When it comes to real estate SEO, most agents focus on the visible stuff — blog content, listings, and keyword placement. But what many ignore is the technical side of SEO — the behind-the-scenes structure of your website that tells Google how to crawl, index, and trust your content.
And here’s the truth: you can publish all the content you want, but if your technical SEO is broken, your site will underperform.
Let’s walk through the top technical SEO issues plaguing real estate websites — and how to fix them before they cost you rankings and revenue.
1. Slow Loading Speed
A beautiful site that loads slowly is a guaranteed bounce. Users won’t wait, and neither will Google.
Common culprits on real estate sites:
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Uncompressed images (especially high-res property photos)
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Bloated WordPress themes
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Too many plugins
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No caching setup
To fix it:
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Use WebP images for faster loading
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Enable browser caching
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Install a lightweight performance plugin like WP Rocket
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Use a CDN like Cloudflare
Speed is a foundational piece of SEO for real estate websites — and it impacts both user experience and crawlability.
2. Broken Links and Redirect Loops
Real estate sites often have frequent changes: listings come and go, pages get deleted or renamed. If you don’t clean up after yourself, you’ll end up with broken links or infinite redirect loops — both of which hurt crawl budgets and confuse users.
Run regular audits with tools like:
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Ahrefs
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Screaming Frog
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SEMrush
Then fix all 404 errors, update outdated links, and remove unnecessary redirects. This clean-up helps solidify your authority in SEO for real estate companies.
3. Mobile Usability Problems
With over 70% of home searches happening on mobile, Google now ranks mobile versions first. Yet, many real estate websites still have:
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Tiny text sizes
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Clickable elements too close together
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Sloppy formatting on mobile
Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to spot issues fast.
Fixing these can improve dwell time, bounce rate, and conversion — all signals that support your real estate SEO strategy.
4. Duplicate Content (Especially on Listings)
One of the biggest technical SEO problems in real estate? Duplicate MLS content.
Most agent sites automatically pull listing data from a central database. That means 500 other agents have the exact same content on their property pages.
To solve this:
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Add unique descriptions to high-priority listings
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Embed video tours, agent commentary, or neighborhood guides
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Use canonical tags to signal your preferred page to Google
Google rewards originality, especially in competitive spaces like SEO for real estate.
5. Missing or Poorly Structured Schema
Schema markup is structured data that tells Google exactly what’s on your site. For real estate sites, this could include:
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Property listings
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Agent profiles
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Office locations
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Reviews
Implementing proper schema boosts visibility in rich search results (like star ratings or pricing snippets), helping you stand out.
This is often skipped even by seasoned marketers — which is why hiring a knowledgeable real estate SEO expert can give you an edge.
6. No XML Sitemap or Robots.txt Misconfigurations
Google’s bots need a clear roadmap to navigate your site.
Make sure you:
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Have an up-to-date XML sitemap submitted in Google Search Console
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Don’t accidentally block key pages (like property listings) in robots.txt
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Exclude duplicate or thin content from crawling to preserve crawl budget
If Google can’t efficiently crawl your site, it won’t rank your best content — no matter how good it is.
7. Weak Internal Linking Structure
Technical SEO isn’t just about code — it’s also about how your pages link together.
Most real estate sites fail to:
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Link blog posts to listing pages or service pages
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Connect related neighborhood pages
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Guide users deeper into the site
A healthy internal linking structure improves crawlability, reduces bounce rate, and boosts the authority of your most important pages.
This tactic is a key feature of any advanced real estate SEO agency approach.
8. No HTTPS or SSL Certificate Issues
Trust is everything in real estate — and Google won’t rank a site that isn’t secure.
Make sure your site:
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Has a valid SSL certificate
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Redirects all HTTP pages to HTTPS
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Doesn’t show mixed content warnings
This isn’t just technical — it also impacts conversions. Clients are less likely to enter personal info on an unsecured page.
Final Thoughts
Technical SEO might not be flashy, but it’s essential. Ignoring these backend fixes can tank your rankings, frustrate visitors, and cost you leads.
Pairing high-quality content with clean technical foundations is the secret to dominating your market online.
If this all sounds overwhelming, don’t worry — you’re not alone. Partnering with a professional real estate SEO service ensures all the behind-the-scenes work is handled so you can focus on what you do best: closing deals.
