Why Your Company Doesn't Need A Website
Websites... That all important, stake in the ground, line in the sand proclamation that you are now a legitimate company. But is it really the case anymore? Are you wasting time and money on a website when you could be using other tools to make a bigger impact?
Think for a moment about 98% of the real estate websites on the web right now. How many actually look professional enough to impress someone vs. repel them? Far too many people sign up for web hosting and use a free template or worse try to design a site themselves with no experience. What happens when the new generation investors see your rudimentary site and assume your company is just as antiquated?
It used to be that a website alone put you ahead of the game but times have changed. Unless you have the budget (amazingly cheap these days) for a professional looking site why waste the time? There are SO MANY ways to get your properties out on the web and have a farther reach than any old website could help you with. A website these days should be a professional representation of your orginization and if your selling houses; a slick e-commerce system.
Why doesn't you company need a website? It could be using the following and have all the legitimacy you could need:
BiggerPockets - Seriously.... Think about the functionality of this site for a moment. Profile, Blogs, Property Postings, Article Writing, Forums.... You could focus your time on just BiggerPockets if you wanted to. My blog averages HUNDREDS of hits off of every post and it sucks, think about you.
EzineArticles - If you're not writing articles you're losing out on a way to get to the top of Google without SEO'ing the crap out of your website.Create a profile and a signature line that sits at the bottom of each article. Make sure it has a link to your website, twitter, linkedIn, BiggerPockets, etc.... Write a 400 word article on something Real Estate, Submit and sit back. They will publish it and as people read it they see your signature line and google does too! You may not get to the top of Google with your company name but you can with your name. Try Curtis Williams Real Estate and see what you find.
Postlets - A property listing system thats FREE... it will post to tons of sites like Zillow, Craigslist, etc. You have your own person MLS sending out to all the major sites.
There is so much more you can do but I figure an article on EzineArticles would be a better place to list them... :P
Got questions? Need Help? Hit me up in a private message. Free Advice always.
Comments (4)
Thanks James, Completely agree with you on getting a website if you can make it professional looking. I actually know a someone that specializes in real estate sites, has its own nice little real estate catalog and solid looking overall website. He does it for dirt cheap as well for the general public since he already has the template and catalog. If investors can find folks like that then a website can bring credibility.
Curtis Williams, about 14 years ago
Nice blog post Curtis and I agree with a lot of it, mainly that most real estate websites do not look professional and do not impress. I decided to have a website when I first started my company, but I was lucky enough to have a great friend who designs websites help me out for a huge discount (and I mean huge). Other than paying him a small fee, we pay the hosting fee which is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things. Do I think a website is critical, no, however, if you have the knowhow or connections to affordability to make a good looking site, I believe it is worth it. Nice job on posting some of the other ways to use resources to get info and listings out!
James Vermillion, about 14 years ago
Wordpress can become it's own website, insane how much functionality it has. The YouTube videos are fantastic for SEO ranking, it's the newest way to up your rank... some people are even skipping the normal blog and going video. I always got HUGE responses from Craigslist for rentals. Using that and posting a text message keyword with a response of details of the property and a link to a mobile site of the property and other properties was huge. Even low income can get a smart phone and they actually are using them more than any other group for internet access. I've tried the QR codes, the text messaging seems to work better since with QR codes you have to download an app and such.
Curtis Williams, about 14 years ago
Interesting take Curtis. I have been listing all of my rental vacancies on my own website for years. I use a free wordpress template and the free SEO plugins. It allows me to put any number of pictures and content I want on it. It also allows me to link to my own youtube channel for videos of my rental units. It has worked so well that I have never paid for advertising my rentals on any other site or newspaper other than my own site. I even have a new wrinkle. On my next vacancy I am going to put QR codes on my fliers that will lead the applicants straight to my website and the youtube vid. They can watch the vid on their phones while sitting in the driveway. The website is just a tool. It all depends on what it is meant to do and how it's used. Rock on!
Greg B., about 14 years ago