In this day and age it is taken for granted that any serious customer-facing business needs to have a presence online. Yet in the real estate world, many agents today still lack a basic website. Is it really necessary – or can an agent get by without one?
Why Do I Need a Website?
The simple answer is that as a professional agent you are expected by your clients to have a website. It is a matter of credibility, like showing up to a business meeting or networking event with business cards. It allows clients to more easily and quickly reach out to you, is crucial for clients to learn about your and your services, and for showcasing your brand and the listings you are offering to the market.
What are the Basics that I Need?
At the bare minimum you should at least have a webpage with your profile on it, provided by your brokerage, so that your clients will be aware of your connection to the industry. However, to actually differentiate yourself and compete effectively in the market it is much more important to have your own site with a unique domain name (e.g. “johnsmithrealty.com”) where you can generate awareness for and promote your own personal branding and listings.
There are many services available online for hosted real estate websites, including ubertor.com, that you can sign up for. Costs are low, setup is quick and easy, and you can customize a template to showcase your brand, contact info, and website content (Blog, etc.). Even if you have just a single listing you want to promote, it should be done on your own site.
If you want to compete on a serious level you also need to have your website connected to an MLS database to showcase listings in real-time. This technology, called IDX (‘internet data exchange’) allows the data to be uploaded directly from MLS databases to your website. There are various options and platforms available (some are external plugins that need to be installed, while platforms like Ubertor offer built-in IDX).
How Do I Take My Website to the Next Level?
Once you have the basics set up, you need to consider how you want to invest in customizing your website to make it stand out from the crowd. Plenty of expert service providers exist who can tailor build your website and promote its content if you have the budget, but you don’t necessarily have to spend a lot of money. If you decide to do it yourself, the investment will be in the form of the time it will take you to improve your website on your own. If you decide the DIY option is the one for you, be sure to research which platforms offer the right tools for you work with.
Website customization can roughly be broken down into 2 areas:
Improving the design appearance: For this option, if you want a truly world-class looking website you will most likely need to hire a professional design team to build it for you. However, you can still have a great looking website if you choose a platform with nice looking templates. Adjusting templates can take some time and effort, but the results can be surprisingly good. Recent advances in DIY website builder technology are making it easier than ever to build gorgeous websites without any special knowledge of web design.
Creating great content for your website: Content is the information your website provides to clients. This includes descriptions of the services you provide, but more importantly is relevant advice you give them – typically in the form of blogs or landing page content that offers clear solutions to problems they may have. Over time, generating great content is what creates value and makes your website stand out from others. Popular content containing relevant keywords is also what gets promoted by search engines like Google or shared on social media platforms linked back to your website. This is how you increase your site’s traffic and popularity, generating more leads for your business.
There is a large industry with many service providers targeting different types of realtors and brokerages depending on their needs and budget. It is important to research the options available to find one that is right for you.
While there is value in spending a lot of money to get an outstanding website built with a dedicated marketing team to create and promote professional content, this is most likely not the best option for single agent Realtors just starting out in the industry.
If you are a new Realtor, the most important thing is to have a nice looking, basic website that showcases your listings – and start to build a niche for yourself. Are you an expert on a specific property type in a certain area of the city? Start writing useful Blog articles on that subject for prospective buyers searching for information online. Take high quality pictures for your listings. Build a reputation for yourself as a specialist in your area. Over time your brand will strengthen, as more traffic and leads start flowing into your website.
Have any questions?
If you’d like to know more about how to get started building your online brand, please reach out to one of our customer service reps – our team of experts is always eager to provide useful advice or answer any questions you may have.