As an ambitious realtor, you have all the strategies for generating leads both in person and online. Whether by networking and building partnerships with local businesses, frequenting open houses, or reaching out to those with expired listings, you are always working to keep business booming. Using a website landing page allows you to expand your reach online.
With a good landing page, you provide the opportunity to turn that random click on your ad into an actual lead, which means more key turning for you!
Leads love landing pages
Landing pages are important for one simple reason: People have short attention spans.
I like to thank smartphones and the ease of access to welcome procrastination, but according to Behavior & Information Technology, internet surfers form an opinion of a website based on its design in about half a second. Once the user has decided the site is aesthetically pleasing enough to stay on, you have less than a minute to capture their attention and earn a second click. This sounds like a lot of pressure and it is!
In some situations, 60 seconds takes forever to tick by, but when you’re trying to attract clients to build your real estate business? A minute may as well be the blink of an eye.
This is where landing pages will become your new best friend. The whole purpose of a landing page is to capture your target audience’s attention — it’s a great way to be sure you make the most of the few seconds you have to make an impression. So let's get started!
Landing Page 101
Assuming you're feeling the pressure of the 60 seconds you have to capture a lead, let's try fishing! How does fishing and landing pages relate you may ask? Well, let's consider this: landing pages are just like fishing. You need to bait your leads and let them hold on long enough to reel them in. So here's a few things to consider when you're designing:
Headline
Chances are, the headline will be the first thing someone sees on your page. You can capture a visitor’s attention by letting them know exactly what you offer and entice them to want to stay on the page.
Be sure the headline is clear and gets straight to the point. Remember, you have only a few seconds to pique enough interest to get a second click!
Hot tip: Your headline should also relate to the advertisement that directed the visitor to your site. If your ad mentioned something like a homebuyer’s guide, the headline should mention it too. Otherwise, anyone who found their way to your landing page likely won’t stick around too long.
Image
Adding photos to your landing page is a great way to break up text and enhance readers’ experience. Bonus points if the images you use are interactive.
There is no magic key to selecting effective imagery for your landing page. However, keep in mind, you want an image that captures and relates to what you are offering.
If you’re a realtor in a specific region, it’s a great idea to include a picture or two of that area — channel your creativity by including images of attractive streets, local businesses, easily distinguishable skylines, or anything else that communicates your location to site visitors.
Be sure you only include necessary photos on your landing page. Too many can be overwhelming and take attention away from the copy, which is the most important part.
Keep 'em coming!
Sign-up forms generate leads. Since the sole purpose of a landing page is to generate leads and build your client base, it’s a great idea to create a sign-up form so that site visitors can enter their information.
You don’t need all their information right away — you’ll get a more thorough, detailed account of your webpage visitor, should they decide to officially enlist your help in the hunt for the perfect space to purchase. Keep it relatively simple on the landing page, only collecting smaller details like name and email address. From there, you can send out email updates and newsletters that go into a bit more detail.
Motivate potential clients to enter their contact information by offering some sort of useful incentive, like a free home evaluation or a guide to a local market. This way, you both benefit from them sharing their information. They get a reward, and you generate more interest in your services.
You may even consider leaving a message box for potential clients to communicate with you directly if they have any questions about your services.
We love hearing from you
You know customer testimonials are important, but you may be wondering why they’re worth including on your landing page. The reason is simple: The presence of positive reviews makes a consumer more inclined to trust you.
Consider sharing some of the positive feedback you’ve received from past clients. It’s a simple way to build trust with your site visitors, and a few good reviews may be just the thing needed to nudge someone off the fence. Be sure any client testimonials you include are placed strategically on the page as you design the site, making sure they don’t overshadow or draw attention away from any calls to action you’ve included.
Introduce yourself
Sometimes, a client testimonial is not the only thing a consumer uses to gauge whether your services can be trusted. They’ll want to know a bit more about you and exactly how you can help them buy or sell a home.
That’s why you should consider including a short introduction about yourself and your services on the landing page, highlighting what sets you apart as a real estate professional and letting people know why they should trust you.
Be honest as you introduce yourself and try not to oversell your services. Consumers can often tell immediately if someone is being disingenuous, and that’s likely to turn them off to the idea of hiring you.
What to do with a landing page
Once the page is created, you need to make sure your target audience sees it. Having a well-designed, thoroughly thought-out landing page won't do you any favors if the right eyes never catch a glimpse of it. No views equals no new leads. So let's start fishing again! Get ready to bait your hooks and reel in leads. Consider these options:
Advertise
Paying for a Google ad means that your link will show up when someone searches for a product or service like yours. So if a potential client is typing “real estate agents near me” into the search engine, chances are they’ll find your landing page among the rest of the results.
A social media ad campaign is a bit tricky, as you really need to know and understand your target audience for the advertisements to be effective. Facebook and Instagram allow you to target users based on details like age and interests. You can even tailor your ads to reach the people who have already visited your site.
Email
Just because someone has subscribed to your mailing list doesn’t mean they’ve enlisted your expertise to help buy or sell a property, and it’s for that reason that you should share the link to your landing page through your email marketing. Plus, your e-newsletter recipients likely know and trust you already, so there’s a good chance the call to action on your landing page is just the push they need to finally give you a call.
Be certain the email you send is clear and straightforward with a call to action and a link that leads right to your landing page.
Social media
We already mentioned investing in an advertisement on social networks. But if you want to go the free route, you can post a link to your landing page on your own social media profile and in real estate-related groups for your target audience and potential clients to see. This method of promotion is a good way to encourage people who are already familiar with you to take advantage of the services you offer.
If your current followers like what they see on your real estate landing page, they may share your linked post on their own profiles, which can expand your business’s reach and generate new leads.
URL
However you choose to share your landing page with the public — whether through social media marketing, an email list, or Google advertisements — you should be sure the page’s URL is relevant and makes sense.
When you share the URL — which should include the protocol identifier (http:// or https://), the domain name, and the slug — you’ll want people to remember it, so be sure it’s short, on brand, and easy to spell.
Get inspired
Now that you have a better idea of what landing pages are and what should be included on them, here’s a look at a few effective real estate landing page examples.
Blair Marble Real Estate
Blair Marble Real Estate’s landing page makes use of images that relate to clients’ interests. It's a great example of using an eye-catching image that directly relates to customers’ interests: buying and selling land for hunting, farming, and timber.
Above the fold of the page is a brief introduction that lets viewers know why Blair Marble’s expertise could be of value, plus two calls to action that urge potential clients to get in touch or view listings. As you scroll down the page, you’ll see options for those who are looking for or selling property, plus the real estate agent’s contact information.
The Takeaway
Make your brand and services as clearly known as possible on your landing page. Not only is it explicitly written in the agent’s short introduction, but the images also quickly make it clear that this page is meant to appeal specifically to those who are looking for land.
Montecito Medical
Instead of using a call to action to attract attention, this real estate landing page from Montecito Medical appeals to potential clients’ emotions.
Montecito Medical’s landing page stands out from the rest at first glance. Rather than sticking a call to action above the fold, the company uses empathy to attract clients by boldly declaring, “Physicians take care of everyone. Montecito takes care of physicians.”
The Takeaway
Appeal to clients’ emotions. If you were a physician looking to buy or sell a medical property, chances are you’d be so attracted to the idea of being taken care of, it would be difficult for you to resist spending a bit more time on the site to find out how Montecito intended to do that. Using your page’s copy to speak to their emotions can work just as well as offering an incentive.
Larry Roorda
Larry Roorda Realtor’s landing page is basic, managing to serve its purpose without being distracting or complicated.
The page has a fairly basic design, but it manages to include each of these aforementioned attributes: concise headlines, non-distracting images, a sign-up form, client testimonials, and a short introduction to the realtor. Scroll to the bottom of the page, and you’ll see another ever-so-crucial call to action — a prompt to sign up for the e-newsletter.
The Takeaway
You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when creating your site. There’s nothing wrong with sticking to a pretty basic design or using a template for your landing page, especially if it helps you generate new leads in real estate. In fact, there’s a reason many landing pages look similar: The design accomplishes the goal.
Ready to land!
Drumming up new business can be a daunting task that requires a lot of strategy, but making use of a landing page is a great place to start. Just be sure your page has information that’s concise enough to grab a visitor’s attention quickly — remember, you have only a few seconds to make a good impression. Bait 'em and reel 'em in! With client testimonials and a call to action, such as adding an email address to a mailing list, you’ll be generating new leads in no time.
What if you’ve never made a webpage before? Not to worry. With no web development experience, you can easily create effective landing pages directly within Constant Contact using simple-to-use, drag-and-drop tools. You’ll also find plenty of tips in The Download, a guide to online marketing for real estate. Who knows how many of those clicks will turn into clients?
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