5 Ways To Build Your Blog’s Credibility & Generate More Leads

Ricardo Bueno shares this article on the Diverse Solutions blog.

Unfortunately, people do judge a book by it’s cover. That means, that people are making a decision on whether they like you or not, whether they trust you or not, within the first 30 seconds to a minute of landing on your website.

Can I find the information I’m looking for?

Does this site look trustworthy?

Is the information presented here reliable?

Those are all of the questions racing through the consumers mind when they land on your website. Fortunately for you, you can influence whether they stay on your site long enough to engage with your content and make a decision as to whether they’d like to work with you or not.

Here’s a few things you can do to build your blog’s credibility and generate more leads…

1. Create a thorough “About Us” page.

An effective “About” page communicates:

• Who you are and what you do.
• What market areas you service.
• Communicates your experience and affiliations.
• Contains your contact information.

Your About page will be one of the most visited pages on your site. After someone reads your post, or spends some time searching for homes through your IDX search page, they’ll often want to know, “ok, who is this Agent?”

It’s just part of the “getting to know you” process. The more effective you are at communicating that information, the better.

2. Create a testimonials page.

Testimonials are an instant credibility booster. When someone’s considering doing business with you, it’s easier to influence their decision to say yes if you have real references (testimonials) of other people that you’ve worked with.

I’ve referred to Real Estate Agent Cyndee Haydon’s testimonial’s page on more than one occasion, but because I think she’s done a phenomenal job showcasing past client’s experiences with her through the use of video testimonials.

3. Make yourself accessible.

This means having your phone number and email available throughout your website. This way, if someone wants to get a hold of you, they can.

Having people jump through hoops to fill out a contact form just to ask you a quick question can make some people feel uneasy. Especially if by submitting a form request, they’re getting automatically opted in to a newsletter. some people really don’t want that. They just want a little more information on a listing.

4. Respond to inquiries in a timely manner.

When someone submits an inquiry about a listing via email, or when someone calls, make it a habit to respond immediately. You’d be surprised how many people don’t actually do this. So by doing it yourself, you’re setting the expectation that a.) you’re on top of your game, b.) you’re reliable because I can get a hold of you easily, c.) you care about your customers (and that in turn makes me feel good about working with you).

5. Communicate your value add – that people can access up-to-date listing data easily on your website.

You can do this a couple of different ways:

• Create a simple Home Search page where site visitors can easily search for the latest real estate. Communicate the value behind why users should register to create an account. I like the way Jay Thompson has done this on his website.
• Create a Listing Feed page where you provide a list of the latest real estate in a specific coverage area. Remind site visitors that listing data is updated every couple of hours. This serves as a nice, subtle reminder that they can return to this page at any time for updates.
• Create community landing pages for each of the areas you specialize in. I particularly like this example from Lori Bee.
• If you have a mobile home search option, remind site visitors that they can search for listings on the go. I like how Mike & Tina McGee communicate this with a mobile landing page.

The Bottom Line:

Each of these elements complement one another. People are coming to your site to search for homes first and foremost. But they’re making their decision to want to work with you based on the signals they get when looking at your site…

• Are you easy to get a hold of?
• What are other people (clients) saying about working with you?
• Who are you? What have you done? What are some of your professional affiliations?

You’ve got to help site visitors “see” that you’re a trust-worthy real estate agent who can help them with the most important purchase transaction of their life-time. And these are a few ways to help you accomplish just that…

What would you add? How else can you establish your credibility with site visitors who are just beginning their home search and are trying to get to know you?

To view the original article, visit the Diverse Solutions blog.