First, let's again review the “4 Crucial Steps” to making money with your real estate site:
If you are still not convinced that a Custom Site is the only way to go, don't forget what we learned about your basic template sites, flash sites and free sites: They Don't Work!
If you've decided to go Custom, then you're on the right track. But who's going to build the thing?
Remember why most real estate web sites fail? It's because the web guy doesn't know real estate, and the poor, overworked, stressed-out, trying to make a living Realtor hasn't got time to learn about the internet. That's why you need a web site design company that knows real estate!
Why isn't my real estate web site doing anything? I get a ton of email from Realtors asking why their site isn't doing anything. It just sits out there in cyberspace. A tiny dot in an infinite galaxy of real estate web sites. I take a look at their site, and sure enough, it's a template site with generic content and so many links on one page that it probably gives most poor web surfers who happen to inadvertently stumble upon the site a headache.
When contacting a design company, ask them if they do real estate sites. Do they know about real estate? Will they make a search engine friendly site?
Each real estate web site should have a specific purpose, and that purpose should be to improve your bottom line the way *you* do business. You can help the process by thinking about what you want your site to do.
Cater to your potential customers... If you are a “heavy lister”, how about adding a picture of you standing next to your sold sign in front of a nice house on the main page of your site. If you are marketing to out-of-town buyers then an easy-to-use home search front-and-center on the main page and a highly visible school info link graphic would really pull in clients. If your target market is 55+ communities, then maybe the font size shold be larger site-wide, and a white background with black text would make the site easier to read for older web viewers.
Set yourself apart... All of these ideas can set your site apart from the chafe--from the typical, boring, no-content real estate site. These small details will keep potential clients coming back and that will energize your bottom line. *But* none of these great ideas are possible without a Custom Real Estate Site *and* a Quality Real Estate Web Site Company to make your vision a reality.
Click the following link to go to Step 3: Add deep content to your real estate web site.