6 ways to FAIL at Internet Marketing

September 22, 2009 | Posted by Carolyn Pikoulas
According to the NAR, there are 4 big reasons why you need to pay more attention to online homebuyers:

1. They spend 32% more money
2. They earn 24% more money
3. When they're ready to buy, they take 2 weeks instead of 7 weeks to find a home
4. They will visit ½ as many homes (7 instead of 15)

So, how can Realtors turn these Internet prospects into real customers? Well, here are 6 ways to fail at it:

1. Spend 75% of your marketing budget on print ads and 15% on your website.
Print ads can cost thousands of dollars per month, so that's inevitably where the bulk of a marketing budget goes. Although there's virtually no [inexpensive] way to measure the effectiveness of a print campaign; it has very little ROI; and it's very brief in the hands of your audience, print advertisement is tangible. That's why so many companies still cling to it. You can see it, touch it, and hang it on your wall. On the other hand, SEO and web maintenance is a bit more behind-the-scenes. It's scary when you can't automatically see how you're money is being spent. However, the investment is well worth the effort because of the ability to measure and test what's working for your site over a period of time. Spending a fraction of your print budget on SEO and website maintenance is essential to a healthy marketing plan.

2. Shut off your Pay-Per-Click campaign. It just doesn't work.
The reason that Pay-Per-Click isn't working for most real estate professionals isn't Google's fault -- it's how it is being used. Some of the most common mistakes that real estate agents make include:

• Pointing ads to your home page - The home page of your website is not nearly focused enough to be able to convert that great traffic into leads.
• Bidding war - Being in the #1 advertiser position seldom pays off. At the top position you generally pay the most and often get the accidental clicker who doesn't take any action on your website.
• Stats - Take time to examine your Google Analytics. Find out what's working and what's not. If you notice that you're getting tons of visitors who click on your ad but are quick to leave your site, that means either your keyword isn't very effective or your landing page needs to correspond better with your ad.

3. Don't let anyone see your listings unless they give you they're name, phone, address, e-mail, pet's name, Social Security and date of birth.
This is one of the trickiest, most debated topics for Real Estate websites. Should you give consumers all the information they want for free? Or should you force them to give up all their info? It really depends on your goals for your website. If you need leads, it's probably best somewhere in the middle. Give them a little information up front, such as a listing's general description. If they want even more details, ask them to give up their e-mail address. Make sure that anything that is captured is stored in a database, for future targeted e-mail campaigns.

4. Treat a prospect like a date - if you respond to their inquiry too soon, you'll seem desperate and needy.
According to the NAR, 73% of homeowners list with the first agent they contact. Think of it like a race -- first one to respond wins the customer. Put yourself in your prospects shoes. Why do you go online searching for information? Usually, you are driven by a desire or a goal, and you're trying to find the best information in the shortest time possible. So, imagine how you would feel if you actually took the extra time to call or e-mail someone with a question and no one answers right away? You get annoyed, and you probably won't buy anything from that particular person.

5. Don't waste time with the cheapo prospects.
Studies have shown that people will return to places where they have favorable experiences. (Personally, I won't shop at Walmart, simply because of negative experiences I've had there). If, for instance, someone contacts you from your site asking about a home under $180,000 and you do not have one available, how would you respond? Unfortunately, some agents just do not respond at all. However, knowing that Internet customers are some of the most desirable, you may want to develop a relationship with this person, regardless of your inventory. Respond with something like: "Thank you very much for your inquiry. At the moment, my listings include luxury properties. However, I'd be more than happy to introduce you to my colleague, Joe Blow, who knows of several properties. Best wishes on your home search."

This is much better than an automated response and will show to your prospect that you're willing to go the extra mile. And maybe this person has a friend who's looking for a luxury property, helping you get referrals--the ultimate marketing tool.

6. Think short-term because your current clients are your one and only source of income.
Most online homebuyers search many months, even a whole year, in advance of being ready to make a decision. Nevertheless, they still want information now. Most agents, on the other hand, are only concerned with their current clients who are ready to buy or sell in 30 days. This can lead to much fluctuation in sales throughout the year. Why do most agents work this way? Because they don't have a good system in place to foster future prospects while they're busy working on the business at hand.

Your website is a long-term investment, as well. You can't "set it and forget it." A website needs to be constantly evolving to fit your current situation and the market, while staying updated with new information to keep visitors coming back. Experiment with call-to-actions to keep visitors interested. And almost everyone has a free newsletter, so think about other ways you can make your offer stand out from the crowd.

With the continuing growth of technology, the future is bright for those who reach out to the rapidly growing number of Internet consumers. The technology gap in the real estate industry is a great opportunity for you to edge out other agents in the competition for customers. When you take the time to make a connection with each and every prospect, you will naturally get the phone call when the prospect decides to make a move.