Website Design, Marketing and Inspiration Blog

My Mortgage or Real Estate Website isn't generating enough leads... Why?

September 23, 2016

From time to time we get comments from clients along the lines of 'I've had a website for a few months now but I don't receive any leads from it, why is this?'

Well let's help top try and shed some light on this. 

'If you build it they will come'

Unfortunately just like everything else in life it takes hard work for results to happen and the website on its own is just a starting point. Just having a websote will not guarantee you leads. 

There are a rash of what we'll call 'unsavoury companies' out there that pitch Mortgage and Real Estate agents with things like 'guaranteed leads', '#1 in search engines' etc. etc. and that is simply a far fetched scheme.

How could a company guarantee you actual leads or #1 placement in Google? Think about that for a second. We all go online and visit websites before we make a buying decision. You know as well as we do that nobody can force you to fill out a lead capture form if you don't want to. Guaranteed #1 results in Google is another one we hear from some amrketing companies and Google actually states that no company out there can guarantee a person #1 results in Google.

Bottom line is it's next to impossible to guarantee leads just because you have a website. That said there are ways to definitely help improve your odds of people finding you online and contacting you to learn more about what you have to offer.

Things to help your website start to generate leads

Here are a few items that can help you 'potentially' generate leads. We say 'potentially' because there are no guarantees when it comes to marketing although doing no marketing will ensure that you your lead potential drops dramatically.

The end goal is to try and get more targeted traffic coming to your website (i.e. more eyeballs on your site tends to equate to more leads)

Lead Generator #1:
Website Optimization: Also referred to as Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Google Rankings.

This is all about tweaking your website (onsite and offsite) so that it ranks higher in Google for specific keyword terms. 

An example keyword term might be 'Mississauga Mortgage Agent' or 'Vancouver BC Real Estate Agent'.

Keyword terms are words an end user might use to type into Google as they do searches. It's a well-known fact that the vast majority of people go online and do searches there before they make a buying decision. So this is why having a website is a must have item for any Mortgage or Real Estate agent or business anywhere. In today's market you need to have a website, no questions about it.

Now most mortgage and real estate agents get a website and stop there figuring that they pay a small monthly fee to host the website and magically teh website should just generate leads which is not the case. However with Website Optimization you can actually increase your websites chances of showing up in Google searches (i.e. 1st or 2nd page of Google) and as such this increases your chances of people actually clicking to go to your website.

Website Optimization is a more costly venture than just hostign your website.

Here at Roar Solutions we offer packages starting at $395/month (min 6 month commitment). You will find a wide price range when it comes to SEO so make sure to do your research.
 

Lead Generator #2:
Calls To Action - Highlighting Your Unique Value Proposition to People

Once people actually get to your website do you offer them easy ways to see what it is you do (i.e. what are your services, what do you specialize in), how you differ from your competition. As most agents are aware there are typically many mortgage and real estate agents they are battling within their local area. It's always an ongoing fight and it's always a tough batte to stand out from the competition.
 

Lead Generator #3:
Get active with your social media and post meaningful content regularly

Social media is another must-have item these days for any serious broker or agent. If you don't have social media channels set up for your business (I.e. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn) do so immediately. At Roar Solutions we offer managed social media services for Mortgage and Real Estate Agents whereby we can setup your social media accounts for you and also do educational and interesting posts for you each and every week thus helping you look up to date.

Many Mortgage and Real Estate agents find that during their busy days they don't have the time to do social postings and thus can be harmful. Today’s younger generations are more in tune with social media and are definitely looking to see what you're doing on these channels.

Lead Generator #4:
Client Testimonials - Social Reviews/Social Proof

As we all know when we are shopping around for a new car, or a new product we like to see what others have said about that item we wish to purchase before we go to actually purchase it.

Humans are swayed by others past experiences and opinions. So if you are not letting people see what others have said about your services (we're hoping people say good things) then you're missing out for sure.

It's critical that you keep adding client testimonials to your website and also ask your past and present clients to take a minute and give you a review on your social channels.

The Google Business reviews are very important as when you do searches online for a business, Google will typically show the end user reviews, the more reviews the better, assuming your past clients think your services have bene good.

You might need to entice your clients to give you a review (i.e. offer them a small gift card of say $10) These definitely help and the small amount you might be out of pocket for the review will typically come back to you later on 10 fold or more.
 

Lead Generator #5
Email Marketing

Email Marketing is a very cost effective solution for any mortgage or real estate professional. You can send your clients a monthly emailer for example in regards to a possible new service or maybe a client case study or for real estate agents that new listing or open house.

Email Marketing however does involve some setup time and you do need to get used to using Email Marketing software such as Mailchimp (www.mailchimp.com)
 

Lead Generator #6
Traditional Marketing

This encompasses things such as newspaper, radio, magazines and possibly even TV ads. While the trend is still towards digital marketing mixing in some traditional marketing can always be a good thing as well. People still do like to open mail and hold that in their hands.

Lead Generator #7
Word of Mouth

As always word of mouth is a great and powerful lead generating tool. Having others promote you for free is the pinnacle of marketing, it's free and clients you've worked with spread the word about you. As well people tend to place more value on a product or business if they've heard good things about it form a trusted friend or colleague.

...............................

Having a Realistic Marketing Budget

The biggest item we see is that most Mortgage and Real Estate agents don't have any monthly budget for marketing, they simply don't do any. They assume that they have a website they pay $20/month for and that should be enough and somehow generate leads for them. This is not how it works unfortunately. This would be the same as you opening up a brick and mortar store and never promoting it and just hoping people find it.

Every agent’s budget for marketing will be different depending on their income levels. For instance a newspaper ad that runs for a day or two could cost you $300 easily. Email Marketing might be $50/month, while Website Optimization might run $400/month. 

...............................

As you can see there are ways to help improve how your website works for you. Some are free items you can do on your own and some do involve paid services at times.

If you;d like to hear more by all means send us an email to support@roarsolutions.com