Real estate agents need to do their best to differentiate themselves from other agents—particularly in a tough real estate market. To help stand out, it’s important for real estate agents to develop an online presence. And while creating websites is easier than it used to be, building a presence that sticks is easier said than done. The age-old adage, “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t apply to website development. You have to work hard at growing your online influence with a website builder of your choice. With that in mind, here are five things you need to know about creating your first real estate website:
Think About Local SEO
Local SEO will play a big role in your site’s ability to be discovered via search engines. This means that, while design is a crucial part of the experience, you also need to think about how SEO can be incorporated into it. Local search engine optimization refers to the process of optimizing your website to appeal to a specific geographic location. Consider working with a local SEO agency so that when users search for real estate agents in your area, your website will appear at the top of search engine results pages.
Choose the Right Domain Name
One of the first decisions you’ll have to make is what your domain name will be. As a real estate agent, ideally you’ll be able to secure a domain that matches your name, i.e., JohnSmith.com. However, with the growth of the Internet, the chances of your name being available as a domain is slim (unless you’ve got a pretty unique name).
That being said, chances are you’ll have to get a bit creative to choose the best domain name. Consider working with a domain broker; these professionals have vast experience in the domain industry, can negotiate domains on your behalf, and handle the paperwork process—which can get tricky if you’re purchasing a name from a domain owner versus a host. As you write down your list of potential names, consider the following advice:
• Make sure your domain name is more brandable than generic
• Choose a name that’s easy to type and pronounce
• If possible, avoid using hyphens and numbers
• Try to keep your name on the shorter side
Pay Attention to Lead Capture
Lead capture refers to the process you have in place for capturing information about your leads, whether it’s a name, phone number, or email address. Lead capture forms and lead capture pages are designed to help you collect information about your potential clients and build relationships with your leads. For real estate agents, success isn’t measured in traffic; the real value is your website’s ability to convince visitors to fill out the necessary forms on your page so that you can reach out to them later.
Your lead capture sections should have an effective and clear call to action. Whenever you want to gather information about your visitors, think about the trade-off; what do your visitors get out of the exchange? What are the benefits of signing up for a newsletter? What freebies can you offer them? Your lead capture forms should clearly demonstrate the value for them.
Use Quality Images & Videos
Images are the most important aspect of any website, no matter what industry you’re in. Images can help present information in a more digestible way and can create a more engaging experience for your viewers. Far too often, real estate agents tend to use similar stock photography. You can take your website a step further by using real photography and videos.
Many agents feel outside of their wheelhouse with cameras, but there are simple ways to outsource different areas of photography and videography. For example, you can take the photos on a high-quality camera and hire a freelancer to edit them to perfection. You could also hire a drone service to take amazing videos of your featured listing and help those listings really stand out. The key is to make your company feel reliable with your images. Real pictures make your business feel more authentic and trustworthy and can mean the difference between securing a client and losing one.
Streamline Your Navigation
Your navigation is a crucial part of the user experience. Don’t be bogged down by how much you have to offer; you shouldn’t have more than five tabs in your navigation and your visitors should never need to take more than three clicks to find the information they need. Fixed headers ensure your navigation is viewable at all times. Unless you absolutely need it, try to avoid dropdowns; if you must use them, keep them to a minimum.
