Real Estate SEO that survives a Fair Housing review and the next algorithm update.
Earnest is the SEO practice of Yan Dobromyslov. We work with U.S. real estate agents, teams, and brokerages on NAR-compliant and Fair Housing-safe SEO. Past engagements have produced compounding organic growth measured in revenue, with several real-estate domains doubling traffic within the first six months.
31+ SEO engagements shipped 6 Regulated verticals 7+ Years specializing
Seven service surfaces. Each grounded in the regulatory or data layer.
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Realtor SEO
Service and Person entity authority for the solo licensee.
Same-address Google Business Profile workaround, RealEstateAgent schema nested under the brokerage, on-page layer that competes around the directory tollbooth.
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Brokerage SEO
Multi-state advertising hierarchy at scale.
Per-jurisdiction templates across TREC, DRE, FREC, DOS. Multi-office NAP architecture. RealEstateAgent nested under RealEstateAgency. One site, compliant in every state you operate in.
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MLS and IDX SEO
IDX canonical strategy and RESO Web API integration.
Iframe versus truly-embedded IDX audited and corrected. RESO Data Dictionary 2.0 mapped to RealEstateListing JSON-LD. Canonical strategy that survives Google override. Clear Cooperation freshness handled.
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NAR-Compliant Marketing
Article 12 SOP-by-SOP coverage.
SOP 12-1 free-claim review, SOP 12-9 firm-name disclosure across every surface, SOP 12-10 metatag and framing audit, RESPA Section 8 anti-kickback review.
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Fair Housing Safe SEO
URL-structure-level safe-harbor enforcement.
Prohibited-phrase audit and remediation. SOP 10-2 third-party-attributed factual data on neighborhood pages. URL-structure review for digital-steering signals.
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Real Estate Schema
RealEstateAgent nested under RealEstateAgency. Listings mapped to RESO.
Entity nesting via parentOrganization and memberOf. RealEstateListing JSON-LD with offers, businessFunction, datePosted for Clear Cooperation freshness. Local custom fields land in additionalProperty.
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Local SEO for Agents
Post-Vicinity-Update positioning for real estate.
GBP category strategy. Same-address agent filter workaround. NAP consistency across the directory ecosystem. areaServed schema and GeoShape implementation.
Built for operators who treat the regulatory layer as part of the SEO surface.
We don't ship templated SEO that ignores the regulatory layer. The work is meant to survive a Fair Housing review, a TREC complaint, and the next algorithm update.
Regulatory surface as an engineering problem. NAR Article 12 SOP 12-1, 12-5, 12-9, 12-10, 12-12 cited by number on every claim. State-license advertising hierarchy variation across TREC, DRE, FREC, DOS. Fair Housing safe-harbor under NAR SOP 10-2 enforced at the URL-structure level. The compliance layer is part of the build, not a checklist tacked on at QA.
Data layer fluency. RESO Web API replaces RETS with a standardized Data Dictionary 2.0. We map Resources, Fields, and Lookups to RealEstateListing JSON-LD natively, handle iframe versus truly-embedded IDX as the load-bearing distinction it is, and run canonical strategy that survives Google overriding self-referential canonicals.
Post-Sitzer/Burnett adaptive. The 2024 NAR settlement removed blanket buyer-side commission display and mandated upfront buyer-broker agreements. Search intent is shifting toward buyer-representation queries. We build Service and Person entity authority around the new surface, and we restructure agent content for the post-settlement buyer journey.
Diagnostic-led, retainer-natural. Every engagement starts with a diagnostic against your actual Search Console and traffic data. Load-bearing pages identified, dead weight surfaced, commercial gaps named. Most diagnostics convert into a monthly retainer because the work the diagnostic surfaces is rarely a one-and-done.
Earnest versus the typical SEO agency, on the criteria that govern real-estate outcomes.
- NAR Article 12 coverage
- SOP 12-1, 12-5, 12-9, 12-10, 12-12 cited by number on every commercial claim
- RESO Web API integration
- Resources + Fields + Lookups mapped to RealEstateListing JSON-LD
- Fair Housing safe-harbor enforcement
- URL-structure level; SOP 10-2 third-party-attributed factual data on neighborhood content
- State law variance
- Per-jurisdiction templates across TREC, DRE, FREC, DOS
- IDX canonical strategy
- Truly-embedded IDX with canonical strategy that survives Google override
- RealEstateAgent schema nesting
- Nested under RealEstateAgency via parentOrganization + memberOf
- Clear Cooperation freshness
- MLS submission treated as the freshness source datePosted inherits
- NAR Article 12 coverage
- Not addressed; ethics-rule risk left to the broker
- RESO Web API integration
- IDX treated as a third-party widget; data layer ignored
- Fair Housing safe-harbor enforcement
- Prohibited-phrase scan at QA; safe-harbor pattern not enforced
- State law variance
- One template, multi-state liability surface
- IDX canonical strategy
- Iframe IDX accepted; topical relevance leaks to vendor's domain
- RealEstateAgent schema nesting
- Flat Organization or LocalBusiness; entity graph unbuilt
- Clear Cooperation freshness
- Freshness signal not modeled; listing recency lost
Updated 2026-05-27
From diagnostic to retainer in four weeks. Then the work compounds.
- Week 0-1
Diagnostic
We read your Search Console data, your traffic data, your IDX implementation, and your existing on-page layer. The diagnostic comes back with the load-bearing pages, the dead weight, and the commercial gaps in front of revenue.
- Week 2-3
Scope and proposal
From the diagnostic we scope the engagement. Which pages get consolidated, which get rebuilt around commercial queries, what the on-page layer needs to do, what schema and canonical work is required.
- Week 4-5
Foundation pass
We rebuild the load-bearing pages first. NAR-compliant copy, Fair Housing safe-harbor patterns, RESO Web API schema integration where the data layer reaches. Internal linking tightened around the new structure.
- Ongoing retainer
Monthly cadence
Monthly cadence on the rest of the site, plus content cadence for the queries the diagnostic surfaced. Quarterly review against your traffic data and Search Console movement.
Named-client testimonials surface here as engagements ship.
Six questions a real estate operator can ask before signing a retainer.
Generic SEO competence ports to real estate poorly because it ignores the regulatory and data-layer constraints the vertical operates under. The questions below surface whether a practice has the fluency the program actually requires.
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Can you cite the NAR SOPs by number that govern title tags and footer disclosure?
The answer is SOP 12-9 on firm-name disclosure plus state-license law on broker-license-number footer placement. A practice that cannot cite the SOP either does not read it or treats it as background noise. Both fail.
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How do you handle Fair Housing safe-harbor on neighborhood pages?
The answer is SOP 10-2 third-party-attributed factual data only. Census Bureau figures, standardized walkability scores, factual school district boundaries with no subjective quality ratings. A practice that talks about "compliant copywriting" without naming SOP 10-2 has not done the work.
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What is your view on iframe versus truly embedded IDX?
The answer is that iframe IDX caps the listing-tier SEO ceiling structurally. Truly embedded via the RESO Web API is the configuration that lets listing content accrue topical relevance to the host. A practice that says "we can work with any IDX vendor" has missed the load-bearing distinction.
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Which metrics do you report on monthly?
Commercial-query position rankings (Tier 1 head term, Tier 2 service queries), local pack visibility per GBP Performance, lead flow attributed to commercial-query landing pages, and listing-detail rich-result eligibility per Search Console. Aggregate traffic and aggregate query counts as primary metrics are a warning signal.
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How do you handle RESPA Section 8 on cross-vertical link relationships?
The answer is nofollow links to lender, title, and escrow partners. No joint landing pages that present as cross-promotion. No subsidized retainers paid by lenders. A practice that builds out lender-partner backlink campaigns is creating CFPB-enforcement exposure for the brokerage.
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What changed for real estate SEO after the Sitzer/Burnett verdict?
The answer is that buyer-broker agreements opened a new top-of-funnel content surface around buyer representation, fee structures, and negotiation mechanics. Practices that built their entire content surface against listing-search intent have rebuild work to do. A practice unfamiliar with the shift is operating off pre-2024 patterns.
The longer-form treatment of agency selection and consultant evaluation lives at in-house vs outsourced real estate SEO.
Things operators ask before they book a diagnostic.
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What does the diagnostic actually cover?
Your Search Console export, your traffic data, the current on-page layer across the site, the IDX implementation (iframe vs truly embedded), and the schema you ship. Output is a per-page ledger of load-bearing pages, dead weight, commercial gaps, and the compliance surface across NAR Article 12 SOPs and Fair Housing safe-harbor patterns. -
Diagnostic only, or does it convert into something ongoing?
Most diagnostics convert into a monthly retainer because the work the diagnostic surfaces is rarely one-and-done. Foundation pass on the load-bearing pages first, then content cadence on the queries the diagnostic surfaced, then quarterly review against your traffic data. Some engagements stay diagnostic-only and that's a clean exit. -
Why do you cite SOP numbers everywhere?
Because the SOP number is the rule. NAR Article 12 SOP 12-9 requires firm-name disclosure on every advertising surface including websites and social profiles. SOP 12-10 prohibits deceptive metatags. That's the SOP that directly targets SEO manipulation. State commission rules vary by jurisdiction and the citation tells you which rule applies where. Marketing-fluff compliance ('we're Fair Housing-friendly') without the SOP number is what got the buyer burned the first time. -
Doesn't generalist SEO cover this for a solo agent?
Generalist SEO doesn't carry NAR Article 12 SOP 12-9 firm-name disclosure into the title tag, doesn't structure a Person and Service entity around the agent under the brokerage's parentOrganization in schema, and doesn't navigate the same-address Google Business Profile filter that suppresses competing agent profiles at the brokerage address. Those three patterns are the realtor surface and they're outside a generalist's vocabulary. -
What does a solo-agent engagement actually look like month one?
Diagnostic against your Search Console export, your IDX implementation, your Google Business Profile, and your existing on-page layer. Foundation pass on the load-bearing pages: brokerage firm name carried into title tag and footer per SOP 12-9, RealEstateAgent schema nested under the brokerage's parentOrganization, areaServed mapped to the geographic surface you're actually licensed for. Then content cadence against the queries the diagnostic surfaced. -
Do you respond to formal RFPs?
Yes. The diagnostic doubles as the discovery deliverable. Scope is sized to office count, MLS count, jurisdiction count, and current IDX implementation. Pricing tiers come out in writing with the scope. Procurement gets a real document. We won't fill out vendor-comparison spreadsheets that ask us to rate ourselves against unnamed competitors on agency-aggregate metrics we'd have no basis to attest.
Stop watching your domain authority outperform your commercial rankings. Book a diagnostic.
We read your Search Console, your traffic data, your IDX, and your on-page layer. The diagnostic comes back inside two weeks with the load-bearing pages, the dead weight, and the commercial gaps in front of revenue.