I’m on the hunt for the illusive (corrected by my editor) elusive real estate agent website………..
Another day, another meeting with a real estate agent here in Phoenix. I am a former business development manager for a national title insurance company. I spent 10 years in the title industry helping real estate professionals-real estate agents and loan officers grow their business. My former life as a title rep has given me a unique perspective of the challenges real estate professionals face on a daily basis.
Case in point: I met with a real estate agent yesterday, he has a problem and he knows it. He has a website, but he gets nothing from it. Sure it’s pretty but it does nothing. He likes his website, actually he is quite proud of it but once again, it does nothing.
This is a common problem in the real estate industry.
Many of my former real estate clients have websites (which they must have in today’s real estate marketing environment) – good looking websites. However so many of them have complained over the years that in spite of their sites looking good they doesn’t bring them business – ever.
Pretty websites in the real estate industry are the norm. Seriously, who wants an ugly website? But there is a fundamental problem with real estate websites. The majority of them don’t show up in the search engines. What does it matter how pretty your website is if no one ever see’s it? Having a website that no one ever sees is like advertising on a billboard in the middle of the desert with no freeways in sight. It’s worthless if no one ever sees the message.
I asked my former client, “how would I find you online?” John said (that’s not his real name) “type in www.{his URL}.com.” I said, “No!” I asked again in another way, “how would I find you as a consumer looking to buy a house and I didn’t know you or have your business card in my hand?” John looked perplexed. I let him sit there for a few minutes before I jumped in to break the silence.
So I started asking questions: “Has your website company ever asked about whether you get leads from your website or can you find your website in Google when doing searches like a consumer would?” He responded, “no.” I asked further, “What are your keywords?” “What do you rank for?” He didn’t know. Again more silence and some apparent agitation.
Not unusual, not uncommon, there is a false sense of security with real estate websites, many agents think “If I build it, they will come.” “They” being buyers, sellers, investors ya know:“They.” But “They” aren’t. No one is coming – not now, not in the future and not ever. It’s frustrating. Spending all that money and a monthly fee for something that doesn’t do much. But it’s pretty!
I’ve become numb to it. I can’t tell you how many “John’s” I have met with over the years. So I made it my mission – my company’s mission – to help the “John’s” of the world. Our mission is to get our clients’ websites to do what they are supposed to do – get found online.
This is the point isn’t it? To Get Found! Websites are supposed to provide information, offer convenience, add value, improve credibility, solve a problem, etc-but only if they can be “found”.
Consumer behavior has changed. No longer are consumers going to their mailbox or their front door for your marketing message, today over 90% of consumers go and continue to shift online when looking for real estate-for homes.
NAR Statistics: In 2001 46% of consumers said their real estate agent found the home they eventually purchased. In 2010, 37% of consumers said their real estate agent found the home they eventually purchased.
Here is the interesting stat-41% of consumers said they found the home they eventually purchased THEMSELVES. So it’s incredibly important for a real estate agent to be “found” when a consumer is searching Google for “4 bedroom-2 bath home-with pool-Val Vista Lakes-Gilbert AZ” or whatever long-tail search they do .
Do you want to be “found” online by your ideal client? Visit PRO-Found @ FoundWithProfound.com. We start with a needs analysis. What do you need? Why do you need it? Who is your ideal client? What are your goals? We will build you an affordable WordPress website that works. Then we teach you how to create content-text, video, pictures, audio-to get found by your ideal client. Because we understand that many real estate professionals don’t necessarily want to create content, we can do that too.
PRO-found is an inbound marketing company, meaning, we bring your ideal client to you. What can PRO-Found do for you and your online presence? Let’s Talk.
It’s important for an agent to be at the right place at the right time when a consumer has identified a need. So, let me ask you this:
Is your marketing at the right place at the right time? Or Are You John?
