1. Complicated graphics or flash animations that take a long time to download turn people off & send them AWAY from your site 

Agents often spend the most money on features that are the least effective. Beautiful video with music can be very impressive when you first open a website - IF you have the bandwith to appreciate it. And IF you're not in a hurry to find the info you're looking for. And IF you have the patience to find the button that says, "Skip this Intro". Pass on the expensive bells and whistles, and focus on what people actually want: the ability to search for property info - quickly.

2.  Music that may not be to their taste can offend people

If you must have music, make sure that there's a (very visible!) way to turn the music off quickly if they choose to do so. There isn't a single type of music that everyone appreciates, and today, most people are likely to be listening to their own music. When a "blast" of loud music comes on from a website, they're likely to just leave the site rather than search for the "off" button.

3. Don't require a lot of personal information to search for properties

No one wants to give out their home address, phone number, blood type, mother's maiden name and social security number just to browse for available properties! (Ok, slight exaggeration there, but you get the point). Make it easy for clients to search for property data, because they know that if they can't find it on your site, they can find it elsewhere. If you want to capture client contact info, offer them something they'll WANT (like a "Neighborhood Guide" or a "Seller's Toolkit") & ask for their mailing address or e-mail address then. People are more likely to provide their contact information for something they really want.

4. Don't use a cheap digital photo of yourself

This is the fastest way I know to look unprofessional, and a mistake that A LOT of Realtors® make. Pay for a photo portrait (even a "K-Mart Special"!) that makes you look like you take yourself and your profession seriously. Wear the type of clothing you would wear if you were showing property to an important client. Have the photographer take a lot of shots. Take full-body, torso, and head & shoulders-type poses, and choose the best ones for your website.

5. NEVER show your e-mail address on your website

Spammers (& worse) skim the internet electronically looking for e-mail addresses. Use a "Contact Me" form for people to e-mail you instead. If you feel you must have your e-mail address on there, at least embed it in a graphic to foil the automatic programs that search the web for addresses to scam.

1. Make your site user-friendly

Make sure that the things people look for the most are easy to find: "Search for Properties", "Contact Me",  "Search the MLS", "How Much Can I Afford", etc. If you don't make it easy on them, they'll go elsewhere.

2. Be truthful

Don't present yourself as an "expert" or a "specialist" in a particular area unless you really are. Customers figure it out pretty quickly if you don't know what you're talking about.

3. Put yourself in their position

Imagine that you were searching for something that you wanted to invest a lot of money in - how would you want to have the information presented to you? For example, if you were car shopping,  would you want to use a website that was basically a salesperson's resume'? Doubt it! You'd want to look at what's available to buy, find out the price and the details. Once you've found something that you might want to purchase, then you'd want to be able to talk to a salesperson. Your website should let clients easily search for information, and then give them a way to contact you quickly when they have questions or need assistance.

4. Be available

Utilize your templatewebsite's text message feature to notify you immediately when a customer requests information from your website. NAR statistics show that prospective clients usually end up working with the first Realtor® that they have contact with. Today's internet shoppers don't want to wait hours or days to have an e-mail returned - they want answers right away!

5. Hire a reputable SEO company to optimize your website

Template websites have a lot of great built-in features for Search Engine Optimization, but if you're serious about bringing traffic to your website, you need to hire a company that specializes in SEO. It's a rapidly changing field with a lot of variables. Unless you're already an SEO expert and you're willing to put a lot of time into your website, (as well as your real estate business!) it makes more sense to hire someone just for SEO. I can recommend several reputable SEO companies that do very good work. Don't fall for the smooth operators that call you up and promise to put you on the first page of the Search Engines for less than $100. If it sounds too good to be true - it is!