Well, if you have the time and knowledge to do it, then go ahead. However, if you want your Real Estate Agent website to be top-notch and help you close more deals, then you’ll want to invest in a professional website builder. A top-performing Real Estate Agent website has many features that enable it to efficiently showcase your properties, enable communication with your clients, and collect important data that can be used to improve your marketing.
With a pro, you receive a design that is current and optimised for search engines. This will help you receive more traffic to your website. You also receive support after the site is published, which is just as important. A professional will have the knowledge and expertise to make changes to the website if needed.
Choosing a company with a solid track record and a dependable customer service team will help to alleviate most of your concerns. Make sure to do your research and talk to a few designers before choosing one to partner with. You want to partner with a company that is knowledgeable and dedicated to creating a website that will drive traffic and generate leads for your business.
Let’s look at the top 11 factors that will make your real estate website pay off.
1. Mobile Responsive
Mobile devices account for more than half of all online activity, so it’s vital that your real estate website is mobile-friendly. The best Real Estate Agent websites are responsive and optimized for both mobile and desktop usage. They also have smooth, easy-to-use interfaces that make them ideal for both inexperienced buyers and experienced real estate investors.
58.99% of all website traffic in 2022 was generated by mobile devices. Google has also included mobile responsiveness as a ranking factor. If your website is not mobile-compatible, it will be harshly downgraded by the world’s largest search engine.
Mobile responsiveness allows your visitors to view your website as it was intended. With a responsive website, there is no need for zooming, and it can be viewed easily on any device.
Mobile responsiveness can also help improve your search engine optimization (SEO). Google prioritizes mobile-friendly websites, which means you will likely receive more traffic from this change.
Mobile responsiveness can be easily achieved by using responsive design techniques, such as adaptive layout. It makes your website look great on all devices, from desktops to mobile phones.
Responsive design is the process of designing a website so that it adapts to fit any screen size (e.g. laptop, tablet, mobile phone).
2. Live Search Feature
A live search allows visitors to search for a property and get real-time results as they type. Visitors don’t have to complete their search to get results. With a live search, they can jump ahead and refine their search. In real estate, this feature is particularly helpful because properties can have a lot of different attributes. A live search helps visitors find the home they want quickly and easily.
For example, a real estate site could allow users to search for properties based on price, location, size, and other details. If you offer a site with a customizable search function, you will likely see an increase in visits, engagement, and conversions. Creating a website that caters to your target audience is essential to success.
You can specify the following search criteria:
- Location of neighbourhood
- Price range
- Number of bedrooms
- Number of bathrooms
- Availability of a garage
- Proximity to the Business District
- Nearby schools
It’s also a good idea to include information such as the number of months the property has been on the market and the number of owners the house has gone through.
3. Interactive Property Listing
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The more engaging your listing, the better your chances of converting browsers into bookings. These advanced features are only available on the best platforms. You can use these tools to make your listing more interactive by adding details such as floor plans, zoom-in photos, and virtual tours. You can even use AR/VR to offer customers virtual walkthroughs of your property before they book. These types of features are available on only the best real estate listing websites.
These technologies can be used to showcase a property’s interior and exterior, provide detailed information about a property’s amenities, and even enable potential homebuyers to view the inside of a property before physically visiting it. By choosing to make your property listing interactive, you’ll increase the chances of converting browsers into buyers by providing them with a better user experience.
If a potential tenant or buyer can click on a property and see high-quality photos, contact information, and information about the location, they are much more likely to convert.
Interactive property listings also enable easier booking and scheduling.
If your tenants or buyers can view their rental property or home on their own schedule, they are much more likely to choose your property over a competitor’s.
4. Beautiful Images and High-Resolution Videos
The first thing that people notice about a property is its physical appearance. Using beautiful, high-quality photos and videos will help you make a strong, long-lasting first impression on on-site users.
Make sure you have high-quality images to reduce load times and increase the number of people who can view your listing. You can also host your own blog or website with higher-quality images that can be uploaded. If you have a blog, you can start posting pictures with links to your listing site. This will increase the number of people who can view your listing site and prevent the possibility of buffering and loading issues. If a listing site has limitations on video, you might consider hosting a blog and uploading your video there.
As an example, you can add a virtual tour of the home, or a 3D walk-through. This way, your site visitor can explore the property from their computer desktop. They don’t have to click on anything. There’s no risk of losing their attention. They’re likely to stay on the page longer, which gives you a better chance of getting their email address. On top of all that, the site visitor has the option to share the VR or 360-degree view with their social network, which can only help to increase traffic to the site and generate more interest in your inventory.
What are the most popular search parameters indicated by your site visitors? Check your analytics to find out.
Suppose 90% of your site visitors are seeking houses in the US$100,000 to US$200,000 price range with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, and a 2-car garage.
Hire a professional videographer to shoot a video on houses in your listing that meet these search parameters. Be sure to include keywords and hashtags in the video’s description that are relevant to your target audience. These will help drive traffic to your website from YouTube. Regularly update your YouTube channel with new videos that showcase different houses in your inventory. As with other content on your website, these videos should be evergreen so they can be shared and viewed by your potential buyers at any time of the year.
Finding the perfect house to suit their requirements will become simpler and more straightforward for site visitors.
5. Customer Support Features
If someone reaches out to you for assistance, you don’t want that person to disappear. Keep them engaged with your real estate website by offering the ability to save their current search and receive notifications when new homes that meet their criteria are listed. You can also offer the option to receive notifications when new homes that meet their criteria are listed.
Certainly, the people visiting your site are seeking answers to a lot of questions:
- How do I get started?
- Can I get financing for your properties?
- Is it a good idea to get a loan considering that the inflation rate is rising?
- Can you recommend a good Mortgage Broker?
- Do you have an updated list of bank loan rates?
- Can I go for property auctions?
- What are your commission rates?
- What documents are needed to process a sale?
Having the following features available on your website can help site users find the answers to these questions:
- Chat Support
- Mortgage Calculator
- FAQs
- Email Support
- Contact Forms
- Guides for Buyers and Sellers
- Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) on select neighbourhoods
- Home Valuation calculator
- Updated information on the real estate market
- Lifestyle Guides
Having a knowledge base and chat functions on your site enables Google to spider those pages and include them in search results. As users can quickly find the answers to their questions without having to leave your site, they are more likely to stay on your site and keep Google indexing your site. Google also studies how users interact with chatbots, so you can also expect to receive a nudge up the rankings if you have a chatbot on your site.
6. Compelling CTAs and Lead Capture Forms
When creating a Call to Action (CTA), you should keep things simple and direct. Your readers should be able to understand what you want them to do immediately. Your CTA should not require them to question your intentions.
For example, you could use beautiful images of homes for sale in certain neighbourhoods to include the CTA “For Sale” or condominiums that are “Pre-Selling – Reserve Now”.
They must have a clear call to action that is easy to understand. A quick way to lose subscribers is to make them work too hard to sign up for your newsletter.
These types of giveaways are just as good as giving away something tangible like a t-shirt or a mug, but the value of the information that you receive from these types of e-books or pre-selling events is much greater. An ideal giveaway for your company’s newsletter could be an e-book that shows readers how they can save money by using your company’s service.
7. Optimised Blogs
Publishing regular blog posts keep your website fresh in the minds of your readers. It also helps search engines to index your site more regularly, which improves your search ranking. Writing blog posts doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process. You can start by curating content from other blogs by rewriting it and giving credit where it’s due. With a little practice, you’ll soon be able to generate your own blog post ideas.
When it comes to getting discovered on the web, your blogs must be optimized with high search volume keywords. The real estate industry, for example, uses terms like “real estate”, “real estate property”, “buy real estate”, “affordable real estate”, “wealth creation”, and “property management”.
It’ll be simpler for web crawl bots to locate and index your content if you add these high search volume keywords to your blogs. Learn how to do keyword research in our article “How To Do Free Keyword Research For SEO That Delivers Results For Your Business” to learn how to do keyword research for free.
What subjects should you cover in your blog?
- Restaurant reviews
- Best activities to do around the area
- Tips on transportation or getting around the city
- Real estate property trends
- Tips on real estate financing
- Finding your dream home
Your readers will come back to your blog if it helps them solve their problems. Your blog should have a strong sense of direction. An effective blog has a defined purpose and communicates its message to the readers clearly. Keep your blog updated regularly. Readers visit blogs for fresh and updated content. An updated blog is more relevant and helpful.
8. An About Us Page That Resonates
The best About Us pages follow the advice of legendary investor Warren Buffett and focus on their readers. An excellent About Us page will tell readers what value the company brings to the table and why they should trust it. It also provides a call to action for readers to explore the website further or contact the team with any questions.
Sure, it will be comforting for the reader to know that you sold 500 properties in 2020 and were named “Top Real Estate Agent.” However, how will these bits of information assist the reader in locating the type of property he desires?
Storytelling is an effective strategy for creating an About Us page. Here is one:
In 2001, I had to sell my house because I couldn’t keep up with my mortgage payments. I used the money from the sale to cover my outstanding home loan and look for a more affordable house. I was surprised to find out that with a little bit of patience, you can locate the perfect home without having to break the bank. Since then, I have dedicated myself to real estate. As a real estate agent, I can assist people in finding their ideal house without having to endure the same ordeal I did.”
Great story, isn’t it?
First-time home buyers should contact this Real Estate Agent, as he understands their situation.
9. Simple and Easy-to-Navigate Web Pages
As long as the site is functional, most visitors won’t mind the lack of aesthetics. However, if you’re targeting a particular demographic, such as senior citizens, you might want to make sure your site is easy to use as well as pleasing to the eye. Keep in mind that every click on a website subtracts from the total time it takes someone to purchase something. The fewer clicks it takes to get to the desired information or product, the better.
A hover-based menu is another example of adding space to a website. Hovering over a menu icon reveals the drop-down menu. This gives the user more space to view the website content without having to scroll.
Including a fixed-position navigation is another way to increase the amount of space on a website. A fixed-position navigation does not disappear when a user scrolls down the page. It stays in view, allowing the user to view it at any time.
Keep your website simple and user-friendly. It will get the job done and satisfy your site’s visitors.
10. Client Testimonials
Your clients’ testimonials are proof of your effectiveness as a Real Estate Agent. These can be as powerful as word-of-mouth advertising. Testimonials are perceived as honest, sincere, and willingly given.
Put your client testimonials on the home page because this is the primary landing page of your website. Include a recent photograph of your client and some professional information.
Visitors will be more likely to trust your company if they can read what other customers have to say. In order to get quality testimonials, you may want to offer a discount or some other type of incentive. You can also reach out to your contacts to see if they would be willing to leave a brief comment on your site. When you are collecting these comments, make sure that you are asking the right questions. You want these comments to be as helpful as possible to your future customers.
11. Local Search Platform
Local search marketing is a great way to reach local consumers. You can use local search to gain trust and reputation, and you can engage with your customers directly. Local search platforms can help you manage your business by connecting with customers and staying on top of the latest trends. You can also find local businesses on local search platforms. When you use a local search platform, you can look for local businesses as well as restaurants, entertainment options, and more. If you’re looking to be found in your area, start with a local search platform!
Local search is the process of using the internet to find businesses, services and events in your local area.
There are many benefits to using a local search platform, including:
- Discovering new businesses and services around you
- Finding out what’s happening in your community
- Being able to give people directions or find out more about a particular business or event
- Finding out what’s on in your city or town
- Providing the opportunity for businesses to get discovered by people who may be interested in what they offer
- Being able to find things that you wouldn’t otherwise know about such as things to do or places to eat
- Providing information about events that might not be widely advertised elsewhere
Let’s take a look at the following case study:
Problem: NDIS’s website had been neglected for months. They had a great product or service, but nobody knew about it.
Agitate: Their competitors are getting all the traffic and conversions they deserved.
Solution: Top4 local search platform helped them rank higher on Google and increased their organic traffic. We also designed a website that converted visitors into customers.
Local search has many advantages including helping you find potential business partners and customers. In fact, a local search engine will tell you all kinds of important information about the businesses and communities around you.
Local search is more important than ever before because when you search for your favourite local business online, you’re not just searching for a company name and address; you’re getting more information about that business throughout the site. That’s where local search comes in. A local search engine will not only show you other businesses nearby, but it will also let you know about the details of that business and how to reach them.
Conclusion
However, these 11 qualities aren’t must-haves. We listed the 11 qualities of a top-performing Real Estate Agent website. Your budget should be taken into account when creating your first website. These 11 qualities aren’t must-haves.
It’s true that having a website is an investment. As the old adage goes, ‘the higher the investment, the higher the reward’. The great thing about websites is that you can achieve outstanding results with the most minimal of features.
Starting off with a basic website if your budget is tight, is a good idea:
- Mobile responsiveness
- Property Listing
- Blog Page
- About Us Page
- Contact Us
- CTAs
You can have your client testimonials highlighted on the home page and have your website connected to Facebook Messenger using a chat plugin. Do you have a YouTube channel? We can play your videos on a loop by embedding a link on the homepage of your website.
Your real estate business will grow as your Real Estate Agent website grows. You begin with a robust foundation and slowly construct it as the demands of your family grow. Building your Real Estate Agent website is the same as building a home.
Are you committed to having a website for your real estate business? Please get in touch with us at Top4 if you are. Top4 will make sure your clients feel right at home.
Feel free to share this article with friends who are thinking about setting up their own websites, if you enjoyed it.
To find out how we can help you with your Website + Marketing, using our unique location marketing platform called Top4, get in touch today at www.top4marketing.com
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