3 Reasons Brokers Should Offer Agents Co-branded Websites

Every real estate agent should have a website. It's a crucial part of building their online presence and serves as the "hub" that all of their social media and other online accounts link back to. However, to protect your company's brand, brokers should provide agents with that website, co-branded to both the agent and the brokerage.

A co-branded agent website typically sports the brokerage's logo and brand colors while also displaying the agent's headshot and contact information. While the agent and their services are the focus of the site, the shared design elements and site structure reinforce that the agent is one part of a larger whole--your brokerage.

Besides brand reinforcement, here are three other ways co-branded websites benefit brokers:

1. You'll keep leads within your brokerage. Co-branded websites lets you ensure that all links on all websites direct only to places controlled by your brokerage. Typically, leads that come in from the broker site can be assigned to any agent in your firm. Leads from an individual agent's site go to that agent. However, thanks to a having a shared back end, brokers can see if that agent has responded to the lead. If not, the broker can assign it to another agent.

Depending on the solution you use, leads that come in either off the brokerage website or an agent website can automatically be funneled into your company's CRM. From there, you can assign that lead to a drip email campaign to nurture them until they're ready to buy.

2. You'll enhance the authority of your website. With every agent website linking back to your brokerage's main site, you're enhancing your company's online visibility. Every link to your site is a testament to its "authority" and bolsters your broker website's SEO.

3. It benefits both tech-averse and tech-savvy agents. Many real estate agents, particularly older agents, are somewhat technophobic and unlikely to set up a website for themselves. By mandating co-branded websites, you're giving those agents an important marketing platform that attracts consumers. Be sure to provide training and support on how to use and maintain the agent websites you provide.

For those agents who are comfortable with technology, a co-branded websites offer the benefit of being associated with a trusted brand. Broker brands are more well-known and trusted in any given market than an individual agent's brand. Plus, a co-branded website offers an easy way to encourage agents to keep their technical skills in shape.

A Real World Example

To better understand what we mean by "co-branded" websites, take a look at this example pair:

• Brokerage website: C21Homes.com
• Co-branded agent website: Byron-Grant.com

As you can see, the structure, layout, and navigation are nearly identical. The agent website even pulls in blog posts from the brokerage's site. The main difference is the agent website includes the Realtor's headshot, the contact information and social media links are the agent's, and the property search slightly differs on the main page. The consumer, however, is always aware that they're on the website of Century 21 Hometown agent.

The example websites above run on WolfNet's platform. Real Estate Webmasters and Lone Wolf's globalWOLF platform are two other solutions that make it easy to create co-branded websites. For a complete list of website solutions, visit our Product Directory.