by: Michael Russer (a.k.a. Mr. Internet^®)
REALTOR® Magazine - February, 2004

At the recent NAR convention in San Francisco, my virtual team and I decided to offer Mr. Internet® “Web Makeovers” at our booth. It turned out to be a huge hit with the throngs of Expo goers because within just a few minutes they saw how they could vastly improve their site’s ability to generate new business. Since it only takes just a few “tweaks” to make a big difference in Website performance, I will share with you some of the highlights of what we did for the folks at the show.

Here are the main areas of concern we reviewed for each Website:

1. Targeting – the vast majority of real estate Websites have no specific targeting and this is the number one reason why they don’t even come close to achieving their potential as lead generation tools. An untargeted site tries to “speak” to everyone and thus ends up talking to no one.
   
   A highly targeted site is designed for a specific niche market (i.e. first time buyers, seniors, waterfront property owners, exclusive properties, etc.) with the idea that all prospects that fit that particular niche will have the same concerns, aspirations, emotional state, etc. when involved with the real estate process. This allows the Website to contain high-value content designed specifically for the niche. Only then can the site answer the (unspoken) visitor question: “What’s in it for me?” A great example of a highly targeted site is http://www.sellmyhome101.com which focuses only on people interested in selling their property and hence generates new listings (which it does very well!).
    
2. Branding – Site branding is the process of having your target market associate value with the identity or “brand” of your Website. It is important that the value of your targeted services be associated with a brand that you can sell at retirement. For example, http://www.duckin.com is an example of one of the best branded real estate agent sites on the Net. This site is well branded for the Seattle waterfront market, generates an enormous amount of business, and thus is eminently saleable. In essence, a carefully nurtured brand for your Website can become your lucrative “exit” strategy.
    
3. Design – a Website’s design ideally is congruent with the target market and consistent throughout the site. Also, the faster your site loads, the more people will see it. There is still a big percentage of people who do not have high-speed Internet access. If your site takes too long to load on a dialup connection (anything over 12 – 13 seconds is considered long) then you are likely losing prospects. A great free tool you can use to determine site's download speed is Net Mechanic.
    
4. Copy & Content – your site copy should be personal (i.e. as if you are having a conversation with your visitors), engaging (i.e. invite interaction), and customized with high-value content that is consistent with your target market. Online veteran and top producer Alice Held’s site at http://www.come2az.com is an awesome example of these ideas (in addition to meeting the design and branding ideals mentioned above).
    
5. Navigation – keep all content to no more than three clicks away. Your site navigation scheme should be consistent on every page and ideally have a site map that provides a link to every element on your site all on one page. The easier you make it get around your site, the more likely people will stay there. A good example of this can be found at http://www.revateams.com.
    
6. Internet Empowered Consumer Friendliness – this means your site content reflects the unique needs and desires of online consumers. This includes having a link to your privacy policy on every page, completion of forms provides something of value and doesn’t require all the fields to be filled in (versus trying to “capture” their contact information when they are not ready to divulge it). Once again, my http://www.russer.com site is scrupulous about assuring visitors that their privacy will remain sacred.

The above is just a quick “thumbnail” of the full list we used at the convention. Being “cool” (and profitable) on the Web is really not all that difficult. You just have to develop your own “Web Eye” and apply it religiously to your online presence.

Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He's dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. You'll see his column on REALTOR® Magazine Online every month and in the magazine quarterly. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Web site at http://www.russer.com

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the February 2004 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright 2004. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark and Ask Mr. Internet!™ is a trademark of RUSSER Communications.