Keep Users Coming Back to your Site
Listings, content, and follow-through are what keep consumers coming back to real estate Web sites.�
In the span of a decade, having a Web site has evolved from great idea to absolute necessity for real estate practitioners who want to serve today’s legions of net-savvy buyers and sellers. If you doubt the power of Web marketing, consider these statistics from the 2004 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers:
• 74 percent of home buyers reported using the Internet during their home search.
• 15 percent of home buyers found their home on the Internet during 2004, up from just 4 percent five years earlier.
• 81 percent of home buyers who searched the Internet purchased their home with the help of a real estate practitioner, compared with 66 percent of those who don't search the Internet.
• Home buyers rank property information as the most important tool for a real estate Web site to have, followed by photos, virtual tours, interactive maps, neighborhood information, and your contact information.
So, how do you ensure that your Web site—now an essential marketing tool—is as effective as it can be at drawing home buyers and sellers and keeping them interested in all you have to offer? It’s how well a Web site can draw repeat visitors that determines its “stickiness” in Internet-speak, and, ultimately, its success. Here, some industry leaders give their views on what Web site features keep customers coming back for more.
• Make It Intuitive, User-Friendly
• Have a Memorable URL
• Provide Easy Listings Search
• Give Great Customer Service
• Educate and Assist
• Demonstrate Your Professionalism
Make It Intuitive, User-Friendly
As important as a Web site is as a tool for disseminating listing information, it plays a more critical role as a proving ground for services that can transform casual visitors to your site into loyal clients.
“Right now, the Web is the No. 1 marketing tool, communications tool, and productivity tool in real estate,” says J. Lennox Scott, CRB, chairman and CEO of John L. Scott Real Estate in Seattle. The company employs more than 3,800 sales associates in more than120 offices throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.
As an early advocate of the Internet as a tool for real estate sales, Scott’s company launched its Web site in 1995, posting all of its listings online. In the years since, the company has continually fine-tuned its Web strategy in response to the needs of buyers and sellers. Currently, the site averages more than 1 million property searches each month.
“We’ve tried to make it as intuitive, as user-friendly, as we can for buyers and sellers to get the information they need,” Scott says. That’s brought an uncluttered design for easy navigation of site content and features. The ease of use helps draw visitors, and gives them reason to return.
From the home page, buyers are just “three clicks to a house,” whether they have specific local interests or want to explore relocating to other parts of the country, says Scott. There’s also links to areas where they can create a personalized search, explore services for buyers and sellers, find real estate professionals, or open houses in their area.
The company’s commitment to Web-based marketing is reinforced in all its promotional efforts. “Every home we list is assigned its own URL,” says Scott. “When we sit down with a seller, we’ve already put together the virtual tour and can show them how we intend to market their property online.”
With all the resources the company provides through its Web site, Scott believes human interaction remains critical to the success of its Web strategy. “People who use the Internet want a quick response when they have a question,” Scott says. “We’ve gotten into the wireless world so our practitioners can have e-mail forwarded to them in the field and respond right away,” Scott says.
Have a Memorable URL
Prudential Carolinas Realty in Charlotte, N.C., provides its sales associates with customizable template Web sites and their own domain name.
“We tell them the Web site should become their virtual alter ego,” says Mike Thornburg, sales manager and head coach of more than 700 sales associates. “We encourage them to use their names as their URL, so it’s easily remembered whenever a client wants to look at their Web site.”
Provide Easy Listings Search
Thornburg says the primary aim of each of its sales associates’ sites is to prompt potential buyers to register with its “property watch” function for home searches. In a few steps, users can create a profile of their interests, and set the system to alert them as new listings become available.
“We believe you demonstrate the value of your services by making it as easy as possible for them to find out about listings,” Thornburg says. “Other information you can provide is not as important, at least initially, until you’ve demonstrated your services. Then, after they have a reason to come back, they’ll want to know about local schools and the community.”
Larry Tamkin, CEO of Next Level Realty Inc., a Web-based company for buyers in Newton, Mass., agrees. “Our main goal is capturing buyers who will register for an MLS search,” Tamkin says. “We try and provide them the best customer service we can, from their initial contact with our Web site.”
Give Great Customer Service
Tamkin believes that customer service is the best tool a company has to convince prospects its services and Web site warrant a second glance. The company promotes a 2.99 percent listing agreement as an enticement to sellers on its Web site, but its primary pitch is to buyers.
Online, Tamkin says customer service entails site design as well as content and customer support. “You need a clean design with bold headlines that tells visitors the main points of what you offer, and what you can do for them. It’s got to be streamlined and easy for visitors to get right to the information they need.”
An invitation to call an 800 number for live help is prominently displayed on the bottom of Next Level Realty’s home page. At the top, another bold headline encourages visitors to register for an automated search of the MLS. “Once they register, they receive e-mails from us every day as new listings become available,” Tamkin says.
At that point, content becomes more important in how people use the site. “We found some information was not as widely clicked on as we expected,” Tamkin says, referring to community information on his company’s Web site. “But you have to have community information. And, the more information you provide, the better your chances of popping up in search engines.”
Tamkin says he’s been surprised by the ongoing popularity of some content. “From site tracking, we discovered one of the most frequently clicked areas of our site is the page with photos of our sales associates,” says Tamkin. “People apparently want a look at who they will dealing with before they make contact.”
Educate and Assist
In a popular destination location like Palm Beach, Fla., community reviews can be as critical to the perceived value of a real estate Web site as the ability to search for property. “We try to educate the consumer about our area,” says Don Urschalitz, ABR, a buyers’ representative with Cameron Investments Inc., REALTORS®, in Palm Beach Gardens. “Then, we try to qualify their needs, so we can match them to the right community.”
Consequently, detailed information on more than 40 communities in its market areas that the company provides is an important draw to the Web site. “People want to see pictures, and one of the nice things about the Internet is that you can show a lot of pictures without increasing your cost,” Urschalitz says.
Urschalitz believes a company can increase the chances visitors will re-use the site by taking the time to ensure resources are accessible on any computer, over any type of connection. He’s worked closely with his Web designer to achieve a site that loads quickly. Menu directories with links to information of interest to buyers and sellers, and other resources are immediately apparent at the top of the home page.
“Remember, people arrive at your site using different browsers and different computers,” Urschalitz says. “Some are on broadband and others on dial-up services. You want a Web site that always looks good, always work, no matter what they are using.”
Potential buyers to visit Urschalitz’s site have the option of registering for a property search or searching anonymously. “Some prefer blind searches until they are ready to contact me,” Urschalitz says.
The home page also features a blog with the latest news concerning the market area and real estate trends. “We update content, explain what’s going on in the area, and why it’s important as a way of demonstrating expertise in a constantly changing market,” Urschalitz says.
Demonstrate Your Professionalism
Roberta Baldwin, broker/owner of RE/MAX Village Square in Upper Montclair, N.J., employs her Web site to demonstrate the skills, knowledge, and organization she believes clients expect in a real estate practitioner. “Your Web site is your voice to prospective clients, so you’ve got to convince them from square one that you’re a professional,” she says.
Drawing on her background as a journalist and editor, Baldwin set up her site like a magazine with tabbed categories of content. She wrote all the articles about her services, the market area, and advice for buyers and sellers. She updates content as needed.
Good pictures, properly cropped, are an important component of the presentation. “When people think about moving to an area, they need to know what it looks like and see good pictures,” she says. With the images, they want insightful information.
“One of the most important things you can offer families is access to (meaningful) schools reports,” Baldwin offers as an example.
Although she closely monitors site activity, Baldwin waits for visitors to initiate contact. “I don’t want to assault people,” she explains. “I just try to give them such good information on my Web site that when they are ready, they will think of me first.”
To her advantage, Baldwin has discovered many of her peers ignore their best opportunity to get prospects to return to their site. “You’d be surprised how often people tell me ‘You were the only one who responded to my e-mail,’” she says.
In her e-mail responses, Baldwin gives enough information to direct people back to the resources on her Web site. “If they are interested, I send them a newsletter with updates on the marketplace and new properties and listings,” she says.
Baldwin has found making the Web site work requires ongoing effort. “Having a Web site is a lot like growing a garden,” Baldwin says. “You can’t just put it up and forget about it. You’ve got to put some time everyday, and constantly look for ways to improve it, for it to be worth all your effort.”
9 Ways to Make Your Web Site ‘Stick’
What makes a real estate Web site sticky? There’s a combination of factors that separate the good from the bad. It’s the good ones that “stick” in consumers’ minds so they’ll return again and again.
• Effective Home Page and Design. First impressions matter most. Consumers won’t get past the home page—the main entrance to your Web site—unless it promises that time at the site will be well spent. Consumers have a good idea of what they’re looking for when they arrive at your site. The design and layout should make it easy for them to go right to the information they want, without wasting time trying to figure out where it is.
• Quick Load Time. Not everyone has broadband or wireless Internet yet. For those still using dial-up services, the longer they wait for pages to load, the less likely they’ll come back. Don't overload your site with animation, sound effects, background graphics, and oversized images so your Web site and pages always load quickly.
• Lots of Listings. Buyers and sellers want to see what’s available and what the properties are selling for. Point them directly to that information and it will help establish the value of everything else your Web site has to offer.
• Photographs. Use pictures and virtual tours at every opportunity to convey and compare the selling points of different properties and to highlight the appeal of the community. Use thumbnail images that link to a larger view as much as possible to improve loading time.
• Search Capabilities. Offer your site visitors the ability to search the MLS or your listings database for criteria like price, size or style of home, and neighborhood. If your search function is easy to use and produces reliable results, the visitor will be more likely to return. Combining search capabilities with an e-mail alert system will really keep them coming back.
• Solid Information. Consumers may turn to listings first, but once they have an idea of what’s available, they’ll want to learn more about the area and the services you provide as a real estate practitioner. Additional information, such as general advice to buyers and sellers, community profiles, and school reports, also will help demonstrate your knowledge and expertise.
• Regular Updates. Timely updates give visitors a reason to return to your site. A featured home of the week, market report, or blog in which you describe new housing trends will promote the perception that you are on top of your market and industry trends.
• Your Contact Information. Let consumers know you are there to help them with their real estate needs whenever they are ready. Make your contact information and an e-mail link a prominent feature of every page of your Web site, but don’t require that they fill out any form, or initiate contact, until they are ready.
• Extras. The latest mortgage rates, financial calculators, home-value estimates, maps, etc., are tools that enhance your Web site’s appeal as a one-stop resource for all visitors’ real estate needs.
BY MIKE ANTONIAK
REALTOR.COM