Real estate agents have become increasingly sophisticated at building their personal brands, investing considerable time and money in social media, producing video content and cultivating audiences across their local communities.
Yet according to Harcourts digital marketing manager Alicia Johncock, many are overlooking one of the most important stages of the vendor journey, when homeowners begin researching their property options long before they are ready to contact an agent.
While Instagram and Facebook have become essential marketing tools for agents looking to build recognition, Alicia believes the industry’s enthusiasm for social media has, in some cases, come at the expense of understanding how consumers actually begin the process of selling a property, particularly the role Google plays in helping homeowners establish what their property might be worth.
Having joined Harcourts from a background in food franchising, Alicia says she quickly recognised that real estate operates differently from other consumer-facing industries, with agents placing enormous emphasis on personal relationships, repeat business and referrals, but sometimes failing to appreciate how digital marketing can support those relationships and introduce them to prospective clients much earlier.
She is not suggesting agents abandon traditional prospecting or social media, but rather that they consider whether their marketing is reaching homeowners at the point when they are actively looking for information, rather than simply scrolling through content.
“We see a lot of business owners and agents that are really prolific in social media,” Alicia says.
“And so they’re getting their name out there, but they’re not necessarily in the place where people are looking to drive an actual inquiry.”
The distinction matters because the decision to sell a home is rarely made overnight, with homeowners often spending months considering their financial position, researching comparable properties and weighing up whether moving will achieve what they need before they begin comparing agents.
Alicia says that process can take nine to 12 months, meaning there is a substantial window during which agents can establish familiarity and credibility with a potential vendor, provided they understand what those homeowners are searching for and make themselves visible at the right time.
Rather than immediately searching for the best agent in their suburb, a homeowner might begin by asking Google what their property is worth, whether local prices are rising or falling, or what similar homes have recently achieved.
By the time they begin researching individual agents, much of their preliminary decision-making may already have taken place, creating an opportunity for businesses that have provided useful information throughout those earlier stages.
For Alicia, the issue is not whether agents have a digital presence, but whether that presence extends beyond the platforms they use most frequently themselves and into the places where prospective clients are actively seeking answers.
The Google opportunity agents are missing
Despite the enormous attention surrounding artificial intelligence and the growing use of platforms such as ChatGPT, Alicia believes agents should be careful not to become distracted by emerging technologies while neglecting the search platform that continues to account for the overwhelming majority of global search-engine referrals.
According to the Digital 2026 Global Overview Report, Google accounted for 89.83 per cent of global search-engine referral traffic in August 2025, demonstrating the platform’s continued dominance in directing people from search engines to websites.
While that figure measures search-engine referral traffic rather than every search conducted online, Alicia believes it reinforces the importance of maintaining a strong Google presence, particularly as the platform incorporates more artificial intelligence into its search experience.
Her advice is to concentrate on the fundamentals before becoming preoccupied with the latest developments in AI, because the information that helps an agency establish its credibility through traditional search can also contribute to how that business is represented in newer search experiences.
“Get the basics right in Google,” Alicia says.
For agents, that begins with recognising that Google serves a different purpose from social media, where consumers may encounter an agent’s content without necessarily having any immediate intention of buying or selling.
Someone searching for a property appraisal, by contrast, is actively seeking information relevant to a potential transaction, even if they are still several months away from making a final decision.
Alicia believes understanding that difference is essential because an agent can have a substantial social media following and still miss opportunities if their business is difficult to find when a homeowner begins researching their property.
The challenge is to connect brand awareness with search visibility, ensuring that the agent who has spent years building a reputation in their local market is also present when a prospective vendor begins asking questions that could eventually lead to an appraisal.
Why Google reviews deserve more attention
One of the most practical opportunities for agents, Alicia says, is improving their Google Business Profile, particularly through consistent customer reviews, accurate business information and regular engagement with the people who have taken the time to provide feedback.
Although many agents already collect testimonials through property portals and specialist review platforms, she believes Google reviews have particular value because they can influence a homeowner’s impression of an agency during the earliest stages of researching local property services.
“So if you’ve got good Google reviews, you are well in front,” Alicia says.
Alicia says improving an agency’s Google presence goes well beyond collecting positive reviews, with regularly updated photographs, accurate business descriptions and responses to customer feedback all helping to build a stronger digital profile and improve visibility among prospective clients.
She also says the language customers use in their reviews can be particularly revealing, because it often identifies the qualities that matter most to people choosing an agent, including communication, trust, responsiveness, helpfulness and the ability to achieve a strong sale price.
Rather than viewing a review as nothing more than a public endorsement, she encourages agents to pay attention to what customers are actually praising and to acknowledge those qualities when responding, which also helps prospective clients understand the service they can expect.
“Make sure that you respond back with the words that they say because that is, again, reinforcing that,” Alicia says.
While the precise influence of individual review responses on Google’s search rankings is not publicly established, genuine customer feedback and an actively maintained business profile can help prospective clients assess an agency’s reputation and decide whether to make contact.
Alicia believes the biggest obstacle is often not a lack of satisfied customers, but the absence of a consistent process for encouraging those customers to share their experiences.
“My biggest recommendation is processes,” she says.
Instead of relying on agents to remember to ask for a review when a transaction concludes, she suggests building requests into the normal workflow of the business, whether that occurs following settlement, after a successful interaction or at another appropriate point in the customer relationship.
Importantly, she believes agencies should broaden their thinking beyond vendors, recognising that buyers, landlords and tenants can also provide valuable feedback about their experience with an office.
“It can be buyers. It can be landlords. It can be tenants,” Alicia says.
Even an open home can provide an opportunity to invite feedback, with Alicia suggesting that a simple QR code could make it easier for visitors to comment on their experience, while also giving the agency an opportunity to identify areas where its service could improve.
The objective is to create an ongoing record of genuine customer experiences rather than treating online reputation management as an occasional marketing exercise, particularly when prospective clients may be comparing several businesses before deciding whom to approach.
Why agents are dismissing leads that could become future listings
While building a stronger Google presence can help agents attract attention, Alicia believes the next challenge is understanding the difference between generating an inquiry and converting that inquiry into a listing, particularly when the homeowner is still in the early stages of considering a sale.
At Harcourts, national Google advertising campaigns have been generating thousands of property appraisal inquiries annually, with those leads directed to individual offices, while locally targeted campaigns are also helping agents connect with prospective sellers in their own markets without having to manage the technical complexities of digital advertising.
Alicia says the approach reflects a broader responsibility for franchise groups to provide marketing solutions that business owners can use without needing to become specialists in digital advertising, particularly when many are already balancing sales, recruitment, operations and client relationships.
However, she believes the effectiveness of these campaigns cannot be judged solely by the number of homeowners who are ready to list immediately, because the very nature of online property research means many people are seeking information well before they intend to transact.
An agent might receive an appraisal inquiry, contact the homeowner and discover they are not yet interested in appointing someone, which can lead to the assumption that the inquiry was poor quality or the advertising investment has failed.
“And so sometimes the feedback is, well, that wasn’t a quality lead,” Alicia says.
From her perspective, that reaction overlooks the fact that the agent has been introduced to a potential future vendor at a stage when they may still be forming opinions about which local businesses they trust.
According to Alicia, approximately 60 per cent of the appraisal leads generated through Harcourts’ campaigns indicate a potential selling timeframe within six months, suggesting that a substantial proportion of those inquiries are connected to homeowners who may be approaching a genuine transaction.
Although an indicated selling timeframe does not guarantee that a property will come to market, it provides agents with an opportunity to begin a relationship, understand the homeowner’s circumstances and remain relevant as their plans develop.
For an industry accustomed to measuring success through appointments, signed authorities and immediate commission opportunities, Alicia acknowledges that this requires patience, particularly when agents are under pressure to generate income and move quickly from one prospect to the next.
She believes, however, that agents who dismiss inquiries simply because the homeowner is not ready to sell immediately risk losing business they have already invested money in attracting.
The alternative is to treat those contacts as part of a longer-term prospecting strategy, using a well-managed database and relevant follow-up to maintain the relationship without placing unnecessary pressure on someone who is still considering their options.
For a homeowner who has requested an online property report, that might involve receiving useful updates about comparable sales, changes in local market conditions or other information that helps them make a more informed decision when the time comes.
Alicia’s argument is that agents should not confuse a lead’s readiness to transact with its potential value, particularly when the first agency to establish a helpful relationship may have an advantage when that homeowner eventually decides to sell.
Turning online interest into an actual relationship
The ability to provide useful information before asking for an appointment is another important part of Harcourts’ digital strategy, with Alicia explaining that the group’s online appraisal tools allow homeowners to request information about their property and receive details about comparable sales, suburb conditions and average prices.
Rather than simply collecting contact information and promising that an agent will call, the process is designed to give consumers something of value immediately, recognising that homeowners are increasingly comfortable conducting their own research before deciding whether to engage a professional.
“They’re expecting more value before they pick up the phone,” Alicia says.
That expectation has implications for how agencies design their websites, structure their advertising and respond to inquiries, because a homeowner who has already researched their local market may be looking for evidence of expertise rather than a generic invitation to book an appraisal.
By providing relevant information at the outset, an agent has an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the market and establish a degree of trust before a personal conversation takes place, although Alicia makes clear that the digital interaction should support rather than replace the relationship.
She also believes agents need to be realistic about the ongoing investment required to make Google advertising effective, particularly when campaigns involve specialist management, continuous optimisation and a commitment to maintaining visibility over time.
“The two challenges we have is cost,” Alicia says, explaining that business owners need sufficient cash flow to sustain their advertising rather than expecting a short campaign to deliver immediate and consistent results.
The second challenge is the industry’s preference for quick outcomes, with agents naturally inclined to prioritise prospects who are ready to transact over those who might require several months of contact before making a decision.
Yet the two groups are not necessarily competing for attention, because a properly structured prospecting strategy should allow agents to pursue immediate opportunities while continuing to nurture the relationships that may generate future listings.
For Alicia, the value of digital marketing lies not simply in attracting more inquiries, but in creating a consistent pipeline of potential clients who have already engaged with the agency and received something useful from the experience.
The fundamentals still matter in an AI-driven market
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape the way consumers research businesses and access information, Alicia expects agents will increasingly need to consider how their online reputation, website content and customer feedback contribute to their visibility across different search experiences.
Google’s AI Overviews and conversational search tools are changing how information is presented, while platforms such as ChatGPT are introducing new ways for homeowners to investigate property prices, local market conditions and the agents operating in their area.
However, rather than encouraging agencies to chase every new development, Alicia believes the more immediate opportunity is to strengthen the digital foundations that support their existing business, from collecting authentic customer reviews to ensuring their websites provide relevant information and their advertising reaches people at the appropriate stage of the decision-making process.
She acknowledges that Google can appear complicated, particularly for agents who are accustomed to more familiar forms of marketing, but believes the complexity should not prevent businesses from taking practical steps to improve their visibility.
That might involve working with specialist partners, introducing a consistent review collection process or reassessing whether current marketing expenditure is reaching homeowners who are actively researching a potential sale.
Ultimately, Alicia’s message is that real estate remains a relationship-driven industry, but the opportunities to begin those relationships are changing, with more homeowners conducting substantial research before they are ready to invite an agent into their home.
An established reputation, strong local knowledge and an active social media presence remain valuable, but they may not be enough if a prospective seller cannot find the agency when they begin looking for information about their property’s value.
For agents prepared to think beyond immediate transactions and invest in building relationships earlier in the selling journey, Alicia believes Google offers an opportunity to become part of a homeowner’s decision-making process long before a listing appointment is arranged.
And in an increasingly competitive market, being the agent who provides useful information at the beginning of that journey could prove just as important as being the one who delivers the most convincing presentation at the end.