10 Web Ideas that Work

Some web sites get qualified leads every day. Clients will call on the phone, "I found you on the internet and need to list my house. What do I do to get started?" Or, "I live in North Carolina, can you help me sell my house in Las Vegas?" Or they will email "We live in Alaska, can you send me information about San Diego?"

Web site conversion is a tricky task. A great site makes all the difference. If you build it they will come. Here is what works:

• Offer a Relocation Guide - Users come to the internet to find information. If they are buyers they are looking for information regarding the area they will be moving to. A relocation guide is a collection of several sources of information an agent can easily package up and send out when requested. Agents can use their title/escrow companies or city organizations or magazines or buyer's guides or maps or other valuable information. Send a professional cover letter with the package. On your site advertise your relo package on every page with a bright, professional image. If a client requests one be responsive. They will give you great contact information and if they receive a phone call or email letting them know the package was sent you will have a great chance of converting them as they decide to move into your area.
• Free MLS - When buyers consider moving to an area they go looking for an MLS service to use. Many agent sites require contact information before allowing them to use the service. Users get turned off quickly by coercion. If agents offer up the service easily then users become accustomed to frequenting the site and they become comfortable with the agent's brand, picture, and style as they revisit. Besides, who wants a bunch of contact info like:
  
  Name: John Doe
  Phone: 123-456-7890
  Email: test@test.com
  
  from people trying to buck the system just to use the tool? The whole point in conversion is to help the user see that you are competent and not coercive so they will be comfortable and feel free to make contact on their own.
• Organization - Many agent web sites have dozens of articles. Clear concise organization will aid your users in their information quest. If they feel they can trust a site and easily find information then they will repeat their visits and seek out more information. Well-thought-out navigation is the key to an organized site. Spend the time to keep things organized because your site is your first impression.
• User Document Search - Users need to know they can find what they are looking for on a site. If they can't they will return to a search engine to find their info somewhere else. So, why not put a search engine on your site. Google offers one for free that will search only your site. It does have ads on it but it sure helps your users locate what they need.
• Professional-looking, Motivational, Colorful Site - What is the saying "one chance to make a - what? - first impression". What magazines do you subscribe to? Pick one up and look at the front cover. What is your first impression? Professional? Funny? Exciting? Now, go to your web site. What is your first impression? What is your user's first impression? Hopefully they look at it and think, "wow, nice!" and as they dig for information, "I can trust this site and its owner." Make your site look professional. Use a good color pallet with motivational colors. A light blue on a white background may not stand out as much as a red on white. Be careful not to overdo the colors, but make sure there are some contrasting, catching colors. Search around on the net and find other sites you like and gleam ideas. Give that great first impression.
• Uniformity - When you go to Yahoo and click on a link to another Yahoo page you know you are still using a Yahoo service because the look and feel of the site doesn't change. The content and features may change but you know you're still on Yahoo. They use standard fonts, colors, logos, etc. Most, if not all, successful web sites standardize on a branded image and they rarely deviate from that look and feel.
• Contact Info Always Visible - "Wow, I need to sell my house and this article just motivated me to use this agent. Now, where is their number?" Users should be able to find contact information on almost every page. Exceptions may occur when you are pulling in a feature from another site but for the most part agents should have a phone number, email address, or contact submission form on every page.
• Adobe Flash Piece - There are some awesome technologies out there. Adobe Flash is one of the best for a great web site presentation. If used correctly, the site can gain great credibility with the professional feel a slick slide show or effect can give. Don't use Flash as the focus of the site but it can really enhance it. Make sure the file size is kept small so the page will still load quickly. Don't use too much text in it. Google can't see the text and Flash text can actually be distracting. Use classy images and occasional, slow-moving text if necessary.
• Easy-to-Access Area Information - Buyers want to know about the area. The want to know about schools, weather, jobs, business, locations, etc. Either provide them with that content or link to it on some city or organization site. If you link out to another site be sure to add some of your own content around the link so Google doesn't pass your page up as having no value.
• Content on Every Page - Don't create a page just to have it. If you add a page to your site, say something. Reward the user with information for every page they see. Let them determine if the information is useful or not. Don't provide them with a one line page and tell them the information is no good. Most pages should have four paragraphs minimum with at least two full sentences each paragraph.

You may consider using this as a checklist. If your site is missing some of these elements consider correcting the issue. If you get a lot of traffic and your site is complete and professional you will have client conversions even before they contact you.