There’s been a lot of buzz recently in the real estate industry about the value of single property websites, or “microsites”. People have grown tired of large aggregators that list hundreds of properties for patrons to scroll through. It’s becoming harder and harder to stand out on these sites, everything has to fit into a template, and everything is built to keep home buyers scrolling onto the next property.

Contrast that with the focussed and well-curated attraction of an exclusive single property website and you begin to get some sense of why they’re taking the industry by storm.

We’re here to shed some light on whether or not single property websites actually help homes sell faster (or for more than the listing price).

4 Ways a Single Property Website Will Help Sell Homes

First, 2020 is expected to be the peak year for millennials buying houses, according to National Housing Forecast. Millennials accounted for almost half of the mortgages in 2019. For this market, you have to think digital first. After all, only 7% of buyers found their home via a yard sign. That’s an overwhelming vote for where to put your marketing budget and your energy.

Secondly, a single property website gives you the ability to really guide the viewing process for the buyer. You control every element; from which image they see first, to the template that showcases the property and as much detail as you think is appropriate. From floor plans to neighborhood news and even virtual staging of the property – a single property website offers a wealth of opportunities to convince the buyer that this is the right property for them.

Thirdly, when you are using a property website to sell your house it’s permanently on display so buyers can find preview your listing anytime. You don’t have to make sure the family will all be out on Sunday, or that the dog has gone to stay with a neighbor and all the other perils of a property showing. Once you’ve built your property website, it’s always available for the next set of interested buyers.

Finally, when you have a property with its own URL, and you are in control of all elements on display, it stands to reason that you are going to have better SEO (search engine optimization). Make sure the name of the property is prominently placed as well as the city, state, and name of the neighborhood where the property is listed. Using a single property website in tandem with your normal MLS listing and listing aggregator (Zillow, Trulia, etc.) will only help the reach that your property has online.

Check out this Folio Websites to learn more about SEO.

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What Does a “Typical Buyer” Look For

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) created a profile of a “typical buyer” and what they found was that ‘the typical buyer used a mobile device to search for properties online. S/he looked at websites with photos, home listings, and information about the home buying process. S/he then contacted an agent and visited a median of 10 homes over 10 weeks before purchasing a home.’

What that tells us is how vital it is that you are optimizing your single property websites for mobile devices. People will not get the full experience of what you are offering if it’s not mobile-friendly, and chances are that they won’t be back for a second look.

At the end of the day, there are so many factors that go into selling a home and it’s hard to pinpoint what is most important. It may be price, it may be location, it may be the quality of your real estate marketing. It’s too hard to nail down one specific factor.

But it is fair to say that the internet is the primary location for discovery of a new property, and if you use all the tools available on a single property website to showcase your listing, then your chances of the right people finding your listing, go up exponentially.

Over the years, PhotoUp has built up a wealth of knowledge and expertise in web design and building beautiful, functional websites. Get in touch today to find out what we can do for you.

So how do you make yours stand out from the rest? Check out these helpful tips.

1. Make sure your website has the Big 3.

Effective photography websites may differ in style and appearance. But they always feature three essential aspects—a comprehensive gallery, an about me/us page, and a contact me/us page. You may add other features, tabs, apps, and pages you deem necessary; but these three pages should be in your photography portfolio. They allow prospective clients to check out your work, find out more about you and get in touch with you.

2. Put your menu on the top or left side of the page.

In English and many other languages around the world, books, magazines and other forms of print are written with the words traveling from left to right across the page. When most of us read a book and reach the end of the line, our eyes go to the next line, starting at the left and going to the right again. The process is repeated until we reach the end of the page.

This is quite instinctive, and that instinct is something you can use to your advantage when designing your photography website. Place your menus and tabs at the left sidebar or the top of the page where people will instinctively look first and, therefore, where they will be most likely to click on them. Actually, menus aren’t the only items you can strategically place in these positions. Anything that you want your viewers to click and check out, from thumbnails to social media links, are best placed in these spots.

3. Make it easy for the viewer to navigate your site.

Website viewers love it when they can go around your website without any hassle or confusion. Thus, do a thorough check before publishing your website. Does the clickable tab, photo, or anchor text lead to the correct page? Is your text large enough to be read by everyone (old and young)? Does your text blend into the background? Can the viewer get to the information he wants in just one or two clicks? If you plan to upload a lot of photos, will you include thumbnails or a slideshow function to make it easier for the viewer to flip through the images?

4. Important content should be at the top.

What will be the first thing prospective clients see when they enter your website? We recommend highlighting your absolute best work! This way, your bestselling photos, articles, and important sections can be seen right away when viewers visit your website. In addition, when it comes to long text content, it would be best to break it into easy-to-read sub-sections. Anything to help your prospective clients navigate your site better and find your best work more easily will help you create the most effective website.

5. Include a blog.

A photography website with a lot of pages with little to no text is not enough to catapult you to success. You can write a caption on each of your photos or rely on your About Me page, but those are hard enough.

A better way to increase your search engine optimization (SEO) is to include a blog on your website. A blog provides variety and life to a photography website. Furthermore, both viewers and search engines view blog posts positively.

However, do not use your blog as an image portfolio; your gallery and About Me page will do that for you already. Rather, use it as a venue to tell stories, share new ideas and techniques, review new photographic technology, provide how-to tips, and more. The more you are able to provide high-quality, high-value content, the more traffic you will begin to see coming to your site and, in time, a more new business will begin knocking on your virtual door.

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6. Increase contrast by using a dark background.

As a rule of thumb, many images look better when viewed on a dark background such as black or midnight blue. That’s because there is more contrast in the images when viewed against a dark background than in a white or light-colored background. Contrast brings out colors, tones, hues, and vibrancy, which makes the photos more stunning and vivid.

If you decide on a dark background, add a dash of color using your blog, navigation text, sidebar, or any other feature. Colors add a touch of personality to your website.

7. Choose only your best photos.

It is quite tempting to display all the photos you love on your website. But uploading a lot of photos can slow down loading times and provide the viewer with too many options. The solution to this is to choose only the very best high-resolution photos. We recommend limiting each gallery to between 10 and 25 images. If your best photos don’t impress the viewer, they are unlikely to be wowed by simply providing them with more photos.

In addition, having a limited selection of your best photos also helps make your site more organized, structured, and defined.

8. Make sure your website is responsive.

In photography websites, the bigger the showcased images are, the more impressive they become. Thus, make sure your photos have a display resolution of at least 800 X 600 for maximum effectiveness. Create your portfolio to fit into those dimensions.

In addition, since millions are now using mobile devices to browse the internet, you should make sure your website is responsive. Responsive web design is an approach to create websites that enable optimal viewing and interaction experience across a large array of devices including desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and more. Responsive web design makes your site mobile friendly and allows pages and images to adapt to the device’s layout, reducing scrolling, panning, and resizing.

9. Organize your photos strategically.

Now that you have chosen your best photos, it is time to arrange them strategically. This works much like an essay or an advertisement; you place the strongest points first to attract attention.

Following the same principle, place your strongest and most promising photos on the first part of your slideshow or gallery. It is also a good idea to put excellent photos at the end as too to leave a lasting impression to the viewer.

10. Embed watermarks on your photos.

A watermark protects your work from those who want to copy them illegally. Embed them in a position that does not distract the viewer from looking at your image. Typically, watermarks are found in the corners of images (lower right, lower left, upper right, and upper left).

As a general rule, the bigger the watermark, the more difficult it will be to steal your photo. But make sure that it is not big enough to be distracting.

Some photographers even use watermarks as a part of their advertising strategy. Along with their logos, they place contact details such as phone numbers or e-mail addresses so that viewers will know how to contact them at a glance.

So, there you have it. These practical techniques will help you create a simple yet impressive, well-defined, and easy-to-use website. If you get lost in the website design process, just remember to KISS it—Keep It Simple and Straightforward.

How do you get more clients to book you for photography shoots? How do you find the people who need your services? Here are 8 simple and surefire ways to build a name for yourself and increase your number of clients.

1. Build your online portfolio.

Your online portfolio is your most powerful tool that showcases your skills and capabilities to your prospects. In today’s day and age, people begin searching for most any product or service online. Photography is no exception.

Keep digital copies of all projects that you were commissioned to do, and include your best work in your portfolio. If your work is featured in magazines, journals, books, and other publications make sure to add copies of those publications as well. Your portfolio improves your credibility and reputation as a professional photographer.

2. Establish a referral program.

Word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising! Having raving fans and core advocates promoting your business for you can have a tremendous positive impact on your bottom line. It should always be common practice to politely ask your clients to refer you to possible prospects.

In order to take this to the next level, create a referral program where referrers get freebies, discounts, or commissions. If you have done exceptional work for them in the past and the reward is great enough, your clients will be more than happy to refer to you in their networks.

3. Network with people related to the industry.

Establish and maintain connections with professionals who are in the photography industry such as real estate agents, event planners, fashion designers, writers, and more. They are excellent sources of leads, so ask them to refer prospects to you, and make sure you send them prospects in return. Shake hands, meet and mingle, and make sure to bring plenty of business cards! Networking events may not yield results immediately, but by planting seeds early, you will begin to see the return on your investment down the road.

4. Join photography communities/events.

Exhibits, photo walks, seminars, and workshops are excellent opportunities for you to meet potential clients, journalists, and other photographers. Socialize with them, compliment their work, and ask for advice. Make sure your website is up to date, and have business cards ready so you can give them out once people show interest in your work.

Many photographers assist one another on shoots and refer work to one another when they are already booked. Use these communities and events to get out there and get to know other active photographers in your area. It can be fun, and educational and can even lead to more work for you down the road.

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5. Update your website.

Your website is a massively powerful tool when it comes to marketing your business. As a small business owner who may work from home, think of your website as your storefront. Keep in mind that as a business, you want people to pay for your services. As such, your website should convince people why they should hire you over anyone else. The best way to do this is:

1. Show off your best, most compelling photos.
2. Tell your story, and post photos of yourself to build trust.
3. Include a “Call to Action”. Whether you put your pricing online or not is up to you, but what all photographers should do is make a compelling case to contact you for more information. So give them some details, but leave room for them to want and need to contact you.
4. Make it easy to get in touch. List your contact information and social media channels you are active on and respond quickly when people reach out.

6. Use social media to your advantage.

Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are effective tools for reaching your target market. But, before diving into every form of social media, figure out what social media platform your clients are using most. Maybe your clients are most active on Instagram or Pinterest and engage more when being able to like or pin some of your photos. Or, maybe you find it more beneficial to get a large following on Snapchat because your audience is interested in seeing what new projects you’re working on throughout the week.

Social media can be an amazing tool to help you improve and grow your business. But, be careful. Spending too much time on social media or trying to manage too many accounts can become cumbersome and take away from time from your normal day-to-day operations. Use social media wisely, and make sure that you are utilizing social media in a way that makes it a benefit for your business, not a burden.

7. Publish a blog.

Being positioned in the first part of a search engine results page can give you a better chance of getting more prospects. One effective way of doing that is to publish a blog. Write about your business, new service package, and stories that go along with your photos. It is also a good idea to include photography tips and advice. If your blog posts and photos are well done and provide real value, readers will tend to look up to you as a thought leader in your industry and therefore give you more credibility than your competition.

8. Interact.

People like it when service providers personally reply to their inquiries and calls. Interaction makes them feel secure, knowing that there is a person or a human team behind the brand. Prospects will more likely close the deal with you if you are able to reply to their initial inquiry within the first few hours. This being the case, always take time during your day to answer emails, messages, phone calls, and blog and social media comments in order to follow up with potential leads and current clients. Make sure to always follow up and give feedback after you have completed a project. A wise woman once said to me, “Your fortune is in your follow-up.”

What is the common denominator of all these 8 tips? Yes, you guessed it. It’s all about connecting with people and building relationships. Business, in general, is all about relationships and how you manage them. Find ways to provide true value to your clients and treat them with respect and honesty and the rest will take care of itself.