How We Boosted SEO Clicks by 240% in 90 Days with a Focused Local Content Strategy

When a student housing community in Fort Collins needed to get more visibility (without pouring more into Google Ads), we rolled out a four-page local SEO strategy.

The result?

This blog walks you through exactly what we did, why it worked, and how you can apply a focused local SEO content strategy to your multifamily website.

The Problem: Ranking for Local Search Is Harder Than It Looks

If you’re managing SEO for a student housing or off-campus apartment community, you’ve probably run into one of these issues:

• You rely heavily on seasonal paid campaigns for traffic
• Your site isn’t showing up for location-specific search terms
• Your blog content isn’t moving the needle in rankings
• You’ve tried local landing pages, but they’re not getting traction

That’s exactly where The Alpine Apartments was in early 2025.

Great property. Great location. But their site just… wasn’t being found.

They were missing content for high-intent keywords like:

• “off campus housing near CSU”
• “apartments near Old Town Fort Collins”
• “student apartments in Fort Collins”

And without that content, Google wasn’t giving them a seat at the table.

The Solution: A Focused Local SEO Content Strategy

Our strategy was simple: publish four location-specific SEO pages targeting real search behavior, like students Googling “off campus housing near CSU” or “apartments near Old Town.”

This type of focused content helps websites earn visibility for high-intent local searches that typical floorplan and amenity pages often miss.

It’s not just about adding blog posts or stuffing keywords onto your homepage.

Instead, we layer in hyper-targeted content that:

• Speaks directly to search intent
• Is optimized for local discovery
• Adds authority to the domain as a whole

Here’s how we built and executed this strategy for The Alpine Apartments.

Step 1: Identify 3–5 Local, High-Intent Search Queries

We don’t chase keywords. We chase the lease-stage intent.

Our research surfaced four major searches students were already Googling:

Tip: Use Google Suggest and the “People Also Ask” box to find real searches people are making.

Step 2: Build Evergreen Pages That Don’t Feel Like SEO Pages

Each of the four pages followed our standard SEO page buildout:

• Keyword in URL
• Unique H1 with supporting H2s
• Internal links to relevant floor plans & blogs
• Rich descriptions of nearby landmarks, attractions, and lifestyle perks
• Image optimization + schema

These weren’t just keyword dumps; they were legit resources students could use to explore neighborhoods and housing options.

Want to steal our template? Check out this blog post on what renters are looking for on apartment websites.

Step 3: Track Performance & Improve Rankings

Once published (March–April 2025), we let the content index naturally, but watched it closely in GSC.

If a page started to rank for a new long-tail term, we added that term naturally into the copy.

In 90 days, here’s how the numbers shook out across the site:

Sitewide Organic Performance (Before vs. After)

Page-Level Results (First 90 Days)

Each page added entirely new visibility that didn’t exist before.

What We Learned (and What You Can Steal)

This kind of local SEO content strategy works best when you have:

• Specific neighborhoods, universities, or lifestyles to target
• A clear keyword-to-intent strategy
• A site that’s technically sound and internally linked to enhance authority
• Room for improvement on Page 1 and 2 rankings

Even though the pages didn’t generate hundreds of leads individually, they lifted the entire domain and added over 67,000 new impressions, helping The Alpine stay competitive without increasing ad spend.

Final Thoughts (and a Little Advice)

If your website feels invisible in local search—even though you’ve got a great property—it’s probably because you’re missing intent-first content.

This strategy isn’t smoke and mirrors; it’s intentional, data-backed, and proven to drive results.

And it’s a lot more sustainable than endlessly upping your Google Ads budget every peak season.

Wondering what your site should be ranking for?

[Let’s talk about your local SEO strategy]

Related Resources on SEO For Apartments

• Apartment SEO Guide to Increase Visibility
  
• SEO Tips for Apartment Marketing
  
• Apartment SEO Website Checklist
  
• Google Business Profile Listing Tips
  

Your Turn: See What a Solid SEO Strategy Can Do For Your Visibility 

If you’re a multifamily marketer or operator struggling with a website that gets lost in the SERP, try layering in a few neighborhood or lifestyle-specific content pages in your strategy.Want to see what that could look like for your community? Reach out, and we’ll show you where a dedicated SEO content plan with Brindle can take you.