25 Things to Kick Start Your Site

You will want to click on the agent information area of your website to make sure that your information is correct, including Phone Numbers and Email address. This information is used throughout your site for client contact with you.

A simple way of making the site yours. With over 150 different designs to choose from, there is something for everyone in every market. From the Southwest, to the beaches to the golf courses

If you are not familiar with your website, or need a catch up tutorial, we offer a live web classroom session several times a week for clients to join, watch, learn and ask questions.

One of the keys to a better site and better search engine results is to make the site yours. And by that – we mean add information to your site that localizes it to you and the area that you serve.

We encourage agents to load their picture or a local area image to the main page photo area. Over the years we’ve seen this area used for many different things and our only tip here is - people will see this picture, make sure what is there is how you want to be represented.

Branding your site with the company you work for is always a good idea and in many cases required. Most of the large companies have rules for how your site must appear and what kind of branding must be visible. Make sure that the logo you are using is one that is approved by your corporate office. They do check the sites and will send you a notice if you are not in compliance.

If Homes.com has an agreement with your MLS board, make sure that you have turned in your paperwork to us to have the feed activated; we won’t be able to provide you with the feed until we have the signed documentation returned to us. If you aren’t sure if we have your feed or need the paper work send again, contact us at 800-889-3726 and our Member Services team will help you out!

If we don’t currently have an MLS feed for your area, you will need to enter your listings by hand.

This is a simple one, the more photos on your listings the better. Many times the MLS will only send us a single photo, or you may get your listing entered and only put one image in as a place holder, get those photos added! Sometimes the pictures can sell the house.

People like to know where the listings are located. If you are able to provide a location, activate the mapping feature on your site. Mapping gives people a chance to know where the listing is located and if it’s an area they are interested in looking in.

Featured Property link is a hot link. People simply look at it – Maybe you want to rename the link to Hot Property, New Listings, Going Fast or something like that – but whatever you do, make sure that you always have at least one listing in that area.

This is another great tip that can help you out with the search engine and consumers. By adding something of personal or local value you are showing that you are involved in your site and the area. Content that is updated or changed will keep customers coming back for the updates.

Think about having a community calendar, local festivals, great shopping areas, hidden gems or anything else about your community or area that might be missed at first glance.

The other is something about you – This is your chance to sell your self, which is the first step in gaining a customer. Make the page interesting, people don’t want an agent that is a fact sheet, people want a person. Share stories about yourself, hobbies, how you ended up living where you do, why you became and agent, what you love about the job etc…

This is a plus/minus item, which comes down to personal choice. The 2 schools of thought are: Turn it on, capture leads, if people really want the information they will fill the form out. Turn it off, don’t capture leads, save time from fake information, people might be scared off by having to enter information. If they are really interested in the property they will contact you.

If you don’t have a personal feel either way on this one, try it both ways for a month each then figure out your best results.

Adding links to your site takes another step towards “localizing” your site. Having your site appear as a local reference point increases your search engine results and provides a service to clients and potential clients.

Adding to your buttons, or add in button that links to an article page that shows your favorite links helps personalize your site. It will give people some insight into things that you think are interesting or intriguing. Some examples could be local clubs, antique malls, 1 day get away, civic organization or historical facts.

A very important key for having yourself show up in the Search for Agents area on the Homes.com portal site.

This is something that people overlook most often. When your site is produced we load some very generic terms for real estate in these areas, you need to take some time to update and revise these to match your site information and local areas. Search Engine spiders will evaluate the information in these areas then search your site for matching information, a site that matches well will receive a higher search engine index value.

A simple thing – change your website password to something you will remember. If you have an assistant or web person helping you that you part company with, make sure to change your site otherwise they will continue to have access.

Make sure that your email signature includes your website address. While people may know your site address, it’s always easier to click than to type.

You can use one of the pre-written messages or write your own. This is a common courtesy item that is built into your website that simply lets the sender know that their message was received and that you will be getting back with them. The website auto-responder will respond to all emails that are sent via contact forms on your website.

Visit this section to make sure that your listings are getting their maximum exposure by being sent to all possible export partners.

Letting leads sit is always bad for business. We recommend that you check your leads at least every other day. There is always the possibility that you may have missed an email or that the form that the client filled out prevented the email from being sent. This is why we always tell clients to err to the side of caution.

As a marketing tactic, try emailing your Open House page on Thursdays to all of your prospects and the best agents in the area. Try to get your Open House page updates by Tuesday of every week to give the best notice to everyone visiting your site.

It can’t hurt to make sure that everyone knows that you’ve got a brand new listing. Remember to always include a way for the receiver of the email to opt-out of receiving the messages from you – usually a “reply to the email with remove in the subject line” is sufficient.

Just a good idea to review the terms of use for the website. They are located under the Help & Contact link in your control panel.