Newsletter Estate agents, property portals are not enough!
Why having a website is essential
With over 90% of property searches starting online, estate agents are keenly aware of having a powerful online presence. Nonetheless, we are, on occasion, still asked the following question: “Do we really need our own website? Isn’t being on the portals enough?”.
The answer is an emphatic YES – you really do need your own website. And NO, despite the usefulness of the many high-quality, high-traffic portals on offer, they are not enough.
Your own site is absolutely critical to the success and longevity of your agency – for the following main reasons:
1. It is how sellers find you
Without sellers, you have no stock and no business. And sellers aren’t searching on property portals! In the absence of a personal recommendation, they are searching online for reputable agents operating in a certain area.
What you want is for them to find your website and engage with your brand, getting a strong positive sense of your expertise your professionalism and your personality. Without this, you risk having your potential client being directed to a portal where you sit alongside your competitors, with nothing to help you make a standout impression. A seller needs to know that you are an established, well-run business and not a fly-by-night operation.
2. Your website represents who you are
Your brand is what distinguishes you from all other agents, selling similar properties. In a real life meeting, you can personally demonstrate your expertise, experience, integrity and professionalism – but when your customers are online, your website has to do this job for you.
Every page of your website represents an opportunity for you to express your brand and your values and engender trust in your agency– which is something that is simply not achievable on property portals.
3. Your website is a powerful business management tool
A good-quality website also provides you with many crucial features to help manage your business and improve performance. Whether it’s keeping a record of all your subscribers, sending out automated property alerts, obtaining statistics and info on your properties and business as a whole, the tools included in a website back-end are invaluable. Portals, while being great showcases for properties, do not provide all this functionality.
4. Google likes websites!
When looking for an estate agency in their area, most people start their search on Google. Google gives priority to estate agents in search results, as it understands that people want to engage with real people in real life. If you do not have your own website, you will not be prioritized in search results and will miss out on that potential seller or landlord.