Your homepage is the most important page of your real estate website. Most people find it hard to imagine a website as more than some nice design and pretty images to show off to customers, colleagues, friends and family. When you are thinking about what’s important on your real estate website, you need to consider both new and repeat visitors alike. While it’s main job is to convert your visitors into leads and customers, you also need to build trust, communicate value and solve visitor problems.
Here are 18 super important homepage elements that will get you started in the right direction.
H1 / Header
Consumers shouldn’t have to guess at what you do. Your H1 is the first thing search engines scan to start understanding your site, and the first thing people will see when your site is displayed in search results. Make it clear and easy to understand
H2 / Sub-header
A short description of what you do and how you’re valuable.
Benefits
This is an opportunity to describe why your website and your business will solve your visitors’ problems. Think of it as a summary of qualifications. Keep it brief.
Primary Call to Action
All the primary CTAs should be above the fold and provide multiple options for consumers in every stage in the buying cycle.
Testimonials
Social proof helps to show that other customers trust you and the service you offer. Using videos and quotes with real names and photos will help with this message and decrease potential objections.
Recruitment Messaging
In the real estate industry, the growth of your business is often determined by the growth of your team. By addressing recruiting here, you can demonstrate your growth, as well as discuss the value of working for and with you.
Up-to-Date Blog Content
Add additional value and support your inbound marketing efforts by creating great content for your blog. Just make sure you’re adding new posts regularly. If you aren’t going to have up-to-date content in your blog, don’t include one.
Secondary Navigation
Footer or sidebar navigation allows you to reiterate you primary navigation and also provides a fast track to any second-tier supporting pages.
Navigation
Providing a clear path into your website helps reduce bounce rates. Make your navigation text clean and simple so it doesn’t overwhelm consumers. Organize your navigation so that it directs them where you can be most valuable.
Primary Images
The images above the fold have the opportunity to capture a visitor’s attention. Invest in professional imagery. Make your selection to fit your market and audience.
Teaser Properties
Featured listings allow you to showcase some of the properties a consumer might find on your site. Choose listings that have great photos and showcase the best stuff in your market.
Sharing & Saving Opportunities
Make it easy for a consumer to share and save properties that they like. This helps engage your consumers, and when they’re saving, allows for additional lead capture opportunities.
More Social Proof
If you’ve received awards or press in prominent publications, be sure to build in a display case for them. Let your visitors know that the world at large thinks you are great.
Secondary Calls to Action
Offering up ebooks, market data, and tools and tips that your consumers find valuable will help you generate more leads. Give away your best content!
Additional Resources
Most of your visitors aren’t ready to buy yet. By offering neighborhood information, videos and maps, you help real estate consumers orient themselves and more easily hone in on the properties that suit their needs.
Footer Calls to Action
The footer can be another valuable opportunity for lead generation. Use your footer wisely. Add video, lead capture, and sub-navigation, and don’t forget the social media buttons.
Phone Number
Having your telephone number readily available is just good for business. It makes it easier for a potential customer to move their inquiry offline and brings you one step closer to turning a suspect, into a prospect, into a lead.
Physical Address
The #1 local search ranking factor is a physical address in the city of search.
Local search services like Google+Places, Bing Places and Yahoo search rely on understanding where your business is located so they can they can properly match you with searcher in your geographic area.
After you dial all of this in, dive into tips to supercharge your new real estate website.
All indicators point to a year of opportunity for those willing to seize it, give us a call is you want to discuss what it takes to #dominate2013
For full disclosure: The website in this infographic is a responsive theme being built by Placester
