Effective real estate marketing revolves around two main objectives, (1) to acquire new listings and (2) to sell existing listings. To achieve these objectives it is important to properly display your inventory and prove to prospective sellers that your marketing efforts are second to none. One of the best tools to help you meet these two objectives at the same time is to utilize one of the most common forms of online marketing for real estate – the single property real estate website.
What is a Single Property Website?
Although the definition exists in its name, a single property real estate website can often be confused with a traditional real estate website that you or your end users may be more accustomed to. That said, we thought it would be helpful to clearly define the most common characteristics of a single property website. Here are some of the top ones that you need to make sure that your single property currently has or will have (should you consider getting one after reading this post):
- Features a single home / property / parcel of land
- Sits on a unique domain name (usually the property address)
- Photo gallery of property images
- Virtual tour of the property being featured
- Map / directions
- Listing agent / broker information
- Lead generation form(s)
Common Question: Can a single property website be used as a real estate stealth site?
Our answer is NO. The main reason for this is because a single property website usually represents a seller’s property and needs to have all of the necessary information available for prospective buyers. Adding unnecessary steps or questions to the process can often cause visitors to get confused and/or distracted. Save your stealth sites for your other lead generation efforts.
How to Use Single Property Websites Effectively
Before you go throwing up a website for every property in your inventory it is important that you understand how to effectively use a single property website. The last thing you want is an unmanageable list of web pages that represent every property in your inventory and that contain little to no search visibility or conversion value. These single property websites need to help you impress your seller and sell the home you’re featuring so make sure you use them optimally. Make sure you can check off the items below for your single property site.
Must-Have Features
- Aesthetically pleasing, conversion oriented design
- High quality property photos – images with zoom in / zoom out features are recommended
- High quality virtual tour(s) – video virtual tours are recommended
- Online map with location of property – Bing or Google Maps are recommended
- Well written copy and information about the property
- Open house alerts / calendar
- Unique .com domain – the property address or short description is recommended
Online Marketing Tips
- Syndicate your property to relevant real estate portals and websites (i.e. Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, etc)
- Post your virtual tours on video networks (i.e. YouTube, Vimeo, WellcomeMat, etc)
- Tweet about your property’s status updates and open houses
- Post images, videos and interesting facts about your property on social networks and blogs (i.e. Facebook, Blogger, WordPress, Twitter, etc)
- Optimize your single property site for natural / organic rankings with fundamental SEO
- Promote your property with sponsored ads (i.e. Google AdWords, Facebook Ads, etc)
Single Property Website Companies
The efficacy of sites dedicated to one property has created a strong demand for providers to offer solutions that meet our ‘Must-Have’ criteria above. Fortunately, there is an ample supply of reputable companies that offer quality products to meet these growing demands from sellers and real estate agents alike. To make your life easier we thought we would break down some of the top providers and give you our choice(s) of which product(s) to use.
We have determined the following providers to offer the ‘best’ single property websites. If we are missing someone you think belongs on this list then please let us know and we will be happy to review and consider them for inclusion.
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Website: http://www.agencylogic.com
Cost: $50 per site (no monthly fees)
Notable Features: Syndication, HTML flyer for Craigslist, Unique .com domain
Missing Features: Customization capabilities, Open House alerts, Unlimited photos
Design Grade: B-
Functionality Grade: B+
Marketing Grade: A-
Overall Grade: B+
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Website: http://www.openhouseadvertising.com
Cost: $79.95 per site (no monthly fees)
Notable Features: Syndication, HTML flyer for Craigslist, Unique .com domain, Photo Gallery with full size images, Virtual tour link on Realtor.com, Hi-Res printable brochure
Missing Features: Multiple lead generation forms
Design Grade: A
Functionality Grade: A+
Marketing Grade: A+
Overall Grade: A
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Website: http://www.listingdomains.com
Cost: $59.95 per site (no monthly fees)
Notable Features: Syndication, HTML flyer for Craigslist, Unique .com domain, Property Analytics, Non-branding link for MLS
Missing Features: Customization capabilities, Photo gallery with full size images, Embed code for properties
Design Grade: C+
Functionality Grade: B+
Marketing Grade: B+
Overall Grade: B
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And our choice for Best All-Around Single Property Website is….Property Websites from Open House Advertising!
We love the features, functionality and affordability of the 2 other providers, but when it comes down to the best overall design, feature set and marketability the guys and gals over at Open House Advertising have put together a fantastic product to help Realtors market their listings properly.
Set Your Listings Up for Success
With a top single property website, like that offered by Open House Advertising, you will be able to educate potential buyers quicker by directing them to a location 100% dedicated to a listing that meets their criteria. In addition, sellers will be utterly impressed with your real estate marketing tools and strategies to assure them that their listing(s) will get sold quickly and for a price they are happy with.
Whether you decide to use one of the products featured above or you have your own effective single property website, just make sure that you are maximizing the exposure of your efforts and sending visitors to a website that truly captures and entices them. Real Estate Websites can truly be lead generation machines when used correctly. If you ever need help or advice with your real estate marketing, then please feel free to leave us a comment or continue reading our Real Estate Marketing Tips and Advice.