If you’re a Realtor, you probably already have a website. But not every website actually brings in quality leads — does yours?
Take a look at your current website. Each page should serve a purpose, and all of the pages and sections should be simple for visitors — your prospects — to navigate. A clean, functional website is important for attracting leads.
Here are my techniques to ensure your website attracts leads.
Limit the number of choices.
A study by a British Psychologist confirmed that the fewer choices people have, the more likely they are to make a decision. In the study, he set up two sample displays of jam, one with six options and one with 24 options. While 60 percent of people sampled the bigger setup, only six percent bought jam. On the other hand, 40 percent sampled from the smaller setup, but a whopping 30 percent purchased the product.
The more choices someone has, the more time they’ll take to make a decision — and they’re likely to become overwhelmed and not make one at all.
The same concept works with your website. Have you found your perfect real estate niche? You will want to center your site's message around that. As for the number of pages, you really only need a Home page, an About page, a Home Valuation page, a Reviews page, and a Photo/Video Gallery page if you choose to offer one. And stick to only one call to action per page. The key is to keep everything simple for visitors. By limiting the number of choices, you raise your conversion rate.
Simplify with the three-click rule.
Have you heard of the three-click rule? Essentially, it means website visitors prefer to click only three times to reach what they need. One simple way to ensure this happens is to implement a fixed header, meaning your menu bar scrolls along with the site and is always visible at the top of the browser. This way, the main options are always there.
Avoid drop-down menus, since they have a tendency not to be user friendly. Furthermore, drop-down menus probably indicate you have more pages than your website really needs.
Make your website mobile friendly.
In 2017, 92 percent of home buyers used their smartphones to find an agent. That number is probably even higher now.
This means if your website has pages that slow down or don’t work on mobile browsers, you’re probably losing business. Check each page on your phone, and make sure everything loads swiftly and accurately. Remember that text, forms and action buttons will all look different, so pick ones that look good and work for mobile browsers. Ask a friend to check whatever operating system you don’t have — iPhone or Android — to cover all bases.
And don’t forget to make sure that any videos on your site are set up to be mobile friendly. If the video takes a couple of extra seconds to start, you’ve already lost a potential client.
Don’t be wordy.
Your website should immediately say who you are, what you do and who you serve. Display this information prominently, since this is what visitors will initially look for. If they can’t immediately spot it, they’ll go back to their search results.
Keep in mind that most people scan websites more than they read them. On the Home page, About page or any other pages, keep copy sparse and use as few words as possible. There’s no need for more information than what’s necessary.
In fact, I recommend using bullet points. More people prefer bulleted lists to lengthy paragraphs. Break bullets up with space to scan through more easily.
Choose quality images.
While copy conveys important information, images let visitors to your website imagine working with you. Therefore, photos should show ideal living situations, families enjoying their homes, and your most attractive listings. Instead of stock photos, always use your own pictures.
Place photos strategically throughout pages to complement text, but don’t use too many. Photos serve to keep visitors visually engaged with your page — and move them closer to inputting their contact information.
Use heat maps to see how people use your site.
HotJar is a service you can use that maps how long visitors are on a website and what pages they spend the most time on. Similar services you might want to check out include CrazyEgg and FullStory. Just note that it typically takes about a month for any software to build a "heat map" of your full site.
With the help of heat maps, you’ll be able to see exactly where people are looking for more information and what pages prompt them to close your website.
If you see visitors clicking too many places on a page, you’ll know there are too many options. Then, you’ll know what to simplify or delete altogether.
Maps will also show you scroll depth — how far people actually scrolled down the page. This can help you determine headlines to improve and pages to change.
Bonus Technique: Attract Potential Leads with Your Own Book
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