#1 Traffic to Estate Agency and portal websites is at an all-time-high
According to the Yomdel Property Sentiment Tracker (YPST), a couple of weeks ago engagement with own branded estate agency websites increased again, and is now at an all-time record high, 22% higher than the same week in 2020 and 30% higher than the same week in 2019.
That shows a clear year-on-year increase which mirrors our own experience of website traffic.
#2 It’s your digital shop window
Would you be happy if your physical shop window was covered in pigeon poo, had a smattering of kebabs strewn across the payment and was filled with old properties? Probably not. And yet we see so many websites with old properties, broken links, or out-of-date industry information. Agents like to talk a lot about first impressions, if a potential client looked you up online right now, what would their impression be?
#3 Eat the frog! If not now, then when?
Often, we hear people say things like ‘Yeah we need to do our website, but haven’t got round to it.’ Sometimes this is due to it being really far down on the list of priorities, but often its due to fear! If you’re scared of being taken for a ride because you don’t know the first thing about websites, have a chat with different companies who offer web design, take note of how they speak to you or if they use jargon. Like you and your clients, any good company will be happy to have a chat. You’ll probably come away feeling a bit more confident in what questions to ask, and what the answers mean.
#4 Why let the portals capitalise on all of the traffic that should be coming to your website
Most agents pay a lot of money to portals on a monthly basis, and if that’s the case, why are you adding your Rightmove link to your social media and helping them out when you’re paying them!
Make sure your social media profiles have your website link, showcasing your properties, your brand, and your expertise. Let the portals worry about their traffic, that’s what you’re paying them for.
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#5 An out-of-date website undermines your expertise
You might know that you’re qualified to a high standard, you’re up-to-date with all the recent lettings legislation changes, and you might have an up-to-date picture of the market in the local area, but if a potential Landlord hits your website and sees blog posts from two years ago, and information they know not to be correct, they may assume incompetence.
Your website should be a place to really show off your expertise, and make it clear to potential clients why they should choose you to sell, let, or manage their property.
#6 Future-proof your online presence
Websites can be a bit like buying a new car. Shiny and lovely, but start depreciating in value the minute you’ve paid and start to walk away.
If you have a website which not only looks great, but is built on solid foundations, you’ll be able to keep the same website for years with just a small face-lift here and there to freshen it up alongside regularly adding new content.
Paying for a website built on a custom CMS rather than something flexible like WordPress and needing to renew it every couple of years is a false economy which could cost you thousands in the long run.
#7 It’s the most powerful tool you have for building your list
Building up a social following and engaging your customers there is important, but if Facebook decided to pull the plug tomorrow, how are you going to contact all of those people again? You can’t. They’re lost forever in cyberspace.
The only way you can be sure you won’t lose your following, is if you build your own list of engaged contacts. And how do you capture those contacts? Via the website, that you own. you’ll always have an up-to-date list of people who are happy to hear what you have to say, then. And the value of that is priceless!
More than anything, we’re passionate about you getting a website that you love, is easy to maintain, doesn’t cost the earth, and which doesn’t bamboozle you into avoiding it. If you think you could do with a hand, sign up for a free website health check – we’ll take a look for you and have a chat about what you’re looking to achieve for free. No jargon, we pinkie promise. Get in touch.
Katie Gillingham
Katie is a Freelance Copywriter living in rural Dorset with her daft old Labrador. She first started writing content for the property industry back in 2015, and loves nothing more than bringing brand voices to life!
