The Best Real
Estate Websites - 5 Things They Have in Common
By Brandon Cornett
Ten years ago, there weren't very many real
estate websites online. So the few agents and brokers who were online could
launch a basic website and then wait for the phone to start ringing. It truly
was that easy.
Of course, those days are long gone.
The number and complexity of real estate sites
has exploded over the last few years. As a result, the average website today
delivers more value to consumers, and those consumers in turn have higher
expectations than ever before.
So how does the modern agent create the kind of
website that (A) stands out from the crowd, (B) meet or exceeds consumer
expectations, and (C) helps the agent grow his or her business?
Here are five must-have
ingredients for success:
1. Enhanced Listing Data
Modern consumers expect to see property listings
on a real estate agent's website, but that's not all. They want to interact
with those listings in some way. They want to click on thumbnail images to
enlarge them. They want to take virtual tours inside the property. They expect
these things because the best real estate sites deliver them. So the modern
agent must stay competitive online by offering what consumers want.
Fortunately, there are plenty of software
programs around these days to help with this. There are companies who
specialize in virtual tours for real estate sites. There are listing-management
tools that can be installed onto an existing website. There are photo gallery
programs and much more.
2. Consumer Education Resources
As a real estate professional, you are also an
educator on topics related to your business. So if you want your site to
perform well, you should offer a wealth of educational material. This might
include tutorials, about buying / selling a home, market news relevant to your
area, and more.
Here's a helpful hint for you. If you refer to
the author's note at the end of this article, you'll be directed to a library
of quality content that you can republish onto your own website for free.
3. Daily or Weekly Updates
Home buyers and sellers want access to current
information. This only makes sense, because housing markets change frequently.
Stale data and outdated information are useless to consumers, and therefore
have no place on a real estate website.
The key to keeping a site current is to make it
easy to manage. The easier it is for you to perform web maintenance and
updates, the more likely you will be to perform them on a regular basis. So shop around for the kinds of technology that can simplify your
maintenance.
A blogging program, for example, can help you
publish new information quickly and easily. So a blog is perfectly suited to
function as a news channel (market updates, new property listings, etc.).
4. Lead Generation Strategies
I speak to a lot of real estate professionals in
my line of work, so I know for a fact that this is an area of frustration for
many agents and brokers. Driving traffic to a website is only part of the
equation for online success. You must also convert that traffic into leads and
inquiries. You must get people to "raise their hands," so to speak,
and to contact you in some way. This is how business relationships begin online.
You can generate leads from your site in a
variety of ways. Maybe you will ask people to fill out a short form in exchange
for virtual tour access. Perhaps you will use the reader-commenting feature of
your blog to encourage an online dialogue. There are many ways to produce leads
through a website. The key is to try new things and then focus on the ones that
work the best for you.
5. Basic Website Usability
Web usability refers to the ease with which
people can use a particular website. I often use the Netflix site as an example
of good usability, because it's incredibly simple to find your way around and
interact with their site (even if it's your first visit).
The problem is, many of the agent websites I
encounter fall short in this department. They are cluttered with all kinds of
unnecessary information and graphics. The menus are hard to find. They lack
instructions in key areas. The information is poorly organized and thus hard to
find.
These are all critical mistakes that will reduce
your online success. That's because today's web users expect organization and
simplicity, and if your site is lacking these things they will hit the
"back" button without a second thought.
I usually recommend that any agent who is
serious about online success read a book on the topic of usability. You can
find several of them at Amazon and the other online bookstores, and you can
read reviews to choose the best one for your needs.
Conclusion and Summary
So there you have it, a list of ingredients that
today's best real estate websites all have in common. If you want to put
yourself in league with the top-performing sites in your area, you'll have to
invest some time and energy putting these ingredients in place.
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Brandon Cornett publishes an agent marketing
website that offers free real estate content and a wealth of other useful tools
for agents. Learn more by visiting http://www.armingyourfarming.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brandon_Cornett |