I'm newly licensed, and have been trying to think of ideas that will make my website stand out amongst all the established Realtor sites in my area.
So many of them have all the same information on them, ie mortgage calculators, hints for buyers and/or sellers, mistakes to avoid when buying or selling a home.....and on and on it goes.
That might be great for those who already have a large client base, but how does a new agent build a site to get noticed?

Yes there are many agent websites showing the same thing. But many of them never get looked at as the agents or their companies don't know anything about getting good placement on search engines. The most important feature I think is having some sort of IDX, but you also will need to blog either on your website or a separate blog pointing to your website. Don't focus on having it stand out. Focus on getting the most clicks and views. I'm sure there are agents out there spending big bucks on fabulous websites, but there is another agent out there with a free wordpress blog getting all the visits from potential clients. Then after that you have to work out a follow up plan. I repeat just having a website is not enough these days no matter how fancy it is. Plenty of threads on here about websites. Good luck.

Newly licensed and ready to set the real estate business on fire, I like enthusiasm - generally that is all the newbie brings to the table - well that and a list of friends and relatives they are sure to let know they have arrived.

So lets get started - so we know what how best to help you - let us know what research have you done on real estate websites already? Other words - what do you think you know;)

The time to have started this was before you started your re classes - but we'll get you there - just work at it a little each day - and spend the bulk of your time actually working in real estate and getting experience because you really don't know if you like this biz yet and pouring a lot of time and money in something you haven't proven yourself in or proven to yourself you like - is not a good idea.

Reading the threads in this forum on websites and research other avenues on information.

Answer our questions - get involved in the biz - and we'll help you as you're ready.

Good Luck on all fronts, and welcome to the forums!

btw - first bit of advice - from the main forum page look down the list of forums and you'll see several that deal with this.

to answer your question..do not build it yourself..

$500..gets you a killer fully customized site
from daknomarketing.com

or realestategeek.com
for 450

They can both build you a killer customized site,..
with awesome seo power..

realestatewebmasters are the best..but their site cost like $9,000

earn some checks first then upgrade later.

good luck.

$9000 for a website? For that price the website better be able to show houses and write contracts as well. No matter what you spend on a website it's only as good as the leads generated or how you follow up on those leads. If you get leads and take 2 days to respond you are wasting your money on the website.

realestatewebmaters sites are nice looking, but nah, I think I'll pass. lol. my site is butt-ugly but it works. why buy a porche when a honda does the job just as well...lol

I've been thinking about getting my site redone, so I checked out these two.

I think you mean www.dakno.com instead of daknomarketing.com. It looks like you have to host on their site for $50 per month in addition to the $548 set up fee. The sites do look good.

realestategeek.com is an agent's website, and it doesn't look that great. I did a google search and didn't find a web design firm with a similar name.

dakno..is amazing..and powerful seo..

check out this site they created for my competitor..who is dominating me in seo wwww.livingonthehudson.com/

out of the 50 or so terms we are compewting on
im on page 2 and hes #1 on page 1

so the other guys are...

http://www.realgeeks.com/

They own 2 spots..
on the first page of hawaii real estate
and the #1 spot for san diego real estate

these are unbelivable difficult to rank for..

check out..

hawaiis.com

and adrhi.com


not as pretty as dakno and hosting fees are more..

but they totall kill seo..powerful sites..

I've researched this for over a year..

these are best bang for buck..

honorable mention

realestatewebmasters $9,000

and realestatetomatoe $1500

but both outside my allocated budget right now..

And for those who don't have the $500 and $50 per month there are two providers of customized wordpress themes that are worth looking into. Thesis and Genesis. You can get a Theme for around $60 one time fee and host it yourself on BlueHost or HostGator for under $10 per month with a dedicated IP. Both of those have forums and a lot of support. You use their layout and upload your own pictures and articles. If you find a IDX provider you can add that to the website and you are off and running.

One problem with the templated real estate website providers is that the search engines see them as duplicate content. So unless you do a lot of customizing you are lost in a sea of sites that look exactly the same, and it's difficult to get the site to come up in peoples searches. If you are going to do a lot of customizing, why pay more? Customize a custom wordpress theme.

I just clicked on the realgeeks link and realized it is an old buddy Jeff Manson who I would totally endorse if you want to go that route.

Your pricing is a bit off Linden. REW is not 9k out of the box at all. I just got done with mine, on a fully loaded template with IDX as well as customizations, and it's under 4k. Real Geeks, Virtual Results, and REW have the best IDX in the space without a doubt.

When making my decision I chose to go with which platform had the best results. Who owns Sarasota? REW. Dallas Fort Worth? REW. They dominate, and for good reason. I'm not pitching them here, just giving out my experiences.

I started with a basic wordpress theme and IDX broker 6 months ago and got it ranking well without any money hardly so yes you still can make money on other platforms.

Perky you are right if what you have works for you then no sense in changing. Only thing to look at would possibly be your conversion rates on your current site and see if it is something to improve upon. If it isn't possible to increase that then no sense in changing.

My advice - while I really think Real Estate Webmasters are the top notch group - and yes - they even have specials on now and then where you can save even more - that is a commitment a newbie may put on hold and work towards.

For ease of use - Advanced Access use to be easy - and you could do anything you wanted with no limit on pages - just storage - but some things have changed but they are still the largest provider.

But not knowing the OP - my advice in general to someone brand new would be to put the big ticket items on hold until you find out if you and the real estate biz are a match - and then let your business pay for it - after you pay yourself.

A suggestion - if you have nothing - go ahead and buy a domain or 3, pay 5 years ahead for the one you know you can use and keep it descriptive and not personalized. Wherever you buy it - GoDaddy or Bluehost, etc. - create a website or blog website with the free services you get with that company. Chances are you are going to have to frame your brokers IDX anyway - and that will do fine if you use your wits. Your total costs will be minimal depending on specials and where you go - and you can start promoting it and getting your url seasoned before you pay out the bucks for a Cadillac site. This is good for the old timer as well as a newbie. Don't pay the big bucks site and a new domain if you don't have to, plan ahead and it will save you thousands or at least give your big buck site the best chance for a fast start when it goes live. Just transfer your now seasoned domain to your big bucks - and you're dollars ahead.

Sounds like the old FSBO argument..
Do it Yourself or Hire an expert..

depends on how you value your time and you wanna do that out the gate

here is some rough guidelines

wanna make..
100k better be doing $50 per hour work
200k better be doing $125 per hour work

Im not a web designer..so I use the fsbo argument on myself

I dont cut my own hair
Fix my own car
Do plumbing or electric..

Could I? of course..
home depot and lowes has awesome do it yourself books..

But again, whats my time worth per hour..
tinkering with websites..
or showing properties
listing appointments
calls...

and then there is the end result issue..right?
Does this site convert..is it functional..

Same advice I give fsbo's..

If its not your specialty..hire an expert
you will cost yourself more in the long run..
cheapest way..rarely if ever translate to best way..

if your site doesnt convert..you just wasted all the time and effort..we need sales..not hits..not visitors..

if that $500 investment will bring you back $5000
its a no brainer...

I spent weeks building my blog..long run cost me in MY hours value
over 10k..and it doesnt convert..into sales..lesson learned..for me..at least..

Wow - I would tell an new agent to forget about Google,

Pick out a FREE WordPress theme, host it - it'll be 10-20 dollars a month.

Ask what buyers and sellers are concerned about and generate content (video is best) that speaks to the implications of those concerns. Always using key words and good SEO practice.

Then drive as many people as you can to the blog and ask for comments. Ads, flyers, cards, feature sheets, social media.

As many eyes a possible on the blog.

When people engage - you capture and convert.

The more you repeat it - the greater the results.

By the time Google moves you to where people can find you ... you won't care.

All the best. ..... CanaDave

the fsbo approach? in this market?

as I tell fsbos...youre not seriously gonna try that yourself are you? Get expert help..

the return on zero will always be zero..

I vehemently disagree. My website and blog were not designed by professionals, they cost me only time to build them and they helped me gross almost six figures (after my broker split but before taxes).

The reason many new agents fail is that they RUN OUT OF MONEY spending it needlessly on everything that comes down the pike that they HAVE to have.

Nobody would pick my site to win any beauty or design contests but that's okay, even though it's ugly and not very polished looking it's still generating me enough leads to make a decent income.

And yes it took TIME but ANY site is going to take TIME. I got it ranking well fairly quickly from being a student of SEO from some ppl online who shared excellent info.

It didn't take me 4 years to generate income - by my 2nd full year though I was doing well.