How to Build a Real Estate Website

These days, having a website for your real estate practice is a no-brainer, as are a few of its components: great photography, fresh content, and social media links. And, those are fun items to work on. Who doesn’t enjoy lovely pictures of homes?

But for your site to work most effectively, you’ve got to get into the nitty-gritty of technology. Because, despite your cool social media and the number of followers you have, despite how interesting your blog is, if potential buyers and sellers can’t find your site, you won’t be successful.

Let’s take a look at three issues you must harness with skill, no matter how unsexy they may be, if you’re going to convert leads to sales.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Indexing

In layman’s terms, all this means is the process of ensuring search engines like Bing and Google can find your site. You want to ensure your website ranks high enough that when an enterprising potential client searches for local agents, yours pops up near the top of the search results.

It’s easier to build a site with SEO in mind rather than adding it to an existing site, but either way, you can still make it work. There are several simple tools for boosting SEO, including social media. Link your business profile to your website or bookmark it through sites like Delicious. For the more technically minded, create a sitemap on your website’s server that tells search engines when you make changes.

Full IDX Search

IDX is shorthand for Internet Data Exchange, the agreement by which listing and selling agents cross-list properties through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). One of, if not the, most prominent features of your site needs to be a full IDX integration.

Using an IDX provider will cost you a monthly service fee, but especially if you are just starting or working with a small company, it’s the simplest way to make you competitive with other sites and get online leads.

Google Analytics

It used to be that measuring interest in your products was limited. Maybe you could place a classified ad in the newspaper and see who called. But today, Google Analytics offers the go-to platform for gauging the effectiveness of your online marketing. You can determine how visitors find your site, which pages drive the most traffic, and which sections generate the most leads.

Don’t be intimidated when starting out. The program takes a little time to learn, but Google offers help pages teaching you how to set up an analytical program and generate reports from it, so you can hone in on the properties generating interest and the type of customers on whom you should focus.

Building a Prospecting-Friendly Website

A well-designed website can play a vital role in improving lead quality and the way those leads relate to stronger real estate prospecting efforts. Consider these five essential questions:

1. Do You Have a Powerful Home Image?

Nearly every agent website opens with a similar image: a house. Okay, you sell houses, we get that. Use more inspiring images or ones that tell a story to draw people into your world. Perhaps this is a better way to think about what you do. You aren’t selling homes, you are making dreams. 

From that perspective, maybe this type of image would be more engaging than the typical exterior image of a home. Think about images with families, kids, pets (everyone loves dogs!), or emotional moments that resonate with the dream of homeownership.

1. What Is Your Value Proposition?

What makes you different from other agents? No, it’s not that you deliver better service; everybody can say they do. No, it’s not that you’re passionate because everyone is passionate (at least they may think they are). But what do you do differently that would set you apart?

Maybe you’re employing a 1% commission? Maybe you pay for home inspections and professional photographers? People come to your site wanting to know why they should trust you with their home; help them feel as if they’re making the right decision.

1. Is Your Site Mobile Friendly?

Yes, in today’s web development world, it’s almost a given that sites are built to work across all platforms. But the question is, does your content work across all platforms?

According to Google, nearly 60% of home searches originate on mobile devices, a market share heavily influenced by younger demographic groups. Don’t just assume that your desktop design will function the same way on a mobile device, especially the navigation.

1. Do You Have Calls to Action?

What are you doing to stop someone in their tracks when they visit your site? Do you have a call to action or, in fact, multiple CTAs? Many agents use the “home valuation” box to engage visitors to their site. But again, this is a widely used strategy, so it really doesn’t differentiate you. Maybe you should consider combining your CTA with something of value.

1. Do You Offer Something of Value?

One of the most effective ways to engage visitors to your site is by offering them something of value, especially if it is compelling enough to persuade them to part with an email address.

What do we mean by “something of value?” Perhaps you create a series of short, nicely designed white papers or ebooks on topics that would be relevant to a cross-section of visitors, such as:

• 10 Ideas For Staging Your Home Like A Professional
• 5 Reasons Why It Makes Sense To Use A Real Estate Agent
• 10 Tips For Organizing Your Garage
• 8 Tips For Those Who Are Thinking About Downsizing

You get the idea: people want valuable information and are willing to engage with businesses that provide it.

The Bottom Line

When it comes to using your website to enhance real estate prospecting efforts, remember this adage: “Facts tell, and stories sell.” Look at your website as a place to tell your story in a compelling way and always with an eye towards providing value to anyone who visits.

Don’t be intimidated by these tips. Take a deep breath, carve out a chunk of time to focus on learning some tools, and don’t be afraid to ask for help if need be. You’ll be rewarded for your mastery come closing day.

Start today.