WEBSITES
The basics still matter. Many agents still
only provide a single photo on a property page, and often, it’s not a very good photo. Agentmedia’s experts believe that the quality of the photos dramatically affects response rates, “The better the photo, the more it drives engagement”, and there’s evidence to suggest that people respond more readily to visual stimuli than they do to text. (Look at the huge photos on the Foxtons site for a lesson in how to do it.) Targeted landing pages greatly improve
lead generation by ensuring that a user sees the version of the site most relevant to their needs, as expressed in the search that brought them there, instead of going straight to an identical front page. Agentmedia recommends websites should have 40 or more targeted landing pages, as they can double a site’s conversion rate and delivering agents ten times more leads.
MOBILE MANOEUVRES
These are details, though. Take a step back and there’s one huge trend that’s becoming increasingly important, mobile access. In 2011, Google estimates that 15 per cent of all web traffic was mobile, and that’s increasing; in the UK, Ofcom says that
EXPERT ADVICE
Peter Orr advises, “Make it relevant, useful and convenient for your clients. They expect content tailored for their device. Think about the way your customers fi nd your services, about the way you would use the technology yourself – would you use it? Give it to your customers, but if you’re making the investment, use it in your sales too.” And think fi rst, adds Andrew Clack,
“Don’t just ‘dive-in’ with a new technology. An increasing number of agents jump on the “Social Media” bandwagon with little understanding of what is involved and with no plan of how to use it. It’s no use having a Facebook or Twitter account if you haven’t set up the systems to regularly update them. That’s not to say don’t get involved, just plan ahead and look at the potential cost-benefi t fi rst.” Chris Haines of Evolvin says agents
need to think about what the website is trying to do. “The days of the website just pushing out property details are over. Users want to share information, ask questions, compare properties online, as well as make appointments and offers over the internet.”
28 JULY 2012 PROPERTYdrum Mike Smithson at The Property
Jungle says, “You need to put yourself where the eyeballs are. That means that as the demographic of the buying and renting public matures so must an agent’s platform expand to be meet the eyeballs. An effective agent will have a desktop site, a mobile site, Apps, a Facebook page, use video and YouTube and will regularly Tweet. Only by embracing this cross platform approach will they be able to ensure that they engage everyone they need to on the platform of their choice.” Dave Bartlett at Pocket Size Media
says, “If you are asking the question ‘What will the Website of tomorrow be like?’ I think, given the pace of development in all types of devices, the question, instead, could well be ‘How will people be engaging in the online property world of tomorrow’?”
Brian Judd at theme-is says, “Bells and whistles are nice but not essential. Some info is perfect but not so much that the viewer believes they know the property and dismisses it. A good website is like a good negotiator. Fantastic content (not just property) that constantly changes to build a ‘readership’, great design with clear navigation along with speed is imperative, intuitive search and ease of contact. This ‘all’ has to be funneled by the design,
tracked (including phone calls) and given a monetary fi gure to give the website ‘value’ as the
biggest branch!”
www.intelligentmobile.com www.estatesit.com www.pocketsizemedia.co.uk www.technicweb.com www.thepropertyjungle.com www.evolvin.com www.agentmedia.co.uk www.kaweb.co.uk www.theme-is.co.uk www.hang10media.com
Online searches are up 270% year on year; 60% of people went online as the first port
of call for a new home.’ PETER ORR INTELLIGENT MOBILE
surfing the web via mobile phones is the country’s fastest growing media activity. Yet as Intelligent Mobile points out, some agents’ websites simply won’t display on a mobile’s screen or on a notebook, they were designed for desktop PCs, so agents will miss out on business. Agents like Haart, which commissioned Intelligent Mobile to build them a new mobile website that launched this March, are investing in the functionality, and expect to reap the rewards. Peter Orr at Intelligent Mobile says that
for a small-to-medium sized business, staying on top of technological changes is a big challenge. “Finding the balance between relevant, useful and efficient technology for your business, with providing a service for your customers in the format in which they will engage with you is not easy. “The importance and use of the web as
an information resource and a marketing tool continues to grow, even still. It hasn’t peaked yet. Online property searches are up 270 per cent year on year 2011 vs 2010 (Google Dec 2011). In a recent piece of research (Carat Media, Jan 2012) 60 per cent of people looking for property went
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