Is Your Website Converting?

No matter how pretty your website may be, it’s not really working for you if it’s not converting visitors into prospects or leads. Let’s take a look at the key elements you can’t do without on your site.

• IDX Integration. To keep buyers coming to your site, you need to ensure they can see every listing in your market – not just your listings. No matter how good you may be, you can’t cover every property for sale so you must offer viewers a shot at seeing all listings, less they leave your site for another. Place the IDX search tool on your site’s homepage for easy access, and if you want to go the extra mile, include the option to search short sales, foreclosures, and even school information.
• Easy Listing Searches. There’s one reason potential buyers are coming to your site: to find their next home. Make it easy for them by allowing them to search for the characteristics that are most important to them, be it size, price, age of home, or area.
• Keep it Simple. An effective website doesn’t necessarily need to be fancy. In fact, simple and clean is better: you don’t need distracting music or videos that play automatically or too much copy. Use excellent photography and a few site navigation buttons. Remember: viewers are coming to the site to look for homes, not to be impressed with graphic design skills.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO.) SEO is a fancy term for the process of affecting online visibility in a search engine’s unpaid results. Techniques include getting your website indexed, or the inclusion of keywords search engines easily pick up on the topic. One of the best ways to do this is through content, which brings us to our next item.
• Fresh, Useful Content is Key! Next to listings, valuable content is what brings viewers back and converts them to buyers: prove through your site you are an expert who offers value. Put yourself in a buyer’s shoes and think and what they want to know. Spotlight an area craftsman talking about DIY projects or a new local business. Be creative and mix up the copy, photos, and videos. You can occasionally post shareable content that works in any market – think tips on financing or hot real estate trends. For ideas, check out the National Association of Realtors (NAR.)
• Social Media Best Practices. These days, it’s not enough to include links to your Facebook page. Instead, hyperlink exciting content through a ‘share’ button so users can post your material to their profiles on the social media platforms of their choosing. This is a great way to drive more traffic to your site.

Don’t let the idea of creating a website overwhelm you. Making one that converts viewers into buyers isn’t difficult as long as you stick to these best practices, and in time, you’ll see that site traffic turn into business.