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Every real estate agent or realtor needs to tap every possible avenue for more sales. Advertisements on television, newspapers are out of the reach of most real estate agents. In this scenario, the only level playing field that remains is the Internet. A real estate website can not only advertise a real estate agent’s services but also showcase the properties and even give a real estate agent exposure to millions of customers all over the world at a fraction of cost. To sweeten the deal, the marketing efforts on the Internet are much more lasting than other traditional mediums. Ideally, a real estate website developed by a professional web design company will have these following features. These are not only desired but absolutely required to distinguish itself from the clutter of other thousands of real estate websites. 1. Clean Design: A real estate website should have a clean design and easy-to-use navigation so as to ensure that a site visitor finds the required information with a minimum amount of clicks. The information should be presented quickly. Many sites have great animation of flash which do nothing to enlighten a visitor but only succeed in driving away a potential customer because they take forever to download. So the golden rule it so keep it simple. 2. Search Engine Friendly: Search engines like Google and Yahoo are becoming the biggest sources of traffic. To ignore them will be downright suicidal for any real estate agent. A site needs to be search engine friendly. All the titles, keywords, content has to be properly chosen so as to make the site as informative to a search engine as possible. 3. Real Estate Listing: A real estate website without property listings is like a glorified business card. It does very little to educate, inform and serve as visitor. Easy to search listings will not only attract a visitor but also increase the stickiness of the site. A visitor will stay longer and explore the site. An easy control panel for the site administrator to add, edit and delete listings should also be provided. 4. Image/Video Gallery: In this age of YouTube, one cannot take videos lightly. A virtual video tour can showcase a property to a potential client located across the globe. A virtual tour indicates how professional a real estate agent is and how much homework he/she has done for the property. 5. Content Management System: A content management system (CMS) is essential for a real estate website. A real estate agent may need to change the content of a website. Pages may have to be edited or added immediately. In this scenario, it’s imperative that a simple and powerful CMS be provided. 6. Contact Management: Contacts are the cornerstone of any sales. People visiting a real estate website should be able to contact the real estate agent through a contact form. A proper feedback form should also be provided so that site visitors can submit their feedback. A proper response strategy and contract management should be put in place so that no query goes unanswered. It also helps if newsletters are also provided. It’s a very important tool to keep in touch with a site visitor. A monthly newsletter with new listings and helpful material goes a long way in establishing ever lasting business relations. 7. Internet Marketing: Now that your real estate website is ready and uploaded, it needs to be seen. There are thousands of real estate websites online. The only way to rise above the heap will be carefully thought of and planned Internet marketing. Internet marketing can be in the form of pay per clicks, banners or organic. While pay per click and banners have shown their effectiveness, the longest running, cost effective and natural marketing strategy is search engine optimization (SEO) and link building. Another way to build brand and get traffic is to use socials, blogs, etc. to reach a still wider medium apart from just search engines. So before choosing a web design company for your real estate website, remember to check if the company provides the above mentioned features. A bit of your own research and time will ensure that your money is well spent. SlideShare. “7 Real Estate Website Essentials.” Aniruddha Badola. 24 Nov. 2009. http://www.slideshare.net/EnovabizUS/7-real-estate-website-essentials-1941005
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