People assume that they can just put up a website and the leads will come pouring in. Well that’s like opening up a new storefront, but not having a business sign to tell people who you are and that you’re open for business. Â Once your site is up and running, you need to do some online marketing to get your website out there.
Here are a few ways to market your real estate website and increase your website leads:
- Google pay-per-click. This is a sponsored ad on Google and you pay everytime someone clicks on your ad. Â The link should go to a lead generation form, not to the homepage of your website.
- Social Media. Go where your customers are. Â There are now almost 1 billion people on Facebook and that number is rapidly growing. Â It’s easy to create a fanpage. Also consider Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, ActiveRain and Trulia.
- Video. Create a YouTube account and put a real estate video of all of your properties on YouTube.
- Just say NO to Flash. Stay away from Flash sides because Google can’t index a flash file. It will also not show up on an iPad or iPhone device.
- Blogging. If possible, your blog should not be attached to your website and it should be setup as a microsite. Â The blog should include posts at least twice a week and include keywords and anchor text back to your website. Â Include long tailed search phrases.
- Natural results in Google. Everyone wants to know how to rank #1 in Google, but the truth is, if anyone tells you they can get you to the first page, you should run the other way. Â It takes time, unique content and inbound linking to get to #1. Include at least 3 keyword-rich text on your homepage to help you rank in the search engines. Also consider purchasing a domain name that has relevant key phrases in it.
- Always make sure all the forms on your website are working.
- Include a free MLS search and offer from email updates for the listings that match the home buyers’ criteria.
- Use ALT tags on all images of your website.
- Include a sitemap and privacy policy on the bottom of all pages of your website.
- Make sure that your phone number and contact info is on the top of your website and on all pages as well as in your email signature, on your voicemail, everywhere so it’s very easy for clients to know how to reach you.
- Forms. Include a form on the homepage of your website.
- Make contact within the first 24 hours, if not sooner. We live in a digital world where people expect immediate responses. Â The longer you wait to respond, the more time you give another real estate agent to contact your potential client.
- Your main site navigation should be the same on all pages of your website. If it’s on the top on the homepage, then it should be on the top once you click on the navigation. If you have more pages you want to add, a drop-down menu can help to provide a clean way to organize everything.