Tag Archive for 'SEO'

Driving Web Traffic is Job #1

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by
NDG
on December 9, 2008
in advertising, marketing and real estate marketing
. 0 Comments

DOES YOUR WEBSITE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO DRIVE TRAFFIC? Part 1

In today’s market, new home consumers are spending up to eight weeks doing their research online. Their goal in this research process is to shop by elimination—to narrow their search down to three communities that fit their desires and then make an on-site visit. If your website does not effectively tell your story or resonate with the consumer, you will lose this battle before you ever realized it began.

Consumers will not contact you to clarify your message—they will simply eliminate your product from consideration. With the website being the most fundamental marketing tool, the hub of all the information here are some key considerations:

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP)
It is extremely important that the user can immediately ascertain the value of the site’s purpose and the usefulness of the content. The unique selling proposition should be clearly stated on the home page. Remember, current research tells us that we have 4 SECONDS to tell your user who you are in order for them to continue to invest their valuable time in your website.

KEY ACTION POINTS/ CALL-TO-ACTION
This site should be richly interactive and encourage user participation from the outset. There should be direct links to key action points immediately visible on the homepage. The website should provide a means to engage in a discussion with the user and encourage the next step—direct contact via an online form, email, or phone call.

DEPTH OF SITE AND LEVEL OF INTERACTION
The site should strive to completely engage the user. The goal should be to create a website with such compelling and engaging content that the user stays as long as possible on each visit, and revisits the site frequently. Also, as a medium, websites are especially tailored to present content through the combined use of text, graphics, and animation—offering a huge potential to convey content and meaning to users. Therefore, a website should be as interactive as possible to take advantage of the great opportunity to engage users

AESTHETICS/USE OF VALUABLE GRAPHICS
Successful websites are founded in firm and established design principles. Graphics should add value to the website, and never reduce the readability or performance. It is important that the look and feel of a website be a positive and compelling visual reflection of the product through the use of colors, fonts, and graphics.

USEFUL INFORMATION
All content presented on the site should be of the highest quality. Animations and graphics are to support the content, not compete. It is important to ensure that your message is clear and your intent is obvious. And make sure that all content is accurate and error free.

Stay tuned for the next part of this article for more new home sales insights from NDG’s Tom Nelson.

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The Hide and Seek of Search, part 2

Published
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NDG
on December 4, 2008
in advertising, marketing and real estate marketing
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HOW BUYERS FIND YOU IN THE 21ST CENTURY, Part 2

NDG President Tom Nelson shares how website searches are used by prospective homebuyers and how you can make sure your website is as close to the top of their list as possible.

So your website has fresh and relevant content—but even the best website in the world will not lead to conversions if prospects never even know about your website.

It is therefore critical to ensure that, when prospective buyers who should be your prospective buyers are searching the web, they find your website. The process of helping your website connect with people you want to find it is called “Search Engine Optimization” often abbreviated as “SEO.”

SEO is a set of an ever-evolving set of methods to help your website achieve the highest ranking possible in search engine results. And while the specifics of HOW it’s done can be a bit complicated, the WHY cannot be overstated. Here are some incredible facts: According to Forrester Research, 81% of internet users find websites via search engines. In addition, the first 3 positions in “organic” (that is, non-paid) search engine results are viewed almost 100% of the time, and the 4th organic position was viewed 85% of the time.

In total, 90% of all Internet search engine traffic goes to the top 30 organic search results. And with 84% of homebuyers starting their new home search on the internet, you can see the overwhelming importance of proper Search Engine Optimization in getting prospects to your community.

So, that’s the WHY. Next time we’ll begin to discuss the HOW—the specifics of how you can make sure your website has effective content, and is effectively optimized for web search engines to be able to connect you with the right prospects.

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The Hide and Seek of Search

Published
by
NDG
on December 2, 2008
in articles, marketing and real estate marketing
. 0 Comments

HOW BUYERS FIND YOU IN THE 21ST CENTURY, Part 1

NDG President Tom Nelson shares how website searches are used by prospective homebuyers and how you can make sure your website is as close to the top of their list as possible.

If you haven’t figured it out already, your website is now the most fundamental marketing tool for new home salespeople, builders, and developers. In almost every case, prospects will visit websites based on search engine results, long before they ever visit the actual property site. In fact, they’ll most likely decide which properties to visit in person based on their visits to websites.

Recent research tells us that approximately 84% of homebuyers start their new home search on the internet. Their goal in this research process is to shop by elimination—to narrow their search down to just three communities that fit their desires and then make an on-site visit. If your website does not effectively tell your story or resonate with the consumer, you will lose this battle before you ever realized it began. Consumers will not contact you to clarify your message—they will simply eliminate you from consideration. So websites must be carefully crafted and include good and fresh content that is relevant to the prospect’s needs.

Stay tuned for the second half of this article from Tom.

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