Real Estate Websites Don’t Generate Leads… Marketing Does

 

Your Website Can Assist You In Converting Your Marketing Efforts into Leads

 

[click_to_tweet tweet=”‘I would like my new website to generate leads’ ~ 90% of my Real Estate Clients #ThingsRealtorsSay” quote=”‘I would like my new website to generate leads’ ~ 90% of my Real Estate Clients” theme=”style3″]

 

When my partner and I hear this comment we generally utter out a collectively sigh of confusion.  Why do people think that their website will generate leads?  Who started this horrifying rumor?

Oh I know… Website builders that want to sell websites. SEO Gurus that want to sell SEO.  And maybe a little left over from the first wave of IDX powered, IDX Page building maniacs of the early 2000’s.

A website is basically just a sheet of paper, with your branding, hanging from the clouds.  How could it possibly do these magical things?

In order for your website to aid you in generating leads… there has to be people that visit the website.

Those people do not show up to your website uninvited.  They need you to send them an invitation.

 

Real Estate Websites Don’t Generate Leads

 

Real Estate Websites are amazing feature rich and powerful marketing tools.  They can and will aid you in converting your website visitors into leads.

But you need to have visitors to your site to convert into leads.  Just because you hang that branded sheet in the clouds does not mean that anybody has any interest in visiting it.

 

 

Then why even bother:

1. Your Referrals are looking for you and they don’t care that your website is not the best
2. Those are Corporations, you are a person.  You can bring something to the table that they can not.  Your personality and that is worth more that millions of $$’s
3. You can use your real estate website as a tool, or more accurately, the center of all your Marketing efforts.

 

Marketing Generates Leads

 

In order to really understand why your Real Estate Website can not generate leads we need to

1. Have a strong understanding of what Marketing and Lead Generation is.
2. The difference between Marketing and a Website.
3. How your website can help you with your marketing and lead generation.

 

 

 

 

 

The job of your website is to aid you in completing the above activities.  I summarize the job of the website with the acronym:

G.L.A.M.R.

G

Generate:  To have many forms, landing pages, and contact information to make it easy for people to connect with you.

L

Legitimize:  Simply to make you look good.  When people find your website we want them to instantly think… this is a legitimate Real Estate Business.

A

Authoritize:  To have the information on your website that people would expect from a local real estate authority.

M

Multiply:  To make it easy to spread your website all over the internet.

R

Residence:  To be the focal point of your Marketing Activities.

 

 

How Websites Assist Lead Generation

 

Ok… so we know that your website can not generate leads all by itself, but it can be your best lead generation alley.

For example;

If you decide that you want to run a direct mailing campaign you will want to direct people to your website, also asking them to call you.

If you want to start a Content Marketing campaign you will need a blog to post your content.

If you want to run some digital advertising campaigns you will need a landing page to direct people to.

If you want to promote a listing you will want to have your website tuned up to display your listing as a single property website.

If you send out Email’s to your clients you will want to direct them back to your website.

 

When we get people to your website with our marketing efforts we want them to:

• • Call Us
  • Email Us
  • Fill out our Contact Form
  • Subscribe to our Blog
  • Download Our e-Books or Guides
  • Sign Up to Our IDX Accounts
  • Share our content on Social Media
  • Become a Social Media contact
  • Request More Information on a Listing
  • Sign Up For Email Alerts
  • Request a Home Valuation

 

Your Real Estate Website should aid you in making this easy for the people you are marketing to!  These are called calls to action.  Because if you get people to your website but they do not end up contacting you then you are not maximizing your efforts.

While real estate branding is important, the main objective is to have real estate related conversations.

 

Summary

 

Your real estate website does not automatically and independently generate leads.

Lead generation requires a combination of a strong Marketing effort and a well constructed website to generate leads.