Real Estate Webmasters News - REW News

The real estate webmasters forum is now at over 3000+ members. A testiment to the amazingly helpful members and moderators - on to 5000! 3000 members thread located at http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/thread5863.html

Ok so we are a little biased but hey it also happens to be true! Any realtor who is interested in generating business via their real estate website should be a member of the Real Estate Webmasters Forum

With thousands of realtors as members along with many of the industry leaders in real estate web development there really isn’t a better place to learn and develop your online web business. The following is a list of main forums available at REW Forums, each having their own subcategories covering a myriad of topics.

• Real Estate Main Forum
• Search Engine Forum
• Web Design Forum
• Real Estate Marketplace
• REW Template Support

So stop on by if you are a realtor who wants to run a successful web business.

For a real estate website to succeed it needs to fulfill the basics requirements of the visitor. I have created this page to outline a basic checklist for realtors to follow if they would like to succeed online.

Lets start with some initial ideas.

Access to MLS Listings (Homes for sale)

A successful website needs to provide the visitor with access to the available real estate inventory within your area of service. The majority of web searchers (Search Engine and PPC) are buyers. A simple query of one of the many online keyword suggestion tools will generally reveal the following major terms:

• Area Real Estate (Agent)
• Area Homes (For sale)
• Area MLS (Listings)
• Area Realtor

A great tool for checking on these search terms any others is the Digitalpoint Keyword Suggestion Tool.
Other than “Area Realtor” and “Area Real Estate Agent” the rest of those common terms will generally be searching for a home to purchase, in other words they are buyers. So it just makes sense, if you want to stimulate the interest of a buyer, you have to be able to provide them with access to the available homes for sale. In addition to MLS listings you could also feature your own listings in a separate section for even better commissions.

Prominantly display your contact information.

How leads become leads. Your website needs to provide a method of contact (Easily accessible) for the visitor to interact with the agent. They want to ask questions, interview you as their listings or buyers agent, or enquire about a property listed on your site. I recommend the following as minimum requirements to have on your website:

• A contact us link or botton (Accessible and visible from every page)
• Telephone number (Accessible and visible from every page)

The contact us link or button should go to a page that offers multiple options for contact. You should have your full name, all phone numbers and even your office address listed. You should also provide your email address and a contact form. Your contact form should require at minimum a valid phone number or email address however you may want to provide them with extra fields to mine more information such as:

• Are you buying or selling?
• When are you looking to buy or sell?
• Comments

You can get creative and create sections for buyers and sellers with specific questions like “how much are you looking to spend” “what area are you selling in?” etc.

Unique Content is a Must!

Your website needs to represent “you” and your business. Real Estate transactions (Buying or selling) are generally the largest trasanctions that your website visitors will ever participate in. They need to feel confident in you as a professional if they are going to allow them to handle this all important task, so make it count!

Generally a website will have the following main pages:

• Homepage - Generally the first page a user views. Introduces the realtor, the areas in which the realtor services, the features and functionality of the website and offers personal assistance via telephone, email or contact form should the visitor require it.
• About - Introduces the realtor, their qualifications, and provides an opportunity for the realtor to make an impression and appeal on a more personal level to the prospect.
• Contact Page - See notes on contact pages above
• Home Search Page - Showcases Listings (MLS / VOW and or office listings)
• Buyers page - tell the visitor how you will find them their perfect home and what success and resources you posses to accomplish this
• Sellers page - showcase sold listings and testimonials. Focus on your strengths in terms of marketing and elaborate on the process as well as resources you have at your disposal for getting that listing noticed and more importantly, SOLD!

REW News is looking for great resources for realtors to post for our readers. Candidates should provide helpful information on how to improve or increase real estate business from the web.

Our Real Estate Forum is an excellent example of exactly the type of resource we are looking for.