Copyright 2005 Tim OKeefe
The most optimal way for an online Real Estate agent to succeed
is thru rapid lead generation and follow up. And in order to
escalate your leads, you must start off with an acceptance of
your current traffic and lead conversion ratio.
Ask yourself "How many visitors does it take to get to a lead?"
In fact, when we initially interview a potential client often
times the conversion is close to a dismal 200:1. Depending on
design features, you should really get at the most 50:1. And
probably 30:1 is more like it.
Conversion comes from on page conversion optimization & Keyword
representation.
On Page Factors
Most people have heard of Search Engine Optimization. Few talk
about on page conversion optimization.
First of all, this whole concept pre-supposes that you are
starting off with a most wanted action (MWA). Sometimes your MWA
is Branding, sometimes it is Leads. And many times it is both
lead capture and branding that you are asking your website to do.
If Leads are your goal then your call to action is critical.
Other features on your page can distract the viewer from your
objectives.
On Page factors that may increase or decrease conversion are:
Asking them to sign up (making your call to action clear) A
Johnson Box (these are those tabled boxes that break up your
body copy) Color can attract or distract Too many buttons
Animation Offer Placement. Where are you placing your call to
action? Variety of Call to Action Frequency of your call to
action These are just a few of the attributes that may help your
lead count to go way up.
HappyVille Real Estate
There is a reason that studies have found that Pay per Click
search engine results often render poor conversion rates.
Specificity.
The reason is that you can only use high volume keywords with
pay per click (PPC). These high volume keywords are by their
nature generalized. They are also the most profitable for the
engine. But what may profit the engine does not always profit
you. (Thats not to say that PPC doesn't have its place in a
search marketing campaign)
9 times out 10, I am asked to "make my site #1 for "My City real
estate". While this is a worthy objective, it is at best very
short sighted. Words like "City real estate", "city homes", city
condos", are all high volume in just about any city you research.
However, a successful marketing campaign must employ search
engine click thrus that are made up of general & specific
"streams of traffic". This is because traffic is a comprehensive
endeavor. You wouldn't just rent out 1 or 2 of your penthouse
units and leave the rest of your 150 unit apartment complex
empty? You couldn't expect profitability would you?
However, this is exactly what most agents do when they go after
a few high volume words.
Traffic is made up of the combined visits that come from various
inquiries into a search engine. Each inquiry represents a finite
amount of possible traffic determined by the placement in the
engine, for a particular keyword phrase.
So long story short, a few keywords aren't going to make your
business. You need a Universe of words in order to get monster
traffic and lead conversion.
Additionally, not all keywords or traffic are created equal.
Step out of real estate monetarily and imagine yourself as Jeff
Bezos at Amazon.com. What would delite you more?
500 visitors that typed in "Books"? Or 500 visitors that typed
in "Harry Potter"? Or better yet, "Harry Potter, Sorcerors
Stone"? The more specific you get, conversion goes up and the
closer you can get to that elusive 1:1 conversion.
The challenge however, is that the more specific you get with
our keywords, the less traffic you get. So you need to represent
a large amount of these specific keywords that produce low
traffic by themselves. But combined, create a large stream of
very convertable traffic.
By optimizing your on page factors and your keywords that drive
people to your site, you will take your visitor to conversion
ratio down to a respectable number.
About the author:
Tim O'Keefe is President of Spider Juice Technologies. His firm
specializes in Search Engine Traffic and Lead Optimization
strategies. Tim has always started a project with the fastest
path to profitability as his objective for his clients. You can
consult with Tim personally, at 310-533-9145. Or email at
Tim@spiderjuicetechnologies.com Tim O'Keefe
http://www.spiderjuicetechnologies.com 310-533-9145
