How to reinvigorate your underused website

Most people in a business for more than 10 years have their own formula for success. For many, Internet marketing and website promotion are not part of their lead generation. Some are tentative in using their advertising budget for areas that they are not familiar with or do not trust.

Yes, there are real estate agents that generate zero new clients from the Internet and don’t care. They are fine with newspaper ads, flyers, sending mailers and just working the phone. But don’t let your website collect dust.

Developing an Internet marketing campaign can be helpful in generating steady leads and building a brand presence. Most of us don’t know where to begin.

How to get started

A simple way to start is to hire a reliable Internet marketing company to do this for you. The best way to find a solid company that produces results is to ask your colleagues for recommendations.

Not everyone will volunteer their knowledge of excellent advertising companies because they want to keep a good thing for themselves. So you can also search on the Internet. Type in a query for “Internet marketing company” or “search engine optimization (SEO)” company. You still want a business that has proven honest, reliable and will produce measurable results for you.

As you search, pick two to three local companies to meet with you. Have them present how they would promote your real estate business.

Choose the one that puts you at ease the most. If you have worries about signing a long-term contract, go with a company that will work month to month. It does normally take three to 12 months to see the successes of a marketing campaign.

Take baby steps

Start simple. Use an SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) combination campaign to start, but know many other options are out there. This particular one allows you to get your real estate website ranked in the organic search for the three major search engines including Google, Bing and Yahoo.

You will provide them with keywords in the market and the area you want to focus on.

For example, luxury homes in Houston, Texas. A good SEO company can research traffic for whatever keywords that are chosen. One way to start is to stay in your niche.

If luxury homes are your specialty, stay with that specialty. The purpose of the SEO campaign is to increase the traffic to your website with targeted visitors who are looking to buy or sell their homes.

As you move higher in the search engine rankings, your traffic should increase. One measurable goal would be getting contacted as the local luxury homes realtor (or whatever your real estate niche is) and converting these calls into sellers or buyers.

Consider pay-per-click

The reason I recommend adding a PPC campaign is because normally SEO rankings are not immediate. It can take 60 or more days to show up higher in the list.

With PPC, you can set up a campaign and potentially get clicks within 72 hours, and you only pay when your ad is clicked on. When a targeted potential client clicks, they will go the Web page that you select.

The average cost-per-click can be from 5 cents to $60 or more. Your SEO company can explain the details to you. An aggressive company will stay focused on your account and make adjustments to get targeted visitors in your area.

As an example, your campaign could have Houston and the surrounding areas as the targeted zone with designated keywords related to luxury homes.

As soon as your ad makes it to first page, which normally takes 24 to 72 hours, your ad impression will show. The people who click on your link will be in the Houston area looking for or selling a luxury home.

Always know what your budget is and stick to it. Most companies will work with your limits. They know that they have to show success to keep your account.

Don’t let your unused website be a setback. Put it to work generating more prospects and leads.

Geoff Clark is the director of marketing at Hybrid Brokers Realty. Follow him on Facebook.

Email Geoff Clark.