No preamble, let’s get right down to it. Here are 5 signs your real estate website is out of date.
1. The site’s design hasn’t changed since George W. Bush was President
It’s 2016. If your site’s design hasn’t changed in two terms of office, then it’s also as old as the very first iPhone, the housing market crash, and The Sopranos infamous series finale.
In the tech world, there is one constant: everything changes. If you don’t adapt to these changes on a regular basis, then your viewers will notice right away and run away.
2. My phone and your site don’t get along
Pull out your phone (I doubt it’s eight years old). Now pull up your site. Does it resize with your phone’s browser? Or do you find yourself constantly swiping to navigate left to right, up to down?
Put yourself in your reader’s shoes. How do you think they feel when they have to spend 5 minutes searching for your contact info?
40% of browsers will bounce off your page if it’s not mobile-friendly. So having a responsive site—one that changes shape depending on the device it’s viewed on—is absolutely necessary to keep visitors on your webpage.
3. Google doesn’t know who you are
“Hi, I’m a lead. I forgot your name but I remembered your sign on the front yard. I looked your brokerage up on Google, but I couldn’t find it! I guess I’ll look somewhere else…”
If your site is buried on page 2 of Google search results, it’s because Google’s algorithms have downgraded its relevance. Few people look past page 1 of the search results. If that’s where your site is, then you’ve lost the lead before they even existed.
You can improve your search result rankings by having a contemporary, mobile-first website with fresh unique content.
4. Your Twitter icon is a lower case T
The social media icons on your site don’t look right. Because they’re old. Would you like it if someone was linking to your site using your headshot from the mid-2000s?
Stay on top of changes to marketing material—whether that’s your material or someone else’s—and update this material as needed.
5. Too much text
When it comes to the text on your site, less is more. Many of your readers will be viewing your site on their mobile phone, probably while they’re ‘working’, so the less time they have to spend reading, the better.
Strip your text down to the bare minimum. Keep your message intact. And fill in the rest with visuals such as pictures and videos. Those look better on a mobile-first website anyways.
Stay up to date with your real estate website and your viewers will stay engaged.
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