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Your real estate website is your window to the world. It allows potential clients to see your experience in the real estate industry, your business acumen and also to connect with you should they wish to take the next steps.
Because a real estate website is such an important lead generation tool, it must be executed to a high level and also maintained. Think about how many times you have clicked away from a website that has poorly written copy, low-quality imagery, and sub-par information. Don’t let potential clients click away from you by including the nine elements in your real estate website below.
Pleasing aesthetic
First impressions count so you are going to want to make sure your website is well-designed and also easy for you to maintain. If you don’t have the time to complete the task yourself or have experience in web design, it would be a wise choice to seek the assistance of an expert, family member or friend who might be able to help you out.
As part of the website-building process, you will also want to learn how you can update and maintain the site yourself, so you can do it when you need to without delay and save yourself money.
If you are using a website designer to create your site, make sure you collect examples of sites that you like to give them as reference points, and deliver to them as much of your material that you want on the site at the start of the project as you can. This will help to not delay the process and also cut down on the hours taken needed to complete the site which can add to your budget in the long run.
High-quality images
Like having great listing photos to showcase a home in its best light, it’s an absolute must to use high-quality images on your real estate website. Nothing deters a viewer from a website faster than poor-quality images. It makes the business seem unprofessional — and you do not want to portray that to visitors to your page.
Be sure to include a professional image of yourself (or a few), images of the areas you serve, and current and past listings. If you are stuck for location images and photography isn’t your strength, you can always invest in some great stock imagery from online sources such as Shutterstock or Adobe Stock.
Engaging copy
Again, much like a listing, once you have captured the attention of your audience and enticed them to learn more, your copy needs to be void of typos and grammatical errors and to show personality and flair to stand out from the crowd. Be descriptive with your copy, but don’t write blocks and blocks of text, especially on the homepage.
People these days are short on time and want information in short, digestible bites. There will be more space on your site to add more detail —especially if you will be maintaining a blog — so keep the first few text blocks short and to the point. If writing is not your forte, explore hiring a professional copywriter — the investment will pay.
Current and past listings
You will certainly want to include your current listings on your website for potential buyers to view. That said, displaying past listings is also a great idea so potential clients can see the types of properties, price point, and areas in which you have experience.
Testimonials
Are you the type of person who reads reviews of businesses, restaurants and vacation properties on Yelp, OpenTable and Airbnb before making appointments or reservations? Just as you seek out and read reviews, so too are your potential clients.
Testimonials are a great way to demonstrate your expertise via a third-party voice that has had direct experience working with you. Be sure to ask past clients to share a testimonial for you to use in your marketing materials. Don’t be shy; more than likely they will be only too happy to give you a glowing recommendation.
Demonstrated expertise
In addition to showcasing your demonstrated expertise in testimonials, also explore other features for your website to highlight your knowledge. This could include evergreen knowledge articles that have more generic information about a certain topic that has more of a shelf life (for example, “10 things new homebuyers should consider before making an offer”) or blogs that are posted regularly that can speak directly to current and trending topics.
If you go the blog route, don’t forget to utilize the content in your email campaigns, social media, and more.
Videos
Videos are a great addition to a website as they can truly bring your page to life. Video content can include market updates, property and neighborhood tours, or even a general video where you introduce yourself. While you can hire a videographer to shoot and edit the content, sometimes filming on your phone and editing at home can be just as impactful.
Social media feed
As part of your real estate marketing program, you should certainly have an active social media presence to showcase your listings, market and local knowledge, and also to give a glimpse into your personality and work style. Make sure to showcase all your hard work by adding a social media feed to your website. There are great programs such as Juicer that can display your social feeds beautifully directly on your website.
Contact information
While it goes without saying that your contact information should be included on your website, it should be very easy to locate and possibly even listed in multiple locations. Certainly have a “Contact” tab as part of your navigation bar. And you may also wish to list your phone number or email in the footer of each page.
Also, at the end of each blog or knowledge article, you could have a CTA (call to action) where people could click to contact you to learn more which takes them to your contact page.
Your real estate website should be a tool that helps you connect with potential clients. It should be working for you 24 hours a day, providing lead generation even while you are sleeping.
In order to have the best possible real estate website, you should make sure it has a professional design, high-quality images, and the copy must be engaging and free of any typos or grammatical errors. Consider including content pieces including current and past listings, testimonials, videos and integrating your social media feed.
You should also showcase your expertise by way of a blog or knowledge articles. And last, but certainly not least, make sure you include your contact information on your website so that it is easy to locate.
Laura Stace is vice president of luxury marketing for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices.
