The majority of real estate agents know the importance of having at least one website in order to establish their presence, build their reputation, promote their business, and generate more leads. However, most agents haven't the slightest clue about how to build a website that is functional, beautiful, and lucrative.
While it is true that most major real estate companies like Keller Williams and Coldwell Banker offer their agents a pre-built website, the truth is that those templates are just that; templates. Which brings me to the first mistake:
Relying on your broker's template website. They offer limited customization options and allow no room for you to stand out to search engines. You need to have your own fully functional and mobile-friendly website that is fully branded. It also needs to have multiple lead capture sources.
It lacks sufficient SEO. Search engine optimization (SEO) is how you get found via the search engines. Search engines like Google use a long list of constantly changing rules and formulas to calculate where and how websites appear in search results. Having proper SEO is imperative to existing on the internet. Statistics show that people only look at or use the top three results of a search so you need to get yourself to the top of those searches if you want to capture leads. One of the best ways to do this is with a keyword-centric blog that is updated at least three times per week with valuable content that your clients will actually want to read. (Need help understanding SEO and how it affects your business? Get in touch with me!)
Selecting a weak domain name. Your domain name is another major component that will contribute to how and where your website is found. It needs to be relevant, memorable, professional, and short. It should also explain who you are or what you do, while highlighting your brand. For example, if your brand is The Hunter Real Estate Group and you are located in Sarasota, FL, your URL should be something like "www.sellyourhomewithhunter.com".
Building and properly maintaining a real estate website is an essential aspect to branding yourself and driving your business. If you do nothing else in terms of marketing, make sure that your real estate website is structured to gain traffic, promote your unique brand, and collect leads.
