Mistakes Real Estate Websites Make and How to Fix Them
Mistake:
Not Targeting Your Niche – If your site is all about YOU, you’re missing the boat – and a lot of potential business! Don’t make your site just one more Realtor biography, selling yourself and how many awards you’ve won. Internet visitors don’t really care.
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Fix:
The internet-savvy Realtor is also marketing-savvy, and starts with DEFINING the target market:
- Do you want to focus on serving Buyers or Sellers?
- What do you naturally enjoy….what are you good at?
- To whom do you deliver the best results?
- What do you do that no one else can or is willing to do?
- What are unmet, underserved or upcoming needs in your market?
- What do YOU offer them that makes you UNIQUE?
Narrow it down until you have a well-defined focus. Your website should clearly market you vis-à-vis this niche focus, with meaningful content aimed at your target audience. Offer them real value and they will likely stay on your site. BE SURE TO INCORPORATE KEYWORDS SPECIFIC TO YOUR NICHE. When you do, the visitors who land on your site will be those visitors you want!
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Mistake:
Not Using Well-Researched Keywords – About 240,000 website are targeting the keywords “Nashville Real Estate”. You’d have to spend a truckload of money to get listed on page one of Google for those keywords.
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Fix:
After carefully considering YOUR NICHE, what are the words that those folks would search for? For instance, if you are a relocation specialist, looking for prospects who are planning to move to town, how about something very specific, such as, “Nashville Cost of Living” or “Nashville Home Price Comparison”?
Keyword research is the basis of designing your content and targeting your specific niche. Do the research BEFORE writing the descriptive paragraphs for your site. This theory is no different from any other well-executed, professional form of advertising. However, the techniques are very different….it’s a brave new world out there.
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Mistake:
Poor Website Layout - A cluttered or confusing site will turn your visitor away in 2-3 seconds. They’ll be on to the next website in a heartbeat. PROSPECT LOST.
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Fix:
Keep each page well organized and easy for the visitor’s eye to navigate quickly. Make sure your home page offers what visitors are looking for and that they can spot it easily within 3 seconds.
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Most visitors are looking for property information – LISTINGS – with lots of PHOTOS and details. A link or button to SEARCH for properties should be prominently displayed on the home page. Do your research on other top content items for real estate websites, and carefully consider how they layout on your page to keep your visitor interested. Stick to one focused topic per page. (After you involve them in their information search, THEN they’ll be curious about you and find your ‘About Me’ page.)
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Mistake:
Not Promoting Your Site – You can have all the real estate search bells and whistles, build in all the keywords and content, but if you don’t promote your site, search engines simply won’t find you. There are 100 million+ websites out there!
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Fix:
A few simple, inexpensive techniques can get you started. First, add a blog. Write about topics that your TARGET NICHE wants to learn about. Fresh new content is a magnet for traffic. People love to find and pass on interesting, informative stuff. Second, submit your site to search engines. Google, Yahoo & MSN are the top three. Third, submit your site to web directories. There are lots of real estate directories out there, and some are free. Fourth, set up a mailing list and publish a newsletter. Fifth, always include your website on every marketing piece you do….email signature, business cards, brochures, flyers, etc.
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Mistake:
No ‘Backlinks’ – Most Realtors are way too busy doing their business to learn about, much less spend time getting, links from other websites to their own. BIG MISTAKE. Backlinks are a very important website element if you want search engine ranking.
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Fix:
Building backlinks to your site can be accomplished in a number of ways. You can spend time doing it manually, you can utilize an online tool to automate the process (be careful…..some are better than others), or you can hire it done by an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) professional.
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Link building strategies differ greatly, and it’s best to discuss it with someone who knows the pros & cons of linking. In this environment, search engine and link building strategies are changing fast, so do your homework here or you could waste a lot of time and money.
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About Lisa Chapman:
Ms. Chapman is a licensed real estate broker and owner of Exit Realty Diversified, dedicated to serving the needs of discriminating Nashville real estate buyers and sellers. Exit Realty Diversified, conveniently located minutes from I-440 in the Belle Meade area of West Nashville. We will handle all the complexities, and make your real estate transaction as easy and pleasant as possible. It is integrity and commitment that get the job done. www.ExitDiversified.com
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Ms. Chapman is currently active in real estate investing, holding rentals and rehabbing residential properties in Nashville. She received an undergraduate degree in Accounting and MBA from the University of Houston. Visit her website www.LisaChapman.com or email her: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com