| As more and more people begin to shift their house | | | | While a conversion is what you have defined |
| hunting efforts to the internet, it has become | | | | internally as the action you want your website |
| increasingly important for anyone in the real estate | | | | visitors to take, they won't know that they should |
| profession to have a website that showcases their | | | | take it unless you make it abundantly clear. Creating |
| business. And if you want a website that | | | | a strong 'call to action' is critical for enticing users into |
| contributes to your bottom line, there are a few | | | | converting, whether it's sending you an email or |
| fundamental questions that must be answered first. | | | | checking out the market snapshot you recently |
| What is the goal your website seeks to accomplish? | | | | posted on the site. Many websites make the mistake |
| | | | | of featuring 10 or more different items on the home |
| In order to clearly define your goals, it helps to step | | | | page all competing for your attention. A better |
| back and assess your project from a very high level | | | | alternative is to prominently feature your primary call |
| perspective. Are you trying to build a brand, develop | | | | to action, and create more subtle 'information scents' |
| a content-rich community resource or generate | | | | for the less urgent content on the website. |
| qualified leads? Having a thourough understanding of | | | | Do you know your traget audience? |
| the purpose your website will make it much easier to | | | | The best way to communicate clearly with your |
| plan your strategy, your budget and your | | | | website visitors is to have a good understanding of |
| expectations. | | | | who they are and what they are looking for. Take |
| How do you want your website visitors to take | | | | some time to consider everything about your target |
| action? | | | | audience, from basic demographics such as age and |
| Once you have determined the intended goal of the | | | | income to more in-depth considerations like the |
| website, you need a metric by which to measure | | | | various stages of their buying cycle. Are they just |
| your success. This is referred to as a 'conversion,' | | | | collecting information about the neighborhood or are |
| and it can be defined by any action that you have | | | | they ready to schedule a viewing? The ability to |
| the ability to track. To build on the examples from | | | | address the needs of your prospects at any stage |
| above, if your goal is to become an information hub, | | | | of the sales cycle will prevent them from needing to |
| your conversion may be defined by the time a user | | | | leave your website and ultimately keep them |
| spends on site or by the amount of pageviews you | | | | engaged long enough to convert. |
| generate in a day. Alternatively, if you aim to collect | | | | Spend a little time answering some basic questions |
| as many leads as possible, you may define a | | | | about your business and your customers in order to |
| conversion as a successful contact form submission | | | | help define your goals. Incorporating a few basic |
| or a call from a prospect that was generated by the | | | | usability principles and market research into the |
| website. | | | | planning of your website can have a dramatic impact |
| Have you created a clear call to action? | | | | on its success. |