What Do the Best Real Estate Websites for Agents Have in Common?

Competition is fierce in the real estate industry. Naturally, agents focus on doing things that make themselves and their brand stand out, like clever marketing, creating flashy ads and handing out branded freebies.

But your real estate website is just as important, if not more so. Anyone who searches for you will land on Google and then continue to your website. It only takes a single impression to hold their attention or lose their business. Getting it right is essential in preventing consumers from leaving your site too quickly. If they're engaged, they'll gain value from your content, have more confidence in your brand and ultimately convert into a lead.

There are six common traits that the best real estate websites for agents have in common. These include usability and content features that meet consumer expectations, as well as specific tools that help real estate agents capture leads' contact information. Get these right and your website will be ready for prime time.

Modern and mobile-friendly

First things first: Your website sets the impression for your brand and your client service. It must convey organization and professionalism in order to build trust. Using modern design techniques will help achieve this. Make sure your website includes these features:

• Clean, uncluttered design
• Lots of white space with adequate separation between images, text, buttons and borders
• Easy-to-read font set to at least 16px
• Simple top navigation, including a Home link
• Readily discoverable contact information, especially in the footer
• Eye-catching high-resolution images, some prominently featured

Your real estate website can't only look great in desktop browsers. It must also be mobile-friendly, which is what's called responsive design. Nearly 50% of all web traffic in the U.S. is now coming from mobile, so it's crucial that customers are able to access your website from any device they use.

Includes targeted content to engage with consumers

When people land on a new website, they scan it for information that is most pertinent to their needs. Your homepage must clearly display valuable content "above the fold" to keep them from leaving. "Above the fold" essentially means the space that is visible when the page loads, without the need to scroll down.

These examples of valuable content all appear on the best real estate websites for agents:

• Top navigation that identifies who the site is for (for example, a link for buyers and sellers)
• Built-in home search engine
• Featured listings from the local MLS
• Comparative market analysis (CMA) tool for sellers
• Local real estate market e-newsletter registration for buyers

See an example of what these features look like in action.

It's imperative to use a home search engine integration that you trust so the content you provide is always up to date. The worst experience a consumer can have is falling in love with a listing only to find out it sold a week before.

High-quality photos AND virtual tours

It's a no-brainer that your listings should be prominently displayed on your real estate website. But you should also go above and beyond to beautifully showcase each one in an engaging way. In addition to a detailed description of the property, the listing should also include high-quality professional photographs and other rich media, like video walk-throughs and interactive 3D tours. This combination of content gives consumers a full picture of the property and actively engages them.

Easy to find contact forms

It should be very easy for consumers to contact you from your real estate website. Your office address, email address and office and mobile phone numbers should always be included in the footer on every page across your site. This is a standard practice, so people are accustomed to looking there for contact information. Be creative and add these details anywhere else that makes sense, too, such as on your About page or next to featured listings.

Not everyone will be ready to pick up the phone or write out an email as they browse your site. You should also offer a more passive way for people to contact you, like through a basic contact form on your About page. Elsewhere on your website, you can offer an incentive for people to give you their contact information. A lead capture form on your homepage, for example, could offer email alerts for newly listed properties, registration for an e-newsletter or a free downloadable buyers' or sellers' guide.

Consistent with your online persona

Your real estate website is just one component of your online (and offline) presence. Make sure that the information you present is always up to date and consistent across platforms. Use the same headshot on all your profiles, prominently display your logo and brand colors, and ensure that the URLs connecting your website and social media profiles always work.

Don't forget about your brand voice. Whether you present yourself as a no-nonsense professional or as informal and approachable, that branding should be reflected in your headshot and how you describe yourself on your About page.

Customizable and easy to navigate

We talked a bit about how consumers are used to a certain experience when navigating websites. This includes a user-friendly navigation bar at the top of the site, contact information in the footer and a simple contact form on the About page. The entire site must be mobile-responsive, meaning pages aren't distorted or difficult to navigate on a tablet or smartphone. The best real estate websites for agents include these standard features and are also customizable to individual agents. That means your headshot, logo, colors and voice are displayed prominently across the site for consistent branding.

The importance of having a website

You may question whether you even need a website. After all, you're maintaining social media accounts and a Google business profile. There are three main reasons:

1. Keeping up appearances. It's true. Having a website conveys to others that you are digitally savvy. It is simply status quo nowadays as part of having a holistic online presence.
2. Your competitors are doing it. Don't let consumers hit a dead end when they search for you online. You will easily lose to competitors who are able to show prospects they keep pace with today's technology.
3. Add value and build trust. Consumers need you to demonstrate your expertise in multiple ways in order to feel that you're trustworthy. You can do this through social media posts, but having a dedicated resource to direct buyer and seller prospects to will show them that you're a serious agent (especially by offering built-in home search and competitive market analysis tools).

To view the original article, visit the Homesnap blog.