The Web is now the primary way buyers find agents. It might seem shocking, but it’s true. A study by Yahoo found the following:

– The Internet impacts consumer trust. Forty percent of respondents credited a site in increasing their trust in the agent.
– 74 percent of people who accessed an agent Web site got there with the help of a search engine. [emphasis mine]
– The online research process is quick and intense: consumers spent an average of 12 hours online researching agents and 75 percent selected an agent within one week of starting their search.
– 45 percent of respondents used the Internet to learn about agents they didn’t know existed.
– 41 percent discovered special deals and promotions offered from an agent through the Internet.
(Link)

Your Web site needs to be your primary marketing tool. It needs to be on all your business cards, advertisements, marketing materials- anywhere you can think to put it. And your Web site needs to be a source of strong content, targeted to your local market.

Here are 5 different ways to improve your Web presence right now:

1. Tighten Up Your On-Page Content

Because the money in the real estate industry is so big, it is one of the toughest niches to compete in online. Pages that rank well in the search engines are pages with a long history, strong on-page search engine optimization and established links with other sites. For the budding real estate Web master, the easiest factor of these to control is your on-page search engine optimization. It needs to be tight. For beginners to SEO, this means you should choose a couple of different keywords you’d like to see your page place in search engine results for and use them in as many different contexts as possible. Put them up in your page’s title tage (that bit of text that appears at the top of your browser). Use them in your body text and in your headings and subheadings. Use it in your images ALT text (that bit of text that shows when you hover over an image on your page). Work them in as much as possible without them sounding forced or unnatural. If you are targeting certain keywords but not using them on your pages, you stand little chance of ever ranking for them. And on that note…

2. Compete for Realistic Keywords

Let’s be realistic here- you’re never going to be the #1 search result for the search term “real estate.” It just isn’t possible. So why make it one of your keywords? One thing we preach to all our clients- regardless of what industry they may be in- is the importance of specificity when choosing keywords to use on your site. Not only do you stand a better chance of ranking for these keywords, the visitors will be more targeted as well.

Think of it this way- if you’re a real estate agent selling homes in Denver, what are the chances the average search engine user searching for “real estate” is going to be interested in your properties? Very slim. But if they’re searching for “real estate denver” or “real estate LoDo” or other terms that are much more specific to the Denver area, the odds are much higher you’ll convert them into a lead. The total number of visitors you get might be smaller, but the number of quality visitors will be higher and your odds of placing in the top search engine results are much more realistic.

3. Make Your Web Site More than Just a Template

This is why I think template designs are so worthless for Realtors- they turn their Web sites into little more than an elaborate flyer. Real estate Web sites need personality, they need things that differentiate themselves from the competition. What can you add to your Web site that makes it better than all the other agents in your market? Maybe it’s a blog, maybe it’s a calendar of community events, maybe it’s widgets from providers like Single Property Sites. Whatever it is- find it and incorporate it into your content. Make your site more than just a picture and some text.

4. Keep Your Content Fresh

Nothing turns off a buyer more than seeing dated property listings or a dated Web site. Keep your content current. If you show your listings off your Web site, get in the habit of updating them as soon as they change. Don’t put it off. If your page is just a static biography and a list of the services you can provide, find something timely to add to it and update it frequently (this is why blogs are so great….). Users love Web sites that look well-maintained, and current content is an easy way to show them you’re actively thinking about the Web. Search engines love it too- Web sites that are updated frequently are Web sites that rank higher and for more terms in the search results.

5. Recognize What Works Today Might Not Work Tomorrow

The Web is always changing, as are the strategies for real estate marketing. So spend some time each day learning as much as you can and applying it to your sites. Read the industry’s trendsetters- the Future of Real Estate Marketing blog, and 1000Watt blog are great places to start. And add our RSS feed too- we’ll be talking about Web strategies on a day-to-day basis and will certainly revisit the real estate market again.