CRS Website Strategy Checklist

Keep it Simple with Low-cost Online Marketing

CRS Website Strategy Checklist:

This checklist will help you consider whether you want a website, which is like a business card that sits on your desk, or a web strategy, which is integral to every business decision you make.

Find and register a domain name

Be sure to choose a name that is descriptive, professional and easily remembered.
Use GoDaddy.com or Gate.com for quick and easy registrations.

Register multiple domains

Even if you don’t use them all, if they are good domain names, they may be worth the investment.

Create your own website

If you are new to the internet space, consider the following resources to assist you with creating your website:
Google.com
Ning.com
Wordpress.com (blog as a website)

If you have a website, consider upgrading it using one of the following sites:

ION-E.com
WebAgentSolutions.com
RealEstateWebmasters.com
RealProSystems.com
Number1Expert.com

Decide which type of site best suits your needs:

Informational site (like a business card)
Lead generation site (collects information from potential clients)
There are pros and cons to each type of site, so be sure to consider what you want your website to do for you and how it will fit into your online brand.

Work on your Search Engine results

Search Engine Marketing?
Is fast, and effective, but can be expensive
Search Engine Optimization?
In most instances, it’s free, but can take some time to achieve high search engine results

Work on your Search Engine results (continued)

Add meta tagging to your site
Specific, relevant words that search engines use to find your site when people search on those terms
Add links to and from your site(s)/domain(s)
Each link you have that links from or to your site allow search engine crawlers to find your site and register it more easily. As time goes on, the more links you have to and from your site, the higher your search engine search results will post.
Tag your images
Images aren’t registered like words are with search engines. In order for the same information to factor into a search engine search, your photos need to have tags explaining what they are.

Regularly check your website health:

Go to Websitegrader.com
Enter your website URL
List 5 competing agent website URLs
Enter your email address and get your free report!
How did your website score? What changes are you going to make to get a better score?

Final tips:

People and search engines love text-rich sites.
Be sure to keep your information current!
Be sure your text is readable. Don’t use technical terms or acronyms that your potential clients might not know (or if you do need to use technical terms, be sure to explain them in the text).
Is your website consumer-focused? Is it giving consumers what they want? Or giving them what you want them to have? Be sure you know the difference!
Add permission-based audio or video. Users may not like to have audio or video just pop up (depending on the connection, a user may even skip a site that takes too long to download audio or video).
Design with your audience in mind. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Stay focused on your target audience and give them what they want.