What Makes Visitors Stay?

[MaxSinclair]

What do you think make visitors want to stay and explore your real estate web site when they first arrive? Enough that they'd want to use your property search and eventually hire you as their Realtor?

Asthetics?
Large punchy headlines?
Free deals?
Home Pictures?
Flash?
Matching words with their search terms?
Picture of a trust-worthy looking dude?

[mavisdog]

I'm not sure what converts someone but I can say for myself that when a site is too busy, I click away as fast as I can. I would stay away from to much flash media.

[HHI Golf Guy]

Let's say that for some reason you were moving from Oregon to Harrisburg, PA. You know that you need a home in Harrisburg, and you start looking at homes on a web site. Would you seriously consider buying that home based upon a price tag and a few pictures? In most cases - no.

Regardless of your age and family status demographics, what you probably would want to know most about is the neighborhood and the surrounding community. If you have children, you might want to know about local schools and youth athletic leagues. If you're an empty nester, you might want to know bout golf courses and community events.

Your real estate site should target a specific demographic and the ad copy on the site should be a sales pitch to that demographic. In most cases, to make a truly effective sales pitch that makes web surfers begin to trust you and consider you to be a local real estate authority your web site can't be one-size-fits all. If you have more than one key customer demographic, you may need more than one web site.

Take the Cadillac ads on TV. Why do they play "Rock and Roll" by Led Zeppelin in there commercials? Does anybody associate a new Cadillac with rock music? No. But the ad agency knows that their target demographic is the 40-something crowd that wants a luxury car, but maybe one with a little get up and go in it. So they appeal to that demographic by laying down a music track that speaks directly to that target audience.

Your web site needs to reach out and connect with your target audience to be successful. Great ad copy will not only allow your audience to connect, but also lead them down a path to take action.

One word of caution on real estate web sites. Be sure that your ad copy does not violate Fair Housing laws (i.e. "Great property for retirees!"). I have not heard of any lawsuits related to Fair Housing and web sites, but you can bet that it's only a matter of time.

[Duncan Pollock]

I fully agree.
What visitors want, most of all, is information.
Not flash sites, not pretty pictures, not (heaven forbid!) a requirement to register before you'll tell them anything about current or upcoming listings, and not a page that's so busy they end up becoming confused.
They may not even realize it, but they're looking for sufficient facts and figures about your local area plus enough clear evidence that you -- more than anyone else -- are the guy/gal who will look after them, answer all their questions, steer them in all the right directions, and will do whatever it takes to be of service to them (and obviously have the knowledge and capabilities to do so).
It's really no different than when you're making a listing persentation. Your objective is the same: Hey, hire me, hire me. And your website needs to be designed and written with this purpose in mind.
Do this and they'll not only stay. They'll call you!

Duncan :D

[MaxSinclair]

Well said, guys. I couldn't have agreed more. My site is still so new. Still struggling with developing contents. Between showing homes, real estate marketing, doing docs, patching the site, participating in forums and taking care of the family, I hardly have time to do anything else. :(

[CTABUK]

Try adding Local Websites, stuff that is going to attract people to want to move there, apart from that Golfguy said it all

[HHI Golf Guy]

Try adding Local Websites, stuff that is going to attract people to want to move there, apart from that Golfguy said it all

I would add as few links to local web sites as possible. Once a web surfer leaves your web site, they may end up on the site of a competitor.

If you do place a link to another web site, always set the link to open the site in a new window. This way, at least your web page is still open on their desktop.

[Real Estate Forum]

Absolutely! Never distract visitors too much but also provide more resources than your own. It will make you appear "well rounded" even though they may never visit those resources. :cool:

[Jiany]

MAXSinclair
Keeping people in your site is what I try to do everyday. The truth is that you just want them to send you info about them so you can catch them first. HAve a look at my web site www.FloridaRealtyFInder.com
I input pictures, and other details, but too much writting. You must catch their atention to make them want tot sent youtheir contact info. After that it up to you as a salesperson to hit it off.
Good luck :)

[amberstar702]

From the point of view of a potential home purchaser, what I would look for are virtual tours of the houses and grounds. Information about mortgages and about the area would, of course, be important to me. A friendly, smiling picture of the realtor would also be nice. Also the hours when you are available........ :cool:

[MaxSinclair]

Good points. Vitual tours will be hard because they're determined by the listing agent and the local MLS board.

[HHI Golf Guy]

Good points. Vitual tours will be hard because they're determined by the listing agent and the local MLS board.

You can do 360-degree panoramic shots for your own site. To do it properly, you need to invest in a pano head for your tripod. However, if you have a digital camera that has pano mode, you can still take good 360 degree pictures without a tripod, or by actually rotating the tripod base. (You can swivel the camera, but the axis point on your tripod is off-center from the camera and the pictures will be skewed).

Most decent digital cameras also come with stitching software to put the photos together and convert them to Quicktime movies.

[Chief Tutor]

One additional note in regard to virtual tours. Remember that over 60% of the US is still on dial up and they don't like to wait for it to load. Make sure if you have a virtual tour, you still have 6-10 pictures of each house as well.

If you are dependant on virtual tours to show a house, you are missing a large % of the market.

just my two cents.

[San Diego Real Estate]

Great info guys...

INHO they want to look at pics and prices and then the communty/demographic info such as schools and crime stats etc. This info is available through many resources!

[CTABUK]

I take the point about finding a competitors web site, so if you create your own, local photo's, beauty spots, would that be cool?

[Arming Your Farming]

Relevance and value will determine whether or not a visitor sticks around.

Visibility is also critical (you might have great information for your target audience, but if it's not immediately visible, it's invisible).

It's also wise to have some form of information capture -- a newsletter sign-up box, a market update form -- something, anything, that gets the reader to leave his or her contact info.

[HHI Golf Guy]

I take the point about finding a competitors web site, so if you create your own, local photo's, beauty spots, would that be cool?

Definitely. Personal insight is important, whether it come from text or photos.

Take the typical web surfer. They will look at the top 10 SERP results and click on the few with titles that get their attention. In the case of real estate web sites, almost all of the sites look generally the same and present almost all of the same material in the same format.

When someone first pulls up one of our sites, I want them to think "Oh, that's different - and nice!" Then, when they scan the heading text, they are pulled in to the site for a further look. Once that hook is set, they generally stay on the web site and forget about the competition. At the very least, they bookmark the web site (we track access to the favicon.ico file to track how many people bookmark our sites).

Web marketing is competitive. Once you get your site in the top 10 SERP's the key to driving sales is to keep people actively engaged on your web site. After all, there are usually thousands of competitors selling the same products that you offer.

[Jiany]

Great tip thanks.
I do have a newsletter sent out whenever there is a new pre construction.
I tell you having a web site is definitively a non stop working experience. Always thinking of the next best tip.
Well have a great week end

[Arming Your Farming]

You said it Jiany. A website is never really finished. Anything that "sits still" too long on the Internet usually gets forgotten.

New content, design tweaks, additional pages ... it seems there's always something to be done.

[MaxSinclair]

From your experience, do you find any special type of articles that are of particular interest to visitors aside from the same old buyers guide, area info?

[HHI Golf Guy]

From your experience, do you find any special type of articles that are of particular interest to visitors aside from the same old buyers guide, area info?

People want to know what it's like to live in these communities. The best way to capture this is to write a narrative of each community. Admittedly, we have it easier where I live - we have very little sprawl - almost all homes are in planned communities.

After reading this next paragraph, 90% of the agents will think that the statements are hogwash or there is too much work involved. As with most aspects of real estate sales, it's the 10% that go above and beyond the "norm" that make most of the money.

Start by parking your car and walking through the community early in the evening when families are home from work. Bring your spouse with you and enjoy a good walk. Take notes on the sites and sounds, and the facilities and amenities that stick out. Along the way, you will run in to some of the local residents. Don't let them know you're an agent - tell them that you're thinking of buying in that community. Ask them what they like about living in that area. Remember to ask open-ended questions if you want to receive the best answers.

Later, use your notes to write an article on the community. Remember to be *very careful* with your story and descriptions so that you do not violate Fair Housing laws. In your article, sprinkle in some facts about things that would be important to a homebuyer in that area (i.e. school info, tax info, nearby parks, theatres, shopping, etc).

Remember, you do not have to do all of the local communities. Pick your favorite areas, areas that are popular, or areas that bring you the highest commissions. You can add the articles all at once, or add them to your site over the course of the years. The choice is yours.

You need to get into the head of the typical homebuyer for each region. Only then will you know what to write and emphasize. The best way to do this is to walk the neighborhoods and talk to the residents.

Is this a lot of work? You bet it is. But if you want to set your self apart from the thousand other agents in your market - and if you want to increase your sales - you need to brand yourself as a market leader. Over the internet, one of the best ways to do this is by providing personal insight.

If there are any NASCAR fans out there, this season you might have heard Greg Biffle say, "It only took me 10 years to become an overnight sensation." In other words, it took a lot of work and preparation to get him where he is today. The same can be said for any successful business or real estate agent.

[Jiany]

You mean addiding articles from newspaper?
I though addiding the same content was not to good for optimization!

[HHI Golf Guy]

You mean addiding articles from newspaper?
I though addiding the same content was not to good for optimization!

No. As I stated earlier, you need to create unique content.

[MaxSinclair]

Shawn, as usual, great advice.

[Jiany]

Hello everyone
Some of you guys mentioned that content was key to getting people or clients interested in staying to view the site. The questions is, although text is good, do clients actually read much ?

[San Diego Real Estate]

Jiany,

It really varies by the Client...

One of my sites has no Content other than PICS and the MLS Search! While the other one has Tons of content!

[Chief Tutor]

Good Question.....The NAR came out with a stat a few years ago that said that 85% of people start their home search online....and quess what they were looking for? The ability to search for homes. That is why you should always make your search for homes button front and center when people come to your website. I say button lightly though, some people like to click on links and some people like to go straight to the nav bar, so always make sure that all these options exist above the fold.

Now, the text you talk about serves 2 purposes. 1) it needs to be located near the top to recieve the most weight from the search engines, and it lets the user know who you are, what you do and where you do it. Put that all above the fold and I believe you are maximizing your opportunity to covert a surfer to a user and hopefully over time a lead and a sale.

Just my two cents

[Jiany]

Thanks SanDiego
By the way have you ever used the help of a coach. By that I mean a real estate coach to manage your business?

[Phoenix Realtor]

Shawn,

I've talked with my wife, and we are going to start "talking walks" in the communities I idolize, but can't afford personally. Eventually, after a few years of doing this, we should have all of our areas covered.

Thanks for the great advice!

[San Diego Real Estate]

Thanks SanDiego
By the way have you ever used the help of a coach. By that I mean a real estate coach to manage your business?
No Jiany can't say that I have!

[San Diego Real Estate]

Do you have some experience or advice in that area?

[webmaster]

I have found that #1 people want quick and easy access to as many listings as they would like to view, without having to give up to much info, if any.

On a personal design note, we have found that our flash slideshows of the area have grabbed the attention of the client, and I have heard numerous comments from visitors that converted into actual buyers or listings

What made you decide from our website that you wanted to work with us

To be honest I watched your slideshow for 10 minutes before I even read a single word on your site, the area looked so beautiful I just wanted to talk to someone about it.

That is a common reaction although not verbatim from actual listings or sales from the web.

[HHI Golf Guy]

Hello everyone
Some of you guys mentioned that content was key to getting people or clients interested in staying to view the site. The questions is, although text is good, do clients actually read much ?

The way to get them to read is:

1. Have attention grabbing headlines that target your customer demographic.
2. Have only 1-2 paragraphs between headlines.
3. Make sure the text in the paragraph ties in to your headline and the targeted customer demographic.

[HHI Golf Guy]

Shawn,

I've talked with my wife, and we are going to start "talking walks" in the communities I idolize, but can't afford personally. Eventually, after a few years of doing this, we should have all of our areas covered.

Thanks for the great advice!

What a great way to spend quality time with your family!

[Las Vegas Homes]

In my experience Morgan is right. All people truly want to see are pictures of homes and of the area that they are considering buying real estate in. The easier you can make it for them to acquire this type of information in a manner that is appealing to the human eye, the better your chances are of keeping them on your site and turning them into a client.

[San Diego Real Estate]

HHI I couldn't agree more...Great advice...

[Phoenix Realtor]

What a great way to spend quality time with your family!

Amen.

Thanks again for this and all your input!

[MaxSinclair]

Great input, everyone! Do you think then we should:

1. Have a separate web site that's simplified, uncluttered and just all about search and area info? If people want more info, drive them over to the main site.

2. Have multiple sites for multiple target markets? For instance, by area, by price range (general vs luxury), by whatever.

[Phoenix Realtor]

Having more than one site can get out of hand quickly, trust me I run four. But, just realize that, don't let it stop you if you want more than one.

I like having the "search the MLS" links right at the top and one in the navigation bar buttons. Then they can get what they want easily, but still look for more detailed info about the area if they choose too by simply looking a bit further down the page than the MLS search.

[Las Vegas Homes]

I would maybe add one thing and that is even though 90% of people that visit your website dont read the content you have, if it isnt there then they are more likely to leave the site because it looks unprofessional.

People are looking for instant gratification. We are in a world that whomever can do it faster and to a consumers liking is going to get the business.

[MaxSinclair]

Wow, 4 sites is a lot, Matt. I'm having a hard enough time maintaining just one. You're right, having the search button at the most visible places make perfect sense.

Wayne, you nailed it. People are looking for instant gratification. Everything else is secondary. Blame it on fast food?

[Real Estate Forum]

I also agree 100%. People may not take the time to read your content, but you want to give them the impression that they don't have to go ANYWHERE ELSE to find more if they need to know more. That is why getting content from Terry (http://www.realestateforum.com/member.php?u=135) and Terri (http://www.realestateforum.com/member.php?u=88) is such a good idea when you have a hard time writing your own :)

[gemini]

I should admit this is one of the best threads I read for the past week at all. There are quite a few really good tips and advice.

It is really hard to get any content from the agents and in my case English is third language I learned, so I write only in forums and on my own sites :)

From my experience people are searching homes and looking through the pictures first, but when they see more options available they come back and explore the rest of your site. I can see by my registrations - first in the MLS Search and then in a few days I can see the same people filling out forms on different neighborhoods pages. You should have every possible answer on your site that a visitor might have a question for, it really works out great. Don't be lazy about your content - people read it, but a little bit later. I had single pages with no content - just forms for the first time buyers, 1031 Tax Exchanges, Inevstments etc.. had a few leads. Then I had a few agents to write articles on the same subjects and placed them on the pages with the forms - leads from those forms increased a lot (even more than a lot).

Graphics, nice presentation and features - good way to attract people at the beginning, but the actual information that you put on your site represents your knowledge and professionalism, so this is where the conversions may differ. People don't care that your office look nice and you smiling on your picture - they care about how good you are in what you do (I have agents asking me questions about investments and profit from real estate... so I know whom I'm not buying from and I don't care how nice they are and how greate is the graphics on their web site).

[Real Estate Forum]

I do love threads like these. Anything that goes beyond the average boring webmaster type talk. There are so many webmaster forums and hardly any inspire me, just boring tech talk. What makes a site great is it's long term appeal. Never let a visitor lose interest, but always point them into the direction where you make your money :)

Just my 2 cents.

[Jiany]

Thanks for the tip.
I guess the most interesting factor for them is $
So I have to show the client what he or she can actually make from a deal found on my site.
Happy 4th week.

[Canadian Realtor]

MAXSinclair
Keeping people in your site is what I try to do everyday. The truth is that you just want them to send you info about them so you can catch them first. HAve a look at my web site www.FloridaRealtyFInder.com
I input pictures, and other details, but too much writting. You must catch their atention to make them want tot sent youtheir contact info. After that it up to you as a salesperson to hit it off.
Good luck :)

Jiany, that almost seems like overkill... I mean it is great, but upkeep would take an insane amount of time. Making sure that none of that data has changed etc....

[Jiany]

Does anyone have multiple site covering a large area in their neighbourhood?
Also
The TOP question of the month what are the best WAYS to optimize your sites to always be #1?

[gemini]

The TOP question of the month what are the best WAYS to optimize your sites to always be #1?

There is no such thing as always be #1. Whenever you achieve #1 spot - just do your routine and you should be fine. To be #1 you should know whom you're competing against, but when you're #1 - you never know who is after you, but you can guess ;)

[San Diego Real Estate]

gemini...

Well said!

[MaxSinclair]

There is no such thing as always be #1. Whenever you achieve #1 spot - just do your routine and you should be fine. ;)

Well said, Max. I'm a living example. Left on vacation for a week, and I was down 4 notches. Took me another week to get back up on the chart.

[Real Estate Forum]

From my experience you drop for something, you rise for something else. It's all about power, powerful content, structure and the power of incoming links from good sources.

[MaxSinclair]

I've been going up and down like a yo yo in Yahoo. More down than up! Darn it!

[WeRASkitzzo]

I admit, I havent read through all 6 pages of this thread but something that I found to work very well lately are just useful articles without the sales fluff. We just published 9 new articles and we are retaining like 90% of our traffic all the way through the 9 articles. When they hit the end they tend to leave but also our repeat visitors have gone up considerably so I would say the old saying that content is king is certainly true in terms of keeping traffic around.