It’s hard to deny that the giant real estate portals are doing more than simply holding their own when it comes to branding and attracting Web traffic to their sites. They attract the lion’s share of real estate traffic, and typically have bigger advertising budgets and deeper pockets for building brand awareness than the typical real estate firm. But there’s at least one area where brokers and their agents have an advantage—if they choose to seize it: local content. Brokers and agents know their local communities far better than portals ever can, and need to communicate that knowledge via strong content strategies that will bring customers to their sites, keep them coming back, and — most importantly — convert them into customers.
Keeping it Fresh and Local
You know your neighborhood. The portals, on the other hand, are trying to cover every neighborhood, and typically lack the local expertise to do this effectively.
“We’ve seen agents and brokers stand apart from portals in this. The more they update their content through blog posts, Facebook or tweets, it will drive consumers back to look at what’s new. Someone that’s curating an agent site at a local level can provide more specific info,” says Andy Woolley, vice president at Homes.com.
But, creating effective content isn’t a “one and done” prospect, in which you create it and leave it for perpetuity. It needs to stay fresh.
“It requires constantly updating [your content], refreshing it, reflecting your branding,” says Curt Beardsley, vice president of customer and industry relations at realtor.com®.
