When you’re face-to-face with a prospect or client and they voice an objection, you counter and overcome it, right? Your real estate website needs to be able to do the same thing.
In fact, you’re about to learn the importance of designing your website around your market and their needs. The truth is, it’s your website’s form and content that will determine if a visitor will stay a visitor or turn into your next home buyer or seller.
You want clients, right? Good, then follow me…
First off, you want to make sure your site is focused on one thing, not a gazillion. It needs to be one that is easy to build, maintenance-free, low-cost, credible, and a powerful traffic-builder and client-converter (all good things, so far).
See, your website is an integral part of your marketing… for both your online and offline activities. Having industry experience or even a hot market aren’t necessarily enough to insure the success of your website. There are many factors to be considered, ones that often get overlooked by business owners… even those that sell website packages “in a box”.
Build It for Speed
It’s a fact of modern life - people are in a hurry. This means that you have between 3 and 12 seconds to capture your potential customer’s attention. To minimize your load time, keep graphics small. Compress them where possible. Use flashy technology (JavaScript, Flash, Streaming Audio/Video, animation) sparingly and only if it is important to your presentation.
Cutting back on the flash not only goes for your main page but splash pages, as well. In fact, don’t even use splash pages. They just get in the way of your prospect and the information they’re looking for.
Target your Market
Know who your market is and make certain that your site caters to their needs. It’s critical that your site reflect the values of your potential customers.
Is your market mostly business professionals? If so, the site must be clean and professional. Is your product aimed mostly at first-time buyers and young adults? Then your site could be more informal and relaxed.
The key here is to know your market and build the site to their preferences. This goes for the overall look and feel and the content you provide.
Focus the Site
Make certain your web site is focused on leading your visitors towards your goals while, at the same time, helping them accomplish theirs.
Sure, it’s nice to offer articles and MLS search from your website but how do these play into moving the visitor towards your goal? If you’re “hoping” they call because of it, that’s a pretty poor strategy. If you require registration to access certain areas of your site, how do you follow-up? And are you even asking the right information at registration?
You can probably tell that going online isn’t so much about having a webiste as much as it’s about having a strategy. A website paired with a good strategy is wonderfully effective.
Credibility Is Crucial
The most professionally designed site won’t sell if your customers don’t believe in you. A clear privacy statement is one way to build your credibility. Provide a prominent link to your privacy statement from every page on the site as well as from any location that you are asking your visitors for personal information. In fact, you should also make your contact information accessible from every page.
Of course, you’ll also want to include your designations, equal housing logo, and any accreditations.
More powerful than anything you can provide to show you’re credible are what other people provide. Testimonials from your past clients far outweigh anything you can say about yourself and provide the ultimate credibility leverage.
Navigation should be simple
Make site navigation easy and intuitive. Simple and smooth navigation adds to the convenience of the visitors. Add powerful search and catalog features. Many times a lot of visitors do not have the patience to navigate through the whole website to find what they are looking for. I’m sure you’ve probably seen this, but what’s also an annoyance to a visitor is trying to find a link to information but having to search through a wall of links to find the “right one.” Heck, they ain’t gonna do it… they just leave.
Consistency is the key
Make sure the site is consistent in look, feel and design. Nothing is more jarring and disturbing to a customer than feeling as if they have just gone to another site. Keep colors and themes constant throughout the site.
Make your site interactive and personalized
Make your website interactive. Add feedback forms as well as email forms that allow your visitors to ask you any questions they might have. Personalization of your website is another key element that can lead to customer delight and can increase your conversions. Tools such as purlstomper.com go a long way towards adding personalization to a page. Other interactive elements include audio and video which help your visitor get to know you better.
Content is King
Good content sells. Ask yourself the following questions. Does your copy convey the message you wish to get across to your visitors? Is it compelling? Does it lead your visitor through the sales process? Have others review, critique and edit your copy to insure it is delivering the intended message. Always double check your spelling and grammar.
These eight, simple rules will go a long way toward the improvement of your website and most importantly, turn visitors into clients.
HomeStomper asks: What else do you think goes towards making a more attractive website?
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