More Than Listings: Your Broker Website’s User Experience Matters

How are consumers using your brokerage's website? Naturally, the majority are searching for homes that they want to buy. A significant number of those visitors, more than 90 percent, are usually selling a property before they buy one. This dual buyer-seller mentality means your website needs to serve more than those simply searching for properties.

For example, consumers will frequently set up searches on broker websites to monitor the market, the property they want to buy, and neighborhood they want to live in. They'll leverage your site to watch what's happening in the area around their current property. All the while, owners will have a running mental list of all the things they need to do to get their home ready for sale. They may be considering bringing in a landscaper to "dress up" the yard for sale. Many be thinking about bringing in a painter to tend to certain areas of the home that they've neglected. Still others may want to make repairs to a deck or plumbing that may trigger a poor inspection report.

Some brokers have learned that if you blend information about where consumers can find contractors to help them get their home ready for sale, that they'll wind up delighting that consumer and converting them from a website visitor into a seller lead.

Offering contractor information can delight buyer leads, as well. It's common for consumers to find the perfect house "except." Depending on the buyer, that "except" could vary. They like the backyard, except they need a fence for their dog. They like the entryway, except it needs a railing. They like the kitchen, except it needs a double sink and a trash compactor. Smart brokers know that they're much better off connecting those buyers with contractor resources on their website to remedy those "excepts" than sending them off to Angie's List or the Yellow Pages.

Brokers realize that when they refer clients to business partners who provide homeowner services that a very natural conversation occurs between the two parties. They talk about you. Undoubtedly, the business associates that you're referring clients to are going to rave about your company. Likewise, the consumer is going to rave about how handy it was that they had this online directory of highly qualified vendors available to support them in their housing transaction.

Having these resources not only fulfills your commitment to your customer and builds a positive word-of-mouth reputation, but it also gives you some content differentiation and SEO optimization. You'd be surprised how much better broker websites rank than service provider websites in Google local search. Often, the top plumber in town will show up as a search result on your website ahead of their own.

Offering home services information is one way to enhance the long-term value of your website. Some brokers build this directory on their website manually. Those looking for a simpler method of sharing contractor data with consumers turn to companies like Nest4Less to create dynamic, searchable vendor directories that are easy to implement and update.

In the case of Nest4Less, brokers can earn advertising revenue for displaying directories on their website. It's a mutually beneficial arrangement--the broker provides a better experience to consumers by making their website more delightful and useful. They also defer the costs of operating their website by displaying the directories on their site. To learn more, visit Nest4Less.com.