Your Web Sites’ “Curb Appeal”

Does your web site have “curb appeal”? That is, will it engage visitors long enough for them to slow down, take a look around and maybe even ask to see more? Would you ever tell a seller, “Don’t worry about the overgrown shrubbery, the gutters hanging down or the broken fence. I’m sure it will sell anyway!” No, you wouldn’t. You’d tell them to spend a few dollars and a weekend fixing the place up. And they’d do it, because they want the place to sell.

So, do you want your web site to sell people on your service the way a home buyer might be “sold” on seeing more of a home based on their first impressions? If so, it’s time to re-evaluate your site as it is now. Is it clear, concise and easy to navigate? Does it offer users a reason to stick around, visit more pages and read what you have to say?

A study by a Canadian research group indicated that visitors can make a decision about your web site in as little as 50 milliseconds. So what should your site look like that will convince them to hang around more than 1/20th of a second?

First of all, your text should be dark text on a light background. We almost always prefer black on white. You should consider text size as well. You don’t want it to be kindergarten big, but you don’t want mouse-print either. Ideally, you should have font sizes that are adjustable, allowing the user to increase or decrease font sizes through their browser settings. It’s amazing to us how many real estate web sites have backgrounds that are green or red (or some other inappropriate color) and black or blue, 10 point Times New Roman fonts that are nearly impossible to read.

Another common faux pas is long pages with limitless graphics and links thrown randomly about the page with no consistent layout or form. There are thousands of these types of sites on the web right now. You should consider every link and image and banner and sentence very carefully when constructing a page. Think about how it will impact your end user, who may be a twenty-something looking for their first home or a baby-boomer who’s retiring to your area. What benefit does each item on your home page offer? None? Then don’t put it there! It’s like a flowerbed that’s overgrown with weeds. The junk chokes out the valuable parts of your site and visitors accelerate past your site without a second glance.

The bottom line when creating a web site is to focus on your visitors.

• Who is your site for? You or your clients?
• Does it provide useful information?
• Can they find the information?
• Is the site designed to compliment your core message to your potential clients?
• What will visitors think of you when they visit your site? Will they perceive you as outstanding or below average?

I can’t stress how important these things are. Your web site is an investment. It should bring you a return. How does your site measure up?

Contact Your Realty Geek today for a free evaluation of your current web site and to see how we can make a difference in your bottom line.

The Importance of Web Strategy in Real Estate

Hi there,

I’m Dave, founder of Your Realty Geek. This is my first post here on the blog and I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about our perspective on creating a web marketing strategy. It’s such an important step that the vast majority of agents take for granted. If you master this, even in its simplest form, you’ll succeed. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive, either. You just have to put some thought into it.

I get calls pretty regularly from agents who have web sites but just aren’t getting results. And by results, I mean leads and ultimately closings. The common thread for each of these agents is that there is no established web strategy.

The web is not a Field of Dreams. If you build it, it will sit there until you draw people in. Once they’re on your site, you have to fight to draw them further in or you will lose them within seconds. So there are two challenges that faces real estate agents today:

1. Getting people to your web site
2. Getting people to commit their personal information (name, email, phone number) to you

The first challenge can be met with a consistent marketing plan in place that not only makes it extremely easy for users to access your web site, but gives them a really great reason to do so. You’ll have to attack this front both online and offline. But, it needn’t be a daunting task. Consider first making a list of specific things to do to market yourself and your properties. First try to make a comprehensive list of everything you can think of and find in research on the internet. Then, narrow that list down to the items you below will be most rewarding.

For example, in my experience, a free advertisement on Postaroo.com will garner much less attention than a free ad on craigslist.org. Post with craigslist a few times and with Postaroo a few times. Be sure to include a direct link to your web site! (Do this with HTML code such as <a href=”http://YOURWEBADDRESSHERE” mce_href=”http://YOURWEBADDRESSHERE”>NAME OF YOUR SITE HERE</a>.) Now, monitor your web traffic statistics and looked at the “referrer” section (sometimes called “Came From” or “Referred From”, etc.) to see which links are bringing in more clicks. Then, examine those clicks to see how many pages each visitor views and how long they stay on the site. Doing this will allow you to determine the effectiveness of the medium.

It’s important to keep in mind when creating your list of marketing activities that your time is limited. Choose things that you know you can and WILL do consistently. Then open up your Outlook calendar and fill in dates and times for each activity. For example, you might post a craigslist ad for all of your current listings on Friday afternoon at 3 PM so that your ads get maximum exposure for buyers who will be out on the weekend. Do this consistently, every single Friday, and measure your results. Do you see a definite increase in traffic to your web site? Do you see an increase in inquiries receive through your site? Is there an increase in showings? Can you track one of these ads all the way through to a closing?

As you perform these routines, measure the results each time you do so. Without measurement, you could be banging your head against a wall and never know it. If something isn’t performing, see if you can fine tune your message to attract more people. Maybe you need better photos or more photos. Tweak your campaigns and keep measuring the results. If something consistently underperforms, dump it and replace it with something new. If something consistently brings in new business, focus more energy in that area.

Cheers,
Dave Medlock
www.YourRealtyGeek.com
877-869-9275

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Your Realty Geek specializes in helping real estate professionals develop their web marketing strategies and the tools that power those strategies. We offer single property web sites through singleLister.com and lead capture & management tools, MLS/IDX search, custom web design and traffic monitoring & analysis tools through LeadLive Pro. All of our LeadLive Pro clients receive consulting to help them develop an effective web marketing strategy.