May
1
Gone in 4 seconds! A slow real estate website could be your doom
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Saying that no one likes a slow-loading website is a huge understatement. In one study of online shoppers done in 2006 by Akamai and JupiterResearch, 33% said that 4 seconds is all they are prepared to wait before abandoning a retail website.
Now it may seem a little hasty to automatically apply the 4 second time limit to a real estate website, but you can safely assume that if your real estate website takes much longer to load, your visitors are very likely to leave.
Your website may be loading slow without you even realising!
How can that be? Simple. Your typical web browser stores images and other parts of the websites you visit on your computer’s hard drive for the very purpose of quickly loading websites you visit often without having to download everything from the Internet each time. This means that since your real estate website is probably one you visit regularly, you could very well be viewing much of it from a copy stored in your PC, giving you the false impression that it loads fast, when the real experience for a new visitor could be very different indeed.
Fortunately, there is an easy test you can do by forcing your browser to reload your page from the Internet so that you can see its real performance. Just visit the page on your real estate website that you want to test and hold down the Control key and then click on Refresh in Internet Explorer, or hold down Shift and click Reload in Firefox.
What can you do to make your website load faster?
Get a faster web host: One of the most common causes of a slow loading website is that the server it is hosted on is not up to the job, so your hosting service is the first thing you have to test if you are having loading time problems. While moving to a better web hosting service could solve the problem, proper web design is paramount to giving your visitors the fastest experience possible. The following points are just some of the things that a professional web designer will be looking at to make sure your real estate website has what it takes to make it in the speed department.
Optimise your images: While it is not always practical to cut down on the number of images on a real estate website, you can make sure they load as fast as possible by optimising them for the web. A common mistake is to take photos of properties and upload them to your website without making sure they are as small to download as possible.
Avoid unnecessary bells and whistles: Flash animations and other fancy widgets may look nice on your website, but if they take too long to load, few people will stick around long enough to see them anyway. If you use any of this, make sure it is well optimised and test to see how it affects your website’s loading time.
Keep your site design simple: We said simple, not plain! In fact, an experienced web designer should be able to build you a professional-looking real estate website that has a clean underlying structure that allows it to load quickly. It is also very important to make sure that the HTML code (the backbone of your website) is also efficiently written for best results.
So remember, speed is one of the keys to keeping the visitors you get to your website. Go ahead and test your website as we describe above, and see how it measures up. If you want to learn more about how to improve your website’s loading speed or otherwise make the best of your real estate website, please contact us at Sorted Sites for a free and no-obligation consultation and assessment of your needs.
Online MarketingApr
23
How to make an e-book out of your real estate blog posts
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Let’s face it: writing for your real estate blog takes time and effort, and month after month, this adds up to a significant amount of both. So why not plan ahead so that you can compile some of your posts into an e-book at a later date? This will give your old posts a new lease of life and let you get even more value from the work you have put into your property blog.
But would anyone be interested in an e-book made from material that is already in your real estate blog? The answer will surprise you!
The thing is that many of the e-books you see out there began their life as blog posts, and a good few of these are actually sold for cash, even going on to become bestsellers in some cases. The reason for this is that people want to have information at their fingertips, meaning that organising a group of your blog posts into one volume and presenting it to your clients on a silver plate will fill a very important niche.
However, in your case, as a real estate agent, you stand to gain more from using your e-book as a marketing tool by giving it away and encouraging people to share it, rather than if you try and sell it for a profit. In fact, once you have your real estate e-book ready, you should make sure it has all your contact details on, including website, e-mail and telephone number and market it aggressively so that it reaches as wide an audience as possible.
What kind of blog posts will make good e-book material?
Keep in mind that you want your e-book to be valid and relevant for a good time to come, so it is best to choose timeless topics related to the real estate market you are operating in. The idea here is to write some of your blog posts along a common theme, in such a way that each post can be reused as a chapter in your e-book (or part of one).
You can choose as wide a scope as you like for your e-book posts, either concentrating on strictly property-related topics and advice, such as the buying process, finding a good lawyer, taxes, inheritance and so on, or you could even expand and write about your area in a way that will interest property hunters and entice them to look at your market - things like attractions, nightlife, beaches, and so on.
Of course, once you get down to editing your e-book, you will probably have to update some parts, tweak others to make it all flow, and even write a short introduction and conclusion. But that should not be a major job if you plan it out beforehand and think about how all the individual chapters will fit together in the end. This also has an added bonus of providing you with a ready sequence of topics when it comes to writing your blog.
Don’t let your e-book take over your blog
Of course, you should not let your e-book enthusiasm get the better of your blog, and you should still write other posts about current events and topics related to the real estate markets you operate in.
After all, a key purpose of your blog is to keep your clients up to date with the latest property news, and at the same time show them that you are real estate expert with your finger on the pulse of your market.
Still, having an e-book to your name can be a very powerful marketing strategy that will get you both exposure and credibility, and planning to republish some of your posts in the future will mean that you get even more out of the effort you put into your blog.
Online MarketingApr
15
One of the keys to successfully marketing your estate agency online is, of course, to make your primary audience the main target of your website. And as an estate agent, you will know better than anyone else that the people who have most disposable income to invest in property tend to be seniors, who are more likely to have substantial savings or a considerable equity in their home that they can make use of. In other words, unless you are only selling property that is exclusively directed at young people and families, the baby boomers and up is one age group that you absolutely cannot afford to cast aside as you design your estate agency’s website.
In a blog post called How to sell to seniors online, Todd Follansbe says that, while today’s older generation are ever more likely to be using the Internet, there are several things to keep in mind for your website to be successful at winning their business.
Clear web design for old eyes
Many of the issues involved in appealing to older people are design-related. Take into account that seniors are more likely to be unfamiliar with newer technologies and also begin to suffer from diminishing physical capabilities with age, including vision and, in some cases, cognitive abilities. This means that your website should use well-sized and clear fonts, and also be simple to use. Instructions should be clearly explained, particularly when it comes to using property searches and contact forms, or downloading brochures and other files.
Of course, a lot of these are things that you should be doing anyway for all your audience, but unless you specifically test your real estate website on a group of seniors, you will never know if you are unwittingly excluding this vital demographic group because of inadequate web design.
Avoiding technical jargon is always a good idea (unless your website happens to be aimed specifically at technical people) but this applies so much more in the case where your typical visitor is someone older. At the same time, remember that old people are no fools either and there is no need to be condescending or to talk down to your audience.
Targetting a different mindset
A very interesting point Todd raises in his post is that most of the older generation will remember severe market recessions and possibly even outright market crashes. He also adds that they tend to be more sceptical and put off by flashy promises and hype. These issues apply particularly to the word of real estate, where the tendency is to place emphasis on the investment potential of the property for sale. What it all means, in a nutshell, is that an audience of seniors will take a great deal more of convincing, so be prepared to back up your claims with credible, solid facts.
As you plan your real estate website, you will also have to take into account other ways in which seniors think differently, including the fact that they tend to be more cautious, and hence less likely to take risks. Also, as you will surely know, older property investors will have a totally different set of reasons for buying property, be it as a retirement home or as a sound legacy to leave to their children. Your real estate website will have to be designed to appeal to this different frame of mind too if it is to be successful.
Of course, all these principles also apply to your real estate blog and you ought to keep them in mind as you write new posts. Also remember to test well and regularly to make sure that all the different aspects of your web presence will work together to win you the confidence and custom of this large and influential group of property buyers.
Online MarketingApr
7
Sorted Sites are happy to sign up to the new Mobile Service offered from Direct Telecom who have finally broken the monopoly held by the top telecommunications companies, bringing cost effective and quality voip to everyone who has a mobile phone. With an easy activation service set up in minutes and the chance to save hundreds of euros each year, how could we resist? Contact Maggie or enquire via their web site www.direct-telecom.es
Apr
4
How to market your real estate website on Flickr – and get away with it
Filed Under Online Marketing | 1 Comment
Flickr, the popular photo sharing website can be a very useful social networking tool for your real estate business. Not only is it a place to store your photos for publication on your blog, but it is also a great way for you to participate in a community of like-minded people and share photos not only of your properties for sale, but also of company events and functions as well as of the general area your estate agency operates in.
What’s more, we have found from experience that Google indexes new images posted to Flickr very quickly indeed and because these tend to get high rankings on the search engines, your Flickr account could very well be another great way for people to discover your estate agent website.
But can you market on Flickr?
Strictly speaking, Flickr’s Terms of Service Agreement says that you cannot use Flickr for any commercial purpose. And while many people go by the Devil’s Dictionary definition of Terms of Service, which is, ‘a long contract in legalese specifically designed to make you scroll down and agree to it without reading a single word’, Flickr does enforce this rule to some extent, as we found out when one of our client accounts was deleted recently.
But in practise the use of Flickr for commercial purposes is a very big grey area - for example, Flickr seems ready to close an eye to the many professional photographers, artists and web designers who display their images and works on the website. So, the million dollar question about marketing your real estate website on Flickr…
How do you get away with it?
The distinction lies in the approach you take to marketing your properties for sale on Flickr. The trick as we see it is to embrace the Flickr community, become part of it, and contribute in a positive way, and there are many ways you can do this:
- For a start, make sure you are not only posting pictures of your properties and company activities. As you move around your area imagine you’re a tourist and take general photos of the places you visit: landscapes, famous landmarks, interesting details, random streets, even just people going about their daily lives - things that have nothing directly to do with your business- and upload them to your Flickr account. Giving back to the Flickr community in this way won’t cost you anything but will earn you kudos and add value to your account.
- Join one or more groups on Flickr, or start a group of your own, teaming up with other estate agents in your area. We have just started a group of Tenerife Estate Agents, so any of you reading this, you’re more than welcome to join.
- What’s more, encourage your clients to start their own personal Flickr accounts and join your group. This way they can share photos of themselves enjoying their new property and the surrounding area and also get to know other people who have bought near them.
- Comment on other people’s photos - not only real estate photos, but even general photos of your area that would be of interest to your target audience. The idea is to become a part of the general Flickr community and get your name out there by actively participating.
Going for a hard sell on Flickr is likely to get you the boot very quickly - if it is obvious that the pictures you put up are for the sole purpose of marketing your properties or your estate agency, or if you’re just spamming links all over the place, your account won’t last long. Besides, Flickr has recently stopped making search engines follow some of their outbound links so the value of linking on Flickr is somewhat diminished (although people can still click through to your website).
Still, there is still a lot your estate agency can gain from having its own Flickr account. Read this excellent article for more tips and ideas on the right way to market on Flickr.
Online MarketingMar
28
This week´s recommend “Blog of the Week” goes to Real Estate Tomato
Filed Under General Stuff, Blog News, Blog of the Week | Leave a Comment
The Sorted Sites Blog of the Week is awarded to The Real Estate Tomato during the previous week (Friday to Thursday). Jim Cronin runs Real Estate Tomato and we are envious as can be about this blog! It offers great advice and tips for Real Estate Agents to market their Blog. Well done Jim – keep the tomato juice flowing!!!
Blog News Blog of the Week General StuffMar
19
Actual Properties have always had a gift for finding the best investment properties in Tenerife, now they have a gift for potential purchasers, 500 FREE tickets for London’s leading sunshine homes exhibition, A Place In The Sun.
Docklands ExCel centre is the venue on April 25th, 26th and 27th as Channel Four’s must see property programme stages one of it’s ever popular live events. Once tickets go on sale, they will be snapped up fast, but you can jump the queues by logging on to www.actualproperties.com/a-place-in-the-sun.asp .
Actual Properties are the sole representatives for Tenerife and very appropriately, the London Golf Show is taking place in the next hall. Golf properties are hugely popular in Tenerife and Actual Properties have developments at all the main southern golf resorts, Amarilla Golf, Golf del Sur, Adeje Golf , Golf Las Americas and their luxury residencies at the 5 star Abama Golf Resort. As a special bonus to potential investors, Actual Properties have ensured that the 500 FREE tickets will also give FREE admission to the London Golf Show, so you can make a real day of it.
A Place In The Sun is a relaxed showcase for anyone toying with the idea of buying an overseas property, and to help make a real event of the day, there will be music and dance. Keep an eye out for the celebrity guests who are attending the show and Amanda Lamb, presenter of the TV version of A Place In The Sun will be on hand to add a touch of glamour.
The exhibition is from 10 am until 6 pm on the Friday and Saturday, with the slightly earlier closing time of 5.30 pm on the Sunday. Actual Properties would love to meet as many of you as possible, so get along to their stand, say hello and have a chat over a drink and a nibble.
Mar
18
This week´s recommend “Blog of the Week” goes to Horizon Property Group
Filed Under General Stuff, Blog News, Blog of the Week | Leave a Comment
The Sorted Sites Blog of the Week is awarded to Horizon News during the previous week (Friday to Thursday). Lorna Eade at Horizon News which is the blog for the Horizon Property Group, gets our Blog of the Week award for outstanding and good value content. If ever Real Estate Agents in the Canary Islands are looking at how to launch or run a blog, then you would be well advised to take a look at Horizon News as a good reference point.
Blog News Blog of the Week General StuffMar
17
Embrace your competition and win the real estate game
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Have you ever wondered why similar, competing shops tend to gather around each other on the high street or at shopping centres? The fact is that people like choice and will prefer to go wherever they can find it, and this is what pushes up the prices of top commercial real estate property.
But how does this apply to your real estate agency’s online marketing?
Your website may seem to be an isolated presence - you type in www.yourrealestatedomain.com and it shows up in all its splendid glory, alone and unchallenged. But the picture is so very different the moment a potential client runs a Google search and you (hopefully) show up next to several other real estate websites, many of which are trying to woo your very same client.
No matter how high in the search rankings your website is, your prospects are going to be looking at your competitors’ websites too. Once you accept this fact, you can use it to your advantage.
Become part of the online real estate community
The idea here is not the old maxim of ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer,’ but rather to form strategic alliances with other estate agencies so that you work together to help each other’s businesses prosper through the tough times, to the detriment of those other estate agents who choose to brave the storm alone.
Blogging about other estate agents does send traffic away from your website, but it also makes your own website so much more valuable as a resource that people will want to bookmark or subscribe to. Blogs like Off Plan Property Exchange have their own property listings but, because they blog about and link to other developments too, they are able to attract a much bigger audience and regular readership whom to advertise to.
Likewise, posting comments on the blogs of other estate agents in reply to what they are saying will of course help them and the discussion they are trying to create, but it also helps you by getting you noticed and raises awareness about your own estate agency and website.
What goes around comes around, and your linking to other websites will ultimately mean that other websites will link back to you, so it’s a win-win situation. This sort of alliance can be implicit - you do your thing and hope others notice - or else you can directly initiate communication with other real estate marketers through your comments or via e-mail etc. and discuss ways of working together.
Team up with other estate agencies and offer more to your clients
The Internet also makes it very easy for you to work directly with other real estate agencies and match each other’s clients with each other’s property listings on a commission basis - even to the extent of listing other agents’ properties on your website.
Your clients will most probably find the other agents anyway on the Google high street, so in such a case you win by getting your share of the commission, you win by being the one who helped the client find the property in the first place, and you win by turning your website into an even greater source of properties that people will want to come back to. What’s more, you also win when other estate agencies return the favour and send business your way.
Once again, this gives your agency so much more power compared to those who insist on going it alone because, by teaming up with other real estate agencies, you offer a much better service to your clients. Sellers sell their properties faster because you have access to more buyers, and buyers realise that you are serious about finding them the right property and that you have the commitment and connections necessary to achieve that. This can only be good for your business!
In the light of all this, it seems like madness to go it alone with brute force online marketing and be limited by whatever budget you can afford to pump into your real estate advertising. Rather than spending all your money and energy trying to jump above your competitors and be seen, you could be much better off climbing on each other’s shoulders and leaving the stubborn go-it-aloners to fight for the low-hanging fruit while you enjoy the lofty rich pickings waiting to be had.
Online MarketingMar
14
This week´s recommend “Blog of the Week” goes to Secret Tenerife
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Pamela at Secret Tenerife has been awarded our Blog of the Week as we think she is brilliant in showing others how to blog in a simple yet commanding way, we also like her websites new look :).
Blog of the Week General Stuff
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