While just a couple of decades ago you would start your search for a home by checking out the listings in the window of your local real estate office or check the newspaper, now more than three quarters of people start looking for homes for sale online. This means that if you're looking to sell a home it's nearly essential that you have a presence on the internet. Not only must people be able to easily find your home listing among all of the other listings, but yours needs to stand out from all of the others. Here are some tips for getting your home seen online and how you might top your competition.
The first step is of course to concentrate on building a website that is going to best represent your home listings. This means that people need to be drawn into the site and be able to easily find what they are looking for. You need to be objective when you're designing a site and willing to make changes when they are needed. There are many web designers out there who specialize in building real estate websites. So, if your talents lie in selling real estate but you don't have much online savvy, consider getting outside help.
Once you have your website up and running, you can't simply leave it stagnant. Search engines favor sites that experience a lot of activity. This means that on top of adding new listings to your site on a weekly basis, you should also consider adding a blog or message board. You could talk about the different market conditions or you could open a discussion page of where the best places to live in Montreal are located. Whatever you decide to do, make sure that all of the content that's being added to your site is relevant and original.
Experiment with other forms of advertising online. You could collaborate with others in the real estate business (mortgage specialists, contractors, interior designers) and each can add an ad banner to each other's sites. Or, you could try out pay-per-click advertising on sites like Google or Facebook. This is a good way to attract potential clients who may not have found your site otherwise. You never know who might be looking for real estate for sale.
The point is to get your name out there as much as possible. One of the best things about internet advertising is that you have unlimited resources for getting your name and company into people's homes and minds. As a businessperson, it's your responsibility to make sure you're taking advantage of this resource.
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