December 01 2020
Competition is fierce in the real estate industry. Naturally, agents focus on doing things that make themselves and their brand stand out, like clever marketing, creating flashy ads and handing out branded freebies.
But your real estate website is just as important, if not more so. Anyone who searches for you will land on Google and then continue to your website. It only takes a single impression to hold their attention or lose their business. Getting it right is essential in preventing consumers from leaving your site too quickly. If they're engaged, they'll gain value from your content, have more confidence in your brand and ultimately convert into a lead.
There are six common traits that the best real estate websites for agents have in common. These include usability and content features that meet consumer expectations, as well as specific tools that help real estate agents capture leads' contact information. Get these right and your website will be ready for prime time.
First things first: Your website sets the impression for your brand and your client service. It must convey organization and professionalism in order to build trust. Using modern design techniques will help achieve this. Make sure your website includes these features:
Your real estate website can't only look great in desktop browsers. It must also be mobile-friendly, which is what's called responsive design. Nearly 50% of all web traffic in the U.S. is now coming from mobile, so it's crucial that customers are able to access your website from any device they use.
When people land on a new website, they scan it for information that is most pertinent to their needs. Your homepage must clearly display valuable content "above the fold" to keep them from leaving. "Above the fold" essentially means the space that is visible when the page loads, without the need to scroll down.
These examples of valuable content all appear on the best real estate websites for agents:
See an example of what these features look like in action.
It's imperative to use a home search engine integration that you trust so the content you provide is always up to date. The worst experience a consumer can have is falling in love with a listing only to find out it sold a week before.
It's a no-brainer that your listings should be prominently displayed on your real estate website. But you should also go above and beyond to beautifully showcase each one in an engaging way. In addition to a detailed description of the property, the listing should also include high-quality professional photographs and other rich media, like video walk-throughs and interactive 3D tours. This combination of content gives consumers a full picture of the property and actively engages them.
It should be very easy for consumers to contact you from your real estate website. Your office address, email address and office and mobile phone numbers should always be included in the footer on every page across your site. This is a standard practice, so people are accustomed to looking there for contact information. Be creative and add these details anywhere else that makes sense, too, such as on your About page or next to featured listings.
Not everyone will be ready to pick up the phone or write out an email as they browse your site. You should also offer a more passive way for people to contact you, like through a basic contact form on your About page. Elsewhere on your website, you can offer an incentive for people to give you their contact information. A lead capture form on your homepage, for example, could offer email alerts for newly listed properties, registration for an e-newsletter or a free downloadable buyers' or sellers' guide.
Your real estate website is just one component of your online (and offline) presence. Make sure that the information you present is always up to date and consistent across platforms. Use the same headshot on all your profiles, prominently display your logo and brand colors, and ensure that the URLs connecting your website and social media profiles always work.
Don't forget about your brand voice. Whether you present yourself as a no-nonsense professional or as informal and approachable, that branding should be reflected in your headshot and how you describe yourself on your About page.
We talked a bit about how consumers are used to a certain experience when navigating websites. This includes a user-friendly navigation bar at the top of the site, contact information in the footer and a simple contact form on the About page. The entire site must be mobile-responsive, meaning pages aren't distorted or difficult to navigate on a tablet or smartphone. The best real estate websites for agents include these standard features and are also customizable to individual agents. That means your headshot, logo, colors and voice are displayed prominently across the site for consistent branding.
You may question whether you even need a website. After all, you're maintaining social media accounts and a Google business profile. There are three main reasons:
To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.