1. Dont try to cram a bunch of high ranking KWs into one page. Instead, try to focus on 2 or 3 KWs per page.

2. Use meta information as well as ORIGINAL and CREATIVE content to backup the page’s KWs
A. Do not stuff the content with the KWs you are trying to rank for.
B. Make sure your content is your own. Re-writing someone else’s content IS NOT ORIGINAL CONTENT!

3. Longtail KWs is a gold mine for the real estate market.

4. Google has a good KW research tool for free.
A. You want to focus on the less competitive but still popular KWs (Please see Lee’s fishing reference above)

5. Backlinks and anchor text. You can never have enough backlinks to your site.

6. As Thomas pointed out, dont get hung up on a domain name. Just do a few test searches on Google terms to prove it.

First I have seen real estate agent websites rank very well (first page) in the SERP’s for high volume keywords with horrible SEO, but a great keyword rich domain name. Keyword rich domains are not the “end all – be all” but they do carry weight and one should try to have one if possible. If you don’t have a keyword rich domain, then you can always get the backlinks to overcome this shortfall. You can still have a good keyword rich domain just by adding a different word on the backend of it like http://www.denverrealestatecenter.com or http://www.denverrealestatelw.com (the lw on the backend of the later domain represents your initials). Whatever the case good keyword rich domains are still to be found.

Targeting local communities beside your main city can be done, and should be done as Amy points out. One way to do this is by creating a separate page for the new locale. Make sure your Meta tags have your keywords for each page and make sure your page URL has your keywords in them. This can be a great way to get multiple pages ranking for multiple locations. This saves you from having to jam multiple keyword phrases in your home page text, thus reducing the amount of natural text that should be there for your potential clients.

Definitely look for the long tail, but don’t give up on the most searched. Barry makes a good point about the amount of knowledge Real Estate professionals have, which means the SEO competition may not be that high for your area, therefore with a little effort you could have both the long tail and the most searched in your pocket.

Barry Cunningham – shamefully true, but ahead of a lot of other industries.

Esko – Low volume search queries can give you solid leads because they are more target specific. I try to educate the real estate agents I work with that it’s better to fish in a pond that has 1,000 fish and 10 boats then in a pond with 10,000 fish and 1000 boats. Always look for the low lying fruit to pick. Keyword Research will tell you what pond is the best.

Glenn in Naples – outbound links do make a difference, especially if you link out to relevant sites. I have created a boost to real estate websites by creating outbound links to local and county sites from the home page. This too can be overcome though with quality inbound links with good keyword anchor text.

However, I wonder if outbound links to enhance a visitor’s experience on a site have any influence on the rankings. If there are no outbound links – the site is merely a brochure site and may not have good rankings. I think Matt Cutts may have mentioned this in one of his posts or at a seminar,

I’m starting to put my arms around the theory that a bunch of low volume search queries will attract nice, solid leads. Mixing and matching is the fun part here, figuring out what combo will work.