Chad Hyams is the growth and productivity director for Keller Williams Realty’s Southeast Region.

Every week, we ask an Atlanta real estate professional for their thoughts on the top trends in Atlanta real estate.

This week, we talked with Chad Hyams, the growth and productivity director for Keller Williams Realty’s Southeast Region. A former team leader at Keller Williams, Hyams assists agents in facing challenges and breaking through them via training, coaching, consulting and recruiting. He is also a a motivational speaker and trainer at Ember Seminars, where he provides solutions to challenges that most people do not want to acknowledge the existence of.

Atlanta Agent (AA): What do you recommend agents do when are they are trying to up their SEO?

Chad Hyams (CH): The most important thing to do to increase SEO is to take advantage of a powerful blog. Learn the lessons of blogging:

• Have only one keyword phrase per blog post
• Write a post that is long enough for Google to index and short enough for the general public to want to read (300-700 words)
• Use keyword phrase in the title of the blog post, in the opening line, closing line and as the title of a photo
• Write content that matters and people would want to read
• Other ways to improve SEO is to title photos what they are whenever you upload a photo to any site instead of leaving the title as img326.jpg, use sites like Yelp to get reviewed on, use services like BrandYourself.com

AA: How should agents write about their homes, when marketing them online?

CH: If an agent is going to write about their properties online they need to remember a few important lessons:

• Write in English, not in Realtor-speak
• Use the lessons mentioned above to blog
• Be descriptive. Write so they can picture themselves there and want to go view your listing
• Leave them wanting more – don’t give it all away or they will find a reason NOT to go see your listing
• Post your listing in as many places as possible

AA: Finally, in your experience, what’s the big thing that often holds an agent’s business back?

CH: This is an easy answer, sadly. Most agents won’t enjoy hearing this answer because the answer is they hold themselves back!

• They limit their belief and say something won’t work without even attempting
• They are held back because they don’t know where to start – start ANYWHERE it is better than NOWHERE
• They run into a wall because they don’t see something working in the first week or month and go look for a different answer instead of powering through
• They don’t find a mentor. Not someone to walk you hand in hand through everything, someone to reach out to and get assistance from when challenged with something new or different

Sadly most agents think even their friends think of them for real estate and sadly another agent often holds that mindshare. You have to remind EVERYONE that you are there for them.