Start thinking about your web strategy for 2016 right now.
I have been in the real estate industry for the last decade and change building content on the web. Looking back at the last few years, I see trend that is clearly taking shape on the web in the Minneapolis real estate market: Buyers and Sellers are defaulting to searching for real estate on the large websites. However when it comes to selecting an agent, a handful of good Wordpress or Strikingly micro sites will drive leads with a high level of interest.
Content And Context Are The King And Queen Of The Interwebs
Everyone can agree that content has always been a big deal. But now more than ever, having a site built around a niche subject or specific area within your real estate market will be what defines good web sites from 'jack of all trades' general web sites. Think about a Buyer looking to check out a specific area within the downtown Minneapolis market. In the past, Buyers and Sellers might check out a general website page (click here) off my main site, more recently we have had higher conversion from leads generated off sites devoted to that specific area like Mill District Lofts & Condos. The context of the site relative to the content is mission critical for conversion.
The Draw To A Micro Site
Google has continued to reward real estate agents who cater to a much smaller niche of content. Its been going on for quite some time now. Our team has seen the fruits of our labor from the number of sites we have focused on neighborhoods, projects and developments we are working on. The objective is to create enough call to action from a user on a single page of a site.
What A Good Micro Site Has
An effective site is ideally a single page format with a cinegraph or video ending at the break of the page. The cinegraph or video should tell a story about the rest of the site in a subtle manner. The site should be visually inviting with the photos having context to the specific area. Lastly, the site should have multiple call to action buttons that allow the user to leave their contact info.
Micro Sites For Neighborhoods, Listings and Developments
We have created listings pages like 1909 Humboldt Ave which detail the builder, architect and highlight us as real estate agents. Sites like the Mill District Lofts & Condos that showcase a particular neighborhood. We also have created condo building specific sites like this to highlight a particular building in the Minneapolis real estate market.
Platforms To Create Micro Sites
There are a few platforms I would recommend to create these pages, one of them is Wordpress which most real estate agents are aware of. The other option is Strikingly--in my opinion the easiest platform to leverage and produces some of the best results we have seen. In a short timeline you can build a handful of these sites to gain traction in your market as well as get high quality buyer and seller leads.
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