RealTown's RealTalk

I feel it's time for a change and don't want to make a less than brilliant decision when choosing a new web design company. So far, P2A/PSM/AA seem to be in the forefront.

Of course, pricing is a major concern. What are the 3 most important things to keep in mind when deciding on my "final answer?"

I appreciate your valuable input.

Mary Jane DiMichele

McColly Real Estate

MaryJane@McColly.com

1) Return on investment. What will be the long term results for generating leads vs conversions. IMO, basing a decision on initial cost may be a huge mistake. Would you rather spend $600 and generate little to nothing, or spend $4,000 and generate $40,000 in commission?

2) Do your own due diligence by gathering facts.. not by random posts from an agent stating how they love their site, how nice customer service is, etc. Facts are how may unique visitors does a site get (not hits), what percentage of those visitors become leads, where is the site found on the search engines and for what search terms, etc.

3) What type of system does the site have for lead follow-up should you start getting a bunch of leads?

Most will claim that their site is the best.. otherwise, why would they have it? Best to me means it generates a substantial income. Depending on the market, that may mean several leads a month or 400+ or more leads a month. Or, it generates in the 6-figures of income.

The hard part is to first decide on your own expectations for your site. Do you want it to be a "Cyber business card", an "I love me site" or a focus of your business long term? Do you expect the site to be found for many search terms and, if so, what do you intend to do with it to get it there? Do you want organic placement for the site or will you be doing PPC, or neither. Will you do the work necessary to have a sucessful site, hire someone to add content or do it yourself, do SEO work on the site, have a linking strategy, etc?

No matter what site you ultimately decide to get, do nothing to it and basically you will get nothing in return. My decision on what site to get would vary greatly depending on what I set as my expectations.

If you want to just have a site and do nothing to it, buy the least expensive one as it won't matter since it typically won't be found unless you point someone to it.

Mary Jane DiMichele wrote:
I feel it's time for a change and don't want to make a less than
brilliant decision when choosing a new web design company. So far,
P2A/PSM/AA seem to be in the forefront.... Of course, pricing is a major
concern. What are the 3 most important things to keep in mind when
deciding on my "final answer?"
_______________

Mary Jane, one problem is that you are not comparing apples to apples.
Point2Agent and Advanced Access are both template web site providers
("hosts") and are NOT web site designers. Each company provides only an
assortment of template designs. However, there are several companies
that specialize in creating custom designs that replace these two
companies' template graphics (as I do with Point2Agent sites).

So, when choosing a host, choose one that offers the features,
functionality and services that you need, while being reliable and
offering excellent customer service. You may want to call Point2Agent's
sales number at sales 800-659-5494 8:30-5 mountain time for info about
their offerings. People here on RealTalk will surely give you feedback
about the two companies.

When choosing a designer, find some designers whose work you find to be
most attractive and aesthetically pleasing and that seems to reflect
sound marketing/creative strategy. Then call some of the designers'
clients and ask about how they liked working with the designer and
whether their work paid for itself with increased leads. (The services
of a more expensive designer may turn out to be more cost-effective than
those of a cheaper designer.)

You should also factor in content creation (copywriting) and search
engine optimization, neither of which is purely a design function, as
the most beautiful site in the world won't increase your leads if it
doesn't attract sufficient traffic.

Hope that helps!

Suzanne

--
Suzanne Hathcock Stephens
Point2Agent Qualified Web Site Designer
http://www.SuzStephens.com
360-666-0881

Editor's Note
Point2 has templates available, but for those so inclined, you can customize and even create your own "front end." Do it yourself or use a web designer like Suzanne. Point2 offers an "Online Office" and one can elect a feature known as "Listings to Go" and have the benefits of the Point2 syndication network, analytics, and predictive marketing tools used with any "front end" web site you desire, custom built or otherwise.Put together a business plan, a technology plan, a marketing plan and a web site plan...don't just "buy a web site."Use Point2 free for 3 months and see what you think. http://FreeWebSite.RealTown.com.Saul

Mary Jane wrote: "I feel it's time for a change and don't want to make a
less than brilliant decision when choosing a new web design company"

I see that you already have an AA site so you should be able to do your own
due diligence on their sites. Drew gave you some EXCELLENT advice. Looking
at your AA site which may be at least a year old if you are thinking about
making a switch, it appears to have no pagerank and very little unique
content. I found links on your homepage that return a 404 error message as
well. With that being said, once again if you re-read what Drew posted, cost
is seldom the REAL guide to a profitable website. You need help with your
site! There is nothing there to make it 'sticky' and it's NOT Advanced
Access' fault since all they do is provide you with a template that is fully
customizable. My question to you would be WHY are you thinking of making a
change? Without AA's recent outage, what reason do you have to bail on them
at this time? If it is only due to a lack of leads, you have to consider
what you have to offer a viewer. You ARE on Google page #1 for your main
keywords "schererville real estate" so the problem is not being found but
what does your site offer. It's not seo that you need, just someone to help
you with creating some kick-a$$ content on your homepage as well as other
unique content pages instead of all the graphics. JMHO

Gene Carey, Broker/GRI/JIM #100
RE/MAX Advisors
Lake Villa, IL 60046
Gene@GeneCarey.com
www.ShowcaseYourHome.com

Great advice!!

Checking to see if anyone has a great IDX company to recommend. I'd like to get one that has a great search tool and offers great community information that is up to date. Correct and up to date information is key to being a successful and informative Realtor.

I was referred to Diverse Solutions and have used them since the start of my custom site. I approached them last summer to let them know the company they get the information from is incorrect and very dated - not just by months but by a number of years. After multiple requests since then, there has been little if any response from them. They first responded- thanks for letting us know, then we are working on it, to no response.

If anyone has a recommendation, please let me know. I'd sincerely appreciate it. $75/month is a lot to spend with a company that doesn't resolve.

Thanks bunches!!

Dena Calivas
Dena@GreenUpJax.com
www.GreenUpJax.com
904-759-3990

Have you thought about BusyAgentPro? It's more than a website, it's a system to generate leads and includes unlimited web sites, blogs, has many drip email campaigns and a lot more. There is a free live webinar where you can get the details. You get your own market, market specific articles for a blog, customizable contact manager. I had an AA site and the intellicards - this system has so much more. Point2Agent does have the listings syndication which is great. However, in order to make the Point2 sites really sticky you have to create additional forms using another program and host those forms someplace else. The BAP system has customizable forms, unlimited single property websites, and unlimited lead capture pages. It's only $67 a month with no annual contract commitment like AA and there's a free trial, too.

Mary Hester, e-PRO
Treasure Coast Real Estate, Inc.
Jupiter FL 33469
My main BAP site is www.LivingInJupiterFL.com

Editor's Note
What makes a REALTOR website sticky is listing information, and in the not to distant future, sold information. With Point2 you can use any web site you like and still take advantage of the syndication, analytics, and predictive marketing tools...and the Standard Site is $9.95 per month and the first 3 months are free. Go to http://FreeWebSite.RealTOwn.com and give it a free 3 month test drive. You'll be glad you did.Saul

I will have to agree with Mary that Busy Agent Pro has so much more to offer than simply a website. As a matter of fact, I have about 12 separate websites right now with Busy Agent Pro, all for the same monthly cost. That's 12 different web destinations and avenues for generating a revenue stream. I have tried many of the website providers on the market, both templates and custom designers, and while the prices differed, I found that they all produced about the same results, which were almost totally dependent upon what I fed into it.

However, when I got my business to the point where I wanted a business plan, and model, that would help push business towards my websites, I found Busy Agent Pro to rise above the rest. There is a built in blogging platform, contact manager, mastermind discussion board as well as marketing materials that I am free to use as I wish.

For one low monthly price, I am the only agent in my market who gets to use this platform, and has allowed me to discontinue the use of many paid service providers, saving me money each month, all while helping my business grow and becoming much more cohesive.

It seems to be a win-win as far as I can tell. If you are interested, go check a free trial at www.BusyAgentPro.com. Best of luck.

Please investigate all custom design work on a web hosting platform that has to be hacked into to make it truly customized.

We have done P2A & AA, love what they give the clients, but on a full custom design you need to have complete flexibiilty to manage your navigation. Add/delete/move nav items and drops downs, fly-outs are so important if you want to be able to work on your own site.

If you do deside to go custom, it can pay off, if for no other reason than a great place for your sellers to see that you are serious about their listings.

This is only one reason to have a custom design built for you, and no one fits one shoe. Some agents have a referral network that they market to, some are new and need all the leads they can get. Some want additional business, take a look at where you are and what your budget is.

There are several cost factors. One is the monthly web hosting, custom content, and a good IDX. I have 3 that are the top providers that we work with, www.diversesolutions.com, www.wolfnettech.com/maptracks and www.idxbroker.com. There are other providers, but I usually stick with the ones that work.

I know that Dena mentioned that DS is having problems with current data, so please be sure to check with the providers and ask if there are any issues that you need to know about. The prices range and your IDX is very important to your marketing.

Do not base your real estate business on getting by with a template. Just because the monthly cost is low, you will get what you pay for. Default content tends to stay just that as agents rely on lots of pages that everyone else has, they get busy, and don't see the value in writing their own copy.

Plan on spending between $5,000 - $7,500 for a good site. Be sure that you have realistic expectations on how long it takes to create a piece of artwork that translates into a site that you can market and be proud of. If you are hiring a designer that produces great work, then be patient.

Look at work on both templates and custom designs. Set your bar high, dream of your perfect site and then works towards it.

Cherie Young
Online Marketing Strategies
www.CherieYoung.com
760.782.0103

If you want to go with Point2, I will say hands down, work with Suzanne Stephens. P2A is not for everybody, but if you want custom and Point2, she is the only person I would recommend.

There are too few great designers and the good ones are busy! Sometimes these sites can take months and it's worth the wait.

Cherie Young
Online Marketing Strategies
www.CherieYoung.com
760.782.0103