Boosting conversions on your real estate agent lead generation website

Imagine a seller prospect is looking for a real estate agent. They’ve asked friends and neighbors for recommendations. They’ve chatted with contacts on social media. They’ve also been receiving your real estate agent newsletter, which you’re using for more geographic farming leads.

Now they have the names of a couple of agents. And thanks to your real estate marketing systems, one of those names is yours.

What is that prospect likely to do next? According to studies in online marketing, if they’re like 80.8% of people, they’re going to check you out by visiting your real estate lead generation website… and they’re going to do that before they decide to call or email you.

In fact, as they review your website, they’ll be continuously asking themselves if you’re the right agent for them. Are you trustworthy and credible? What services do you offer? Are you the kind of agent they’re looking for? Are you focused on excellent client service? In what ways will you help them sell their property?

In marketing, this is called conversion. Your website needs to convert a prospect’s initial interest into a call or email to learn more and, ideally, schedule a meeting.

So, how do you increase conversions on your real estate lead generation website? Let’s look at a few proven strategies:

• Have a welcoming home page When you first meet a new prospect in person, you obviously want to make a good impression. Those first few seconds are crucial. That’s the same with your website. You want your home page to be welcoming. After all, this is where the prospect is meeting you (virtually) for the first time. So, be sure to feature your picture and a welcoming message.
• Include a lead-capture form The last thing you want is a prospect to visit your website and not contact you. That can sometimes happen, even when the prospect is interested. They think, “I’ll contact this agent later”, which ends up being never. What a lead-capture form does is make super-easy for a prospect to contact you. They just fill out the form. When they do, the new lead goes automatically into your real estate CRM for follow-up. This strategy alone can double conversions.
• Keep your blog active Some studies suggest that businesses with blogs generate 66% more leads. That’s because valuable articles on your blog attract prospects, who then visit other pages on your website. In addition, a blog positions you as a professional who cares about clients and provides helpful information that helps make the buying/selling process easier and more successful. That’s definitely the impression you want to make with your website.
• Check that your website is responsive There’s no doubt about it. More and more prospects are viewing your website on their mobile device. Depending on the demographic, it could be up to 50%. So, your real estate lead-generation website must be functional and look good on mobile. The best way to ensure that is to have a website with “responsive” design. That simply means your website will automatically adapt to changes in screen size; looking great whether it’s viewed on a desktop, tablet, or phone. (Is your website responsive? If not, take a look at these examples.)
• Connect your website to your social media accounts Real estate social media marketing can be a great source of leads. That’s why having links to your social media accounts from your website is so important. It’s not uncommon for people to ask on Facebook, for example, “Does anyone know a good real estate agent?” Also, social media links on your website show prospects that you’re connected and engaged with clients and the community. That builds trust and makes it more likely the prospect will contact you.
• Feature local listings Most sellers are also looking for new homes. So, imagine they’ve visited your website and find they can search listings right there? Chances are, they would stay on your website longer and return more often. When they find a home they want to see, you’re likely to get the call. IDX integration makes that happen. It’s a website plug-in that displays the latest property listings on your website. When it comes to lead-generating websites for real estate agents, IDX is a valuable option.
• Make it easy to contact you This may seem like a no-brainer, yet a common complaint that prospects have when on a website is difficulty finding contact information. So, make sure your phone and email are easy to find — and, ideally, on the home page as well as the contact page. Also, check email links regularly to ensure they’re working. Your phone number should be clickable on a mobile device, so prospects can easily click and call.

Any one of these strategies can significantly boost the number of leads you convert (into a call or email) with your website, while also generating new real estate agent leads. But even if you implemented one or more of these ideas and increased leads by just 10%, that could still result in several new listings for you — this year.

A great lead-generating real estate website is that important!

So, review these strategies today and decide which you will implement this month.