We all know that in order to gain clients and drive business in today’s market you need a website. Not all websites are created equally, and some are flat ineffective. There are key features that can make your real estate agent website drive business towards you as a real estate agent. How is your real estate website functioning, does it create a strong brand for your real estate business, is it navigable, is it too flashy?

All these are applicable questions to ask when you have your real estate website designed. One of the biggest mistakes new real estate agents make is trying to design their own real estate website. With all the other responsibilities of being a real estate agent, website design is not one that should take up all your time. You need to sit down with a professional web designer, give input and then allow them to create a website for your real estate business that is as unique as you are. This article will outline a few of the things our professionals are mindful of when developing successful real estate agent websites.

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Branding

It is vital to set yourself apart from other real estate agents, to do this you need a brand. Your branding is a very important part of your marketing strategy. It is how you define who you are as a real estate agent. Is it your goal to appear professional, relatable, stoic, compassionate, fantastic at listening, amazing at negotiating, or any combination of the above? Have you thought about how your particular mix of adjectives could be used to create a name for yourself in the marketing arena?

This is what branding does; it ties all the things that make you unique up in a you sized bow. It also helps to make you marketable. No real estate agent’s website is complete without their unique branding. There are several different methods to branding, and we can help with them all. We can help you build a brand that is memorable and trustworthy.

Logos

Most people are familiar with logos. They are the imagery associated with a brand. They are placed on everything from letterheads to business cards, and they should be the first visible thing on your website. There are entire graphic design sectors devoted to logo creation. Our talented graphic designers have the ability to create an effective eye-catching logo that’s unique to your real estate business. As a real estate agent, you may think that your name, occupation, and headshot are enough, but they are not. A face can be easy to forget but imagery sticks in the mind, so your logo needs to be memorable.

What makes your logo effective? Some logos are flat, boring, and tell nothing about the brand they should represent. A good logo will have a simple but unmistakable design. Your logo should carry an imprint of the real estate message you are trying to convey. Be mindful of the imagery you are allowing to be associated with yourself; it doesn’t make sense to have a logo associated with doves when your business is real estate!

Contact us now if you need help redesigning, optimizing, or updating your website.

Your logo should be scalable. Your graphic designer will make sure your logo has the same appeal at both small and large sizes. This will enable it to be used both on your real estate website and business cards. Once you’ve met with your graphic designer and decided on a logo, they will walk through some other things associated with branding your real estate web presence with you.

Tagline

Like logos, taglines are simple little things that can quickly become overcomplicated. Effective taglines are three to five words that captivate the values embedded in your real estate business. While it should embody your brand, it is important that it’s not too generic, cheesy, or oversimplified. In a great real estate website, this will be a takeaway that gets stuck in the client’s head and prompts them to choose you over another real estate agent.

It’s easy as a real estate agent to become generic because most real estate agents seem to rely on the schtick of the happy family in front of their new home with a sold sign in the background. Let our real estate website developers work with you to create a tagline that’s unique to who you are as a real estate agent.

Imagery

Images are tied to memories and often stimulate an emotional response in people. The imagery used throughout your real estate website should be consistent with your brand ideology. Our skilled website designers recommend that clients choose a theme in imagery. Our consultants can help you choose images that tie your branding ideology to your building real estate business. Proper imagery can help your real estate website stand out amongst all the other real estate websites with generic happy people in houses, and a listing of homes for sale.

Colors

Your real estate website can’t have only images of happy people in and around new homes all over it. In some places, there will have to be strips of color. They are usually associated with menu bars, background elements, and navigational components. Your web design consultant will help you choose colors that are not too busy but not too boring. Color strips can either enhance, date, or be lost in the graphic design of your page, so choose wisely!

Site Content

This is the meat portion of your branding and your real estate website in general. Our skilled web designers make sure your meat is beefier than other real estate agent websites. The contents of your page need to be well organized, with the most recent and relevant topics first. Consider having more on your real estate website in this section than just a current list of homes for sale. It’s important to engage the clientele who are frequenting your site so that they are more likely to return and eventually buy or list a home with you.

About me

The contents segment will contain an “about me” section. This is where you have the opportunity to embody your brand. This is where you can create an emotional connection with your prospective clients. You have the opportunity in this segment to differentiate yourself from other real estate agents by creating a narrative that pulls people in and calls them to choose you over other real estate agents. This segment can be turned into a full page of content by our professional real estate website designers, allowing you to further connect with prospective clients.

Testimonials and Reviews

It is important to allow previous clients to give open feedback on your services as a real estate agent. Allowing positive and constructive criticisms to be displayed on your site gives prospective clientele an idea of how others perceive working with you. You can control more negative feedback by always responding in a professional, non-confrontational, courteous, and when appropriate apologetic manner. Allowing both kinds of feedback also balances your real estate website; it will help clients perceive you as not overselling.

Effective real estate websites will use positive testimonials in conjunction with a flash menu on the front top flap of the home page. Our web designers can embed a link from here to a review page, where clients can leave reviews or read the reviews of others. This is a great way to engage your clients and create a positive narrative about you as a real estate agent. It is important to respond in a timely manner because it will show your attentiveness; that’s something people appreciate in a real estate agent.

Contact us now if you need help redesigning, optimizing, or updating your website.

Call to Action

Once prospective clients have had the opportunity to peruse your real estate agent website, you want them to be challenged to contact you. This is the section where our talented web designers use subtle cues to draw and propel the client to sign up for your specific real estate services.

Blog

Many real estate agents will link a blog to their website. This is a way to create appealing content for your clients and bring them back to your real estate agent website. Blogs are a great way for you to connect with previous and prospective clients. This is important as a real estate agent because you want your name to be the first one prospective clients think of when they buy or sell a home. By creating a blog, you become the authoritative voice on this subject. People who follow the blog can be directed to your real estate agent website and vice versa.

Listings

What real estate agent website would be complete without homes? Allow our web designers to make your listing section stand out from the competition. Instead of just placing a generic link of MLS homes available, consider having your listings as a separate section of “featured listings.” This will set your listings apart and promote them first. It also shows your willingness as a real estate agent to go the extra mile for your clients and can lead to repeat business for you.

Layout

The implementation of these elements for an effective real estate website is critical to your success as a real estate agent. People do not have the time to sift through uninteresting content on your real estate agent website nor hunt for what they need. If your website is not clear and easy to navigate, your clients will likely become frustrated and contact a different real estate agent. Here is a suggestion on how our professionals create an effective flow for your real estate agent website to help make your business a success.

Home Page

The home page contains all of your introductory information. It’s the first glimpse at your real estate agent website. The contents of your home page should be engaging, not too flashy, and fun. This page needs to create a pull for the clients to continue surfing through your real estate agent website. Our professional web page designers can guide you through what works best for your particular real estate agent website; this is just a generic format.

Header

Great real estate agent websites begin with a header. This is a sectioned-off portion towards the top of the page that contains your logo, tagline, and of course, your contact information. It is vital that all these elements are present as they are the identifying elements for your brand. These elements will give the first impression, so to speak. Everyone knows you only get one chance to make a good first impression, so this space is crucial. It should be clean and not too busy.

Mid-Section

This is immediately under the header and contains all your major site content. Think of this section like the pages in a book; the first pages are introductory, but as you go deeper, the story begins to unfold. Great real estate agent websites are designed to draw prospective clients in, causing them to search through your content and eventually contact you to buy or sell their home.

The first page is two-fold; the top part is where our professional real estate agent website designers include flashing testimonials about you, links to your internal pages, and your featured listings. It’s vital that this part of the main page be filled with engaging content because this will be the part that pulls the client toward the internal pages of your real estate agent website.

The second chunk of the first page is where the opportunity arises to engage your viewers personally. In this section, successfully designed real estate agent websites will have a snippet of your about me page, operating hours, internal links, social media linking buttons, and more engaging content. Both sections on the front page contain engageable content, so talk with your real estate agent web design professional to find out which contents are more effective at the top and which should be at the bottom for your real estate business to thrive.

Footer

This is the summation of the front page, but the elements present here should be present at the bottom of each page on your entire real estate website. These are quick links that clients can follow to make navigating your website easier.

Other Pages

Your real estate website won’t just have a home page, it’s likely you will have a bar somewhere on your homepage that allows prospective clients to click links taking them to other pages on your website. When you consult with our real estate website designers, talk about what pages your real estate business needs. Think about the branding you’ve created, what kinds of things are applicable to your real estate business, and what ways you can draw prospective clients into your business. These could all become pages on your real estate agent website.

Technical Considerations

SEO

SEO stands for search engine optimization. It’s a marketing strategy that relies on key phrases and a few technical skills to push the most traffic to your real estate agent website. Gaining traffic is important for you in order to build a successful real estate business. SEO relies partially on algorithms which compare frequently searched for terms; and optimize them on your website, to ensure your real estate agent website is amongst the top in a search results page.

Great real estate websites contain SEO keywords throughout, as a part of clickable titles, within the written contents, and in various different places. The more keywords our real estate design professionals can embed in your website the higher chances you have of gaining and retaining clientele.

Domain Name

Choosing a relevant domain name can go a long way toward making SEO work for you. The name of your website should reflect the real estate agent website business you are building. For example, if you are in business in Lubbock, Texas, it is known as the Hub City, so an appropriate domain name for a real estate agent in Lubbock might be HubCityrealty.com. Work with our website design professionals to find a domain name that will embody your brand, and drive business towards you!

Social Media Buttons

Having a social media presence is nearly as important as having a website. Social media is an effective marketing tool for many businesses, and as a real estate agent, it can allow you to share additional photos and create a bigger push on behalf of your clients. You can optimize your web presence by allowing our real estate website design professionals to link your social media accounts to your website.

Adobe Flash Plugins

Adobe is a way to allow things like testimonials and listings to run on a flash playing loop. It is a great way to keep content fresh on your front page. One thing to consider when thinking about Adobe is that it does require the plugin to work, so if a user doesn’t have the plugin they may not see the content. There are other ways to run loops of images, our real estate web designers can discuss all your technical options with you during your consultation.

You work really hard day-to-day to network, get your name out there, procure listings, sell listings and be the best real estate agent in your area. We want you to be successful. We want to help you achieve your goal to be the best at what you do, and having a real estate agent website that is more than functional is a big part of that. Let our real estate agent website design professionals make sure that your real estate agent website contains all the elements that make it eye-catching, unique, and engaging for your clients.

photo credit: lucasfoxbcn la foto 2-3

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