One of the most common questions we receive is, “my website is great I have so many hits but none of them are filling out my form.”  There are numerous reasons why they may not be converting or filling out your form. Bad IDX, too many clicks before they get what they want, asking for too much information, etc.

Make It Easy

For now, I’ll focus on the Ease-of-Use factor.  If I’m somebody looking for buy real estate online is it easy to find the “Search For Homes” tab? Or is it hidden somewhere? What you want to do is highlight the feature you are offering.  So if you want generate homebuyer leads be sure that your “Search Homes” icon is easily found and noticeable.  In other words, if I land on your site and can’t find what I’m looking for (let’s say listings) within a couple of seconds then I’m out of there and you’ve just lost a lead.

Things You Can Do For Better Conversion

1. Clutter Free Your Site. If you have bells and whistles that distract or take attention away from what you want the person to do get rid of them.
2. Separate your conversion or lead capture pages.  Maybe the reason why people are clicking away from your site is that you’re sending mixed messages.  For example, you may be saying “view all properties here” while at the same time asking them to sign up for a home analysis.  These double messages decrease conversion.  Instead, have one page for a buyer, providing what they want (homes) and an added benefit for providing their information (such as listings alerts).   Basically, if you want to capture a lead be precise with the message you want to convey and what you want them to do.  Stealthsites are perfect examples of single conversion pages.
3. Emphasize the benefit of what they receive. When you highlight what they will receive before they provide information you are more likely to gain their trust. Think about it, why would I give you any information if I don’t know what I’m doing it for? What if I don’t want what you may be offering?

Those are a few things you can do immediately that may help with your lead capture and conversion. Hec, if you’re getting loads of hits to your site and aren’t capturing leads it has to be the message your website is sending out. Try it out.

Good luck.

As I surfed the net today through various agent websites I noticed that many agents are still pulling the Gatekeeper card before I could view homes.

The Gate Keeper Real Estate Agent

What I mean by gate keeper is an agent who requires a name and phone number before the person searching is given what they are looking for. There are exceptions (such as a custom analysis) but today I am referring to home buyers and listings.

An example of a gate keeper in action would play out like this:
A person searching for real estate lands on your stealth site sees they can view homes, but before they can view the properties they must fill out information. This information then goes to an agent who will then provide access to homes. Way too long in internet time.

Remember, if it takes longer than a click or two they’re over you.

Don’t Be A Gatekeeper: Gatekeepers Lose

When you’re a gatekeeper more people will click away from your real estate website and look for one where they will get what they are looking for. Simply put, you miss opportunities for new business.

How To Capture Leads: Add a Benefit

Agents often ask, “how do you capture leads if you’re giving the homes for free?” The answer is to provide people with an added incentive or benefit so that they do provide their name and email.

For example, you let them know that they can have “new listings alerts to their email” or you can say something like “have the latest homes that match your criteria   sent straight to your inbox the instant they hit the market”.

There are many ways you can do this, I’m sure you’ve thought of a few as well.

As the internet grows and more people head online, real estate agents must be careful to not get caught in the gatekeeper trap. Do not shoot yourself in the foot or put up barriers that will work against you. Give home searchers what they want and then give them an incentive.