Omnichannel marketing has the potential to cultivate two-fold success. First, it can be utilized to expand your online reach to grow your customer base. Second, when done properly, it will nurture current clientele, to boost sales and customer retention. Omnichannel marketing increases purchase frequency by 250% and has also shown a 90% increase in overall customer retention.

What is omnichannel marketing?

Omnichannel marketing is the process of establishing your brand’s presence across many online (social media, mobile advertising, e-commerce websites) and offline (print-based advertisements, mails, storefront, billboards, physical interactions) channels. It is important that the brand maintains consistent messaging across all platforms, as well as a favorable, seamless customer experience.

Omnichannel business strategies allow those with brick-and-mortar locations to combine and enrich both digital and traditional marketing efforts. When brands create an omnichannel approach, they also open themselves to new avenues for customer service and advertising.

The difference between omnichannel marketing and multichannel marketing

While both omnichannel and multichannel are based on the idea of engaging customers across multiple platforms, they are not interchangeable. A multichannel approach looks at the specific medium and how the transaction will be completed there. Alternatively, omnichannel strategies deliver a customer journey that spans multiple avenues and examines how to provide the best experience as consumers move between them.

Multichannel marketing is a strategy that employs multiple methods to communicate with your target audience in a variety of ways and can include the following:

• Text messages (SMS)
• Email marketing
• App for Android or iOS phones/tablets
• Social media
• Search engine marketing
• Paid search advertising 

In multichannel marketing, these platforms are all used independently from one another. All channels are simply a means of communication, and they’re treated as separate entities altogether.

Omnichannel marketing also utilizes multiple marketing channels; however, what distinguishes omnichannel marketing is that each of the channels employed in this strategy is linked together in a holistic user-centric structure. Omnichannel marketing strategies place the customer journey at the center of marketing practices, with the goal of providing the same experience across multiple channels.

7 Steps to Create a Winning Omnichannel Marketing Strategy

The consumer journey has become more intricate as the number of marketing tools available has increased. “Building an omnichannel marketing plan that will engage customers at all touchpoints, will create a seamless flow between all channels in your arsenal,” says I Putu Arka, Co-founder and lead software engineer at Geonet. “Failing to plan means planning to fail.”

1. Accept a Customer-Centric Marketing Culture

Begin by creating a journey map and evaluating all of the touchpoints that a buyer meets before becoming a customer to verify that all points deliver a consistent customer experience.

Lily Jean, a Geonet client, is a slow fashion women’s wear label based in Bali. Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the elegant resort wear brand flourished solely through the retail stores and a luxury shopping experience for the island tourists. The pandemic forced the closure of stores, and for survival, Lily Jean launched their online store. As a luxury brand, it was imperative that Lily Jean recreate a fluid, stress-free and trustworthy shopping experience. 

Along the customer online journey, seasonal ad campaigns and fresh content engage new and loyal customers, through social media, email newsletters, and website updates. Additionally, the absence of in-store associates elevates the need for stellar online customer service, to build consumer confidence and trust. As a result, the brand allowed for free returns and free shipping, and secure online transactions. 

Integrating these experiences together helps to provide a full picture of a customer’s journey while also adding value and simplicity to their interactions. After building and launching ad campaigns, and monitoring steady growth and success, Lily Jean reached an ROI for online sales of 1:8 ($ ad spend : $ sales). 

2. Understand Your Customers

Marketing teams must have a thorough understanding of their clients. This entails creating buyer personas and identifying target audiences based on their desires, needs, behaviors, demographics, interests, and goals.

Brands can evaluate and uncover trends in buyer preferences using accessible first-party data. Using the appropriate tools to collect, evaluate, and store this data will be beneficial. It becomes much easier to offer relevant marketing if you know who your consumers are.

Facebook business pages can be used to target high-potential consumers among the site’s 2.74 billion members. The targeting functionalities are elevated by allowing businesses to display their ads exactly where potential buyers are. 

Geotargeting is the practice of delivering content to a consumer, via mobile or web, using geographic location. At a basic level, a business can restrict its reach to consumers only located in a defined geographic area such as a state or a city. But taken a step further, geotargeting to a specific building location provides much deeper, more meaningful, and identifiable traits of the target audience. 

Geonet used geotargeting to help Fresh Faces Cosmetic Medicine in Perth attract new clients for their body contouring treatments. Geonet created geo-zones on gyms, yoga studios, and health clubs, knowing these locations are frequented by individuals who are interested in personal health and fitness, and potentially body contouring. When walking into those geo-zones, the individuals then received the ads from Fresh Faces Cosmetic Medicine. With geotargeting, you can create highly effective campaigns for precision-targeted audiences. 

3. Implement the Right Tools in Your Marketing Technology Stack

A marketing technology (MarTech) stack is the collection of technologies that marketers use to optimize and augment their marketing processes throughout the customer lifecycle. Marketing technologies are used to streamline internal collaboration, analyze the performance of marketing campaigns, and conduct personalized and proactive communication with customers.

After you have collected the essential customer characteristics, you need to identify the right tools and applications to connect with them. “The tools and software should be able to support the whole buyer’s experience,” says Arka. MarTech that Arka recommends and the Geonet utilizes are as follows:

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software (Pipedrive, HubSpot, Salesforce)
• Fully Integrated Customer Engagement Platform (Zendesk, Freshdesk, Helpscout)
• Marketing Automation Tools (Zapier, Adzooma, Marketo)
• Social Media Management Solutions (Later, Hootsuite, Mailchimp)
• Data Analytics Tools  (Google Analytics, Ahrefs, Tableau, Whatagraph)

4. Segment Your Target Audience

Customer segmentation is at the heart of effective marketing. If not carried out with enough detail, companies run the risk of becoming too broad in their targeting and turning potential customers away. The most commonly used customer segments are as follows:

• Demographic: These describe the outward-facing attributes of a person. For example, their age, gender, or marital status.  

• Behavioral: These tell you the actions they take. This could be their online shopping habits, the social media sites they visit, or what devices they use. 

• Psychographic: These give you clues into their wider perceptions, interests, and mindsets. Psychographic segmentation factors are slightly more difficult to identify than demographics because they are subjective. They are not data-focused and require research to uncover and understand.

• Geographics: These explain where your target market is located. This can be as expansive or narrow as you like, from continent to zip code.

5. Personalization

This is when you start putting your plans into action after building the groundwork in the previous four phases. Personalization plays a vital role in developing an omnichannel marketing strategy since it is what makes customers feel valued.

• Macro  – The scope of macro personalization is wide, identifying outlying factors that affect customer needs and wants. It is a vital step in identifying market segments, developing new products, and choosing your target market. This can include items such as current events, seasons, and population or demographic changes. For example,  real estate agents recognize shifts in specific age ranges will dictate the property types. An increasing population of 25-to-34-year olds will demand luxury apartments with modern amenities, while areas with a growing retired population will see a heightened need for assisted living facilities. Brands can personalize for target audiences by studying data and trends, such as keyword research and search volume, market research and relevant news articles, the “trending” subjects and hashtags on social media, as well as regular competitor analysis. Macro personalization and understanding your audience eliminates the assumptions and guesswork for predicting behaviors and needs. 

• Micro – Micro personalization is understanding your customer on a 1-on-1 level, which builds loyalty and client retention. Businesses that excel in personalization are able to anticipate, or even schedule, when a client will need to purchase or services. A very clear example of this is beauty salons, reaching out to regular clients for booking touch-ups or services on a timely basis. Consumer brands are also consistently promoting new features and products to their loyal fan bases, knowing what they have purchased in the past. Facebook uses micro personalization to build a Look-alike audience that helps you find clients who behave like your best converting customers. First, Facebook algorithms analyze the profiles of people who previously purchased your product or engaged with your paid ads, and then the platform searches other databases for new audience groups (look-alikes) that have a set of characteristics with your current clientele.

6. Develop That Personalized Experience Throughout All Platforms

This is where the “Omni” in omnichannel comes in. You must be present on the channels where your consumers spend the majority of their time and develop touchpoints that will better serve your buyers to deliver a consistent customer experience.

For example, Vision Body Australia launched an omnichannel marketing strategy to market their wireless EMS power bodysuit, first creating relatable content for market demands for maximizing at-home workouts during the Covid-19 pandemic. The power bodysuits carry a price tag of AUD 2,800, so not only must the content engage interest with buyers, but the entire customer journey must be tailored for personal goals, as well as a seamless experience from interest to purchase.  

Their omnichannel marketing strategy continues to the “cart” phase. This is where a customer shows intent to purchase by adding an item to their cart. At this stage, employing an omnichannel marketing strategy entails completing the entire buying process as well as expanding customer options. If a customer ends up with an abandoned cart, the retargeting ads will bring them back to the website and complete the purchase.

But, omnichannel marketing does not stop there. After the purchase, Vision Body engages in continued customer support as well as updated information on trends and fitness. Their clients are loyal followers and brand ambassadors. 

7. Measure and Optimize

Finally, after your framework has been set up and your omnichannel marketing campaign is underway, you must continuously monitor, measure, and optimize. This phase enables the marketing team to determine ways to enhance campaign spend, hone in on key messaging,  improve creative ads, advance your targeting. Your omnichannel marketing strategy will improve and evolve over time as you collect and analyze more customer data. Regular monitoring will allow you to know where you’re succeeding, as well as how to forecast and plan your marketing spend. A finely tuned omnichannel marketing strategy builds ROI and delivers by growing your customer database and cultivating sales through client retention. 

Connecting all customer experiences in a seamless, consistent, and effortless way is no easy undertaking. Omnichannel makes this possible by letting multiple channels that already exist work with each other to help the customer improve their own experience. And when customer satisfaction improves, word spreads rapidly among friends, family, and social media, encouraging people who were previously unaware of these opportunities to contact your business.

Lead generation in real estate marketing refers to the process of bringing potential buyers to your website or business and converting them into a client who relies on you for all of their real estate needs.

With the ever-expanding reach of digital marketing, we have narrowed down the top 4 real estate lead generation ideas that will help you win valuable real estate leads.

1. Paid and Organic Social Media

Over the last several years, social media channels have provided real estate agents with a platform for selling homes, interacting with other agents, and building connections with prospects in a more genuine and personal way. Facebook and Instagram are top 2 social media platforms that can help your business generate leads.

Both paid and organic social hugely complement each other. They are two sides of the same coin. Running ads with little to no activity on organic social channels does not encourage your potential clients to engage with your business in the long term. Whereas, if you don’t have any paid activity, your content will struggle to reach your target audience.

• Paid social media ads can be massively effective when done right. They allow you to directly target demographics and users that have shown interest in buying in your area. You can also create “lookalike” audiences that mirror your current targets to expand your reach even more.

• Organic social media content is essential because it allows you to build and maintain an online presence. Create content that showcases your personality, work ethic, current listings, and any upcoming activities, such as an open house. You should strive to come across as professional, approachable, and genuine. Before you realize it, your profile will be emerging and generating leads.

Paid social media ads have the ability to provide immediate results that are often worth paying for. Organic social, on the other hand, is a long-term cost-effective solution, but it requires effort. Ultimately, combining the benefits of each type of social will yield the best results.

2. Optimize Your Website

The first step toward real estate success is to have a website that can generate leads and convert them efficiently. With a strong lead-generation web marketing plan, you effectively expose your services to a bigger number of internet users and potential clients. Your website must be the foundation of that plan, and capable of converting leads into actual sales.

• Put up value-added real estate material.

Your audience will see you as an industry thought leader as you produce more value-based material, such as buyers and sellers guide, suburb insights, property prices, market updates, real estate tips, tricks and info. 

When it comes to content, the more value your material provides, the more likely you are to earn meaningful leads. Remember to include the keywords you wish to rank for. Keywords might be single words or phrases that you know your prospects are looking for.

• Optimize your website for search engines

According to the National Association of Realtors, 44% of all buyers search online for property listings as the first stage of their journey. Therefore, it is important for your business to get found online first before your competitors. Having a nicely designed website will not increase your Google ranking; you must also have valuable material that is effectively optimized for search engines.

The following elements should be included in a real estate SEO lead generating strategy:

• Local SEO with Google My Business
• High-quality content aimed at low-competition local keywords
• Website that is mobile-friendly and visible on all search engines
• Increasing domain authority and creating local backlinks

• PPC (Pay-per-click), most known as Google Ads

Google Ads lead generation for real estate agents is the most common approach, especially since nearly every customer will conduct an internet search first.

We can reach people with Google Ads while they are searching for something relevant and putting their query into the search box (Search Ads) or while they are reading other blogs and websites (Display Ads).

A good PPC campaign will rank your website at the top of the page for your targeted keywords, potentially bringing in a huge number of visitors. You may have to pay a small fee for each click, but if you’re utilizing PPC well, you can get new leads, drive revenue and achieve a solid ROI.

• Add a testimonial page to your site

Buying and selling a house is a big financial decision someone can make and trust plays a big role. Potential clients will read online testimonials and reviews before they get in touch with you. Testimonials may favorably impact your website visitors in the same way that they help build social proof for your social media accounts. Dedicate a section on your homepage to testimonials and reviews. Choose statements that showcase your unique traits as an agency and build trust.

3. Email Marketing is Not Dead

The impact of email marketing can do much more than just getting messages into inboxes. Email marketing may be 43 years old but it’s as strong as ever. Based on the survey from Hubspot, 78% of marketers have seen an increase in email engagement over the last 12 months.

Real estate newsletters are a tried-and-tested method of nurturing old clients. This is an effective way to keep your brand on top of their mind. Signature Dream Homes, one of Geonet’s Real Estate clients, utilised this method to engage with first home buyers who previously signed up for information and they generated 25 leads in less than 48 hours.

Follow these suggested patterns to ensure the success of your marketing strategy:

• Gather your top performing content from the month and use it in your email to showcase your industry expertise.
• Informative topics of interest should be shared.
• Highlight some of the best properties you’ve sold while also promoting current properties for sale.
• Remember to keep them connected to your brand by encouraging them to follow you on all of your platforms, which will reinforce your brand recognition.

4. Build Referral Partnerships

It is also one of the cheapest and easiest ways to grow your business. According to the National Association of Realtors, the average realtor received 17% of their business from referrals. That is a significant portion of total business that may be affected just through word-of-mouth marketing.

Forming connections with other businesses that serve potential buyers and sellers, such as mortgage brokers, lenders, contractors, and tradesmen is a fantastic approach to enhance your referral leads. Professionals in these industries benefit from recommendations as well, so you may help each other expand your businesses.

• Include your partners’ name and logo on your website, and link them to an appropriate place on their website.
• Describe the partnership in a short synopsis of how they support you or how they are involved in helping you work toward your mission. 
• Promote your partners’ program on your social media channels, and make sure you mention and tag them.

It is important to know that consistency is the key. Choose the strategies that are ideal for you and your real estate business, and then fine-tune them until they work like a well-oiled machine. To find out more about how Geonet can provide full-service digital marketing, contact us.

In this article, we will provide recommendations and tactics to successfully market your medical beauty clinic, build up your business and to reap the benefits of these trends.

Understand your business and profit

It is important to start the marketing process from the inside of your practice itself. The quality, integrity, and competence you provide to patients is the cornerstone of any excellent marketing campaign for beauty treatments. This will ultimately drive your marketing efforts and make people enthused about the treatments you’re offering.

Defining your business goals is the first step before beginning on a marketing campaign.

“Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are used by all successful businesses to assess performance, and medical beauty clinics are no exception.” Says Elissa Doyle, Project Manager and Content Director at Geonet.me. “KPIs will paint a clear picture of where there is profit and perhaps loss in your day-to-day operations. This allows you to determine what makes you the most money and what may potentially lose you money.”

Medical beauty clinics can and should take full advantage of sales KPIs to determine whether or not you will reach your sales goals.

Average Client Spend

Average client spend is about knowing your client base, how much they are willing to spend. and where you can maximize revenue. For example, premium services (fillers, thread lifts, body sculpting) can range in the thousands, while facials and IPL treatments are more affordable.

That way, you can find the right mix for your different audiences.

Client Retention

Client Retention is the percentage of existing customers that continue to use your services over a certain time period. It’s important that while you are working hard to attract clients, your team is nurturing existing clients by providing a positive client experience and creating a loyal client base.

Therapist Revenue Goals

It is essential to look at how your team members are performing and contributing to your revenue goals. Set weekly or monthly targets for each team member, in relation to hours worked as well as the salaries paid.

This will help you to maximize the earnings for each team member, which can be maximized through training sessions on new treatments, adding new skills, and educating them on upselling techniques.

Client Retention

Client retention is critical to the success of any marketing campaign. Studies have found that repeat or loyal clients not only spend more, but they are also easier to sell to. According to Stitch Labs research, recurring clients spend 120% more each year than new ones. 

There are several ways to keep your happy clients coming back to the clinic:

• Make sure the client receives a warm and welcoming experience every time they walk into the clinic, this can include using the first name basis and offering welcome refreshments.
• Create client loyalty programs that encourage repeat visits
• Reward your loyal clients with exclusive offers and thank you gifts
• This may seem trivial, but never underestimate the value of a simple thank you card, or a happy birthday and holiday card.  

Optimize The Benefit of Digital Marketing 

82% of patients interested in medical aesthetics will begin their search on the internet, so it is important to make full use of the tools the web has to offer.

But, where can you start?

Build a strong brand

To succeed, you must cut through the clutter, capture your target customer’s attention, and show why your clinic is the place to go to enhance their beauty. Creating a strong brand is the most effective method. Successful brands are built on three essential elements:

• Consistency: Customers will know what to expect from you if your branding is focused and consistent. In multichannel marketing, customers should see consistent visuals and messages across all platforms, whether it’s your website, social media, email, advertising, signage, or in-store experience.
• Community: With a well-defined and consistent brand experience, you will attract not just like-minded clients, but also followers within social networks, building a community around your brand.
• Content: Content is one of the vehicles to achieve your goals. With suggestive and aspirational content and visuals (for example, Before & After photos, top treatments etc) you can increase client engagement and frame how they will use your services to fulfill their needs or desires.

Build trust

Obviously, getting your patients to trust you will go straight to your bottom line. You can gain trust through social media. Showcase your expertise with before & after photos, bio posts on team members, training sessions and awards won.

It’s all about building trust so followers eventually feel confident to pick up the phone or book online.

According to a survey, 59 % of customers say personalization impacts their shopping decision. Your clients will expect a tailored, personalized experience at every level. This could start with a thorough, professional and free one-on-one consultation.

Not only does this help you tailor the best treatment, it also makes the client feel valued. Ensure that your team is well-versed in the services so that they can provide advice, answer questions, and conduct comprehensive consultations with your clients.

Increase Engagement Through Social Media

Celebrity culture and social media increasingly impact numerous aesthetic treatments trends, which frequently translate into patient desires. Have a strong and consistent presence across a range of platforms, so they can find you before they reach your competitors.

Social media can be used to reach and convert potential clients. Social media advertising is an effective approach to nurture leads and convert prospective clients into loyal ones. This is because, unlike any other advertising channel, social media allows you to engage and communicate with customers.

Facebook

Being the world’s largest social media site, Facebook provides access to an infinite pool of potential patients. You may showcase your services on Facebook, create an online following of actual clients, and launch paid advertising campaigns to generate appointments.

However, it is important to note that the medical beauty industry is heavily regulated by Facebook advertising guidelines. Some Facebook ad restrictions are as follows:

• Before and after images
• Zoomed in images focusing on certain body parts
• Sexually suggestive videos or images
• Nudity in ad creatives
• Misleading claims (e.g. weight loss)
• Implication of personal attributes (e.g. race, name or criminal record)
• Sale of prescription pharmaceuticals
• Over the-the-counter medicines

Instagram

According to surveys, 60% of users claim to find new products and services using Instagram, and 75% of them take action after seeing a brand’s post. Instagram is all about visuals. While you want to make sure that your brand is consistent, you also can use Instagram to give users something to expect from the clinic. Here are some post ideas for your clinic:

• Photos of you and your team
• Before and after photos of your clients
• The inside and out of your clinic
• Current promotions
• Lifestyle and educational posts

YouTube

When it comes to social media marketing for beauty clinics, YouTube does not appear to be the obvious choice. But, videos are the future, and you need to embrace them if you want to build your brand, your client base, and your social media engagement. 

According to statistics, YouTube has 2 billion active viewers on a daily basis in 2021. Creating and publishing unique video material on YouTube is an excellent method to increase your clinic’s visibility and reach new potential clients.

In general, there are 4 types of content that you can post on YouTube:

• Inspirational content: Post client’s transformational journey videos, with the clear narrative of before, during and after the treatment.
• Educational content: Give your viewers some tips and information about your services that can trigger your viewers’ desire to know more about you and your clinic.
• Promotional content: Showcase your current promotions and featured treatments. A good promotional video can really convert a potential client into a real one.
• Up close and personal content: This includes behind-the-scenes videos, live streams, Q&As with celebs and influencers. Intimacy and authenticity are the keys here, so do not worry if your videos are not polished or the lighting isn’t perfect.

Get found on Google

“If there is anything that is as important as social media in your digital marketing plan, it has to be Google,” says Doyle. “You need to ‘be seen and be found’ on Google by potential new clients. Because if they don’t see you, they will see your competitors instead.”

There are 3 main ways to boost your chances of being seen on Google:

Check your listing on Google My Business

Optimize your Google My Business account so both Google and potential clients can instantly see what treatments you offer, your opening hours, your location, your phone number and your website. You also can add some attractive photos to showcase your clinic, services and team, so potential new clients can see what to expect.

Encourage clients to write reviews on your profile. Remember that your brand is shaped by the people who experience it. Reviews that are posted on Google My Business will appear in searches and it is the first thing that most people are going to read.

Improve your rank using organic SEO.

According to statistics, 33% of us click on the first search result displayed by Google. Only 18% click on the second result. The traffic just gets worse from there.

Many business owners tend to think that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a fast and dirty fix. However, ranking high on Google, Bing, and YouTube is difficult and requires continuous work. Having a beautifully designed website alone will not boost your Google rank, you also need relevant information that is properly optimized for search engines. If not, your prospective clients will struggle to find you online.

One of Geonet’s clients, Fresh Faces Cosmetic Medicine, a leading cosmetic clinic in Perth, has experienced how powerful SEO is. This doctor-owned practice is now on the first page on Google for keywords related to their tear trough fillers, and collagen lip fillers. The result? The clinic increased the Average Client Spend by 61% over the past 6 months and total sales by 54%.

Pay to advertise with PPC

PPC or Pay Per Click is the process of buying keywords or phrases relevant to your business in a Paid Search platform such as Google AdWords or Bing Ads. Specific keywords and phrases can be used to target consumers using the search platforms.

Identifying the right keywords and listing them in a managed PPC campaign is essential to reaching new clients, driving revenue and achieving a solid ROI.

Develop a communications plan

All the above means nothing if you do not maintain the communication between you and your clients. It is critical to manage consumer expectations proactively by creating a pipeline of information and communications.

Direct channels of communication, such as email or SMS text marketing, can be extremely successful in bringing new and recurring patients to your clinic.

Here are some direct marketing ideas:

• Weekly or monthly update emails should be fun, engaging, educational, and build relationships. They may also include promotions and sales, but this should not be the main focus.
• Special messages for birthdays, anniversaries and more. This is a great way to build personal relationships with your clients. You can give them a special voucher on their birthday too!
• A simple follow-up after appointments. You can use email to ask for their feedback, and also provide the link to your social media platforms or Google page to leave you a review.
• A special limited time offer can encourage fast bookings and spread the word.
• Refer-a-friend programs can boost loyalty through referrals and recommendations. 

When it comes to successfully marketing your beauty business, it’s not a system where you can cherry-pick only a few platforms. Nowadays, you and your brand must be everywhere.

Our recommendations above are the start of an effective marketing plan, and all tools must work together like a well-oiled machine. To find out more about how Geonet can provide full-service digital marketing, contact us.

This has changed greatly from years ago when homebuyers would begin their journey of finding a home from a local newspaper or real estate brochures. 

Being the best real estate agent may not be enough these days. While you may be very knowledgeable in this field and your local market, another agent who has a more prominent online presence can potentially reach more clients before you. 

“The first step toward success in the real estate business is to build a website that helps to generate leads and convert them effectively,” says Chad Egan, CEO of Geonet, with a division specialized in digital marketing for real estate.

“With a powerful lead-generation online marketing strategy, like the ones we implement for our clients, you are essentially exposing your services to a larger number of internet users and potential clients. Your website must be the cornerstone of that strategy, and must be capable of converting these leads into actual sales.”

But, what makes a great website? The team at Geonet offers 8 recommendations for building successful, effective websites that have helped their real estate clients break sales records and become the leaders in their local markets.

1. Responsive design

Mobile and tablets are now the majority (51.3%) of internet usage worldwide, compared to desktop (48.7%), according to StatCounter Global Stats.

Your website must have responsive design components that make your site content available on any browser, platform, or device.

If your website is not mobile friendly, or if your visitors encounter slow loading times, a jumbled layout, or missing information, these issues make for a slow first impression.

Tidy up your mobile site so that consumers can quickly and easily access information about your company.

It is important to note that beginning in 2018, Google began to rank search results based on mobile sites rather than desktop ones, giving first-page preference to pages that are high quality and truly satisfy the demands of the majority of searchers.

2. Simple navigation

Most of the time, users frequently leave a website because they are frustrated by their inability to find what they are looking for. Navigation is a crucial part that cannot be denied when you are designing a website.

Follow the 3-click rule: Can users find what they need in 3 clicks or less?

Three is (unofficially) the optimal number of clicks that a user needs to find any content or information that they need. For more extensive researchers, users may delve deeper into your content, but the bottom line is, your clients love to have a quick, easy, and convenient browsing experience on your website.

Menu navigation helps users find content quickly.  It should be simple, but with so many website pages, it can be tough to choose where items should appear and where they fall in the level of importance. Do your best to prioritize. Fewer items in your navigation are good for visitors.

According to Orbit Media, seven navigation items are the optimum number to ensure search engine optimization (SEO) is aligned and usability best practices are met.

3. Lead capture

The days of paying hundreds of dollars to advertise your properties in local newspapers or put up billboards, and only to hope customers will call you, are dead and gone.  

Your website is your “online head office”. It is the first and most important place where potential clients can find you and get a first impression. If your website can interact with clients and collect contact information, these leads are quick, free, and warm.

However, many people are hesitant to give their email address or other personal information to a business they have only recently found. Struggling to convince them to fill out the form? Here are some tips:

Build with trust and useful information

Sellers and buyers usually have a couple of questions about the process of house selling/buying in their minds, and trust agents who can help them by offering knowledge and information.

Examples include local property insights, home values, or recent news or developments in the area.

Clear, effective calls-to-action

You’re probably familiar with the power of a call-to-action. Give your audience a reason to click that call-to-action by customizing it so that it tells them what they are getting.

For example, by using the “Book Your Viewing Now” or “Download Your Free eBook” button will hook your audience in and make the process as simple as possible – for you and for them.

Emphasis on the benefits of subscribing or signing up

You need to make it clear that the user is getting some direct benefit that outweighs the cost of submitting their information, like informative newsletters, current market news, and listing updates.

4. Featured listings

Featured Listings shine a spotlight on your best or newest listings by creating dedicated pages on your website. This can make navigating your site for recommendations or finding the best home or areas easier for your clients and website users. 

Create personalized hot sheets that highlight your most important listings. Utilize customized layouts to summarize and make important information quick and easy to read.

Keep this page constantly updated with new listings and best properties, and it will quickly become one of the most read pages on your site.

5. Search tools

Can you imagine YouTube without a search bar? It might still be reasonably functional, even without its search capabilities, but it certainly wouldn’t be user-friendly.

A search tool is one of many user-friendly features that the majority of visitors on your website go to when they are looking for their ideal real estate buying or selling opportunities.

According to Search Engine Journal, 40% of those who they surveyed said that search tools are more important than anything else on the website. Some visitors may be more knowledgeable than others when it comes to searching for a property, while others can be clueless as to where to start.

For example, for McLaren Real Estate, and Harcourts Purba Bali, the Geonet team designed high-end websites that showcase effective, user-friendly search bars within the top fold.

The homepages feature search bars that can be used to search the extended databases of properties easily by drop-down menus for areas, suburbs, home size, and even more advanced needs or features, such as price points or car spaces. Users can easily find what they are looking for, based on available listings. 

This small feature makes a big difference on your website. It can lower your website’s bounce rate, increase time on your site, and with helpful information that is easy to find, you can expect more inquiries and leads. 

It is important to state again the importance of a working search feature on your mobile site as well.

6. High-quality Images & video

A picture speaks a thousand words. According to Wall Street Journal, buyers spend 60% of their time looking at listing photos, and only 20% each on the listing description and agent description.

While well-written content is needed to communicate important information, images have the ability to stimulate the emotions of clients as most people easily connect with visual imagery. 

There is no doubt that having high-quality and professional photography and videos are an absolute must for any real estate agent. Nowadays, your prospective home buyers need to inspect your property inside and out.

Thus, you need to take them on a virtual tour, from the bedroom and bathroom, the common living areas, the garage, and even to the basement.

7. Testimonials

Never underestimate the power of words of mouth. “Reviews can make or break a deal,” says Egan. “Purchasing or selling a home is a life-changing step, home buyers want to see authentic reviews from happy clients and photos of happy customers. This builds trust in your agency.”  

Dedicate a section on your homepage to testimonials and reviews, where they displayed proudly for all to see. Don’t be shy about sharing these reviews on social media too. Choose statements that showcase your unique traits as an agency and build trust.

You may also request some of your happy clients to film video testimonials. “Take the extra step to document these moments with your clients, it can really go a long way for gaining future customers”, said Egan.

8. Useful resources

A real estate website should be a resource for existing and prospective clients to learn more about you and the services you provide.

Use your website, blog and social media channels to become a resource with valuable information, like the events you participate in, community involvement, as well as your personal background and qualifications.

These are some ways to get them to know you better and trust you. You also can provide links to your social media accounts to encourage quick and accessible conversations.

At Geonet, we produce highly functional and visually stunning websites, built with the latest software and content management platforms. You tell us your story, and we will bring it to life.