If you are running a real estate business, you will need a great website to boost your kerb appeal. This is, in fact, one of the primary areas where you can improve services and create connections to a wider audience. This is a highly competitive niche, and figuring out where you sit on the playing field is essential. So, make sure your site is up to scratch by making use of these ten features in the guide below.
Focusing on the Whole Experience
When you go to a website, what kind of things make you leave? This is a good place to start the brainstorming process of what you don’t want your site to look like. When a customer clicks on your page, regardless of whether it is for a piece of content, contact information, or a landing page for a specific promotion, it has to be accessible. The user experience will dictate whether a conversion happens, so it is all to play for. Customers generally want a site that loads quickly, looks great, and is easy to navigate. Therefore, these three things are top priorities.
A Dependable Host
Every website has a domain host. This is how you guarantee things like secure browsing, page function, and general capacity as people look through the site. With a great host, you will be able to provide a brilliant experience. This is an area where it is worth doing extensive research and dedicating capital to because it will pay off in both the short and long term for the business.
Utilizing SEO Tools
SEO is, of course, extremely important when it comes to how well a website performs. With a considered strategy it is entirely possible to boost your site up in the search engines and expose it to more and more customers. This will all contribute to how well it performs in general and the number of people who actually stay and get in touch or use your services. There are plenty of integrated tools to take advantage of, and a whole world of SEO tactics out there to make use of.
Readable, Mouldable Content
If there is one thing that every website needs, it is reliable content. Customers come to your website to see what you’ve got to offer, so it better be good! Content is a major part of any modern marketing strategy, and it is actually very hard to escape. Make sure you are using all of the SEO tools like keywords so that you are getting the right type of traffic, and use that to make the impact worth the wait. Every piece of content has to be relevant, expert, and really in tune with your niche.
Why Does It Matter?
It matters because it also has to be accessible. If the format or the wording is wrong, people will simply switch off and this is the last thing you need. Make sure you have a flexible float of pieces to work with and try to utilise helpful tools that can do things like convert PDF to Word and so on. The purpose of the PDF to Word conversion is simple and important to highlight. Why? Because PDFs are so commonly used and entirely multipurpose, but it is important to have a document that you can shape as you see fit.
What Kind of Content Do People Want to See?
Now you know why it’s important, it’s time to think about what kind of content you should be producing. People searching on real estate websites tend to want a specific set of information. The top hits include things like area guides, community schemes, school information, and general utility services like shopping spaces, etc. If you can provide in-depth insight into all of these areas, you are already winning over your competitors. Just make sure the content is accurate, up to date, and completely relevant.
Delivering On Property Searches
What is the biggest thing your customers want from your website? You might think it is finding the business’s contact information, but it is actually looking at potential properties. The fact is that nearly 80% of all people looking for a home, regardless of whether they are renters or buyers, start that search online. So, if your property search options fail to deliver, they will look elsewhere. It is important to have advanced search options that include things like:
- Area radius
- School districts
- Public transport
- Facilities
- Bedrooms
- Bathrooms
These are the top features being searched for and will make a major difference in how well a customer engages with your particular real estate business. Remember, everyone has a budget and the easier you make it, the more likely it is that they will pick you.
Top Quality Images and Video Features
If the biggest reason people come to your website is to look for properties, then the pictures and videos have to be of exceptional quality. There are lots of tips and tricks real estate experts use to present properties in the best possible light, but the representation must be authentic. This is important for the brand because authenticity breeds trust and trust makes valuable relationships possible. Consider hiring an experienced photographer for the property listing and don’t forget to include top-tier features like video walk throughs as well.
Incentives and Leads
In order for people to leave their contact details, there must be an incentive. Whether this is a free consultation, exclusive downloads, or even a discount on fees, it has to stand out. This website is the beginning of something, but where it leads needs to be impactful enough to create actions and positive consequences. So, the first task is highlighting exactly how easy it is to get in touch, and following up with some kind of bonus for any customer that shares their details with you.
Compatibility
Millions of potential customers accessing your real estate company are browsing on their mobile phones. It is your job, therefore, to facilitate this in a way that works. Mobile sites are different from the ones people look at on their laptops or desktops, and there is a lot of value in creating a mobile-specific experience. For example, if someone clicks on your site from their phone but it doesn’t load well, fit the screen, and is ultimately difficult to find what they are looking for, they won’t hang around for long.
Let the Reviews Shine
Last but not least, make space for reviews in pivotal spaces. These could be running down the side of the screen on every page, or showing up on the homepage on a rolling basis. It is important to be honest, and only post genuine customer testimonials that accurately represent the brand. You can ask people for reviews as you gain more customers, and it is one of the first things that people will read when considering your service above a different one.
Your real estate website is where customers will see who you are and what you have to offer. They will make a snap judgment based on things like landing page impact and homepage appearance, but other factors also have a major role to play. Make the whole picture work well together, and ensure the whole site is completely functional too. This will make it look more professional and do what it needs to do.
