6 Places to Find the Questions Buyers & Sellers Ask Google

I could retire if I had a nickel for every time I've said, "Answering the questions that buyers and sellers type into Google is a huge part of SEO for every real estate agent."

If you don't answer buyer and seller questions on your website, you're missing out on leads.

Your Google Business Profile is super important, but it only shows up when people specifically search for an agent; it'll never show up when they type things like

• what's the cost of living in LOCATION

• is LOCATION a good place to retire

• what are the best neighborhoods in LOCATION

• is now a good time to sell my house

• how do i determine the value of my home

• etc.

You'd be amazed at how often people go to Google to ask questions like these. I took the first question above, shortened it to "cost of living denver" (which is still a question even without the "what is..."), and put it into Semrush to see keyword data. Have a look:

You've got more than 1,000 keyword variations in the left column, a couple dozen questions in the middle, and more keywords in the right column.

A lot of people Googling this are future buyers -- cost-of-living keywords are super common before someone relocates. And answering hyperlocal questions like these is a great way to beat Zillow, Redfin, etc., at SEO.

So, hopefully, I've made the case for using your website/blog to answer buyer and seller questions. That leads to the next obvious question: Where do I find out what questions buyers and sellers are typing into Google? Here are six places/ways you can do that, starting with some that are right in Google itself.

1. Google: People Also Ask

For a lot of searches, Google will show a "People Also Ask" widget. They're literally telling you common questions that searchers ask. If you search "living in tucson," for example, scroll down a bit and you'll see this:

If you click any one of those questions, Google will add 2-4 more to the list...so it's like a never-ending source of question ideas for your blog. (Note: Not all the questions will be real estate-related; ignore those.)

2. Google Autocomplete

Let's use the same search term. Up in the search box, Google Autocomplete will try to finish/expand your search with related searches, like this:

There are no question marks, but you can see that most of those are questions. And most would be totally relevant for a Tucson agent to write about!

3. Reddit & Quora in Google search results

You've probably noticed that forums like Reddit and Quora are showing up a lot in Google's search results. They both show up for our sample search, in fact. Have a look at Quora's listing:

TBH, I've seen better questions for other cities/searches -- these are all pretty much the same question. But you get the point. Not exactly "questions people ask Google," but these forum conversations in Google's search results are another source of buyer and seller questions.

4. AlsoAsked.com​

This is a third-party tool that aggregates those "People Also Ask" questions that you see in Google's search results. There are different paid plans, but you can do a couple free searches per day. (Be sure to set the country setting correctly; it defaults to U.K.) Here's a cropped version of the results for "how to sell my home."

5. AnswerThePublic.com​

Similar in concept to AlsoAsked.com, but the free usage offers fewer results. Here's a cropped screenshot for the same "how to sell my home" search.

6. "Questions" keyword tool in Semrush and/or Ahrefs

Both of these powerful SEO tool platforms let you drill down to see question-based keywords. You already saw it above with that "cost of living denver" screenshot, but here it is again with the "how to sell my home" keyword.

Your takeaways: Buyers and sellers ask Google millions of questions every day about real estate, about where they live now, and about where they might live soon. You're missing out on high-quality, high-intent leads if you're not answering these questions on your website/blog. Now, next time you hear me say "you need to answer people's questions," you know six great places to find those questions!

If you liked this article, you'll love my weekly newsletter. Marketing Unlocked arrives in your inbox every Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. ET. You can unsubscribe anytime, but 500+ of your industry peers are reading it and raving about it. Click here to learn why and subscribe.