Your Brokerage Website is Your Best Employee and Top Lead-Gen Source

As a manager, what would you give for the ideal employee? You know—someone who works hard for your brokerage every day, doesn’t complain, exceeds expectations daily, positively boosts the company’s image and actually gets results in the form of leads?

What if this employee also had predictable KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), and hit them consistently? An employee like that would be worth almost any amount, right?

The truth is, one of your best employees or team members can be your website – if you get the right one working for you. It is all about having the customized brand and technology to match what you really want to see out of your website – instead of settling for something you don’t want.

Template Websites vs. Customized Broker Websites

A real estate brokerage website is a key component of establishing your company’s brand with current and potential clients. Its purpose ranges, but should include all of the following:

• Providing consistent, high-quality lead generation
• Engaging consumers with top home search, IDX, tools and information
• Establishing competitive and smart brand-presence
• Driving recruiting interest and productivity
• Providing your agents and team with valuable resources

Most real estate brokerages simply rely on a standard website with a basic template that is looks like every one of their competitors. When this happens, those same real estate brokers scratch their heads and wonder why their websites aren’t really helping to drive in business.

The answer is that the real estate business is unlike any other, and no template website can possibly do enough to meet the needs of an active brokerage. That’s why the smartest, most successful real estate brokerages are taking the leap to customized real estate brokerage websites. Such a website is specifically designed to not only highlight the best parts of a real estate business, but to work for you as well.

Real Estate Lead Conversion Rates

Studies show that the average conversion rate for websites is around 2 to 4 percent. Remember that the definition of a conversion is any action the viewer takes on any one of the options you’ve set out. From signing up for a newsletter to sending in an inquiry, conversions are extremely important for all businesses, but especially real estate.

In order to make your real estate brokerage stand out above the rest, you’ve got to own a website with a high conversion rate. But how?

The secret is to have a website that is specifically designed to capture leads and bring in business for the real estate agents. Customized websites include customized branding, calls-to-action and settings for maximum lead capture results.

Investing in Your Brokerage through Your Website

Getting a customized website for your real estate brokerage may seem like an added expense that isn’t really worth it. After all, when a typical website is in place, and the conversion rates are average, isn’t that about what you should expect? Nope!

In order to make money, you have to invest money, and a real estate brokerage is no different. Many savvy real estate agents understand the difference between websites being an expense and being an investment. After all, an expense is something that costs money but doesn’t turn around and make money for you.

An example of expenses is your building’s utilities. On the other hand, an investment is when you put money into something that will improve business and make money for you. That’s why a powerful, optimized, well-designed custom website is a smart investment for a real estate brokerage. As a lead-capturing, information-grabbing tool, custom real estate brokerage websites can’t be beat.

Boosting Your Website’s Functionality

A real estate brokerage website with higher conversion rates means that it has to do a lot more than look pretty. After all, anytime someone visits the website but doesn’t do anything or take any action means you’ve lost a potential customer. Experienced designers and website developers have come up with all kinds of things to capitalize on viewer interactions especially for real estate websites. If your site is underperforming, it’s time to upgrade to a customized site.

So, how are you going to boost your website’s performance today? Here are 5 ways you can change the game on your website’s profitability:

1. Real Estate Lead Generation. Your most powerful tool for capturing leads is making sure that everything you naturally do already–from talking with clients, to showing up online, to interacting on social media–all drives actual leads. Employ smart pop-up forms that invite visitors to learn more, provide informative downloads; present a mobile-responsive and intuitive home search search for homes. These can be your best lead generators.
2. Simple and Mobile Websites. Far too many visitors click on the back button within seconds of encountering websites that are too difficult or confusing to navigate. A professional designer can implement a proper design that is both appealing and functional. It is more important than ever to simplify and think ‘Mobile First’ on your designs and layouts.
3. Ultra-Local Real Estate. Visitors to broker websites are seeking information about properties in very narrowly defined cities, neighborhoods and even portions of subdivisions. A good website should have plenty of up-to-date information on the homes for sale within a set area, ultra-local real estate guides, and an intuitive search feature so visitors can hone in on exactly where they want to look.
4. Outstanding content. It’s not enough to offer visitors a generic description of the areas you service. Visitors need up-to-date information on schools, shops, transportation options, neighborhoods, and more. The more detailed content your website has, the more valuable it is to visitors.
5. High quality graphics and photos. A well-designed website should utilize beautiful photos, clear graphics and an overall design that highlights them well. Including features like virtual tours, up-close photo options, slide shows and more allows visitors to really investigate what you have to offer.

These are just a few of the tools and features that a standardized website made from a template will definitely not have. A customized brokerage website will be a powerhouse in providing more visibility, increasing branding and generating leads.

To view the original article, visit the Inside Real Estate blog.