Realtors: Is Your Website Set Up To Market Yourself to TIME's 2006 Person of the Year?
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by: Guest
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As a Realtor, you're going to be representing the Person of '06 quite frequently. With the rapid leaps in home marketing opportunities through the Internet, the '06 Person is going to be depending on technology to find you and your business. Do you know who the Person of '06 is? Do you know what they want in the medium they've chosen to conduct their work and play in? TIME magazine has a feature called "Person of the Year". This is a feature about a person who, for better or for worse, had the most effect on the world in a specific year. TIME's 2006 Person of the Year is "you". While this choice brought TIME criticism as a "cop-out" when there were so many other influential people in 2006, it was praised in other circles for recognizing the ordinary citizen's contribution to the rapid spread of user-generated content on the Internet. (Who knew that so many computer junkies could effect the course of history?) What the Person of '06 is looking for is results. Now, now, now now now now. They know how to use the web and have little patience for websites that don't perform up to their expectations. If you go casually surfing on the Internet, you will find many Realtor websites and social marketing pages that are absolutely hideous. Hot pink, sparkling .gifs, blinking text, automatic music playing - every sin one can commit on a website has been committed by those in the real estate profession! If you, who know what to look for when searching for a home for clients, have a hard time navigating these websites, just think of what a client sees! Or, rather, what they won't see, because they've already panicked and clawed for the Back button. These people of '06 will judge you on your website. They are web-savvy and know their way around the Internet. They are used to fast interfaces and clear paths to their goals. If they're on your site, they want to see listings - yesterday, if you please! If you give them what they want, they'll be happy and maybe they'll think about exploring your site a little more. Or they may sign up for more information. What are you looking for in the website you're going to market yourself and your skills on? Cleanliness is a great start - a clean, simple design is better than one that is cluttered with peripherals. It may come as a surprise to you that some people still think that twinkling stars and florescent orange make great backgrounds for their professional websites and social marketing pages. Unique content is another big thing that can help you set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. Search engines are not impressed by duplicate copy and do not rank it well. Easy access to listings is another extremely important feature... in fact if you can't hand these within a few seconds to those looking for them, they are going to fly off your site, never to return. If you enjoy dabbling about in website technology and have the time to make a decent site, by all means go ahead. I warn you, though, it's tedious work. Not the initial choice of the "look" and "feel" of the site, but the endless link-testing and page-revisiting, unique content writing and constant updating that you need to do in order to have your site be noticed by today's search engines and be easily navigable by even the most computer-unsavvy person. Otherwise, you might look into paying a professional website company (preferably one that understands the needs of today's Realtor) to do it for you. The cost may seem high initially, but even a single sale can amply recoup your investment and then some! If you have a website that delivers what they're looking for quickly in an easily-navigable format, then you will be ahead of the people who don't take the time and effort to ensure that their online presence is as impressive as possible. TIME's Person of 2006 could be your next client - or not, if you can't reach him or her in time. |
About the Author
Visit LeslieEskildsen.com for all your Orange County MLS needs. Compare the houses in surrounding areas including homes in Robinson Ranch.
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