Why Your Website Is the Most Important Hire Your Estate Agency Will Make

Is this you? Commission a new website. Sign it off. Press publish. Forget about it.

Too many estate agents fall into the trap of assuming a website is a ‘one and done’ project. A big financial splurge, then relax. This is a mistake. 

Your website is actually the hardest working member of your team. It might not wear a suit or shake hands with home movers but it grafts. It works 24/7, including Bank Holidays. It speaks to buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants before your negotiators get the chance. 

You pay your staff and probably incentivise them with commission. Now apply this mentality to your website. 

Estate agents need to invest in website performance to get the very best from this asset and that investment needs to be regular and ongoing.

Your Website Is Much More Than a Brochure

Cast aside the cliché that a website is your digital shopfront. It’s not just a showcase of available properties, nor is it a brochure people browse while sipping a cup of coffee.

It is those things but websites are playing a new role in marketing. Movers are seeking trust signals in an age where reputation management is critical (if you’ve ever read a Trip Advisor review or given one star on Google, you’re part of that system). 

Clients will check you out online. If your website isn’t delivering the information they want or it’s unclear how to get in touch, they’ll move on to the next agent without making contact. 

Let’s face it, why wouldn’t they? There’s so much choice. 

No one is going to write a Google review telling you how awful your website is but a lot of agents reading this will probably have anything, from a nagging feeling to a burning annoyance, that their website isn’t as good as it could be. What you might not be aware of is how regular, meaningful improvements could make a significant difference.

Every Marketing Channel Depends On Your Website 

Whether you spend money on SEO, Google Ads, Rightmove banners, email campaigns or even sponsorship of local events, the end goal is the same: send people to your website. 

Property is a ‘digital first’ customer journey. Your clients are engaging with your website before they physically contact you. Often, their research is outside of your office hours, so your website needs to do the heavy lifting on a round-the-clock basis. Whether they’ve come from a  Facebook post, a Google search after seeing a ‘for sale’ board or even ChatGPT, they’ll look to your website for:

• Evidence of a credible and established company
• A strong, recognisable brand
• Expertise in and knowledge of local areas
• Trust signals and social proof of exemplary customer service 
• Quick and easy ways to get in touch 

Websites Don’t Launch They Perform

The ‘launched and done’ mentality is pervasive. It’s fine to bask in the hype (and relief) around a new website but don’t assume the launch is the finish line. In many ways it’s the starting gun. Websites need regular content, maintenance and monitoring in order to perform. The investment in these areas doesn’t have to be huge. Consistency and regularity are what makes the difference.   

Make changes and monitor again. Not once, not twice but consistently, so your website evolves to always deliver the very best digital customer journey. At Superb Digital, our job is definitely not ‘one and done’, which is why our most successful clients are the ones who have been with us for years. Consistency and patience pays off.

Investment In Maintenance Is Not Admin It’s Revenue Protection

Websites, like staff, also get sick. Your website won’t complain or call in ill but it will, quietly, cost you instructions through absenteeism. How much? Potentially a loss of £30,000 in monthly revenue, maybe more.

Treat your website like your best performing employee. Invest in it and it will reward you. Neglect your website and things start slipping. 

Symptoms of a sick website include

• Broken links
• Broken plugins
• Broken forms
• Content that’s out of date
• Old digital branding that doesn’t reflect the physical manifestation
• Outdated messaging
• Pages that don’t display properly across all devices
• About us pages still showing ex staff

Potential clients won’t tell you the above. The only way you’ll know your website is sick is to monitor its performance, then create an estate agent website strategy full of remedies.

If an employee wasn’t upholding your brand values, delivering first-class customer service or looking after clients with kid gloves, you’d spot it, provide support and perhaps discipline them. Maybe even sack them. Your website is the same. Take action and manage its performance. 

Would You Hire Your Website If It Were A Person?

We’d argue that your website is your most important, easiest-to-manage team member. No NI or commission to pay. No annual leave. No diva-like demands.

You can’t, however, afford to carry dead weight. Your website needs to earn its place on your team by being a brand alley, a loud trust signal  and a channel people feel confident using when your branches are shut. 

If you set career development plans for your staff, why not create one for your website? Make an investment and monitor performance as you would an employee. Superb Digital can help set benchmarks and metrics so you actually know how good (or bad) your website is, so get in touch.