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Do's And Don'ts For Beginner Websites

First off, no, I am not a professional site builder. I AM a success full real estate broker due to the 50 websites I have built. Too often we lose sight of the general public perception as they click on your website. You have only seconds to hold perspective lookers and turn them into a client, this has always been a major misconception for websites.

#1 Where are the homes? Do you have an easily identifiable link for a search?

#2 Do you have a long drawn out biography of you and you accomplishments? Get rid of it! Put it in a separate page with a link.

#3 Do you have your phone number and a link for an E-mail response? Is it where people can see it as opposed to a contact us link?

#4 Do you have a picture of you? This is a people business, you are as human as they are, let them know.

#5 Do you have good meta tags? Too find out, go to your website and at the top of the screen click view and source. Check your <title>My web site</title> and description. It should be relevant.

#6 Do not buy into linking companies that promise better performance. This will hurt in the long run.

#7 Do use Active Rain and link to your website.

#8 Do have a good domain name and create separate pages of content. I.E. http://cumminghomesale.com/ & http://cumminghomesale.com/foreclosure_bank_owned_reo_homes_short_sale_forsyth_county.htm

#9 Does your website look generic? Is it a common template that many websites have? Change it.

#10 Do you have a registration? Do you want business?

Please feel free to add to the list or disagree, after all, this is what we are here for! Good Luck!

Posted by Frank & Jodi Orlando on 12/06/2008 04:17 PM

Comments (56)

dos and donts for beginner websites

56 Comments on Do's And Don'ts For Beginner Websites

DEC

Thanks for your good list. Appreciated the tips.

Li - Thanks, anytime, Good Luck!

Don't be a link farm...

Do provide relevant content for consumers...

Do tag your posts so that consumers can easily find related topics.

Lane - You are correct, the link farm instant gratification is a killer! Also the tags, I missed that, Thanks!

Great Advice! Thank you. I especially like #2. I never thought about a separate page. Lots to thing about as I polish my sites.

Cynthia - We kept track of our bio pages, they were rarely visited!

Great list. I'll disagree with one point however. Get rid of the photo - at least on the home page above the fold. I believe that we've become a narcissistic bunch plastering our photo all over everything. We need to elevate our industry. People don't care about us. More importantly, it's not about us.

Last year I took my photo off my card and marketing and I haven't looked back since. My AR site has a place for a photo so I include it but I'm on the lookout for something to put in there instead. People want content, listings, and expertise. I don't think they care what we look like.

I suspect you may have a hailstorm of people disagreeing with me on this. No one wants to get rid of their pic. I know - I've heard it. But, it really doesn't offer a thing.

Linsey - As you have suspected I disagree. I do not have a photo on my business card, but, in my opinion to show a human quality is not a bad thing at all. We agree too disagree...

I can use all the website help tips I can get I'm always looking to improve upon my site. Thanks for the tips, I appreciate your sharing.

Diane - You are welcome, you never stop learning as far as website improvement. I still get many tips to use...

I have my picture on my card, and front page of my site. If I am working with someone, they don't need to see my picture because they see or talk to me all the time. BUT....It's for the people that I run into, that may be "card collectors". I can easily identified and remembered at a glance, instead of trying to remember by the name. ("is that the woman we talked to?") They can put a face to the name and that is a familiarality that brings comfort, friendship, and easy to rememberi exactly who and when they spoke to.

I think we should be sure that our picture is not taking away from the professionalism we are trying to project. When I look at mine, it's like WOOHHH!!!! I will be putting a different, toned down version of myself when my cards are gone. Beside, I don't really look like that any more. lol

thank you Thank both of you for a great blog, quickest question is do you have all 50 running at the same time. I have 4 but feel like i need a couple more. It never came to fifty though? I will check out your websites

Cynthia - We have so many transactions with relo's we need for them to see us. As far as the pic, just do not do one of those I'm on the phone pics Lol.

David - Yep, all 50 are up and running, we are in 4 states, if you check them out you can see we center a lot on country club communities...

Thanks for the list, it is very helpful!

Tony & Darcy - You are welcome, we have a few blogs on websites if you want more info...

Hi Frank;

Great post and super tips for agents developing a website. Thank You!

Thanks for this informative post, and I do agree with all your webiste points. I think that consumers do want to know what you look like, and realtors should have their picture on their website(s).

Frank and Jodi - these are excellent points for blogsites as well as for websites. I don't think photos or bios need to be on the front page, but if they're not available through a link I think that's a huge missing element.

DO keep the photo! You'd be surprised at how many people have chosen my wife because of her "Friendly photo!" It's not narcissistic, it's a personal touch and simply part of how humans initially connect, like it or not. A picture speaks a thousand words and demonstrates how professional your Realtor, Lender, Inspector, etc. will be. It's not what one looks like, it's how one presents him/herself!

Frank and Jodi - We keep streamlining our site and I want to streamline it even more. One thing maybe more advanced that we want to do - a better IDX, hopefully one with an interactive map.

Thanks for the tips! I respectfully disagree with Linsey about leaving out the personal photo on business cards and such. I have a farm area and many of the residents recognize me because of my photo on my materials. I suppose it's just one more choice we make in how we build our businesses. Perhaps there's no right or wrong. It depends on your style and what works for your target clientele.

I would add another idea. Branded email where your website is emailed to them every single time. A website is only as good as the ability to drive buyers to it. Whats better is everytime you send someone an email, you are also sending them your website.

I use a company caled MLX jet out of Canada. Their website is www.mlxjet.com. Any active rain member can use my discount code which will save them 50%. Its BN1531

Great advice on websites, I like

Anthony - Thanks for the kind words

Rebecca - That seems to be an issue that has aroused interest

Sharon - Agreed, I think if the bio is on the home page it should be at the bottom. I prefer a secondary page

Brett - We have so many relo's from out of state that tell us the pic is one of the reasons they worked with us

Sharon - That is another point I missed, search engine is critical.

Tiffany - We could not have said it better!

I have my photo on all my marketing I think because our office has a logo out photo becomes our own personal logo.

Hi Frank, great tips! I will say that I'm not a huge fan of personal photos on the main home page of my primary real estate web site. My goal is to get the home buyer to search for homes and if they like what they see, then they can link on the 'About Me" tab and see my bio and photo. I think this one is just personal preference.

Thank you for sharing. I am clueless when it comes to websites.

My opinion only, I think agents should use photos of themselves whenever they are marketing.

Brett - Thanks for the tip, I checked it out and I am going to look further into it, Thanks

Karen - I am with you on this topic, I really do not think folks care or look at a company logo, but, they probably look at the pic.

Kerry - We try to keep our photo small and on most of the websites there are more relevant links above it. I think it should be a bit subtle

Dana - Even if you have someone else build a site, you should have some general knowledge about how it is done and what works. See You Paid How Much For Your Website? Get A Book And Do It Yourself!

David - I am with you on this one, it is people business

I agree with most of the post. I am still on the fence about registration.

marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto Ca

Marcy - This is an age old question, please see To Require Registration, Or Not to Require, The Age Old Question Has A Middle Of The Road

Whew...thank goodness my Husband is my web master. Otherwise, I'd be up the river without a paddle :) Sounds like you have it all under control!

Updated content and a good property search...You build it, they will come!

Elizabeth - You never stop learning!

Mykel - Yes, 3 years ago would foreclosures have been a big deal?

I think pictures are good. They do relay information about who you are.

Though I don't think I would use a family picture.

I can see that you have a nice family, but when I look at the family picture, I think about how guilty I would feel taking up your weekends looking at homes. Will you be available when I need you or will all the kids' activities tie you up?

Unless your kids are part of your business team, I don't know why they should be featured in your business. But if it works, it works.

Thanks for the tips - What is registration?

I like your family photo, I think it says a lot about who you are gives a friendly message to potential clients. I say keep it.

Good tips. Thanks.

On the photo question I say keep it BUT make it professional and a bit smaller than you would like. It's the next best thing to seeing the whites of their eyes.

This is such a GREAT post.. I know I need to improve my website... I'm open to suggestions...

Tim - I can see your point. First off, our kids LOVE being on the net. Second, Working weekends is our typical work week. It is what it is, fortunately we are both brokers and if we do not want to work we pass on a lead.

Darla - Registration is what a client is asked to do at some point in a home search, see To Require Registration, Or Not to Require, The Age Old Question Has A Middle Of The Road

Thomas - Agreed, what is wrong with a little personalization?

Richard - It should be at a lower position than relevant links. And yes, it should be small.

Roland - Hang in there, lots to learn and absorb. 10 years ago I had to learn how to work a computer. We can ALL do it !!!

DEC

Great tips. After doing some tracking about 90% of our users come specifically to search for homes, this is why running searches is available in a few ways. But as with anything we are still tweaking the main site with some design changes. ~Rita

I am currnetly redesigning both my website and my outside blogs...so this information is a great reminder for me...thank you for helping me to keep on track. It is very easy in design to get wrapped up in the pretty and forget about the important stuff

I agree with everything but the e-mail link. That's just asking for spam. If they're gonna spam me, I'm going to make them work for it. And I only place my office number on the site, even though I'm never there. I work from my home office, and they transfer my calls to me. But you nailed the part about agents just talking about themselves. That's not what the client wants to see when they logon to a real estate web site. They want listings and market data.

Great Blog I have to agree with all of them and must look into getting more websites...congrats on the feature.

Frank and Jodi,Thanks for the helpful tips.

Very helpful for anyone just getting started with their personal website.

Rita - We have google aterts for our name, once every 4 days someone uses that search parameter. That means 99% of people coming to our websites are searchung for homes, not us...

Kristi - I know what you mean, it is easy to lose sight of a websites workability and concentrate strictly on the looks.

Lisa - 50 websites in 4 states and we receive little spam. I would not worry about it.

Tim - Thanks, one tip is to get domain names for region, city, and community.

Barb - Anytime!

Diane - I remember our first site, it was horrible Lol...

WooHoo Frank! Congrats on your little gold star! You hit the nail on the head about all of your points. It takes alot of trial and error to get your website tweaked to perfection but, with time and dedication, you can certainly get it done! We all don't have 50 sites but, since you've done all of those yourself, we need to heed the 'expert's' advice!!

Debe in Charlotte

WooHoo! I like that! Thanks Debe. Every now and then I go into the web archive to look at our first websites. Man it is ugly! Expert? Nah, just found a few things that work. Someday I may even let everyone know. Nahhhh! Lol.

I'll have to disagree with Lindsey on this "I'll disagree with one point however. Get rid of the photo". I have asked clients why they chose me over other agents in my area they have found. The answer multiple times has been "because you looked friendly". So maybe you should take it off only if you look mean :~)

Are you saying yeah or neah on registration? I'm not sure how I feel about that one.

Wonderful list. I am part of a group that works on our website for our company and sice it is done in-house it's a lot more effective! thanks for the tips!

Terri - Same scenario for us, nothing wrong with the hunam side of it.

Russell - I think that is the BEST way to manage a site. You can get input from others and tweak it as you go. Three years ago who would have concentrated on foreclosures?

Make sure that all of the navigational components work well and are smooth. Don't overload a website with gimmicks,the worse thing for a non-musician is to have aggravating music for atmosphere. The first page should state clearly what you do and what you have to offer your viewer. Also update it regularly, templates can be an option. Not sure if Big Black Bag would be a beneficial site for realtors?

Nice points. I may add not to put too much of your first year into the website as I see too many agents going out of business creating their image over creating sales. One is a top AR blogger that struggling to survive......but his site looks great.

DEC

Joel - You are right, links go dead, and sometimes you do not check all components to make sure they are working properly. The first page is critical.

Tim - I see the same thing. Initially all you want to do is start the website. It takes a bit of time before google likes you anyway. Webites are a PART of your business, agents concentrating solely on this are in for a rough ride...

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