Have you ever surfed the Web as a consumer? Pretend you are moving to Houston and want to preview homes on the Internet. Are you first going to look for homes or are you going to look for an agent? Most consumers agree, they want to look at listings. And if your site provides listing content, chances are your “sticky” time will increase as consumers will also want to view listing details, pictures, virtual tours, neighborhood information and locate the property with a mapping tool.
Rule #1 – Give them what they want.
All Area Listings. Make sure your site provides updated, local MLS inventory for the visitor to search. Do not just give them the ability to search your listings; they will soon realize the limitation and go somewhere else. Find out if your association has a solution for you. If not, you might need to contact a 3rd party listing aggregator such as Realtor.com or Homes.com and see if they feature the listings from your local MLS.
Also, do not make the consumer work to find the search button. Most consumers stay on a site less than 30 seconds, unless they find a reason to stay. Do not make them scroll down to find the search. Do not hide it under your own listings. Let it be easy to find so they know it is there immediately when they come to your site. Give them a reason to stay.
Rule #2 – Stay a click away from the consumer.
Is your name and contact information on every page? Do not make the consumer have to search to contact you. Do not let them forget whose site they are on while performing their search. Once they find something of interest, can they find you? Can they easily click a button and e-mail you for an appointment or to ask a question? The Internet consumer wants information and wants it quickly. Do not put your contact information in small print at the bottom of a screen. Your name, e-mail address and even phone number should be on every page they visit while on your site.
Rule #3 – Don’t lead them astray.
This is a sad, but common problem. A consumer comes to your site to view properties online. The site has lots of resources on it. The visitor clicks on a button that takes them to another site and then another site and then another site. Pretty soon, they cannot get back to you unless they press the back button about 50times. If you are going to have links to outside sites, either keep those sites inside a frame, or have the browser open a new window so the consumer can always get back to you. Be cautious in putting so many resources on the page that the visitor loses site of his purpose – to search for homes. But make sure you are with them on every click of their journey.
Rule #4 – Encourage the visitor to take action.
Always keep in mind the main purpose of your Web site is to get the consumer to take action and involve you in their decision to purchase a home; in other words, to transact business. Invite the consumer to sign up for more information and get their permission to contact them in the future.
Remember the 30-second rule of capturing their attention. Make use of the word “free” on your site. Encourage them to sign up to be auto-notified of properties matching their criteria. Have contests. Offer FREE relocation packets; FREE Market Analysis of their home; FREE event calendars; FREE pre-qualification for a loan; or FREE brochures on buying a home. You know you have a lot of FREE services to offer. Do not assume the consumer understands that it does not cost anything to have a market analysis performed for their home.
Following these four guidelines should enable your Web site to capture more consumers for longer periods of time. Know and understand your consumer.
Target your audience and create headlines on your Web site that will separate you from the competition. Let them know what you do best; what you have to offer. Give them a reason to stay on the site. Make it easy to contact you. And get their permission for you to contact them.
