Website Help...please!!!

Tyghre, information is good, but to much is confusing for the general public. I've surfed many web sites myself and find some so bogged down with information that one wouldn't know where to start.

One suggestion is a lead generator. We have a no cost no fee wish list that can be added to your web site. Only you capture the leads. Plus the potential buyer receives a copy showing your name and logo. So even if they aren't buyers today, 6 months down the road when they pull out their wish list, there's your name in front of their eyes. The agents getting the best results have it posted on the home page as "Create Your Dream Home Here"

Best of luck on your new web site.

Tyghre, your welcome. It's important to capture the buyers at your home page with 80% of them surfing the Internet before making contact with an agent.

I feel your hair-pulling pain!  My team recently built a new website.  We decided to go with providing a lot of information.  It has surprised me how many reports have been pulled by the consumers.  We are dealing with a savvy population who like to do their research homework.  I have decided to offer them everything they could possibly ask for in one place--my website.  I came to this conclusion after having the website that I didn't know what I was doing and then the really sleak website that offered some info but not too much to clutter it up and now the current information bearing website.  I will let you know how it goes!

Tyghre, it looks like you have the start of some good information for you site.  Concentrate on what doesn't exist in your market.  More than likely there are other sites that have mortgage calculators, but few can give the perspective of an area that you can provide.  Give information that is unique and concentrate on Calls to action on each page.  We work with many first time buyers as well and they often tell us we are the ONLY ones who document are city so they can learn about the area. I hope that helps :) 

Keep in mind that your website's purpose is not to educate the public in all things real estate (if it did, whey would they need you?).  IMHO, your goals are to.

• Demonstrate that SOMEHOW (and in a positive way!) you stand out from the crowd.  If you're smarter prove it, if your more dedicated show it and if you know more about the area tell them why and what difference it makes to them.
• Make prospects want to contact you because you're nicer, are bribing them with "special information" (just make sure you can deliver) and such.  Just as importantly - make it easy for them to do so.  Make sure there are contact forms liberally sprinkled throughout the site, put your phone number (in various formats) in a large font on just about every page and maybe add a widget that they can text message you from (but don't put your texting address on the site for the scrapers to get at and sell).

In short (or not), develop unique knowledge and tease the public with the importance of that knowledge  by posting overviews followed by hooks (ugh, that sounds terrible) like "...for more details call me at xxx-xxx" or "....to understand how this may affect you as a home buyer email me at xxx@xxxxx."

Now to look at my website and see if I'm following my own advice.

I would recommend adding a blog to your page that you update several times per week.  New content is a very big factor in search engine ranking.  Use key local places and terms that people may use when searching google or yahoo.  To give you an idea of how important fresh conent is try typing Britney Spears into google.  You will get 10,000 hits about what a mess she is before you get anything about when she was winning grammys.

 Good Luck with the site.