As a real estate professional, you need the best tools available to stand above the crowd. Nowhere is this more important than your website. In today’s real estate market, the majority of your clients will find and/or interact with you online, and your website is the face you’re presenting to the world. There are lots of website options to choose from: sites offered by your brokerage, free websites, DIY options -- the list goes on. In a crowded and competitive online atmosphere, it takes some extra effort to reach and appeal to potential clients. Here are some of the top reasons to have your own website:
1. Establish your personal brand
Taking the time to craft your personal brand with your own real estate website will help you distinguish yourself from other agents. Use your website to let your potential clients get to know you and why they should work with you. You can do this through a bio or resume that lets your personality shine, gathering key testimonials from satisfied clients, writing about your areas of expertise via blog posts, and more. Having your own website helps you build an online identity, letting your clients get to know you and showing them why they want to work with you.
2. Don’t worry about your brokerage
Your brokerage may offer website options, but you don’t want to run the risk of prioritizing their name above your own or being limited by what they offer. With your own website, you never have to worry about changing brokerages or worry that your brokerage will change website options. Give yourself the competitive edge by building your website to focus on you. Likewise, give your clients a consistent experience wherever you go -- no new interfaces to deal with, no need to sign them up again with a new provider.
3. Build and maintain a presence in search engines
The longer you have your website, the more established you become in search engine rankings. Maintaining a mobile-ready, IDX-enabled site that provides relevant information for buyers and sellers, as well as a regularly updated blog, will provide a strong foundation to your online presence. It can take time for search engines like Google to crawl your website and determine what it’s about and where it should show up in their search results, so you don’t want to switch websites regularly and start the process all over again.
4. Offer valuable content to your clients
Your potential clients come to your website seeking information, and you need to offer them content relevant to their interests, such as information on buying and selling and new homeowner advice. At Elevate we understand how important this is, which is why Elevate websites let you take advantage of our partnership with This Old House. This Old House provides us with a library of rich content on home and real estate-related topics for your clients that will keep them coming back even after a closed transaction.
Your clients are starting their real estate search online. They want to get to know you and how you can help them meet their real estate goals. They want to know your areas of expertise, and they value your local knowledge. Your website is the gateway to their relationship with you, so be sure to build a website that you can expand upon, something that will last and reflect well upon you.
