| What are the Elements of an Effective Website? |
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| Effective Web Sites | |
| Written by Darren James Napier | |
| Monday, 16 June 2008 14:01 | |
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· Content – what you have to say and who you are saying it too. · Usability – site navigation and layout of content (can the users quickly locate desired content) · Search Optimization - proper coding and layout, keyword/phrase density and meta data · Search Marketing – blog posts, directory listings, search engine submission, online classifieds etc. · Looks – not necessarily fancy – clean simple layout with pertinent information and graphic elements  What if I have 3 or 4 out of 5 elements? Let’s look at how this works,
first you need a site that has content of interest to your target audience – in real estate the number one hit page is the listings page so you need listings, with the second tending in most locals to be information on the local area. Second you require a site that is easy to navigate to this content (this is where many sites fall down), third the site needs to be optimized for search engines both for technical aspects such as the actual coding practices followed in the site creation so as not to be dismissed by the search bots and from a content perspective in order for your indexing to be for appropriate topics. Fourth the search marketing, this is the key for quick indexing and high ranking in the search engines focusing on elements that bring your site to the attention of the search engines and assist in classifying the type of site you have to enhance keyword performance. So with only 4 out of 5 elements your site is going to be experiencing substandard performance. Let’s look at this deeper. Content – without it you have no reason for potential clients to come to your site – if you do manage to get them there they have no reason to stay – the result of little or poor content is low traffic and a high bounce rate. Usability - this is where many real estate websites die – and amateur website designers (agents, assistants etc) the site may have great traffic but incredibly low conversion rates and they can’t understand why their performance is so poor so they constantly switch site providers looking for the solution that works… never realizing that although to them the site is easy to use (they know where everything is) that to a new user who has no relationship and nothing invested in developing this relationship with the agent it might not be so clear – they simply leave and go to the next site in their search – your competition. Again like content although there may be high traffic there will be a high bounce rate on the site. Search Optimization – Highly competitive in real estate terms like “Tampa homes for sale” or “Tampa real estate” it is important that a) you achieve critical keyword densities, but also that you identify some additional terms that are more niche oriented that relate to your specialties or interests whether it be targeted neighborhoods, local activities (anything that home sellers may specify in their search) and achieve the appropriate keyword densities for these terms as well. The result of not optimizing your site will be low traffic – unless you intent only to utilize PayPerClick and print type sources to drive traffic to your site which will still result in lower traffic than with organic search returns. Search Marketing – Many confuse these elements with optimization, but search marketing is a separate element altogether, it includes techniques to assist both users and search engines to both find your site and to categorize your site by a guilt through association type method – so links from sites such as posting in the realty section of an online classified with a link back or a link from a fellow realtors site to your site, as well as submission of your site to the search engines directly as well as appropriate directories. Without good marketing in this area it may take a long time for initial indexing and even longer for appropriate categorization and high performance for desired key terms (even as much as 6-12 months) or not being indexed at all. Looks – So many spend so much time on looks thinking it’s the end all be all that so many view it as. Looks can greatly assist in keeping traffic on your site in the first couple of seconds beyond that if the user can’t find the content they desire (and I mean quick) they are still gone on to the next site before you have a chance to sell yourself and your services. Even a well laid out “ugly” site can outperform an amazing site in traffic and retention but when it comes to conversion and the final choice people do lean towards beauty so if you have two sites equal on the levels of content and usability (assuming the traffic is getting their already) you want to be the clean professional one of the two if you would like to convert the prospect.
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 17 June 2008 20:07 ) |
Ok this is not a common question we are asked – but the one every real estate agent that has a site on the web should be asking more frequently. I suspect its pride that keeps many from admitting that they don’t really know or possibly it’s simply that they don’t think they will understand the answers. We’re going to attempt to provide you with the information you need to understand where your site may be lacking and where our services can assist you in making your website an effective real estate tool.
