/meta description on one page.
· Brainstorm 5 long-tail pages (style/price/bed-bath) and schedule them.
Do that for a few months and you’ll feel the momentum. Do it for a year and you’ll have a brand new lead generation channel.
Keep at it for a few years and you’ll have what Eric has: a durable machine that attracts the right people every week – without having to pay for every click.