This guest post was written by Larry Easto who is a
best-selling business writer, and publisher of Real Estate Marketing Link

You have no doubt heard the expression:  ‘people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care’.

Makes a great deal of sense to me.

In fact I know one agent who uses that statement as part of his email signature.   In terms of content for your website, it’s also a good philosophy.  Specifically, you can use your site to show visitors how much you care about clients. 

Match this element with sound information that illustrates how much you know…and you have a solid approach to preparing great web pages.  In practice there are 5 key ingredients to great web pages.

Effective Planning

The best web pages are carefully planned and built. There are two basic questions to be answered: who are the ideal visitors to your website, and what do you want these visitors to do as a result of visiting your site?  Once you have answered these questions, everything on your website should help achieve your answers as specific outcomes.

Keywords

These are the defining words and phrases that allow search engines to index your site…and help refer visitors to it.  Keywords will also help you prepare clearly focused user-friendly web pages.

User-Friendly Content

The primary purpose of your site content is to show that you care and also what you know know.  The absolute best content reflects your enthusiasm, your passion and your knowledge.  As an expert in your field, you possess all of these qualities…let your web content showcase them to the world.

Text Links

Once you have attracted visitors to your site, you will want to offer them as much sound information as you can.  However, instead of offering huge bundles of information, provide smaller chunks that are inter-connected by text links. This allows visitors seeking more information easily access it…without  bogging all visitors down in too much text and information.

Graphics

It can also be helpful to include photographs and images that illustrate your content, which will also help readers learn more your market. These photographs could include typical clients’ properties, neighborhood landmarks, satisfied clients whose testimonials are on you site and so on.

A word of warning…ensure that your content is mostly text supplemented by photographs…not vice versa.  Too many photographs will turn your website into a photo album, which in turn will probably chase visitors away.  A good variety of appropriate photographs can add interest to your website and increase your  visitors’ interest in learning more about you and how you can help them. 

Remember that photographs and images are intellectual property and as such are subject to copyright protection. If there is any kind of identifying mark…the © symbol, a letter, number, icon, logo or even a distinctive squiggle…it’s a good idea to interpret that mark as the owner’s claim to copyright…and not use the photograph or image.

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