Looking at real estate online is a hobby for my significant other. He will spend hours upon hours browsing through online listings, but rarely does he like a place enough to have us go see it. For many who have a similar passion for properties, this is likely the case, but for many others they only proactively seek out real estate when there’s a need – for instance, if you’re selling your home, buying a new home, or maybe even buying a storefront or office space for your business.
What can real estate marketers do to ensure your brand stands out against the many others online when those in-need individuals are searching? One of the most critical things is to ensure all of your landing pages are top notch.
Whether you’re a buyer’s agent, listing agent, firm owner, or real estate marketer, you likely realize how important your landing pages are in this internet driven world. But are your landing pages converting as well as they could be? I hate to say it, but probably not…
The average conversion rate across all industries in Google AdWords is 3.75% – but for real estate businesses, the average is only 2.47%.
This is why I created this list of useful tips to help you create real estate landing pages that actually convert! Starting with…
Tip #1: Keep Lead Capture Forms & Search Tools Simple
Simplicity is key when it comes to your landing pages, and this goes for everything from the imagery to the copy to the CTA’s and search functionality.
When people are beginning the process of buying or selling property, they don’t want to read a book of fine-print text. Whether you’re trying to generate leads through an email collector form or just simply have your visitors search for properties through your landing page, make sure that your copy and design is simple, relevant, and to the point.
I like the example below from Paragon Real Estate Group where they have all of the most important things listed to generate search results that are relevant. They also make the process even easier by having the beds and baths options already selected as “any.” This allows a searcher who has less of a preference to only need to make two selections before getting where they want to go.
Tip #2: Stunning Imagery Should be the Focus of Your Landing Page
What comes to mind when the words “real estate” are spoken? Not a dumpy old alleyway or block of boring text. Rather, you should picture a beautiful farmhouse surrounded by plush greenery or a small cottage with a view of the ocean.
While this might not be a realistic vision that fits within your buyer’s budget, it is still critical to make your landing pages evoke that dream lifestyle your searchers are craving. Imagery is the absolute key to designing a high-converting real estate landing page because people often act with their eyes. Quality images won’t just intrigue your visitors, they will evoke emotion, which often leads to action.
Take the example from the Steven Cohen Team in Boston below. This landing page displays that crisp, white dream kitchen that many in the Back Bay of Boston strive to obtain.
Hire a quality photographer to take photos of your properties, if you haven’t done so already, and make sure the properties resemble a Martha Stewart magazine before photographing. (Get those shots when there is plenty of natural light and the place is spick and span.) Remember, people often make decisions with their eyes!
Tip #3: Be Direct and Transparent in Your Copy
Real estate is an especially tricky industry for marketers because it’s completely reliant on trust.
Gaining the trust of your leads to turn them into customers is not an easy feat due to high levels of competition, the investment that comes with real estate, and the fact that the decision of buying or selling a home is likely going to impact that individual’s life in a significant manner. Not to mention that real estate is an industry where people notoriously have their guards up, since we’ve all heard the horror stories of victims being ripped off by misleading agents.
So, how can you ensure your leads trust you once they hit your landing pages? Well, one way to instantly lose the trust of your leads is by making false promises on your landing pages. The other way to lose trust is by withholding important details (like square footage or condominium fees).
Therefore, the most critical thing is being fully transparent with your copy and including detailed information like square footage, additional fees, precise location, number of bedrooms, baths, parking spots, etc. Don’t let important questions go unanswered, and keep your copy simple, yet approachable. Using big words or industry speak is only going to hurt you so be direct, provide important details, and use beautiful but accurate imagery.
Check out this example of a real estate landing page that provides plenty of specific information about the apartment, including a floorplan of the layout of the apartment, condo fees, and a 360 virtual tour so visitors can get a real sense of what to expect.
Tip #4: Test Out a Lightbox Pop-Up CTA
Whether it’s a pop-up that appears as you land on a page or when you exit, these lightbox pop-ups truly work. They appear in the center of the page, fading out the background so you’re solely focused on that form.
In fact, Sumo users were able to collect 23,645,968 email addresses in less then two years using pop-ups. Can you even imagine the potential for growth with that number of email addresses?
While pop-ups might seem interruptive and annoying, they work so well because they truly get the user focused on that CTA, and if your CTA is compelling enough then they’ll be more likely to provide their information. The key to doing this well is by offering something in return for the user’s email.
For example, real estate consultancy Whiffin & Wilson has a very compelling pop-up that offers complimentary staging for home sellers. I love their pop-up because it’s simple, clean looking, the form is short, and there are additional CTA’s to encourage phone calls.
So why not give pop-ups a shot? These babies could really boost your lead list, and even lead to more business!
Tip #5: Use Auto-play Background Videos
Anyone who knows me knows that I truly believe in the power of video marketing. In fact, I was previously employed by a video marketing company. That’s how deep my love of video marketing goes. And luckily, my belief in the effectiveness of video marketing is easily supported by statistics proving the value of video.
Now that you’re sold on the power of video, you should start using it on your landing pages! Whether it be showing off a tour of one of your properties or introducing yourself and building trust, video has the power to make your visitors feel connected. There really couldn’t be a better way to bring your properties to life online than video, so why not give it a go?
The look of a background video on auto-play is one that works exceptionally well for real estate landing pages. These videos are silent and play on loop to make your page look sophisticated and stunning. Just check out this example from the real estate company Compass.
Tip #6: Instill Trust with Customer Testimonials, Awards, and Badges
We already spoke about trust in tip #3, so I promise to not go on another trust rant, but I will say that one of the easiest and most effective ways to build trust is by shutting your mouth and allowing your happy customers to do the talking.
Over the years you’ve likely collected a plethora of testimonials, but how are you using them? Many real estate websites have pages dedicated to customer testimonials – why not also insert some of your best testimonials into your landing pages? Having these testimonials front and center can be a powerful conversion tool, turning an untrusting visitor into one who’s willing to shell out their contact information to connect with one of your brokers.
I love this testimonial review from the Steven Cohen team’s website.
Now can you imagine how powerful that quote would be near a CTA?
Another way to instill trust on your real estate landing pages is by placing badges and/or awards your team has been granted right on your landing pages. This shows a vote of confidence and will make the visitor feel they’re not going to get ripped off – since you have won all these awards, you clearly know what your doing.
Tip #7: Personalize the Experience
Another way to improve the user experience of your landing page is to ask the right questions in the right order, to ensure you are speaking to the needs of the buyer. If someone is looking to rent and you’re speaking towards buyers solely, then your landing page is not going to convert that user, and will more than likely lead them to bounce back to Google and find someone else.
So, how can you ensure the experience is personalized and speaking directly to that individual’s needs? One way is by generating a survey where questions are asked based on the previous answer. Check out the great example from the real estate landing page below.
Once you click the “Get Started” button, a few more simple questions are generated, asking the user about their budget and other specifications.
Finally the searcher lands on a contact form. After they’ve taken the time to go through the questions, why wouldn’t they take that final step and fill out the form?
In order to grow your real estate business, you need top-notch landing pages, so use these ideas to start bringing in the sales! (Also check out my recent guide to creating Facebook ads for real estate.)