Do your web visitors think you have a sensational real estate website – one that differentiates 
it from the hundreds of other sites that serve your area? Do YOU think you do?
A sensational real estate website will cause prospects to linger, read, and even bookmark your page as a future resource.
If you’re not sure whether your site qualifies as sensational, take some time to actually read it.
Answer these questions to see if you have a sensational real estate website:
Is your name and location prominently displayed on your home page – or do visitors wonder if they got to the right site? I am constantly amazed at how many real estate websites are lacking this basic information.
Do you have home search capabilities? If so, can visitors easily sort to find the price range or neighborhood they want? Can they request automatic updates when a new listing is added or an old one has a price reduction?
Does your “contact me” page actually offer ways to contact you – or only one of those forms that many of us have come to believe go absolutely nowhere?
Are your web pages informative and interesting?
Does your “about me” page feature an agent bio that will make prospects want to choose you? I’ve seen many agent bios that were either dry facts about education and designations or were carbon copies of the same old “I take care of my clients” narrative that actually says nothing.
Are there advice pages for buyers and sellers? If so, are they interesting and useful, or are they the same vague advice you can find on a thousand other websites? Hint: If they were furnished by the real estate website provider or your franchise, you probably should re-write them and turn them into original content.
Do you have community pages to help relocating clients choose the community or neighborhood that will suit them best? If so, are they original and complete, or are they copied from Wikipedia?
Will your visitors find a page filled with links to local services, utilities, non-profit organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, and schools?
Do you offer special reports that visitors can have just for leaving their name and email address? If not, click here to read why you might want to consider doing so.
Have you remembered to include calls to action? Many agents forget this simple step.
Are you blogging regularly?
Does your blog offer a pleasing mix of listing information, community attractions and events, and stories that allow visitors to sense your personality? Do you update it regularly, or was the last post written in 2016?
If you can say yes to all of those questions, you probably do have a sensational real estate website.
Now you need to make sure you have an abundance of visitors.
All of those informative pages on your site, if properly optimized for the search engines, will bring you some organic traffic. But there are many more ways you can ensure that prospective real estate clients find your site.
Start writing, and always include an author box that includes your URL. Where possible, include a link to a relevant page on your website.
- Blog on Active Rain.
- Share your best pages and posts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media sites.
- Write articles for sites such as Realty Times.
- Write articles for your local newspaper.
- Write guest articles for other real estate professionals, such as lenders, stagers, appraisers, and inspectors.
- Write press releases for distribution on line.
- Choose a niche or geographic territory and send prospecting letters and cards by direct mail.
- Be visible in your territory and USE your business cards.
- Put your URL in the signature of every email you send. While you’re at it, reveal your location.
- When you meet with a new prospect, leave them with marketing material that invites them to your website to learn more.
You might have noticed that I didn’t include paid ads.
They work for some people and they’re a total waste of money for others. If you’re really interested, talk with other agents who have used them, then go slowly and put a cap on daily spending.
Check the results and the costs daily, so you don’t go swirling down a money drain.
Fireworks courtesy of Mike Watson @ Dreamstine.com
