|
Problem
Area
|
Bad
Mojo - Problem Description
|
Note
-
What is Affected ?
|
|
#1
Error of Omission
|
Non-Payment
You didn't pay your hosting bill - through negligence,
overdraw, bounced check - it doesn't matter. Make sure that
your ISP host never drops you for nonpayment, no matter how
it occurs.
Continuity is a big thing here.
|
You can't be found, perhaps for
months, if the spiders visit, and you aren't there! The
major search engines will have to reindex you - a lengthy
process, which you can't afford.
|
|
Errors
of Omission
|
Skip Intro
No "Skip Intro" button to avoid the lengthy download of your
clever Flash introduction - which impedes the visitor's
progress to his/her goal.
|
Visitor leaves.
|
|
Agent Photograph
No agent photo. Realty is a face-to-face business. A photo
is expected in a real estate site - it is the norm. Many
people can tell instantly if they have an affinity for the
person in the photo. Some prefer glitzy marketing types -
others do not (me, an old marketer myself, for one). I
prefer the down-home, regular type of person image. I want
someone who I can relate to - not someone who is just going
to look good, and run me through the process ASAP, for their
6% cut. I prefer honest and frumpy, as opposed to dazzling
and deceptive.
|
Visitor leaves.
No "feel" for Realtor.
A prospective buyer may feel more comfortable with a Realtor
of similar background and/or extraction. Some prefer a male,
some a female. Save time - don't make them guess.
|
|
Navigation
Poor navigation - No site map. Why make people struggle for
the link that they want ? What is intuitive to you, may not
be intuitive to your visitor.
|
Visitor leaves.
|
|
Address
No address, missing ZIP code, missing Ave., St., Blvd. You
are a Realtor®. Such omissions may imply a lack of
attention to detail, not what people expect from a
Realtor®. I have even seen missing name, as well as
missing contact info of any kind.
|
Loss of Confidence
|
|
top
of page
|
|
Don't
Try Be Too Clever - Simplicity is always best
|
Movement
No screen movement, period. Graphics designers love to make
things wiggle, flash, rotate, etc. Visitors hate this when
they are trying to actually read your content - I just leave
- quickly - never to return. Do not annoy your visitor.
(This is a personal pet peeve of mine. You may disagree.)
|
Lost visitor
Remove the hurdle
Example
of Bad Page
|
|
No horizontally scrolling "ticker tapes" - they are a
continuous distraction which drives visitors away.
|
This is a great example of, "Just because something can
be done, does not mean that it should be done".
|
|
Flash
No Flash - Not everybody has a cable modem. When a new
surfer visits, the first thing you do is place a barrier
between the surfer, and what he/she really wants to see?
Maybe not the best thing to do. Driven mostly by designer/
site owner ego.
The search engines, including Google, still have trouble
indexing Flash sites.
|
Lost visitor
Remove the hurdle.
|
|
Log In
Do not require user name/ password login. Why require a new
visitor to jump through hoops? After a relationship is
developed perhaps, but never initially.
|
Gone! Instantly.
Remove the hurdle.
|
|
Bottom Clutter
Tons of clutter at the bottom of the page dilutes your page,
obscures your message, and degrades your relevance. And I'm
not sure about the value of a "forest" of attractive, but
unexplained icon "badges", which mean little to your average
visitor. ("If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, then
baffle them with bullspit".) I don't know, just a thought.
At some point though, maybe around 12 or so, it starts
looking pretty spammy. Absolutely DO, however, make sure to
display your REALTOR® logo, CRS logo, and GRI logo, if
you are entitled to - many Realtors® don't! Beyond these
3, it becomes a matter of taste, and distraction.
It is also important not to have all those "me-too links" to
totally unrelated subjects, from an SEO perspective. You
lose relevancy when you do this, and you will rank lower
than those who do not, all other things being equal.
|
Unnecessary confusion
Degrades SERP position
Remove the fluff.
|
|
Java
Excessive reliance on Java Scripting - many turn Java off
for various reasons - this "breaks" your page.
|
Use HTML throughout.
|
|
top
of page
|
|
Graphics
Errors
|
Huge Files
Do not use huge graphics files (.jpgs, .gifs) on your home
page. Your home page must load quickly, or your visitor will
leave. Not everyone has a cable modem.
|
Your index page must load quickly!
|
|
Screen Contrast
Make sure that there is substantial contrast between your
text and the background. Some pages are extremely difficult
to read. Remember also that no two browsers render colors
equally - sufficient contrast on one browser may be
inadequate in others. I do not understand why so many
designers use Light Gray Text on a
white background. Personally, I won't even try to
read it - it hurts my eyes.
|
Can't read it -
Visitor leaves
|
|
Text
Do not present your name, phone number, or address as a
graphic (.jpeg, .gif). Search engines cannot read graphics
files, which means the information that is presented that
way cannot be indexed, searched for, or found, unless it
occurs elsewhere as TEXT, which is what you want.
|
Any writing you want to be found on the internet must be
in TEXT format.
|
|
top
of page
|
|
Lack
of Focus
|
Realtor Focus
Don't try to be a portal - everything to everybody - movies,
weather, night life, etc. You are a Realtor, with a specific
purpose, not the chamber of commerce.
Your visitor is focused, and you should be too.
|
Confusion, distraction
Visitor wanders off.
Poor SERP position due to keyword dilution.
|
|
Address
Where is your address? Why is it totally absent? This is
very common. Why would a Realtor hide their address?
|
May be perceived as a fly-by-night operation. Where are
the bricks and mortar? No office? Snake oil? Too many people
piffed off?
|
|
Where is your address? Why must I go to another "contact"
page. Everyone expects to see it on the front page. Why are
you hiding it?
|
First page -
Name
Phone Number
Address (showroom, mailing, PO Box - anything, is better
than nothing).
|
|
top
of page
|
|
Inadequate
Updating
|
Switching
Many Realtors switch companies, but fail to update their web
pages in a timely fashion..
|
Realtor ship-jumping and jersey-changing can instill a
lack of confidence. Ameliorate this effect by updating your
webpage promptly.
|
|
Dated Material
Copyright 2001 does not look good. Perception is reality.
Update your pages regularly.
|
Place the current year (2006) on your site, as a
minimum.
|
|
top
of page
|
|
SEO
-
What's Your Position
|
Search Engine Optimization
A skilled SEO web designer with minimal graphics skills may
be far more valuable to you,
than the greatest graphics designer in the world with little
web optimization knowledge. Your web site may look utterly
fantastic, but may seldom be seen in web searches.
What search terms do you wish to be found for? For instance,
let's say - Denver Realtor. When you type this phrase into
Google, what results page do you come up on? Page 1?
Excellent! - Page 2? Pretty good.
If it is page 3 and beyond, your site will be seen by
precious few prospective buyers and sellers. You can employ
a search engine optimization (SEO) expert, to get you on
page 1, preferably in the first, second or third position -
but page 1 will do (top ten).
THIS will make all the difference in the world to the volume
of prospects your receive.
|
Your
site must be FOUND!
|
|
Or,
you must PAY
|
If your site does not appear high in the natural
(organic) Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), then your
only other option is to pay for advertising, typically PPC
(Pay-Per-Click). Google Ad Words and Yahoo Search Marketing
are your two best current options, IMHO.
|
Even though you pay, and get lots of eyes, keep in mind
that a poorly designed site still may not instill
confidence.
|
|
top
of page
|
