Google Business Profile for Realtors: The Free Local SEO Engine

When someone searches "realtor near me" or "real estate agent [City]", Google shows three local profiles before any website. Getting into that map pack costs nothing but setup and consistency — and most agents in your market have a half-finished profile or none at all. That's the opportunity.

Set up (or claim) it right

• Create/claim at business.google.com. Solo agents: use your name + brokerage ("Jane Doe, Realtor – ABC Realty") so you're not competing with your own office's profile.
• Primary category: "Real estate agent." Add secondaries that genuinely apply (real estate consultant, property management if you do it).
• If you work from home, hide the street address and set a service area (your city + the suburbs you actually serve) — Google allows service-area businesses.
• Match your name/phone/links exactly to your website and profiles. Consistency is a ranking signal.

Fill the sections agents skip

• Services: list them individually — "listing agent," "buyer representation," "first-time buyer help," "relocation," "CMA / home valuation." Each one is a keyword you can rank for.
• Description: 750 characters, lead with city and specialty in the first sentence. Plain language beats slogans.
• Photos: a real headshot, then a steady drip — closings (with permission), neighborhoods you farm, open-house setups. Profiles with fresh photos get dramatically more clicks than logo-only ghosts.

The review engine (this is 80% of it)

Reviews are the strongest local-pack signal and the first thing a stranger reads about you. Build the habit:

• Ask at the emotional peak — key handoff or closing table, not two weeks later: "Would you mind sharing a sentence about how this went? It's how my next client finds me." Text them your direct review link (Profile → "Ask for reviews").
• Reply to every review, good and bad, within a day or two. Replies are content, and prospects read them.
• Never buy, trade, or fake reviews — Google filters them and can suspend the profile, and in real estate a suspended profile during listing season is a self-inflicted wound.

Posts: 10 minutes a week

Google Posts show right on your profile. Recycle what you already make: a just-listed (fair-housing-safe copy — see the word guide), a market stat from your newsletter, an open-house announcement. Our free caption tool drafts these in seconds; posting weekly keeps the profile "alive" in Google's eyes.

What to expect

This isn't overnight: expect movement in the map pack over one to three months of steady reviews and posts. But unlike ads, it compounds and it's free — the same logic as the rest of your sphere system: small consistent inputs, outsized long-term output.