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Headlines like: Fred Jones, Your Realtor® For Life ... are worthless. Why? Because they say nothing and are a criminal waste of the most valuable space on your web site -- the space above the fold.

Name the cities that you mainly serve under your main headline, and then visitors will quickly know if you are the right agent for them. Try to spoof them by saying that you handle, for example, "Southern California," and they will immediately be distrustful of you since no agent can be expert in such wide territories. So just stop that foolishness now if you're thinking you will get more clients by casting a wider net. You won't.

Providing a textual link to an interior page in your site that is devoted to each city that you serve is a good idea, too. You can add links to these cities at the very TOP of your Web page so that search engine spiders will follow the links to your interior pages for sure. For example, many agents who do well on Google and other engines have a line across the very top of their home page similar to this:

Orange County - San Clemente - Dana Point - San Juan Capistrano - Aliso Viejo

Pictures of you helping others find homes, or giving speeches before groups, or involved in your community, establish you as a well-connected agent. Also show more pictures of yourself on your about page. Such pages are perfect places to build your credibility with your site visitors. See my earlier article showing how some agents do this with great expertise.

If your company only gives you an MLS link that leads to just their own listings, refuse it, and go get a private firm to provide you with an MLS search program that does include all the listings. Remember, you are an independent contractor.

In giving some above the fold textual encouragement for people to do MLS searching right from your site, a subhead that is worded like this: Orange County Real Estate Info & MLS Search.

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Find Homes Yourself Now on SoCaL MLS -- Pics & Text (Find homes in San Clemente, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Niguel and in all of Orange County and Southern California. All the real estate that is for sale and is listed in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).

This should draw visitors like a magnet. Have the MLS link go to one of your own Website's interior pages so that on that page you can give the visitor additional instructions first on how to do the MLS search in the best way. Also on that same page, tell consumers how they can save time by working with you, online, to research homes, before coming to your area to look at homes in person.

Most Realtor® sites that have such intro pages are there because some Web designer "sold" the Realtor® on how "unique" their site would be if it featured a snazzy introduction. Wrong! Few of the small, local Web design firms know much about real solid Web or any other kind of marketing, despite what they tell you. If they did, they would not convince Realtors® that gaudy splash pages are good for business. Additionally, most search engines won't readily index or find most splash pages, which is an even more important reason to avoid them.

If you currently have a gaudy home page that shows up like the Electric Light Parade at Disneyland, get rid of it and consider getting rid of your Web site design firm that suggested it, too.

Try to avoid links to outside pages on the topmost part of your home page. Outside links there will not help you in gaining PageRanking from engines like www.Google.com. Make all the links above the fold (and on the rest of your home page if possible) point internally, to other pages in your web site. This greatly helps you gain higher PageRank. Then, add your external links from these internal pages.

Agents who haven't yet figured out that it is necessary to start getting reciprocal links, have their heads in the sand. If something is that absolutely essential to the continued success of your Web site, put it above the fold!

In summary, always put your most appealing information about you, and about your Web site's main features and benefits, above the fold. In that way, you'll always be doing the most to show visitors that they came to the right place by seeing your headlines and subheads.

By putting a link to MLS searching there you'll also satisfy the main thing that house hunting consumers want to do (search the MLS) right from inside your Web site. And when they do, that means that they'll stay around and come back to you for later visits.

As they do that, they'll get to know you and your personality much better, especially if you show them many pictures of yourself being an authority, and being involved with clients, and with your community. What more could you want?

"Above the fold." It's the most valuable real estate there is on your Web site!