Real Estate Websites - 7 Tips for Improvement

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by Brandon Cornett

1. Organize, organize, organize.
Whether yours is a personal marketing website, or a property-based website, the need for organization cannot be overstated.

Web readers have evolved to have ruthless content standards. If a real estate website makes them scratch their head in confusion, they'll be gone in a flash.

There are too many websites to visit — and it's too easy to come and go — for them to stick around on a site that lacks organization.

2. Get to the point, quickly.
Long-windedness rarely works in marketing. This is especially the case online. Remember, Web readers are an “information savvy” bunch. Waste their time with too much warm-up copy, and they'll go elsewhere.

On a listings page, the first thing on the page should be listings. It's okay to preface each page with introductory copy, and you can certainly put your call to action on there somewhere. But don't bury the main point of a page.

3. Build value into the site.
With the exception of graphic artists and other design professionals, people do not visit real estate websites to admire the designs. They visit for the content. They want to shop or learn, and both of these things require quality content.

Things that can add value to your real estate website:

Home listings with plenty of details
Buyer / seller tips and articles
Mortgage calculators
Information kits and other downloads (also a great way to capture contact information)
Your background and credentials
Testimonials from past clients
The list goes on

Quality content gives readers something valuable. In turn, value wins visitors, repeat visitors, subscribers, purchasers and callers. Valuable content generates buzz and increases “pass along” rates. Valuable content turns strangers into readers, and readers into customers.

4. Have some way to capture leads.
Generally speaking, information capture should be the second-highest priority of a real estate website. (Generating a direct response should be the first.)

How do you capture this information? Newsletters and free reports work well, provided they offer something of value. You can offer plenty of reasons for someone to sign up: free home-buying or selling tips, market updates, the latest interest rates, information on area schools, etc.

Offer something — anything — that lets you capture the email address of your visitors.

5. Don't underestimate your readers.
Read enough articles on web writing and you'll hear the phrase “short attention span” used to describe web readers. But nothing could be further from the truth. A short attention span implies some kind of mental deficiency, a handicap of sorts.

On the contrary, the average web reader is anything but handicapped. They don't suffer from short attention spans — they enjoy heightened powers of selectiveness.

So if you want your real estate website to engage the reader, and ideally evoke a response, you must first get the reader to stop. You must use words, images or a combination of the two to tell the reader, “Hey, you've found something worth your while. Slow down for a minute!”

6. Make it visually appealing.
Clutter and confusion will repel a reader (potential client) quicker than anything else. Forget the fact that your headline is compelling, you body copy well-researched, and your offer strong ... the reader will never get to any of those elements if the design turns them away.

Good design invites the reader in. Through its balance, clarity and freshness, good design says to the reader, "I respect you, and I've created this website accordingly."

I call it reader-oriented design, and you can learn more about it in my article about real estate website design.

7. Make it professional.
Real estate is a detail-oriented business. A single paperwork slip can throw the entire process off track. So everything you show your prospective and past clients needs to be as near to perfect as possible.

Your website is no exception. A sloppy or “half-done” real estate website will not inspire much confidence!

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