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The DIY culture that has sprung up since the popularization of the Internet has spurred a devaluing of professional services, as detailed information and step-by-step how-to’s can be looked up on Google, often in a matter of seconds. This–paired with online real estate listing sites such as Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia–has ushered in the idea that most people no longer need a Realtor or professional realty services.
However, there still remains a number of enterprises for which hiring a professional is still a good idea, and while online real estate listings make it seem as though the process of buying a home has greatly simplified, it continues to be a complex procedure that can greatly benefit from knowledgeable handling. For this reason, it is imperative that Realtors stand out from the crowd with easy to find (and use), beautifully designed, and fast loading websites that will entice potential clients into seeing how much easier their lives could be.
Beautiful, Clean Design
In order to properly pitch your realty services, you need a website that’s visually appealing, but not overwhelming, and clean and easy-to-use, without being sterile or bleak. It should inspire confidence in both your eye for aesthetics and your head for business. Quick page loading time is essential, as the Internet consumer is not prepared to wait around in the hopes that you’re the one. Take too long to display your charms, and they’ve already moved on.
Also, remember that you get what you pay for. Much like homebuyers trying to cut corners by doing it themselves, you will likely be disappointed in your results by getting a friend or family member to just “throw something together” or “spruce your existing site up”. Invest in your business and hire a professional with real estate website experience to get the most for your money.
Easy to Find Resource
Having a beautifully designed website is only half of the battle. Now you need to make sure that it’s easy for potential clients to find. This involves employing search engine optimization (SEO) strategies so that search engines like Google can actually locate and properly categorize you.
There are plenty of how-tos online for how to try and do this yourself, but again, we recommend hiring a professional company to handle this for you, as SEO is a complicated process and search engine algorithms are constantly changing, in order to deliver users the most relevant results. Don’t waste your time trying to keep track of this when you could be doing what you love: matching people with properties and launching them on the next phase of their life.
Pop of Personality
Finally, you can help your site’s attractiveness and SEO by adding a bit of individuality to it. Blogging and social media are great ways to keep your business in the limelight where it’s more likely to be noticed. Creating regular, quality content about the real estate industry and your particular geographic market will appeal to clients, boost your industry authority, and signal to search engines that you’re worth paying attention to.
You can use a social media presence to promote your content and to create a community where people can review you and refer you to their friends easily. These are things you can do yourself, or if you’re too busy with other parts of your business (or don’t feel that writing is your strong suit), that you can contract out to a professional company.
Realtors are still vitally important to the real estate business, but all of us in professional services from accountants to web developers have to do a bit more work to sell people on the idea now. Don’t let your website (or lack thereof) keep you from getting clients you otherwise would. Invest in your business, invest in yourself, and reap the results of hard work and professional care.
If you’re ready to take your realty company to the next level, contact us today for help with any of the above services.
