There's news that a website design company called, "Origin 3" had to shut itself down for reasons that are not very clear...

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_7972938

But in any case, what amazes me is that this company (as well as many others) could charge business owners $6,000 for what appears to be simple websites. I say simple because they appear to be within my range of capability, and I'm not a very sophisticated web design guy.

Are business people that gullible, or are some web design companies that greedy?

Some of the website designers that I've met personally charge only $50 to $100 for a simple, but still decent looking, website. They charge separately for web hosting, and then set up a retainer for updates.

I suppose I could get into the business of selling $6,000 websites that are effectively simple HTML and CSS. But I haven't because I have this thing called a "CONSCIENCE".

If you're looking to get a real estate website built, just know that a simple, clean looking design shouldn't cost you more than $100.00 to build professionally. Web hosting fees should't cost you more than $10.00 a month. If built effectively, you'd hardly need to update it.

Labels: Website-Design

AdSense Heat Map is a chart showing website designers the areas of a webpage where visitors are mostly likely to click on an ad. It can help real estate agents make decisions on where to place key elements on their websites.

On my AdSense blog, I've written in more detail about the AdSense Heat Map in an article entitled, "Best AdSense Placements".

Here's what the Heat Map looks like...


The orange areas are the "hot zones". These are areas where visitors are most likely to click on an ad. The darker the orange, the hotter. Google created this map based on actual AdSense performance data.

Of course, you won't probably won't have ads on your agent website. But there certainly are elements that you want your visitors to see, and click on.

For example, you want people to notice your property listings. Place them in the orange areas, I'd suggest at the top, just below the navigation bar.

If you have something special to say, put it in that darker orange area.

Your contact info would best go on the left-side, towards the top, in the orange area. You certainly want people to find your phone number, street address, and e-mail address.

Just below your contact info, and still within that orange area, place a link to a webpage outlining your credentials and expertise.

If you find that the website template you're using is not really set up to take advantage of all these hot zones, remember that you don't have to utilize every hot zone. In fact if you did, more than likely the visitor will be confused on what to focus his or her eyes on. It's better to pick just a couple of hot zones, and emphasize those.

Real Estate Blogs

Google created a heat map just for blogs...


I'd make the following recommendations...

First, the navigation column should be switched to the left, just like the design of this blog you're reading. Remember the general heat map showing the orange zones, and you'll understand why left-hand columns are better.

Second, in between blog posts, I'd recommend not stuffing anything. Just let the articles flow one after another. You can post a few links to your other websites from within the body of the article. That'll actually work better for both SEO, and referrals.

Third, treat the blue "Link Units" and the gray, "Links" column as navigational links to other areas of your blog, and to your other websites.

Real Estate Web Forums

And in the off-chance that you might be hosting your own web forum, Google has a heat map for those too...

Labels: Heat Maps, Website-Design

A "contact page" is the page on a website that says, "Contact Us". It's where you give out information on how you can be contacted.

The biggest cardinal sin of contact pages is failure to display a phone number! Some busineses provide only a contact form, where the visitor submits a message, and is told they'll get a response in 24-48 hours.

The reason why this is the biggest cardinal sin of contact pages, is because the Internet, with its search engines, makes you extremely transparent. People can easily compare you to your competitors, and see just what kind of business you're running. Read on, and I'll explain.

No one is going to need a real estate agent until they decide they NEED a real estate agent. So when they visit your website, they have an immediate need. You can't expect to retain that customer if you don't resolve that need right away.

If I did a Google search for "seattle real estate agents" and found your website, but discovered you provided only a web form for contact, am I going to wait 48 hours to get a response? Or, am I going to go to the next agent on Google's search results?

The answer is that I'm going to the next agent.

In this day and age, never before have businesses been so naked. Google will list your business on its search results right next to all of your competitors. It's so easy for your customers to compare you with the competition. It's like going through the Yellow Pages, and seeing who has the best ad.

It's so easy to display your phone number on a website, and it's a part of providing excellent customer service. So, put it on there!

Labels: Usability, Website-Design

I was perusing real estate agent websites, from a Google search, and found one that plays music...

http://www.sdlrealestate.com/

Don't play music on your website!

It's annoying, not pretty.

Imagine yourself in a library, trying to read some important information, or trying to research something, and then this guy sits down next to you, and turns on his boom box.

It's like having that animated paperclip appear everytime you to do something on Word or Excel. You spent all this money on a website, why would you want to drive customers away?

There's no such thing as "ambience" with websites. It's not television.

Labels: Usability, Website-Design

I just a received an e-mail from one of my web hosts, telling me that 90% of website visitors will not buy, nor enter credit card info, if the website doesn't look "business like".

They sent this to me because they're offering professional design services.

I contend that while it's great to have a "business" looking website, more often than not, they come out looking cold, corporate, and cookie cutter. And in that case, they look no different than a thousand other business looking websites.

How do you maintain the professional and business-like appearance of a website, and make it feel warm, personal, and fuzzy? Well, you emphasize your human-side. Since what you're marketing is primarily yourself, add some personal touches to bring out the "you" in your website.

Here are some tips...

• Show a photo of yourself - It's said that each picture contains a thousand words. Nothing shows your human-side better than a glossy. This is the most easiest website design strategy, and the most powerful. See my article, "Put Your Photo on Your Website".



• Sign Your Name - When you write an article, be it tips on selling a home, or a background of your experience, always put your name at the bottom. Just enter something like, " - Jane Smith, Realtor", on a separate line, at the end of the article. Having that name there tells the reader that you actually wrote this. If that sounds kinda moronic, consider the average citizen is inundated with sales copy every day, from junk mail, spam, phone solicitors, commercials, and so on. Everything ends up looking and sounding the same. Just by putting your name at the end makes the entire article look personal.



• Write in the First Person - Since you're primarily marketing your skills, write as if you're talking to someone face to face. Make heavy use of words like, "I" and "my". But also make heavy use of "you" and "your". These words reinforce the personal aspect of your website.



• Keep it simple - You can't bring out your personal side if there too many things on your homepage competing for attention. Statistics show that a whopping 50% of all Internet users spend less than 5 SECONDS evaulating a website they've never seen before. You've got 5 seconds to convince these people to stay longer. A simple, clutter-free design, will help channel their eyes to your most important selling points.
  
  Here's an interesting study. Go to Google's homepage, and notice how simple it is. Because of the simple, clutter-free design, your eyes are drawn to the search form. Now visit Yahoo's homepage, which happens to be Google's biggest competitor. Notice how cluttered it is? Your eyes end up moving all over the page. If you want people to notice your strongest selling point, remove everything else, and show them just that.



• Include success stories - I don't see many real estate agent sites with a dedicated page for "success stories". This would be like a page displaying the homes you've helped sell or purchase. Include a small photo of yourself and your client celebrating a successful transaction, along with a sentence or two about the transaction. Of course, get your client's permission first, but what a great way to portray the human-side of your business.

Labels: Website-Design

It amazes me that there are still so many real estate agent websites that don't display a photograph of the real estate agent.

It's very important that potential customers be able to see what you look like.

The principle is pretty simple. People want to see what they're buying. If you're a real estate agent, then what you're selling is YOU. People want to know what you look like because it factors into their comfort level.

If you were a homeseller, trying to sort through a hundred other agents working the same area, then there are probably at least fifty agents that look professional, business like, and confident. And with so many agents having nearly the same credentials, it's going to come down to physical appearances as the deciding factor.

It comes down to trust. Your website won't accomplish much if it can't convince your audience that they can trust you. You've got to at least show a photo of yourself to build trust.

Think about this blog you're reading now. This blog is largely about me. It's about my experiences and recommendations. Before you can feel convinced about what I have to say, you need to more about me. A photo of me, is part of that solution.

So, go find a good photo of yourself, stick it on your website, and feel good knowing that you did something productive today.

Labels: Website-Design