Home of the REB Top 100 Agents

How Homely’s suburb reviews are helping agents win new business.

By Homely
30 September 2021 | 5 minute read
REB final

Promoted by Homely

Homely’s new and improved digital offering is helping agents win more business. The platform’s suburb review functionality, which is patented and exclusive to Homely, has recently been further improved to boost agent profiles and help property seekers find their next homes faster.

What's in it for agents ?

Homely’s unique suburb and street reviews are a way for vendors to get involved in promoting their own listings, for free. The reviews section generates hundreds of thousands of unique pieces of content which brings new audiences to Homely from around the country.

This unique user generated content (UGC) ranks extremely well on the highly-indexed site, pushing these pages to the top of search engine results, while in turn helping agents’ personal brand rank higher on Google.

Agents who engage with the review functionality are seeing their listings, brands and comments at the top of common search queries from property seekers, including “What’s it like to live in [suburb]”, giving agents a chance to organically reach potential buyers and vendors.

David Webb, Homely’s Head of Industry says, “Agents are using suburb reviews to build their reputations as knowledgeable local real estate experts. Ranking well on search engines is one of the more costly marketing activities for agents, both in time and money. By simply interacting with Homely suburb reviews, sharing their plentiful local knowledge, agent profiles are ranking higher than ever and being seen more by vendors. The best part about our review feature is that there isn’t much work involved for agents - it’s quite literally set and forget.”

Anna Molinaro from OBrien Real Estate says, “Homely suburb and street reviews provide a great way to stay in touch with my clients who are in the process of making the decision to move. Customers are noticing that I love my area and know it inside and out. It has been leading to great conversations and new clients.”

Another agent listing with Homely, Daniel Bligh from Elevate Property Group, says, "Our Homely Account Manager, Jack, had advised that leaving helpful suburb reviews would be a great way to get more visibility of our agency's brand both on Homely and on Google search results - he was right! Now, we’ll be sure to get our vendors, owners and stakeholders providing reviews to get even better results from the Homely platform.”

Homely’s unique suburb and street reviews are also a great way for vendors to get involved in promoting their own listings, for free. The reviews section generates hundreds of thousands of unique pieces of content which brings new audiences to Homely from around the country.

Luke Kenyon, Homely’s Head of Product, says, “Consumers absolutely love our street and suburb reviews when researching new neighbourhoods. We know real estate agents are truly local experts in their suburbs, so why not leverage that knowledge to help consumers find their perfect home in the perfect suburb?”

Kenyon adds “We also know that vendors know their streets and suburbs better than anyone, which is why we designed our listing pages to include both agent suburb reviews and vendors’ street reviews. It’s important to give balanced and honest information to help potential buyers make an informed decision without searching several sites to get there. Our suburb review pages have been engineered to be mutually beneficial - also helping agents gain seller leads, as consumers seek out the local expert in their suburb to list their property.”

With more consumers using Homely’s street and suburb reviews as a means to seek out local knowledge during their house hunt, the reviews section is fast becoming a natural meeting point for home buyers and agents - giving agents the chance to create a first impression that showcases their local expertise and willingness to help, rather than leading with a sales pitch or advertising.

Homely has also recently upgraded their cost-effective advertising options for agents, including an industry-first offering. Head of Sales, Rory Cook says, “On top of our unique neighbourhood and community tools, we are proud to offer the Australian real estate industry cost effective digital advertising options that won’t break the bank. Agents have been begging for alternatives for years and we’re excited to launch our Homely Plus advertising solutions for agents all across the country”.

Agents who want to find out more about Homely.com.au and how to boost their brand, listings and enquiry using the portals’ unique features can visit https://www.homely.com.au/homely-plus

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