5 Landing Pages Every Real Estate Website Should Have

A lot goes into building a website properly, and it can be an overwhelming task for many. That’s why people have built careers in website design! It’s good for you to know the ins and outs of what makes a good website great.

I’m sure you’ve come across several real estate websites that look incredible, but we need to get into the nitty gritty of a well-designed website that not only looks fantastic but also attracts clients and boosts your visibility through SEO. 

Several strategies can be implemented in your web design to help your site stand out amongst the rest and quickly grow your business. Let’s dive in!

Key Takeaways

• Effective landing pages: Capture leads and make a great first impression.
• IDX integration: Keep listings current and comprehensive.
• Essential pages: Include the must-have pages to inform and engage visitors.
• Good examples: Learn from top-performing landing pages to enhance your own site.
• Professional help: Consider specialized companies for a polished, effective site.

How Landing Pages Can Affect Your Business

The first impression potential clients have of your business is, more often than not, your website’s home landing page. With that being said, your landing pages should all be in line with your branding and voice. This is crucial for your business because a well-designed landing page can:

• Capture leads: Effective landing pages with lead capture forms, engaging content, and personal touches can help convert what would be just visitors into clients ready to work with you right away.
• Showcase your listings: Available properties are what most people are looking for, right? This is your chance to highlight your best properties to entice potential buyers. Sellers will also look to see if you have recently sold similar properties at comparable rates they are looking for. 
• Build trust: Your website helps you establish your reputation as a real estate agent in multiple ways. Even at a glance, you are building the necessary trust between you and your site’s visitors with professional, clean designs that make your business look credible.

How to Use Landing Pages to Generate Leads

Generating leads through landing pages is an optimal way to have your website work for you and grow your business with little effort and clear calls for action. Here are some strategies that many agents use within their website to help engage your site’s visitors:

• Offer valuable content: The term ‘valuable content’ can seem pretty vague, but essentially, you want to make sure you are providing free resources that will help educate your visitors on the real estate market as a display of how your expertise can help guide them in making the right decisions. Some ideas for you to incorporate:
  • Create free guides on the process of buying and selling (great for attracting new homeowners).
  • Provide market reports that help give realistic expectations that back your advice when they meet with you.
  • Host informational webinars showcasing your expertise
  • All of these should be provided in exchange for visitors’ contact information so you can begin your lead nurturing through email marketing.
• Promote listings: Feature new or high-demand listings prominently to prompt visitors to call you, schedule a showing, or potentially list their house with you. 
• Use testimonials: People want to hear how you’ve helped other clients to give them a sense of what working with you will be like for them. Encourage former clients to leave reviews, and feel free to reach out to them and directly ask for testimonials. Overall, showcasing satisfied clients’ feedback helps build trust and credibility.

Benefits of Having an IDX Website

An IDX website integrated with MLS is a must for any serious real estate agent who wants to keep up with competitor sites. 

“Of real estate firms, 91% feature property listings on their websites with the help of an IDX integration. You can use plugins that integrate directly with an existing site or build a new site with an IDX solution.” (Source)

And here’s a few reasons why:

• Real-time updates: Time is always a factor in our industry, and having to manually update your listings would require too much for you to do daily and maintain your client relationships at the same time. Automatically updated listings directly from MLS to your site keeps your site current, so you keep a professional up-to-date reputation and saves you the time and effort.
• Comprehensive listings: Provides a complete view of available properties in your market, which can help your visitors see your site as a go-to resource for information on what’s available to them.
• Improved SEO: SEO is a huge asset in keeping your site visible and accessible to visitors. Fresh content boosts your search engine rankings, and knowing “keywords” to incorporate in your site’s copy will help your site come up when potential clients are searching for properties and agents. 
  • There are several sites that will help you discover the right keywords. I recommend using a site like Mangools to help you get started. 

5 Essential Landing Pages All Real Estate Websites Should Have

If you look at real estate websites, which you should do before you get started, you will see a trend of what every website includes. To help you get started and not be overwhelmed, you can focus on these five essential pages with what to include and why:

1. Your Home Page:
   • Establish your first impression: Your unique brand must have a well-intentioned design that screams exactly who you are and what your company provides for your clients. I like The Oppenheim Group’s page below because it offers a clean, inviting design with easy navigation.

• •  Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA): Direct visitors to search listings or contact you. In the above image, they have clearly laid out areas where clients can easily click to find more information.

1. Property Listings:
   • Search functionality: Allow visitors to search by various criteria by adding a filter feature in most websites. 
   • Detailed listings: Include high-quality photos, descriptions, and virtual tours if you can. Of course, having them automatically updated through an MLS integration will help with this. Take a look at Indigo Road Realty’s page (clearly still recognizably in their brand).

1. About Us:
   • Personal touch: Share your story, values, how you can help your clients, your goals, and why you started in real estate. Mention your team as well if that feels authentic to you.
   • Build trust: Show your expertise and previous wins to help ensure your commitment to clients. Take a look at My Sharona’s page here:

1. Contact Page:
   • Easy access: Provide multiple contact options (phone, email, form) with an incentive for them to reach out to you.
   • Map and address: Help clients find your office easily and offer ways to schedule appointments.
   • Doesn’t get more clear than the Globl RED asking visitors to get in touch:

1. Blog/Resources:
   • Share knowledge: Provide videos showcasing your expertise. Offering tips, market updates, and industry news will help you establish yourself as a respected expert in your industry.
   • Boost SEO: Regularly updated blogs with advice that includes targeted keywords can help improve search engine rankings, which is crucial if you want your website to be one of the top few that people see first.
   • Aaron Kirman has done a great job on his site to show off his guidance in real estate:

5 Key Design and Content Elements to Include 

It’s one thing to have a website and another to have an effective website with landing pages that convert. Here are a few elements that help make them work:

1. Minimalist Design:
   • Clean layout: Focus on key information without distractions.
   • Strong CTA: Clear, compelling call to action, meaning give direction for the next steps for your clients, i.e., browse listings here, schedule an appointment, get exclusive offering here, etc.
2. High-Quality Images:
   • Visual appeal: Use professional photos to capture attention and establish your brand.
   • Emotional connection: Images that evoke positive feelings about the property or help people see a lifestyle in a community or property.
3. Testimonials:
   • Social proof: Real client reviews to build trust and establish a record of credibility.
   • Personal touch: Stories that resonate with potential clients, like helping recent buyers purchase their first home or getting a major deal for sellers in record time.
4. Interactive Maps:
   • User engagement: Allow visitors to explore neighborhoods right from their computer, which is both fun and informative.
   • Added value: Provide information about local amenities, events, and social activities.
5. Lead Capture Forms:
   • Ease of use: Simple, quick forms to collect visitor information so you can start your lead nurturing.
   • Clear incentive: Offer something valuable in return that will encourage them to stay in touch with you over time and help build your client relationships.

3 Companies That Design Real Estate-Specific IDX Websites 

If designing a website sounds daunting, consider enlisting the help of companies that specialize specifically in real estate IDX websites:

1. Placester:
   • User-friendly templates: Easy to customize and manage.
   • Integrated IDX: Seamless MLS integration for up-to-date listings.
2. Real Geeks:
   • Lead generation tools: Built-in CRM and marketing automation.
   • SEO optimized: Designed to improve search engine rankings.
3. Agent Image:
   • Custom designs: Tailored to your brand and business needs.
   • Full-service solution: From design to maintenance, they handle it all.

Summary

Designing a stellar real estate website involves several key components, but now you have a roadmap and a few examples to act as a guide when you are designing your website. Hopefully, this will help you get creative and build a website that you LOVE! 

By following these guidelines, you’ll be well on your way to creating a website that looks amazing, attracts clients, and boosts your SEO so your site helps you grow your business effortlessly!