I thought I would start off by telling you some of the results of the National Association of Realtors® survey that came out earlier this year. It showed that over 77% of all home buyers used the internet during their home search compared to 74% in 2005 and just 2% in 1995. Needless to say, this number will continue to grow in the years to come. The question is…will you be able to take advantage of this trend and if so how?Our industry is full of website providers. Whether you are a seasoned veteran or new to the business, I am sure you have already been bombarded with many solicitations from them.

You may even currently have a website. If so, what I will share in this column each month will either enable you to transform your current website into an actual marketing system OR educate you enough so you will be able to tell if you current site even has the possibility of being transformed. Either way, YOU WIN!

So let’s dig right in. We need to first realize a few things about our visitors.

1. Why are they coming to our site in the first place?
2. What will make them stay long enough for us to even have a chance at getting their business?
3. What is our Call To Action (CTA)? In other words, what is it that we want them to do NOW?

Statistics have shown that most people are going online just to get information. Think of what you do. Once you have a problem, concern or curiosity you go to Google™ or one of the other search engines and type in keywords related to that topic or problem. That is exactly what your prospects are doing. If they are in Erie, Pennsylvania they might be typing in keywords like “Erie Mortgage”, “Erie Loan Help”, “Erie Home Loan”, etc.

For the most part, when they initially come to a site they are looking for one thing - Information. REMEMBER, everyone is tuned to W-I-F-M. WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? And you must catch their attention instantly. The web has become very similar to TV. People like to “surf” websites just like TV channels, so you must have information they are looking for or you will lose them…Forever. In fact, the following are startling statistics proving that you do not want an ineffective website. Fact #1: 65% of website visitors give up before they find what they came for. Fact #2: 40% of users who abandon a website NEVER come back. (Source: Boston Consulting Group). So, your job is to provide them a quick and easy way to obtain the information they are seeking and then continue to over deliver so you become the only and obvious choice in their minds. This information may include tips on what mortgage product is best for them, ways to shop for a loan without being taken advantage of or any other content that helps them make the right mortgage decision.

As long as we are talking about what they are looking for I felt I should also mention what they are NOT looking for. See they really don’t care about you or your company. (Sorry if that is harsh, but it is true) They don’t care about the awards you have won or the 53 programs you have listed that you can offer. If you were searching for insurance would you care about the agent or the company? OR would you primarily be looking for information on how to make an informed decision and which insurance product is best suited for your needs. Would you also like to know all the things to watch out for when obtaining a policy? I am not saying that your professionalism and building trust and credibility is not important. Far from it. I am simply saying that is not the PRIMARY reason your visitor clicked on your site!

Bottom Line—you must provide your visitors with the information they are looking for and the tools that will keep them on your site and MORE IMPORTANTLY have them coming back. I will cover these ideas in more depth in future issues so stay tuned.

This brings us to # 3 on our list – What Do You Want Them To Do?

Most of the websites I see being offered today ask for an application immediately and give no other option to the visitor. I believe this is a big mistake. Think about the first time you meet a real estate agent or client you want to do business with. Do you say “Hi, How Are You? How Much Do You Make? How Much Do You Have In The Bank? How Is Your Credit?” Of course you wouldn’t say that to a prospect you don’t know! So why would you do this on your website? Instead, you should be building value in your services by over delivering with solid helpful content, building rapport with your prospect and AUTOMATICALLY following up with them so when you do get them as a customer, you have them for life!

KEY POINTS—Your visitor is primarily looking for helpful content and does not care about you or your company…YET. Secondly, you only have seconds to grab the attention of your visitor so make it easy for them to find and receive the information they are looking for. Finally, you should NOT be asking for the application without first building rapport and trust along with providing them the information they came for in the first place.

By now I am sure you are asking “But if they leave my site without filling out an application then won’t I will lose them anyway?” Don’t worry. In a future issue, I will cover a technique you can use to entice your visitor to happily give you their name and email address and technology you can use to automatically follow up with your prospect as if you were writing every email message directly and only to them….all WITHOUT them needing to fill out a 1003.