Daily Real Estate News  |  January 4, 2008  |   10 Ways to Give Your Web Site an Edge
Effective Web sites are a must-have tool in today’s real estate sales business. Packing them full of information that is well integrated and useful will help a practitioner stand out in a crowded field.

Here are 10 Web site must-haves suggested by RISMedia:

1. Exhaustive search capability. Consumers want access to all listings all the time with the ability to search by ZIP code, subdivision name, city, county, school district, and street number — or any combination of these.

2. Pre-defined searches. Including something like “Search these popular areas now” will make frequent searches easier for people unfamiliar with the area. Other ways to pre-define searches include architectural style, waterfront, and build date.

3. Interactive mapping. Allow seekers to draw boundaries so they can define areas close to where they work or other geographic center points.

4. Make it visual. Multiple photos, visual tours, and video are increasingly key.

5. Community and lifestyle information. Answer questions about schools, services, and local government before buyers even ask.

6. Financing and the buying process. Remove the mystery and clearly explain information buyers should know in advance. This buys loyalty.

7. Non-intrusive lead-generation forms. Requiring buyers to fill out a form before seeing the information will drive prospects away. Instead, think of these forms as offering the buyer a chance to ask you for help.

8. Brag a little. Illustrate your value with objective data and testimonials from happy clients, but don’t overdo it. You don’t want potential customers to think you are too busy for them.

9. Link to other useful sites. Internet syndication stretches the impact of your site and brings in more users.

10. Automate the process. Insist that the site is simple to maintain and makes tracking and responding to prospects easy.

Source: RISMedia, Jonathan Nicholas (01/02/08)