How to Effectively Market Your Home Online
With the advent of the Internet, more and more home buyers are turning to the web as their first source for finding a home. Here are some ways you, the seller, can tap into this market.
1. Work with a real estate professional who has an on-line presence. Not all real estate agents are the same when it comes to web savvy. If you are selecting an agent to list your property, find one who has a great website. Look at the way they present listings and see if it is easy to navigate and find properties. Will yours stand out?
2. If working with a real estate professional, ask him to make your property a featured property from time to time. A featured property usually shows up on the home page and gets the most visibility.
3. If you are selling the property yourself, or working with an agent who does not have his own website, use one of the many online listing websites available to list your property. Many online real estate sites, such as EscapeHomes.com and others, provide an easy way to get online presence without having your own website. Again, see if you can negotiate for some ‘featured property’ space.
4. More is better. The more web exposure you have, the more your property can be seen. Here are some websites for you and your agent to consider:
- Real Estate sites
- Local news & content sites
- Craigslist and similar classified sites (and don’t limit yourself to just your area)
- Other listings engines such as Google Base, Windows Live, Oodle, LiveDeal, etc.
5. Stand out from the crowd with your own site. Many agents are now creating websites dedicated to a property. Consider asking the agent to create a robust website for the property, or, if you are so inclined, do it yourself.
6. Use lots of pictures and virtual tours. The more pictures you can provide on the web, or even a virtual tour video, the more excited the potential buyers will be. Provide pictures in multiple seasons to show off the beauty of the area.
7. Promote the unique qualities of your home. Every house on the web starts to sound the same…when trite and hackneyed terms are used. Find the things that make you love your house and provide them to your agent to include in the description. Just one special feature can make the difference between your listing being passed over or viewed.
8. You get what you pay for. It doesn’t pay to be cheap when it comes to marketing on the Internet. The audience you reach is vaster than any other media, and therefore, pays for itself in the end. Go for quality and exposure, not price.