5 things every Real Estate website needs

A real estate website needs differentiate itself from the rest. Design, usability, cheek, and the ability to be found are all aspects that will bring in the traffic. But if you are looking to build an outstanding website, the kind that builds loyal customers, then…we’ve said it before; content is king. Here are my recommendations for adding specific content that will really work towards your goals.

1. Your real estate services
Real Estate customers are looking for agencies that know their stuff, and specialize in the specific area they are interested in. Take the time to write about the neighbourhoods and type of real estate you specialise in (200-300 words). This kind of content is rich to the search engines and can help drive traffic to your website that is matched precisely for what you offer.

2. Real Estate Tools
There are a lot of widgets and tools out there that cater to the real estate industry. Sort through them to provide the best of the best to your customers, making your site their one-stop for all their real estate online needs. For example, HomePages.com shows the different shops, schools, and retailers in certain neighbourhoods. Zillow.com is an industry leader in flash estimates of house worth. Mortgage-calc.com can help potential customers see what they can afford in a new home.

3. Case studies and Recommendations
Put your achievements right in front of your potential customers. Highlight quotes from satisfied clients, capture the case studies of corporate relocations that were successful. Personal recommendations are an incredibly powerful decision-making factor for potential real estate buyers and sellers. Cater to this need actively.  A microsite where these are updated regularly (or rotated) can be an excellent tool.

4. Lead generation
Your real estate website can be one of your best tools for lead generation. Build several ways to capture contact information beyond a simple “contact us” form. Your web developer can create a specialized quotation form that will ask prospective clients specific questions that will aid in developing a quote. You should also include a simple sign-up that will allow you build a distribution list for email marketing, offering newsletters for potential sellers about neighbourhood information and to potential buyers “first look” opportunities to your new listings. Bottom line? Every page of your website there should be a easy method of signing up for some kind of news feed, quote or other service or offering.

5. Checklists
Checklists can be very useful for people who are considering a move. By providing a collection of simple checklists they can use, you can give visitors the content that delineate your website as a valuable resource.  This will bring them back. Checklists can be as simple as a 1-2-3 for the process of listing a home or as in-depth as one that walks a client through a corporate relocation. Building these may demand a significant investment of your team’s time and resources, so it is quite reasonable to require requiring people to register with a simple email address to access. This, in turn, helps feed back into #4!