How to Get More Customers as a Real Estate Agent in Australia

Introduction

Most real estate agents in Australia still rely on word of mouth and personal referrals to fill their pipeline. That approach worked a decade ago. It doesn't cut it anymore.

In 2026, 97% of customers search online before choosing a local business. That includes homeowners deciding which agent to trust with the biggest financial transaction of their lives. They're Googling "best real estate agent in [suburb]," reading reviews, scanning websites, and increasingly asking AI tools like ChatGPT for recommendations.

If you're not showing up in those moments, you're invisible. And invisible agents don't get listings.

The good news? You don't need a massive advertising budget or a marketing degree to fix this. You need a system. A repeatable, proven approach to making sure your name appears when and where potential customers are looking.

This guide walks you through exactly how to get more customers as a real estate agent in Australia — step by step, no fluff. We'll cover Google Business Profile optimisation, local SEO, review generation, content strategy, AI search visibility, and tracking. Each step builds on the last.

Considering the average real estate agent commission sits between $10,000 and $50,000 per transaction, even one extra customer per month from these strategies pays for itself many times over.

Let's get into it.

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TL;DR

• This is a step-by-step guide to getting more customers as a real estate agent in Australia
• Covers Google Maps, reviews, website optimisation, content marketing, and AI search
• Average real estate agent job value: $10,000–$50,000 in commission per listing
• Every step is actionable — you can start today for free
• When you're ready to scale, professional help accelerates results dramatically

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Step 1: Claim and Optimise Your Google Business Profile

Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is the single most powerful free tool available to you right now. When someone searches "real estate agent near me" or "real estate agent [suburb]," the Google Maps pack appears at the top of the page — above every website, above every paid ad in many cases. Your GBP listing is what shows up there.

If you haven't claimed yours, do it today at business.google.com. If you have, it's time to optimise it properly.

Here's how to set it up for maximum visibility:

Business name: Use your actual registered business name. Don't stuff keywords in here — Google penalises that.

Primary category: Select "Real estate agent" as your primary category. Add secondary categories like "Real estate agency," "Property management company," or "Real estate consultant" if they apply.

Service areas: List every suburb you serve. Be specific. Google uses this information to match you with local searches. If you cover 15 suburbs across Sydney's Inner West, list all 15.

Business description: Write a clear, natural description that includes your key services and the areas you work in. Mention your specialties — residential sales, property management, commercial, auctions — and weave in the suburbs organically.

Photos and videos: Upload high-quality images of your office, your team, recent listings, and sold properties. Agents with 20+ photos on their GBP receive 35% more click-throughs than those with fewer than five.

Posts: Google lets you publish posts directly to your profile. Use this weekly. Share recent sales results, market updates, open home schedules, or client testimonials. It signals to Google that your profile is active and current.

Q&A section: Seed this with common questions and answers. "What suburbs do you cover?" "Do you offer free property appraisals?" "What are your commission rates?" Answer them yourself before someone else does.

The agents ranking in the top three of the Maps pack in competitive suburbs are doing all of this consistently. It's not complicated, but it requires attention.

For a deeper breakdown, read our full guide on local SEO for real estate agents.

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Step 2: Get Your Website Ranking for Local Keywords

Your Google Business Profile gets you into the Maps pack. Your website gets you into the organic search results below it. Together, they dominate the page.

The key here is local keyword targeting. You need pages on your website that specifically target the search terms potential customers use. The big ones for real estate agents include:

• "Real estate agent [suburb]"
• "Best real estate agent in [suburb]"
• "Sell my house [suburb]"
• "Property appraisal [suburb]"
• "Property management [suburb]"

Create dedicated suburb pages. If you service 10 suburbs, you need 10 individual pages — each tailored to that specific area. Don't just swap out the suburb name on a template and call it done. Each page should include:

• Unique content about the local property market in that suburb
• Recent median sale prices and market trends
• Testimonials from clients in that area
• A clear call to action (free appraisal, call to discuss, book a consultation)
• Your contact details and a map embed

Nail the technical basics. Your website needs to load fast (under three seconds), work perfectly on mobile (over 60% of local searches happen on phones), and have proper title tags and meta descriptions on every page.

Title tag formula: "Real Estate Agent [Suburb] | [Your Business Name]"

Meta description formula: "Looking for a trusted real estate agent in [Suburb]? [Business Name] has sold [X] properties locally. Get a free appraisal today."

Your homepage should target your broadest term — something like "real estate agent [city/region]" — while your suburb pages capture the long-tail searches that convert at higher rates.

If you want to go deeper on this, we've written a comprehensive guide on SEO for real estate agents that covers technical SEO, on-page optimisation, and link building in detail.

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Step 3: Build a Review Generation System

Reviews are the currency of local trust. A homeowner choosing between three agents will almost always pick the one with more five-star Google reviews and genuine, detailed feedback.

Here's the reality: most happy clients won't leave a review unless you ask. And most agents don't ask consistently. That's the gap you need to close.

When to ask: The best time is immediately after a positive milestone — settlement day, a strong auction result, or the moment you hand over the keys. Emotions are high, gratitude is fresh, and the friction of writing a review feels small compared to what you've just helped them achieve.

How to ask: Make it stupidly easy. Send a direct link to your Google review page via text or email. Here's a template that works:

"Hi [Name], congratulations again on the sale! It was a pleasure working with you. If you have 60 seconds, a Google review would mean the world to us — it helps other homeowners in [suburb] find us. Here's the link: [direct review URL]. Thank you!"

Follow up once. If they don't leave a review within three days, send a gentle reminder. After that, leave it. Pushy follow-ups damage relationships.

Respond to every review. Thank positive reviewers by name and mention something specific about their transaction. For negative reviews, respond calmly, acknowledge their concern, and offer to resolve it offline. Potential customers read your responses as carefully as they read the reviews themselves.

Set a target: Aim for two to four new reviews per month. Within a year, you'll have a review profile that competitors can't easily replicate. That compound effect is powerful.

Agents with 50+ reviews and a 4.8+ star rating consistently outrank competitors in the Maps pack, even if those competitors have been in the area longer.

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Step 4: Create Content That Attracts Customers

Content marketing isn't just for tech companies and lifestyle brands. For real estate agents, publishing helpful content on your website builds trust, ranks for dozens of additional keywords, and gives potential customers a reason to choose you over the agent down the road.

What to write about:

• Suburb guides: "The Complete Guide to Buying in [Suburb]" — cover lifestyle, schools, transport, median prices, and what makes the area appealing.
• Market updates: Quarterly reports on local property trends. Homeowners researching whether it's a good time to sell will find these.
• FAQs: "How much does it cost to sell a house in [State]?" "What's the difference between auction and private treaty?" "How do I choose a real estate agent?" These questions get searched thousands of times per month.
• Process guides: Walk sellers through the listing process, what to expect on auction day, or how to prepare a home for sale.

Quality over quantity. One genuinely useful 1,500-word article per month will outperform ten thin, generic posts. Write from experience. Include real numbers, local examples, and honest opinions. That's what separates your content from the cookie-cutter stuff produced by franchise head offices.

Distribution matters too. Share every article on your socials, email it to your database, and link to it from your Google Business Profile posts. Content that sits on your website unseen helps nobody.

Over time, this library of content turns your website into a magnet — ranking for hundreds of search terms and positioning you as the local authority.

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Step 5: Optimise for AI Search (GEO)

Here's what most agents aren't thinking about yet: AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and Copilot are changing how people find businesses. Instead of scanning 10 blue links, users ask a question and get a direct recommendation.

"Who's the best real estate agent in Marrickville?" If the AI recommends your competitor, you've lost that customer before they even visited Google.

This is called Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO), and it's the next frontier for real estate agents who want to stay ahead.

How AI tools decide who to recommend:

• Mentions across the web: Are you referenced on other websites, directories, local news, and industry publications?
• Review quality and volume: AI tools pull from Google reviews and other platforms to assess reputation.
• Structured, authoritative content: Clear, well-organised website content that directly answers common questions is favoured by AI models.
• Consistent NAP data: Your Name, Address, and Phone number need to be identical across every platform — your website, GBP, domain directories, social media, and listing portals.

Getting ahead on GEO now gives you a massive first-mover advantage. We've written a dedicated guide on GEO for real estate agents if you want to go deeper.

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Step 6: Track Your Results

You can't improve what you don't measure. Set up basic tracking from day one so you know what's working and where to double down.

Key metrics to monitor:

• Google Business Profile insights: Track how many people viewed your profile, clicked for directions, visited your website, or called you directly. Google provides this data free inside your GBP dashboard.
• Website traffic: Use Google Analytics (free) to monitor how many visitors land on your site, which pages they visit, and where they come from — organic search, social media, or direct.
• Keyword rankings: Track your positions for target keywords like "real estate agent [suburb]." Free tools like Google Search Console show which queries bring traffic. Paid tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs offer more detail.
• Calls and form submissions: Use call tracking or simply ask every enquiry, "How did you find us?" The answer tells you where your marketing dollars are working hardest.
• Review velocity: Track how many new reviews you receive each month and your overall star rating trend.

Review these numbers monthly. Look for patterns. If one suburb page is driving more enquiries than others, create more content around that area. If your review count has stalled, reinvigorate your ask process.

Data turns guesswork into strategy.

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When to Hire a Professional

Everything in this guide is something you can do yourself. But let's be honest — you became a real estate agent to sell property, not to manage SEO campaigns, write blog posts, and troubleshoot Google Business Profiles.

DIY works when: You're starting out, budgets are tight, and you have time to learn. The foundations covered here will deliver results if you execute consistently.

Hiring a professional makes sense when: Your time is better spent on listings and client relationships, you want faster results, or you're in a competitive market where the stakes are too high for trial and error.

At MoneyNearMe, we work exclusively with Australian service businesses — including real estate agents — to build local search visibility that generates real enquiries. Our packages range from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on your market, competition level, and goals.

We handle Google Business Profile optimisation, local SEO, content creation, review strategy, GEO, and monthly performance reporting. You focus on selling. We focus on making sure the right people find you first.

and we'll show you exactly where you're losing visibility and how to fix it.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How can real estate agents get more customers online?

Optimise your Google Business Profile, build suburb-specific website pages, generate consistent Google reviews, and publish helpful local content. These four actions cover 80% of online visibility for agents.

What's the fastest way to get more calls as a real estate agent?

Optimise your Google Business Profile completely — photos, reviews, posts, service areas. Most agents see an increase in calls within 30 days of a proper setup.

How much should I spend on marketing as a real estate agent?

Invest 5–10% of your gross commission income. For most agents, that's $500–$2,000 per month on digital marketing, which delivers measurable ROI within three to six months.

Is Google Ads or SEO better for real estate agents?

SEO delivers better long-term ROI because results compound over time. Google Ads works for immediate visibility but stops the moment you stop paying. The best strategy uses both.

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Ready to stop relying on referrals and start building a predictable pipeline of customers? [Talk to MoneyNearMe today →] We'll audit your current online presence for free and map out a plan to get you ranking where it matters.