It seems that many Realtors® are at this place regarding their web marketing: "Will you get off my back already? I went and bought a template web site and I got myself e-mail, too. So now I'm competitive. I can tell sellers that I've got everything any other online agent has and that's all I need to convince the seller that I'm web-savvy! I'm done!"

If that's you, you're not done; you're just misinformed. You've become a victim of "the easy way out." And here's why:

You thought that all you had to do was shell out a few hundred dollars and suddenly you'd be riding the technology wave that everyone was saying you had to be on. You thought that your template-based web site contained all the "right stuff" for consumers. Or perhaps you bought that template site because you got an incredibly good deal. You may have even gotten your template site free. Editor's note: A template web site is one that includes the same basic design and content from agent to agent with typically only the photo, bio info and several other items changing.

I bet the firm that sold you the site told you it would make you competitive with all the other Realtors. Well, they were right. Now you look just like a huge percentage of all the other Realtors on the web. Sadly, mere parity was what you likely had even before you purchased a template web site. Bottom line? You're still at the line of scrimmage.

Oh yes, you can say that your template site brings you an inquiry once in a while and maybe one might lead to a sale over a year or so. But a stand-alone, original web site that looks like no other will do worlds better inquiry-wise. Know too, that template sites become far less effective as more agents put up ones that look almost exactly like yours.

Consumers who have visited several of these template sites soon tend to ignore all of them, including yours. They think they already visited it. Thus, what did you gain? The answer? Virtually nothing.

Sadly, at a time when you were still pretty ignorant about the web, the template site sales rep may have forgotten to stress that your site exists in a competitive war zone and has to scream "Look at me! I'm unique! I've got the right stuff you need to buy or sell a home. I'm what you sought!"

This is especially important in light of a recent study done by NPD online Research showing that among 2,355 internet users, 19% said that their online search for a home resulted in a meeting with a REALTOR®.

Well, folks, as Groucho said, now it's time to play you bet your life. Your template site was an admirable first step in your web marketing experience. You should be applauded for dipping your toe in the scary waters of web marketing. However, what can you do next?

First off, adopt a new attitude, not merely "tokenism" about your web marketing. If your web page or site looks like that of many other agents in your marketing region, make it look radically different or get rid of it. Budget some serious funds this year for web marketing, including from $2,000 to $3,000 for a custom web site that looks radically different from other ones. That's still cheap. The average corporate web page costs about $24,000 today, but you don't need the very best designers, at least for several years. But you do need to look different from the very peers with whom you wage marketing warfare every day. Or, make every modification that you can squeeze out of your existing your template site.

See, your site is more important than you may think it is. How important? Well, to any visiting consumer on the web it IS you. So do you want that consumer to view you as just like all the other Realtors sporting those same nifty, inexpensive, all-inclusive template sites with all their pretty frames and buttons? Or do you want to stand proud on the web as an uncommon choice? A choice that is obviously not "me-too?" A Realtor who makes things happen? A leader? An innovator?

The web is always changing. And so should your web site. It should evolve. You cannot just let it sit there like maybe you thought you could. It needs your attention. You must change its look and wording on a regular basis as market conditions evolve. Say, every few months. Otherwise, you'll bore your repeat visitors, much as you would by showing them the same brochure about yourself year after year.

Unfortunately, changing a template site is something that few Realtors® ever do, once it is up and running. And this is a great pity because most template site firms actually do allow enough changes in color, button type and content to make one look different from another. Find out if your template maker offers upgrades and then pay to have them added. Take their suggestions on adding features such as mapping, schools, and community information. Search the Web yourself for good material that you can add and then give it to your template page host or learn to add features yourself.

There are no free lunches on the web. Or in the marketing positioning of yourself. If your realty office gets offered a "deal" if only its Realtors will all choose from the same handful of template-looking sites, be sure to find out to what extent the template sites may be modified by each individual owner.

A custom-designed site will always be a better marketing tool for a Realtor®. But if you can make your existing template site look more like a custom site, hey, that's all right, too.

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Published: July 26, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Bill Koelzer is a Web marketing consultant to web-proficient agents nationwide. He is co-author, with Barbara Cox, Ph.D., of the Prentice-Hall books, Internet Marketing in Real Estate and Internet Marketing. Bill is also webmaster of Orange County Real Estate, among the most-awarded known Realtor® sites. Visit his website, Koelzer.com or e-mail him at .