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Want to make your real estate website "sticky"?? Use copy, not content

I think most of us that build or have significant input into our websites try to stuff as much content in there as possible in an effort to educate the visitor.

However there is a fundamental flaw with a content rich site.

Content is generally meant to educate the reader or web visitor. Once they read the content there is no reason for them to stay there; sort of like finishing a book or magazine, once you're done, you're done.

Content would be something like an article describing the beauty of say, the mountains in your area. "We have beautiful scenic mountains that are 12,494 feet high and have lots of trees on them." Nice writing but it doesn't offer anything or ask the visitor to take action.

Copy on the other hand is printed words (or spoken) in some sort of advertisement, i.e. a real estate website.

Copy is written to cause the reader to do something; the old AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) advertising acronym in action. Ad copy should first capture your ATTENTION, then your INTEREST, followed by a DESIRE for your service or product, and finally, compel the prospect to take ACTION, i.e. contact you to do business.

If you have compelling copy on your website that for example, describes the beauty and multitude of activities available in your area along with an offer of a free relocation package of information, that's compelling copy that has a good chance of eliciting a response & inquiry from an interested buyer or lead.

Jim Lee, CRS, ABR, GRI, ACRE, NAR Certified e-PRO Trainer
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Posted by Jim Lee, Knoxville Tennessee Realtor® on 09/17/2006 12:29 PM

Comments (13)

sticky websites, copy, content, aida

Originally posted at: Knoxville Tennessee real estate: Want to make your real estate website "sticky"?? Use copy, not content

13 Comments on Want to make your real estate website "sticky"?? Use copy, not content

SEP

2006

Thanks for the tip Jim, I'm constantly looking for new ways to make our website and hard print materials more "action driven!"

Scott

Jim, do you have any site samples that you think the "stickiness" copy is fantastic? and compare to other sites that are just content? It would help me better understand by way of example. Thanks, Linda.

Jim we use our golf, watersports and newsletter page for this type of copy at orlandoavenue.com

I disagree and say revelent content is king. Tie it in with photos that tell people about real estate in your local area. Politics and real estate is about local places. I may have over done it but it works.

http://www.come2az.com/ is one of my favorite examples Linda. Alice Held has 'had it going on' for years now with this site.

http://www.dallashomes.com/ is substantially more elaborage but it also does an excellent job of keeping visitors interested and coming back.

I think Jim and Eric are both right. I think you need a combination of both. The lead generator companies only have copy and trap the consumer to give contact information with no relevant content on their sites about local real estate except a bunch of paid key words. I think both good content with pictures and knowledge about your local market plus compelling copy to get them to contact you works the best.

Good point, Jim. Content is king, but static overthrows it. So - keep the content and constantly be adding to it.

Good seminar Jim...copy...not content...although content is good also....

hey Jim

Combination on both for me, you are right and eric is right too, depends.

Homes for sale in Colorado Metro Denver Area

Ray Saenz Real Estate Agent & ActiveRain Network User

SEP

2006

Compelling copy is and should be good content. Your post inspired me to write one about Attraction marketing. It is a blend of Eric and Jim but with a more direct, personal bent toward specific consumers.

Hi Jim,

We try to have enough interesting stuff on our sites so that the person will stick around and navigate through the many different pages. You can normally track where you "lose" them on your stats page via your webmaster. That is a great way to brush up those pages that are letting them off the hook!

OCT

2006

I get the sense that no one in this conversation has read the Cluetrain Manifesto -- a message best summarized by John Hagel...

"The Cluetrain Manifesto is an in your face warning to all businesses as they seek to adapt to the spread of electronic markets. It delivers a "tough love" message: embrace the conversations enabled by electronic networks or become road kill. Embracing these conversations means rediscovering our passion and our voice. All managers must heed this message, even though it will require wrenching changes across all elements of the business."

The future of online markets are about conversations - anyone that would debate this fundamental shift - a shift that's widely punctuated by the rapid adoption of blogs and social networks - does so at their own peril.

Focusing solely on conversions, clicks, stickiness, and ROI is a good way to open the door wide to your competitors who may already be focusing on customer needs - their basic needs to connect with other humans about many subjects peripheral to their next real estate purchase.

Content is a reflection of personal insight, compasion, interest and a passion about your locality; copy is a reflection of a marketing machine or a faceless business.

Eric Bouler's viewpoint reflects the only reasonable success strategy in the context of this message.

NOV

2007

Hi Jim, you're a blogging superstar, my new friend. Thanks for the article some months back about the Grainger County Tomato Festival that introduced me to Active Rain. I'm from Rutledge , home of the Tomato Fest, so that's how I ran across it. [subscribing]

About this post, I agree with you to some degree. I don't think most people care or read all the library of real-estate business information posted on many Realtor sites. It's the same stuff everywhere on the web on every realtor site and all in one place, it's just too much info.

But on the other hand, from a practical point of view, it does help to have keyword-rich area information pages to draw in traffic for a website struggling to be found on the www. It's helpful from a PR standpoint to draw in traffic when and where you can in a competitive market. My client's site may have "East TN Real Estate" all over it but until I manage to improve that PR and #of inbound links, a new website or unmarketed website will be lucky to show up under page 100 search search result for the search term "East TN Real Estate". While I'm building PR, I'll settle for "Blaine Real Estate" or frankly, even "Blaine, TN Rodeos". Meanwhile, targeted ads help to drive qualified visitors to the site for the keywords my client's coveting.

A website I did recently with this strategy, the traffic went from 5/day to 45/day in one month. That's a remarkable improvement, wouldn't you say?

I notice that your Active Rain posts often reflect a lot of area content. It's how I found you and Active Rain. For many, it may be how they find out about the Tomato Festival. Seems like incorporating a wealth of area related keywords is a great short-term solution for finding a place on the virtual map. Traffic baggers can't afford to be too choosy.

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