Outdated Websites: Silent but Deadly for the Real Estate Service Industry.

Those in service industries – including the real estate business and its various professions – often make the common but serious mistake of believing that website presence is always an asset. But just because the Internet is relatively new and innovative, that doesn’t mean that every company or individual entrepreneur who launches a web site is going to be perceived as state-of-the-art or even professional. The fact is that many websites are just a high-tech means for totally undermining the reputations of their businesses, because a poorly maintained web site reflects badly on its owner.

Websites are Virtual Brick and Mortar Offices

If a construction company or home inspection business operates out of a shabby, dilapidated building, for example, that will not inspire consumer confidence and attract customers. Even if a real estate professional has a beautiful new building, potential clients will still judge it by other factors such as how many cars are in the parking lot, how the front office receptionist behaves, and where the offices happen to be located. When a great looking office is impossible to find, for instance, it is a commercial failure. Meanwhile if an office has an uninviting lobby or a negligent receptionist then potential customers may get a lousy first impression and then simply turn around and leave.

The same holds true for offices and business locations in cyberspace. While they are not made of brick and mortar they do convey the professional presence of the company and how a website looks, feels, and navigates speaks volumes. When the home page is vibrant and beautifully designed and structured, for example, it gives visitors the distinct impression that the business itself is also energetic, capable, and organized. The words on the page – and the subtle style they represent through the choice of the font, the size of the lettering, the colors, and the tone of the writing – all work together to give the web-based business a unique voice. If that voice is shrill, crude, loud, or confusing then web site visitors will not get such a warm reception. But if the site is informative, knowledgeable, easy to read and understand, and conveys its brand and message in an articulate way that is also friendly and helpful then that can do wonders to attract new clients.

Location, Location, Location

In the real estate business the first thing they teach you is that location is the key to success. Without that the value of a commercial property plummets, because proximity to potential customers is so important to the success of any business. If they can’t get to you then they’ll visit your competitors instead, and that is especially true if they have to pass the offices and storefronts of all your competitors en route to your place.

Similarly, you might have the most engaging and irresistible website of all but if nobody can find it then it won’t do you much good. Millions of really powerful and prominent web sites that were launched just a few years ago with great success, for instance, are now lost in oblivion because they did not adequately keep up with the evolution of search engine technology. Search engines are essentially the GPS devices of the Internet by which people find businesses. So if you do not have the right kind of search engine exposure and keep your web presence and accessibility constantly updated then your customers and potential clients will never find you.

Being outdated in terms of search engine technology and other elements of the website navigation process is like using an obsolete phone book, delivery address, or map. Trying to use a website that is old fashioned is kind of like driving down a dead end street, calling a number that has been disconnected and is no longer in service, or arriving at a destination on your map to discover that the place you were looking for has been torn down.

Professional Online Presence

Perhaps the most important aspect of image and brand is presence – that intangible attitude, sense of confidence, and professional identity that a person projects whenever they interact with a client. When it comes to websites the presence or ambience of the site is just as critical. That value is conveyed by how the site makes a visitor feel, how well it communicates, and how it responds to their needs as a consumer. Maintaining professional presence in the real world may mean crisp uniforms, well-maintained vehicles, sharp-looking signage, and a firm handshake.

But websites must also be totally squared-away and presentable. Otherwise they can do more harm than good for those who launch them and stake their hard-earned professional reputations on how they are perceived by online visitors. Put your best foot forward – and keep up with the times by constantly moving forward to say ahead of the technological curve. Every business in the 21st century needs a powerful website presence, and will the power of the web comes the responsibility to use it wisely and keep it fresh and innovative. Otherwise you can just as easily shoot yourself in the proverbial foot because your offline business is going to be defined by your online presence. Make it a potent, value-adding asset – not an outmoded and poorly presented liability.

Let HomeSite Insight™ supply your home inspection website today.