5 Content Tips for Realtors

This image guarantees no click through to listing.

My husband and I are thinking of buying a place, so we’ve been casually browsing real estate listings online recently. I’ve previously designed and developed sites for a couple of realtors, but I didn’t maintain content. That task was up to the realtors who would add and update listings when needed. These five tips are for real estate agents who create and maintain content online. They’re based on a few common practices I’ve noticed in listings that could be improved.

1. Include Photos — Lots of Them

When I see the dreaded “No image available” picture, I simply do not click through to the listing. There’s lots of other competing listings that have photos and that’s where I spend my time. I also find that I spend less time on a listing when there’s only one photo. Take photos and include pictures of both the interior and exterior on every listing.

2. Take Neat Photos

Take a moment to straighten books, remove dishes from the sink and countertops, put away clothes and put the damn toilet seat down! Untidy houses are simply not as appealing as neat ones. You don’t need to dress the place up, simply take a few minutes to straighten up before taking a snapshot.

3. List the Address

Many people shop by neighbourhood. Include the street address or at the very least the postal code. One of the first things I do if a listing looks interesting is look up the location on Google Maps. If someone is very interested, they may drive by and take a look at the location on street level before booking a viewing appointment with the realtor. If I can’t discern where the listing is physically located, I click onto another one.

4. Pay Attention to Copy
   This breaks down into three recommendations:
   • Don’t Capitalize The First Letter Of Every Word In A Sentence. It’s annoying and it doesn’t read naturally.
   • Use spell check. People search listings by keyword. If your listing has “grante countertops” it’s not going to show up if I search for “granite.”
   • Don’t use acronyms that people outside of the real estate industry don’t understand. It took a Google search to find what, “Gb&E, C.A.C. and All Elfs” meant. Don’t force me away from the listing to understand it. If you must use abbreviations, at least provide a glossary.
5. Prioritize the Listing

Look, I’m glad you’re an award winning realtor (really, congrats!) but I’m on your site to see the house. Too many listings have more information about the person selling the home than the home itself. Basically all I need on the listing page is how to contact you for questions or to book a viewing. Beyond that, link to a bio page — don’t put your glamour shots or life history on every listing.

I know realtors who would reject my suggestions to include more photos and address. There’s an old school of thought that says giving up less details forces calls and leads. Maybe this was true at one time, but now people demand information. Think of it this way: if I’m impressed by photos and already like the neighbourhood it’s in, I’m a more interested and qualified buyer. It will take less effort on the realtor’s part to sell a place that a potential buyer already has interest in.

That’s it! Hopefully a few realtors stumble across these tips and find them helpful.

Tags: Content, copywriting, photography, realty

This entry was posted on Monday, July 21st, 2008 at 5:26 pm and is filed under Content. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.