Once you get your pages designed and written, you can host them FREE for as long as you maintain your service (some web site options require additional monthly fees). If you're comfortable writing HTML code, you can even get around the cost of design and develop your own display. However, most agents feel that their time is better spent listing and selling real estate rather than writing computer code. That's where we come in.
A domain (actually "Virtual Domain") is a special URL (Universal Resource Locator) that is registered to you for a specific period of time and is used to point to your web site. For example, to get to Ford Motor Company's web site you would type in www.ford.com. "ford.com" is their domain. To get to HBO's web site, you would type in www.hbo.com. "hbo.com" is their domain.
If you decide to get a web site and your current ISP (internet service provider) is, for example, Earthlink, but you don't have a domain, the URL that people will have to type in to see your site will be "home.earthlink.net/~(your user ID)". God forbid, your husband set up your account and, as a joke, gave you the ID "hotmama". Just imagin putting that URL on your business card.
However, with a domain, you can be with any ISP and have any user ID and it won't matter. Your URL would be "www.(your choice).com" (that is if "your choice" is still available). The great thing about a domain is that as long as you maintain the registration, that name is YOURS. You can even change your ISP without changing your domain.
So, other than it looks better on your business card and is easier to remember, what benefit is a domain going to give you? Actually, not much. If search engines are not going to find you that much easier with a domain and it's definitely going to cost you more, why get one?
The real estate business is all about IMAGE and how you are perceived by your prospects and clients. So, what would you prefer on your business cards and flyers:
home.earthlink.net/~theotherhalf
Or
www.bestagent.com
(Sorry, you can't have this one. It's a Re/Max couple in Philadelphia)
One says "If I have to have a web site, I'm going to get out as cheap as I can." The other says "I'm here, I'm committed and I know what it takes to get the job done."
You Choose.
Web Sites like Yahoo, Hotbot, Excite and others give out free email service to anyone who wants it. With a free email address and a remote hosted web site, you can operate your Internet business and send and receive your email from your office Internet computer or any Internet connected computer, anywhere in the world and not worry about long distance charges or additional ISP charges for 800 access. (Most major hotels and libraries have Internet connected computers available, as does Kinko’s. There are even specialty restaurants popping up that have Internet access computers at their tables.)
Studies made by several independent researchers across the country place the average income of an adult on the Internet at around $65,000 to $75,000 per year. Beyond that, consider the amount of discretionary cash a person has to have just to be able to purchase the type of equipment and service required to get and stay on the Internet. Now think! How much cash does a person need to buy a newspaper?
More to the point, how many times have you taken an up call off a newspaper ad from a person who couldn’t finance a ticket to a free lunch but still wanted to buy a house?
So, which is better? - Neither; they both have their place. One is just more specifically targeted at qualified buyers and competent sellers than the other.
Second, unique services or well written articles about real estate topics can bring people to your site who are neither selling, nor buying in your area. In that situation, a person looking for more information on your service or the topic of your article could very well turn into a referral fee from an agent nowhere near your service area.
The other group, the potential clients, are coming to your site for predominately one reason. They want to see "Properties For Sale", either to buy or to compare with their own. For this reason, the sooner you can get them to your list of available properties TO SEE, the better off you'll be.
Information and service pages come in second and will bring in a fare number of hits and email, if they're done well. Things like Relocation services, Loan pre-qualifiers and papers with topics like "Little Known Buying Tips", "Things To Do And Places To Go in [your town]", "Rent or Buy, When and How" and "How to Fix Your Credit" are all good and bring in their share of hits. The best of these, of course, will be the ones that require the potential client to GIVE information about themselves and their needs in order to GET what you’re offering.
The trick is to publish these pages separately on all the different search engines with their own unique set of key words and in their own categories. This allows you to get people in from places other than just "Real Estate".
Out of all the real estate client testimonials printed in all the different Internet magazines, the majority always said something to the effect "I sent emails to several of the agents in the area we were interested in. But when Linda was the only one to respond that same day, she made selecting an agent to represent us easy."
If you're not getting any email, don't stop checking. FIX THE PROBLEM! Make your site more interesting.
Would you quit answering your phone just because every call wasn’t a pre-approved buyer with a signed offer to purchase in his hand?
What they don't like is to wait half an hour for all those pictures to load. A good rule of thumb is; if all the images on your page add up to more than 80K in file size, you probably have too many.
There is a way around this problem, though. On your list of homes, only use single, small (11/2 inches wide max.) thumbnail versions of your primary photos. If you have more than 10 or 12 listings, consider dividing them into categories on separate pages (for instance, in order of price). Then make certain items on the data hyperlink to more or larger photos.
For example, use the thumbnail photo as a hyperlink to a larger version of the same shot. Then use the address as a hyperlink to a second photo, another page containing several photos or a full Listing Information Display Page.
On your listing display pages, use only one full size picture and maybe a floor plan of the property and represent the rest with as many thumbnails as you need, all linked to larger versions.
"Holy Home Sales, Batman! That sounds just like the way BTI set up THEIR listing database."
"That’s right Robin. BTI set it up so that if the prospect really wants to see a larger view, or that picture of the hot water heater closet, he can click on it. If not, it hasn't significantly impacted his viewing time."
The two main factors that determine the "success" of your site are Exposure and Content. For example, if you are getting only 2 or 3 hits a week, but everyone who comes to your site contacts you, you know your content is great but your exposure is poor. Improve your keyword list and republish. Find new search engines with which to list your URL. Cooperatively link to other sites in other topics, etc. or TALK TO US.
If, however, you are getting loads of hits, but no-one wants to talk to you, your exposure is fine. The content of your site is not doing what you want and needs work. In either situation, WE CAN HELP.
Drop us a line here, or give us a call at (661) 274-0462 and let us know what you would like the Internet to do for you. We can probably make it happen.
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