Single Property Websites
One question that I receive from realtors on a steady basis is “Do single property websites work? And if so, which company do I hire to provide this service?” In my opinion, “yes” single property websites do work and can be a very effective marketing tool. It is a chance for realtors to separate themselves from their competition. It is an easy way for people driving by the home to obtain quick information. Home sellers and realtors can easily pass along a URL to potential customers during a conversation.
After explaining the benefits of utilizing single property websites, I am asked which service to use for creating this? There are so many sites out there today that specialize in creating websites for single properties. My simple answer is “NONE”. Why should you pay $30, $50, or even hundreds of dollars to a company to create a single property site? I’ll explain simple and effective ways to do this and save some money.
- Go to a domain name registration site (ie godaddy.com) and register the domain name with the address. A sample would be 2376 Fulmer Drive – register 2376fulmerdrive.com. My two recommendations here would be to register the .com and stay away from other extensions as they are not as popular and second, be sure to fully spell out names like street, lane, etc in the domain name.
- If you do not already have the home listed on a broker’s site, please create the entry. If you do not utilize your broker’s site and maintain a personal site, be sure to create a new page on your site with the detailed home information.
- When creating the new page for your listing, be sure to enter detailed meta data and keywords in the source code. Be sure to be as descriptive as possible on the home you are listing and be specific to this home only. Also be sure to update your page title to include the address of the property.
- Once you have this saved on the web, go to your GoDaddy.com Domain Manager page. Click the domain name, then click “Forwarding” from the top menu.
- Type in the full address to where the listing is located on the web.
- On the masking tab (if your brokerage allows it) you can mask the URL. This means that instead of reading something like http://www.bigbrokerage.com/mylisting, after it is forwarded, it will read the domain name you purchased. Please be sure to check with you brokerage to see if domain masking is approved.
- Also on the masking, you have the option to enter a Masked Title, Masked Description Meta Tag, and Masked Keyword Meta Tag. This should provide for added SEO. Be sure to click “OK” when completed.
Now you are all set to have your own single property website without spending additional funds. Granted, the cost for the domain name is $8.95/yr (discounts available on more registrations), but it is a lot cheaper than some of the costs companies are charging.
If you are a home seller trying to sell your home on your own, list your property on a real estate site such as zillow.com, then register your address as domain name, then forward it to the listing page on zillow.com. I’m sure Zillow would not allow the masking portion of the forward, but I’m sure they would welcome the additional web traffic.
Single Property Websites « LivePads1 | Real Estate Resources
Posted at 10:21h, 24 January[…] I recently wrote an article for GeekEstateBlog.com. The article talks about the effectivenss of single property websites and how to set one up on your own. Click here to view the entire article. […]
Brian W. Baxter
Posted at 13:37h, 24 JanuaryDennis,
I think you are over-estimating the technical savvy of 95% of real estate agents.
No offence to anyone, but real estate agents typically excel at creating and building relationships, understanding sales techniques, legal issues, etc.
When you start talking about meta data, changing source code, and domain masking, a typical real estate agents eyes will glaze over.
In my opinion, realtors are more than willing to pay the small premium to have the technical details taken care of for them when building a single property website… particularly if it will save them time.
For example, in Canada, we offer a web-based single property website service called UniqueHomeSites.com, which takes care of all these details, and more.
Agents can easily build a single property website using our step-by-step site building wizard.
Each site includes automated Google mapping and school locator, integrated YouTube and Google Video support, automated domain name registration, web hosting for one year, a choice of templates, etc…. all for as low as $49 per site.
This reminds me of a Simpson’s episode, where Homer’s weight problem actually saves the nuclear power plant from a meltdown and his boss (Mr. Burn’s) promises him a favour in return.
(Note: Mr. Burns represents the Realtor and Homer represents technology)
Mr. Burns: Now Homer, if there’s anything else I can do for you…please don’t hesitate to ask.
Homer: [gazing at Marge before answering]
Mr. Burns, can you make me thin again?
Mr. Burns: I guarantee it.
Cut to the exercise yard at night. Mr. Burns is leading a chant while Homer tries to do sit-ups.
Burns: One…ONE….ONE! [Homer struggles to do one situp.]
Bah, I’ll just pay for the blasted liposuction!
Homer: Woo hoo!
Kurtis Holsapple
Posted at 14:08h, 26 JanuaryI agree with Brian. Working with agents on a day to day basis, they come to me with questions varying from how to edit the CSS code to give more width to their blogs, or how to put a gradient on a flyer. Really, the tech-savvyness of each Realtor is diverse, this might be a great money saver for the techy agent, but chances are the hour that they spend doing the steps listed here are probably better spent elsewhere (unless they can have their assistant do it, but I have never seen a truly tech savvy RE assistant, at least not in the offices I work in).
Unlike many other Single Property Website services out there, the development team for PlugMyListing.com did some research and came up with a one stop place to take care of all your needs. Not only is it a system for creating single property websites, but it also does your listing syndication, PDF flyer creation, email campains and more. And, unlike other sites that you pay one by one, we are a subscription site (because we all know that these are automated systems, not manually created) because for the most part, upkeep and small admin fees are all that needs to be paid.
I’m not trying to bash other systems, as there are some great Real Estate tools out there, but I don’t think that the average agent wants to spend the time creating everything from scratch, when there are so many systems out there ready and waiting for agents to use. Just ask yourself, what is more valuable in the long run, your time or your money?
Breckenridge Realtor
Posted at 18:31h, 26 JanuaryI have made single property websites before with over 30 photos and few videos. I managed to sell a property site unseen and that was very good. The only problem I see lately is lack of short easy domains that one can buy to accomplish such a task. Long domain names with dashes are just too much in my opinion.
GoRealESite
Posted at 06:31h, 13 NovemberWhile having long urls like http://www.3729-Luxury-Lane-Dr is a pain in the butt to type.
There is something very special when clients log on to a website with the property name as the url. The best option to counter act the long urls is to use html links within descriptions as this would avoid anyone every having to type out the full url.
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Dave Vogt
Posted at 20:24h, 19 MayI think what Dennis point was to show how inexpensive this can really be. In his example he even skirts the hosting costs and only has to pay for the domain registration which is brilliant!
Last year when my partner received her real estate license I did a similar process. I paid for the hosting monthly and put up her personal website using WordPress. When we saw that less than 20% of agents used single property websites I decided to find out a way around paying the high fees of companies that have been shared in the previous comments.
I was already paying for hosting at $8/month so I registered my first single property website through namecheap because it came with a free who is guard (stops spam) for $12 and if you get the discount code it’s often less.
To make a long story short you don’t have to be technical to build these sites on platforms like WordPress which we used. I put together a step by step video tutorial on how to create a single property websites in around an hour with practice that are mobile friendly, designed to capture leads, promote your brand and get the phone ringing with a click to call feature on mobile. It took me a while to get something that was dead simple and really mobile friendly because I felt that was a big part of what made it effective for drive by’s.
I put it all together and I sell it for $47 at http://www.site2sold.com. It’s a one time investment and you can build as many sites as you want once you learn how easy these sites are to create. No offence, but that’s the price of one site for many of the companies that promote and sell site for this purpose.
If your an agent and your not using single property websites you are missing out. It has been a big part of the success we have seen and it only continues to get better the more you use them.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 21:00h, 19 MayDave, I’ll let this one stay. But no more promoting your own services in comments.
Dave Vogt
Posted at 21:51h, 19 MayNo worries…if anyone sees this on GeekEstates and they want to start building sites I will let them have access to my training for free…I want to see agents put this to good use. Just email me at [email protected] and mention Geek Estates so I can grant access.
Hope that works for you Drew. You and everyone here always give lots of free advice and I have learned a lot from reading your site. So this would be my way of paying it forward.
Christopher Valianti
Posted at 14:28h, 19 JanuaryThis all sounds good, however how do you drive traffic to the single property website without spending a lot of money on SEO?
GoRealESite
Posted at 06:21h, 13 NovemberGood question,
Assuming you manage to do the SEO property on the site, alt text, images, speed test, etc. The next three things that we would highly recommend:
1. Linking your website through html on sites like zillow, trulia, and your mls.
2. Social Media, getting people to share your property.
3. Video SEO, to geo-target a specific area.
Its pretty vague but there are plenty of resources out there to help you get started. If you like, you can give us a call and we can answer any questions you might have regarding SEO or single property websites 813-618-7222.
Have a wonderful afternoon Mr. Valianti.
Modobay, Inc.
Posted at 16:23h, 16 AugustHi Drew, we just launched our website Modobay.com and we’d like you to check it out and give it a review. We allow users to create single property websites for free. Along with our website builder, we allow users to create virtual tours as well. Hope to hear from you soon!
Christian Thompson
Posted at 12:09h, 25 AprilMy takeaway from this article is how to create a single property website at the lowest cost possible. If your tech savvy, then you can pull this off. If your not, then you will need professional assistance. But, before you do any of this you should first evaluate whether it makes sense to create a single property website. To do this you need to answer a few questions. Where are your leads are coming from? What is the price point of the house? Will it impress your client as well as prospective buyers and sellers?
For example, if the price point of your listings is $250,000 and your buyer leads are coming from your city, county, or metro area, then a single property website does not make sense. Your client will be far more interested in whether you have the property in the MLS, on Zillow, and more conventional marketing methods.
But, if your listing is more of a luxury property such as a $3,000,000 home on Lake Tahoe, or Miami. Then, your potential leads will be coming from other parts of the country or the world. Then, it make more sense to create a professional single property website that acts like a high end web presentation. But, this costs money. But, the listing warrants a larger marketing budget with some unique marketing tools that will impress your seller as well as prospective buyers and sellers. In my opinion there is no way to do this right cheaply. In my opinion you get what you pay for. Whats more a company that can provide lead response as well as good SEO will be far more effective.