Creating Real Estate Website Content

by Brandon Cornett

Content is one of the key factors that separates useless real estate websites from extremely useful websites. Content is the information, tools and resources your website offers. It might range in format from articles to virtual tours, but it's all content.

Quality content is the most important factor of a website. Here's why:

Websites with mediocre organization but great content will be visited and revisited. On the contrary, websites with great organization but mediocre content will become virtual ghost-towns.

Websites with average design but great content will be visited and revisited. On the contrary, websites with great design but average content are quickly forgotten.

Content matters. With the exception of graphic artists and other design professionals, people do not visit websites to admire their designs. They visit for the content. They want to shop or learn, and both of these require quality content.

Technology Cannot Compensate for Weak Content

Here's a prediction for you. I predict you will never hear the following phrase uttered by your clients or prospects:

"Well, the website's message is a little unclear ... and I'm confused about what exactly they want me to do ... and come to think of it, they never really said how they could help me. But the website sure is pretty, so let me pick up the phone and call right away!"

Real Estate Website Content Should Carry Value

If you've ever used the word "filler" when talking about web content, you've failed the value test. But it's not too late to change your ways. People who regard web content as filler are the same people who create worthless websites that do nothing but clutter up the Internet.

Later, these same people say, "I can't figure out why my site gets so few visitors." Or, "Why won't anybody sign up for my newsletter?" Or, "Why isn't my website generating leads?"

Think of it this way: When was the last time you surfed the Internet thinking, "Man, I hope I find some good filler today."?

Quality content gives readers something valuable. In turn, value wins visitors, repeat visitors, subscribers and clients. Valuable content generates buzz and increases "pass along" rates. Valuable content turns strangers into readers, and readers into customers.

If somebody visits your website and says, "Wow, this is great stuff. Property info, great articles, an up-to-date blog ... I have to remember this website," then you've passed the value test.

Quality Content Focuses on the Reader

This goes hand-in-hand with the value concept. Providing reader-focused content is one of the quickest and easiest ways to increase the overall quality of your website. Ask yourself, "How much of my website talks about me? How much talks to my reader?" If you have more of the former and less of the latter, you have a self-focused website. Nobody wants to visit a website with such a skewed focus.

Quality Content is Clear and Honest

If your readers don't believe your content on the first read-through, mission failure. If, for instance, you cite your ability to sell the reader's home quickly and easily, you should anticipate the next question the reader will ask: "Why should I believe you? Everyone else says the same thing."

I would not make a claim like this unless I had a page full of testimonials that supported it. If you're being honest, state it and support it. If you're not being honest, don't even state it.

Additional Content Tips for Real Estate Websites:

Make your content easy to share: Most people know how to email a web page to a friend, but sometimes just having the "Send to a friend" button spurs them to take this action. It's a visual reminder that says, "Do you know somebody who would enjoy this information?" Want a real-life example of this inclination to share? My wife gets at least two emails a week from her mother, with information about homes for sale in the area. She loves to click the "send to a friend" button, as do many others! It's a viral approach to web content.

Give your content a purpose: What is the purpose of your web content? How does your content move the reader toward that purpose? If you have articles on your website, are they there just to inform the reader? Or are they also intended to move the reader toward some objective? Are your virtual tours free for all to use, or are they used as an incentive to sign up for something?

Don't get me wrong ... there's nothing wrong with creating content solely to inform readers. I do it myself. But when you're trying to evoke a response from the reader — a signup, a phone call, or an email — you have to shape your content accordingly.

If informing the reader is a stop along the path to your ultimate goal (evoking a response), then seek to move the reader toward that goal every chance you get. Don't be coy about it; be straightforward and clear. If you want a certain response, ask for it.

Related service: Get real estate content for your website or blog.