If you’re a real estate agent then you know how competitive it can be. You have to do something really amazing to stand out. Your brand and online presence are one of your most valuable assets and a valuable real estate website is at the center.
Standing out will not only give you happy customers, it’ll improve the likelihood you’ll get a referral. Just like having an office isn’t enough to get business, setting up a website also isn’t enough.
You’ll find a lot of companies out there that want to help you get a website. They probably look nice too.
Nice doesn’t get customers, though.
If you’re going to stand out as a real estate agent that’s a go-to resource, you need to offer more. A valuable real estate website offers more than just a nice look and information about you.
What People Aren’t Looking For
When people are looking for real estate resources online they start by looking for someone to answer their questions. Whether they get a referral or find you through search, you’re only as good as the help you give.
Nobody is looking for a salesperson to help them buy real estate. If you read a bit about what makes a bad real estate agent, many of the items focus on not meeting customers needs and exactly counter being helpful.
Applying the information from the article to your website, these are some of the things you don’t want to have happen:
- Difficult to communicate with you.
- Answering none of the questions people have.
- One direction communication.
- Try to sell when you’re still trying to build trust.
- Disorganized.
- Very little content, heavy on selling.
A valuable real estate website doesn’t come from trying to sell real estate or even just showing real estate.
What People Look For
So if the previous section are some things that people aren’t looking for in a real estate website, where are they looking for?
It’s easy to say just the opposite but I’m going to fill it in a bit more. I want you to take away some specific things you can do to have a valuable real estate website.
Having a valuable real estate website requires many of the things I mention in my 17 things your small business website needs, 11 it might article. Those are the basics for every website, though. For a successful website, especially in real estate, you have to go above and beyond.
People need help when looking at real estate. Your website should meet that need. Share on XThat means you have to offer something others aren’t offering and find ways to engage with viewers to find ways you can help them. Yes, in every form of marketing, the most valuable thing is to help, real estate is no different.
Now that you know what people look for in general terms, it’s time for me to fulfill my promise, getting down to the specifics of a valuable real estate website.
What A Valuable Real Estate Website Is
Your website has the potential to hold tremendous value to your customers because of the complexity of real estate. These are some of the things you can do to take advantage of the confusion your customers may experience.
Real Estate Blog
So how can you best help people who are looking for help? You have to know what they need help with first. You probably run into questions every day that customers want to know.
That’s great for you! Every question a customer asks is an opportunity for you to understand what other customers are likely to ask. It’s like free keyword research for you so you know exactly what to write about.
Once you know what customers are asking then you need to start answering those questions. A valuable real estate website will have plenty of resources to answer customers questions.
Take your knowledge from interacting with customers and turn it into a resource for all. Share on XA real estate blog for your website is the single most valuable tool you have to bring customers to your website so you can turn them into customers. The questions customers are asking is an endless stream of good blog ideas so there’s no excuse for not writing.
Become a valuable real estate website by starting a blog and keeping it updated regularly. Every post your write is a new way people will find you and figure out you’re a trustworthy resource.
Be careful! As you blog on your real estate website, be careful to always use the customers language, not jargon. You’re a real estate agent and understand the ins and outs of the industry, your customers do not. By using jargon you’ll lose their attention and interest in you as a resource.
With an active blog on your website, you’ll answer customer’s needs before they even ask. That’s a great resource and will get a lot of attention.
Easy Communication
You probably already have your phone attached to your hand, that’s the nature of real estate. Text is probably the preferred method of contact with most of your customers too. What about potential new customers, though?
You want to make it easy for new customers to contact you immediately and get an answer right away. That means a valuable real estate website should have multiple levels of communication available depending on customer’s preference.
An email address is a good starting point but is there a phone number easily available? Sometimes that’s overlooked but it’s important. If you want to go even further, then a live chat agent on your website will impress (see the green button on this page? I’ll answer).
If a customer can be on your website, reading one of your awesome blog posts and click a button to chat with you directly, that’s impressive.
Engaging
Being engaging to your customer goes beyond your website but it also takes place on your website. Social media is where engagement starts but your website is where it ends many times.
Engagement may end on a blog post they read and want to leave a comment with a question or their experience. Everyone loves to talk about themselves so make sure you give people the opportunity. End your blog post with a question or something that will engage.
Pictures are also very engaging and as a real estate agent your product is represented best by picture. Include pictures in every social media post you make and every blog post should have a few relevant pictures.
Never Sell
A valuable real estate website never tries to sell. Your primary goal should be to become a resource that helps. You’ll of course have a call to action on every page and ways to bring viewers to your website into closer communication with you, but don’t try to sell to them immediately.
Don’t yell at a stranger and tell them you’ll represent them, you’ll scare them away. Slowly build trust and help them realize you’re there to help over time. Be gentle, be patient, and make sure you have a path laid out for them to come to you for help.
An email list is a great stop in your path to build trust and turn a lead into a customer, you don’t even need a website to build your email list.
A valuable real estate website is a help tool, not a sales tool. Share on XSo, be sure you’re being helpful in any way you can. A helpful website is a valuable real estate website.
A Valuable Online Presence
I laid out details on ways you can add value to your real estate website above. Helping customer’s goes beyond your website, though. There’s your broader online presence to pay attention to.
You can add value for your customers in many different ways. These are two other ways that are a great way to build resources that brings in real estate leads:
- Create helpful videos.
- Post regularly and visually on social media (be sure all your profiles are complete before you start posting).
In all the places you build your online presence, always be sure to build relationships that brand you as unique and helpful.
Check Your Online Presence
Your website is the centerpiece of your online presence. A valuable real estate website will create a powerful website that complements the rest of your online presence.
You should be sure you have a complete online presence that exceeds expectations to grow your business. A free personalized Online Presence Report will help you get on the right path. Not only that but it will start the discussions on growing your business online and expanding your online presence.