Estate agents, is your online brand image fading fast?

 

Web sites are regularly compared to houses, which is perfect when you're a web designer specialising in websites for estate agents! Now imagine you are trying to sell a house that hasn't been lived in or touched for 50 years. The disrepair, vines and cobwebs will be instantly recognisable and could easily put off anyone considering living in it. Sadly the exact same process can happen to your website but within a shorter space of time.

Try not to cry too much. Your neighbourhood friendly website designer is here to help. So how do estate agents keep their online brand image fresh?

Although websites do not grow vines or cobwebs, there are clear indications that clearly show that the website has been left to decay in the World Wide Web. Below are the top 5 ways Estate Agents can easily keep their online brand image fresh without breaking a sweat.

• Examine your keywords - Look back at previous search terms on Google Analytics to show you the various terms property searchers use to access your Estate Agent website. Re-evaluating your keywords maximises traffic from changing attitudes.
• Replace old text - Search engines love new content. Checking your website's text and changing it will spark search engine interest and cause them to scan your website more often.
• Role-play - pretend that you are a first time buyer or an elderly couple looking for a house to either buy or rent in your area. Testing your own website design in this way enables you to visualise the process that your buyers go through.
• Fix broken links - Usability is only noticeable when something goes wrong, but not when everything works as it should. Make sure you pass on any broken links to your web designer.
• Change the main image - Seasonal images only work if the image fits the current season so a Christmas image will only work at Christmas. A new image can give a breath of fresh air to your website.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments, 'Website designs need to be kept fresh and up-to-date and a little spring cleaning will make your website look as good as new. Contact your web design team and I'm sure that they will be more than happy to help.'