Top 15 Real Estate Website Mistakes: Over 5.6 billion internet searches are performed every day, which is nearly equal to the number of people there are on Earth. Knowing that number is important for any business, no matter how small or big, and not having a strong presence you are missing out on a large number of qualified customers, and/or clients. High-end design elements and published content create credibility while promotional material helps potential clients to find your business. However, too many realtors are making common real estate website mistakes that reduce their lead conversions.
Learn how to avoid those mistakes and stay on top of best practices to improve your business’s online presence real estate website mistakes and credibility are essential for success.
However, too many realtors are making common real estate website mistakes that reduce their lead conversions. Learn how to avoid those mistakes and stay on top of best practices.
Top 5 Real Estate Website Design Mistakes
A website design is the first thing that people will notice when they visit your site. The color and images of your site work in conjunction with your content style to convey an appropriately aesthetic and professional feeling to visitors.
To create a good overall design, consider these common mistakes:
- Not having a clear plan for your website.
- Unresponsive design.
- Bad photos or graphics
- Undefined call-to-actions
- Too many or incorrect uses of fonts
1. Not having a clear plan for your website.
One of the most important things to do when designing a website is to have a plan. This will help you stay focused and not get lost in the details. A plan will also help you make sure that your design is cohesive and that it has a clear purpose.
A good way to start is by deciding on your target audience. Once you have done this, it will be easier to identify your website needs. For example, if your target audience is teenagers or young adults, then it might make sense for you to use bright colors and large fonts. But if your target audience is senior citizens, then it might be better for you to use light colors and small fonts so that everything can be read without glasses or other vision aids.
2. Unresponsive Design / Not Mobile Friendly
A responsive website design aka mobile-friendly web design is the best way to ensure your website is delivered correctly to users on all devices, from smartphones to tablets and desktop computers. Your text should flow to a single column to encourage scrolling, images may need resizing to fit narrow windows, and your site’s menu may need to be presented in a different way to make the user experience an easier one.
It might be a good idea to prioritize mobile responsive design for your website because of the number of people who will abandon their search if your site isn’t optimized for their device.
3. Bad photos and Graphics
Bad photos and graphics can make a website look unprofessional, and even worse, it can reduce the credibility of a company. To avoid this, here are some tips for taking better photos and using high-quality graphics in your design:
- Use professional and appropriate stock photos and videos.
- Use natural light to take pictures.
- Avoid using filters or editing pictures too much.
- Keep the background simple and clean to avoid distracting people’s attention from the content you want them to see.
- Hire a professional photographer instead of using the camera on your phone.
4. Undefined call-to-actions
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… CTAs are a crucial part of any website. They are the button or link that tells the user what to do next. CTAs can be different, such as sign up, buy now, and learn more. The first step for creating clear call-to-actions is to define what you want your user to do.
This is not always an easy task, but it is essential in order to have a successful website. The next step is to create buttons with clear and concise text that will lead your user toward their desired action. When creating a call-to-action, there are various things you should consider.
These things include the size of the text, color scheme, design aesthetic, and sound when hovering over it.
- Size of the text; The text should be large enough to read but not so large as to be overwhelming or in real life; the text would be difficult to read.
- Color scheme; Making color schemes easy for your users is important because it makes navigation easier and creates a cohesive flow between pages. Colors can also have associations with certain emotions or objects, so using these colors on your website can help with user engagement.
- Layout; If the website has a complicated layout, it might be difficult to navigate or understand which page they are on. So, if you want to make it easier for your users to find what they are looking for, keep the design simple and intuitive.
- Text alignment; Text alignment helps with legibility. This means that the text is more easily readable and can be followed. Do not make your text too small or too large because this will cause unnecessary eye strain.
- Keep instructions short and to the point; users don’t like to read through many instructions when searching for something on a website. It can be useful though, especially if you need to
5. Too many or incorrect uses of fonts
Fonts are a very important part of designing a website. There is a lot to consider when choosing the right font for your website and it can be quite overwhelming. You need to think about what kind of message you want to convey, what the purpose of your site is, the audience that you are targeting, and the overall style that you are going for.
There are many mistakes that people make when they design their websites, and one of them is using too many or incorrect fonts on their site. This can be distracting and make it difficult for users to read your content as well as navigate your site easily.
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… There are many different fonts to choose from. Some of the most popular ones are Arial, Verdana, and Helvetica. These fonts are easy to read and work well for any kind of project that you might be working on.
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… There are others, like Comic Sans, that may not work as well for your website design, but they do have their place on the web. The problem with using Comic Sans is that you will come across as childish and unprofessional if you use it for your website design. It does have its place in the world of design but not on the web. Even though it may be easy to read, it is considered inappropriate because of the way that people might see you and your brand as a result.
Cursive fonts may be easier to read, but they are also considered more difficult to work with and can be hard for even experienced designers to use at times because of the complexity of their shapes. There is no consistency in the way that cursive fonts are written, which can make it challenging for people who are not native speakers.
5 Real Estate Website Content Mistakes
Blogs, business area pages, whitepapers, infographics, etc.–all types of common Real Estate website content. Even if you include all kinds of content, you need the content optimized for user experience. To avoid the most common mistakes when it comes to website content, consider the following:
6. Use of Too Many Jargon Terms and Phrases
Nothing can lose a read faster than talking over their heads. You want to engage visitors on your website at their level, in lamen terms. This helps your website visitors not only understand your content better but will also create a new level of trust with potential clients.
Content is the backbone of all good businesses. It needs to be compelling and easy to read. While it is entirely possible to include legal information on your website, that type does not typically make up the bulk of the content. If your content is hard to understand, you are at risk of losing clients. and potential customers. When designing your website, make sure to consider the process by which you will be bringing in new users.
7. Unclear Communication of What You Do
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… I can’t begin to express how often I go onto a website and have to kind of decipher what exactly it’s about (your website visitors aren’t detectives trying to BUST their next big case—they are clients walking into the door of your business, so help them find where to buy). When potential clients land on your website they should know within a few seconds what you do and how you can help them.
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… This is accomplished greatly in part by using clear and concise verbiage in titles, making them big (within reason) and prominent at the top of the page. As I mention in the design section, font legibility is imperative to ensure you connect with potential clients and get your point across as soon as possible (basically get straight to the POINT.).
8. Poor Spelling and Grammar
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… It may seem obvious to proofread and edit content before posting, but not all realtors do so correctly. Careless grammar and spelling errors can have a more significant impact on your business’s site than you may realize–particularly in regard to your reputation. If you want to improve the content on your site, consider outsourcing your content to a digital marketing company.
9. Poor Keyword Usage
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… If you want your content to rank, you need to implement a keyword strategy. If you have never intentionally used keywords before, start by conducting research. Think about the type of real estate you sale the most and use tools like Semrush to help you determine what keywords you should include in your content. Once you have an idea of the keywords you want to target, you need to understand how to implement them on your website strategically. Sprinkling them through your content may not be enough. If you are unsure how to boost your website’s content creation strategy, consider outsourcing to a digital marketing company specializing in Real Estate content creation.
10. Irrelevant Content
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… Every piece of content on your website should address pain points for potential clients and offer solutions. No matter how you structure your content, you want to consider a potential client’s hierarchy of needs. In that hierarchy, clients want to know what you have done, how enthusiastic you are about your business, and how much you care about your clients. If your content fails to acknowledge those questions, you may struggle to convert site visitors into leads.
5) Real Estate Website Advertising Mistakes
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… While the majority of advertising is done away from your website, how and where you advertise can have a significant impact on your website. You should be thinking about social media, reviews, and PPC ad campaigns and how you can use those tools to better your website’s advertising tactics. The most common advertising mistakes include:
11. Lack of Trust Indicators
First off, what is a trust indicator? Some examples of trust indicators are ratings and reviews, awards, and longevity content (ie years in business).
12. Inaccurate Biography
Real Estate Website Design Mistakes Continued… Your public biography can be an excellent form of advertising for your Real Estate. Unfortunately, too many realtors fail to update their information. In some instances, unethical realtors falsify their education or include specializations or certifications they do not have. Not only does an inaccurate biography make it harder for potential clients to determine if they should choose a given Real Estate but it could also put realtors in hot water with their local medical board authorities.
13. No Testimonials
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… Testimonials can be a crucial marketing strategy for any realtor, not just figuring out what to say in an advertisement. People conducting research on Real Estate are certainly going to do their own research, and reviews of reviews are incredibly important.
To give your clients a better understanding of what you do, you can share testimonials from previous customers. If you don’t have any testimonials yet, find out why. Reach out to former customers and ask them to share their experiences with others.
14. Uncoordinated Marketing Strategy
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… Your website, social media, and any PPC ads need to coordinate. This means having consistent colors, using the same realtor’s name format and logo, and using a distinct tone of voice across all content, ads, and posts. If your marketing strategy is uncoordinated, you risk clients not putting the pieces of your marketing puzzle together and, instead, they may get confused and seek legal guidance elsewhere (Real Estate Website Mistakes).
14. Incorrect linking of connecting components on your website.
Linking to different material on your website is a great idea for any website advertising solution. This not only offers a better user experience to your website visitors, but it also helps you with SEO, aka search engine optimization (this is getting found on Google in the top results). Linking of components or object-oriented connections, also known as content clustering a measure of developing connected pieces of material to users in the areas where they should be found (like t-shirts should be found next to pants in a store because they are often purchased together). This is an advanced solution but, when done correctly, will help your website advertising efforts tremendously.
How 702 Pros Can Help Reduce Real Estate Website Mistakes
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… When you avoid Real Estate website mistakes, you improve your chances of actively increasing your clients and revenue. If you are looking to revamp your website and want professional guidance, 702 Pros can help.
Real Estate Website Mistakes Continued… We are here to help and welcome the opportunity to visit with you for free regarding your Real Estate website’s content and how we can take these tasks off your plate! Schedule a free visit with us by scheduling a quick phone or video call on our calendar today at your convenience. You can also email us at [email protected] or call (702) 904-4262
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