So, what kind of blog content can a real estate agent find that will get quality links? That is the ultimate question, because the goal should not be to win over the world overnight – it should just be to slowly gain quality links one at a time and build the authority of your site. This will ultimately better your rankings in the search engines which is what will get you the additional business that you are looking for.

But what if you aren’t a Pulitzer-prize winning writer or a professional photographer? This is ok. Just find relevant topics for your area and the local real estate market (even if it’s just remotely related) that visitors to your site would find interesting, and even compelling.

Don’t worry about writing an article or finding a picture with the goal of gaining 100 new links to your site or getting so many hits that it crashes your server.

If you get one great link from a local college (.edu sites are great) to your site because you wrote a great article about how the market is affecting home prices in your city and recent college grads are unable to afford homes in the area, then you have achieved your goal.

Or what if your photos and write-up about how a local fire halted construction of a much needed infrastructure system to a densely populated subdivision and shut down schools for days – if a local news media links to your site, then you have achieved your goal.

So… here it is. 15 ideas for blog content to get links and traffic to your site. This is certainly not a complete list – there are many more where these came from but I do not want to overwhelm you.  Feel free to add your own, fresh ideas. This list may also spark some new ideas that would work well in your market.

1. Home prices in local market

2. Local subdivisions/ farm area prices, solds, actives, pendings, etc.

3. New construction plans in area

4. New businesses coming to area

5. Job market in local area

6. Local weather and how it affects lifestyles & local market (for example, in Phoenix, no natural disasters, so many companies put their data centers here because of low risk of physical destructions to computer and data equipment)

7. Create a helpful checklist for buyers and sellers

8. Create an ebook. Example: “(Your name)’s Guide to Buying Real Estate in (your area). Make it a step by step guide to let your clients know exactly what it’s going to be like to buy real estate in your state.

9. Mortgage rate updates

10. Dangers of certain types of loans (such as interest only, certain ARMS, etc.), and why they are not for everyone – be careful not to buy more house than you can afford

11. Advantages of going through a mortgage broker for your next loan as opposed to your local bank (i.e., more options for finding a lender to say yes, potential for better rates, competing lenders so can find the best program for your needs)

12. Buying your first investment property

13. Dos and don’ts of buying investment properties

14. Should you rent it or flip it?

15. Conduct an “Annual Profile of Homebuyers/Sellers” in your market. Here’s how it could work: Interview 100 folks who have recently or are currently buying or selling a home. Offer them a gift certificate or dinner for two for their time. Ask all kinds of questions such as how they ultimately found their home, how they chose their REALTOR, what other homes or areas did they consider, what was most important in selling their home, etc. Then, write a nice article about your findings and post the results (use photos, charts, graphs, etc.).

Some of you already have the light bulb going off about this last one. This is a biggie – just think about how you could use this same technique as a prospecting tool for FSBOs and Expireds. And about how many news stations or local universities may stumble across your report. Then, you’ve got interviews, links to your website, reprints or quotes from your article, and more. This is a key stealth marketing technique that could land more traffic to your website and numerous buyers and sellers lining up to do business to you.

On some of the unique and local ideas above such as the Christmas light show directory, this can help you rank immediately for some of the long tail searches because they are not as competitive. So, whenever someone searches for “Your Town Christmas Light Shows,” you now come up in the top of the search. Not only does this bring potential clients to your site, but it increases your name recognition and the authority of your site. You become a trusted source for valuable information – this is easily incorporated into your long-term strategy of becoming an authority in your marketplace (both on the web and in the neighborhoods you work). It is also very likely that various news media outlets will stumble on your website and want to quote you or interview you – another great way to get famous and get links.

Think of your website as the canvas and your expertise as the paintbrush. Pick up your brush, open your mind, and create a link-worthy masterpiece.

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