Do you need a website or just a web presence?

There are many different ways you can have an online presence and having a website is just one of them. You can have an online presence if you are signed up to a social network, websites that allow customers to leave reviews (like yelp) or by having a website.

What are the benefits of having an online presence?

All kinds of online presence offer these benefits:

• Allows you to reach new and existing customers
• Allows customers to interact with you through comments
• Allows customers to leave reviews and testimonials
• You can be found from any device that can connect to the internet
• You are able to showcase your credentials

All online presences need ongoing maintenance though. The ongoing maintenance will involve you having to protect yourself against viruses and hackers, respond to comments and update content.

However there are many differences between having your own website compared to using all the other types of web presences.

Benefits of having your own estate agency website:

Advantages for having your own website over just a web presence -

1) You have full control -

• You can customise everything to your own branding
• Very few restrictions as you follow your own guidelines
• Design and layouts built around you

2) Multiple property related functions -

You can upload all your properties automatically, you will have a Property Search function to help your customers to find what they are looking for and many more functions suited specifically for your business.

3) Multiple pages

Having multiple pages allows you to cover all aspects of your business.

4) Be found

By having your own website, you can optimise the site to be found for certain phrases within Google. This will help your potential and existing customers to find you easily.

Are other types of web presences important?

A website is the central hub to your web presence and it is vital for every business to have one. However other types of web presences will supplement your website, helping produce better results, more customers and improve your overall web presence.

 Advantages of other web presences:

• They are usually free or very low cost
• They are quick and easy to set up
• They have the potential to draw in lots of traffic

To get the best out of your online campaign you should really try to exhaust all channels. Just having a website isn’t enough, being found and driving people to your website is crucial.