When you build a website for your real estate business, it’s tempting to let go of the reins once it goes live. After all, you just spent a considerable amount of your time and energy building a branded site for your company. Time to move on to the next big thing. “Set it and forget it” like a rotisserie chicken cooker. Right? Wrong. “If you build it, they will come” only exists in the Field of Dreams. Word of mouth and sphere of influence doesn’t work for everyone. We spend most of our time online, from ordering groceries to purchasing a house. Now, houses don’t come from Amazon, so how can you ensure that your potential leads can find you online?

Creating a website doesn’t guarantee to bring in qualified leads. You have to earn web traffic. After all, how can anyone turn into a lead unless they actually visit your site? What strategies are integral to your site’s ability to earn sustained web traffic? Let’s dig in:

How to Increase Traffic to Your Real Estate Website

1. Consider functionality
2. Strategize calls to action
3. Prioritize optimization
4. Integrate PPC
5. Target social media ads
6. Practice methodic blogging
7. Connect through email follow-ups

Consider Functionality

What are your search tools like? How about navigation throughout your listings and site? If a person wants to contact your office, is it a simple process for them to do so? The answers to these questions reveal how well your site functions for the average buyer and seller. Make sure your site is enhanced with key tools that help a visitor navigate the home-buying (or selling) process.

• Natural Language Search: Can your visitors search for listings in a colloquial, Google-like way? Can a visitor type “3 bed 2 bath under $500K” and get results? Contrary to what you may think, drop-down menus in a “quick” search make it clunkier for visitors to find what they’re looking for. Make sure your search tool isn’t getting in their way.
• Mobile-Friendly Search: Can your site visitors easily search through your listings on a mobile device? Better yet, can a visitor search for “homes near me” and locate nearby listings based on their location? We live in a world where buyers search for homes on the go. According to Oberlo, February 2023 shows a total of 60.6% of web traffic being mobile, while 47.92% is from desktops. 2016 is the year that mobile usage surpassed desktop usage and has stayed steadily increasing since. It’s time to cater to them.
• Recommended Search: Can your site provide popular segments of listings to buyers who are new to the area or buyers who want to explore your inventory? Relevant keywords related to what your potential leads are searching for help recommended searches guide visitors through your listings and demonstrate your authority as a trusted resource. Your leads want to scour out the surrounding areas of listings, bringing a sense of assurance in their choices.
• Interactive Map Search is an integral part of today’s real estate market: Can buyers locate your listings on a map? Can they draw boundaries around a body of water in your town or maybe a desirable neighborhood in your area? An interactive map allows buyers to get a birds-eye view of your neighborhoods and geographically tailor their search to their own needs. If you’re looking for the best map search available take a look at our industry-leading Map Search that will help elevate your online presence. 

Strategize Call-to-Actions

A call-to-action (CTA) is an instruction to your audience to complete an immediate action. Have you ever watched those late-night infomercials? “call now!” flashing in the corner of your tv screen is a good example of a CTA. If you don’t use strategic calls-to-action in your marketing approach, then you’re missing out on increased web traffic to your website. Beyond that, once a visitor comes to your site, then you’re missing out on engagement opportunities from registration widgets, contact links, and “ask a question” forms that increase engagement and lead conversions.

The best CTAs are not a coincidence; they’re data-driven marketing strategies that are proven to drive business to your company. Think about using CTAs like a “contact us” button, “ask a question” box, or “save a favorite” buttons on your listings. Have you ever been shopping online and as you checkout, you’re granted the opportunity to “Join our mailing list!” with the promise of a coupon upon joining? Sealing the deal with something you were originally interested in (the coupon) and getting you in the door for drip email campaigns. Do you have a periodic newsletter that you email to potential leads and past clients? Consider including a call-to-action within the email that points to a listing, post, or other landing pages on your site.

By continually pointing people to pages within your site, you have a better chance of building a following of both potential and past leads. If you have a blog on your website, consider including calls-to-action at the end of each post to drive web traffic further into your site. Suggest other blog posts for your readers to look at or maybe a market trend report you have recently completed.

Prioritize Optimization

Search Engine Optimization, (SEO) is the process of marketing your website to search engines. Why do you care what search engines think of your website? You care because search engines are the information distributors of the Internet; they pair every user typing in a search with a custom list of websites that pertains to their search. To get on that “list,” or search engine results page, there is a myriad of factors that search engines consider (and therefore you should consider), including your website’s HTML tags, backlinks, presence in local search results, social media profiles, company blog, and content throughout your site.

Integrate PPC

Paid advertising is the perfect complement to an SEO strategy. Consider using Google Adwords to target specific audiences based on real estate-related searches. Point these ads to relevant landing pages on your site so that when a person clicks on an ad, they arrive on a page that provides information specific to their search online. Creating highly relevant and targeted ads means more web traffic, plus more highly-qualified users on your website who are likely to become leads.

Target Social Media Ads

Similarly to PPC, social media ads – while best for brand visibility – can also drive a steady flow of web traffic to your website. From what our company has seen, Facebook ads are usually the most effective strategy for Realtors. Use Facebook’s Power Editor to segment your audiences based on geographic location and key demographics. For instance, if you’re a Realtor in Boston, you’ll want to target people within the city limits. For each Facebook ad that you create, make sure that it points to a landing page on your site. By creating Facebook ads that target people outside of your regular sphere of influence, you can present your website to a wider audience and draw more web traffic to your site.

Practice Methodic Blogging

One of the best things you can do for your real estate website is to create an on-domain blog and write on it regularly to create unique, industry-related posts. Every time that you create a blog post, it’s another indexed page that Google and Bing can use to help your website organically rank for real estate-related terms. This means that when people conduct real estate searches, your blog is more likely to appear and therefore draw traffic to your site. If you sell homes in a historic area, a post about “Restoring century houses” and steps to achieving this award, alongside beautiful old homes you’ve sold will attract buyers looking to restore. Your blog allows you to introduce yourself to potential leads in a more personalized way.

Connect through Email Follow-Ups

Do you send follow-up emails to leads after they submit information on your website? Regardless of what stage these leads are at in the buying process, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to add their emails to a subscriber list where you can slowly feed them information through occasional email blasts or a strategic drip campaign. Embed relevant links within each of your outgoing email campaigns so that people are directed to your website when they open your emails and click around. 

The top sites on any search engine have earned their place, you can move up the ranks by having an all-around optimized site by following these tips. The functionality of your site and how easy it is to navigate from a potential lead’s perspective is an excellent first step in optimizing your web traffic. Once you’ve created a smooth user experience, integrating PPC and targeted social media ads will help spread the word to your desired audience. You want them to follow through with visiting your website, so you use a CTA that generates some urgency or interest. Then, you can draw more organic traffic to your website through blogs, pointing leads to your website when searching relevant keywords within your site. Now that you’ve got them, you want to keep them coming back! Staying connected with your leads through strategized emails with content containing relevant links will guide them into revisiting your website, boosting your overall web traffic. 

If you’re looking to grow your web traffic even more, check out what we have to say about attracting the next generation of homebuyers. Or, you can contact us today so we can strategize a digital marketing plan to help grow your business!