To sign up or not to sign up? That is the question.

March 31, 2010 | Posted by Carolyn Pikoulas
A big question we often hear from real estate professionals is, "How can I generate leads from my website?" This can be a bit tricky, especially when so many users are reluctant to give up their personal information. How do you know when the best time is for a point of conversion?

Except for shopping sites, most online users hate when asked to give up their personal information. They often see it as an inconvenience. They don't want to be inundated with a barrage of e-mail messages. Others just don't have the time to fill out a form. Unfortunately, these reasons can make it less likely that they'll return to your site again.

Many Realtors make the mistake of using their website only as a brochure, and not as a porthole for generating business. Their sites may be doing well in Search Engine Results and traffic, but if visitors aren't turning into leads the site hasn't really reached its potential. Every website must decide for itself when the best point is to ask a visitor for their name and e-mail.

One thing that every homebuyer wants is the ability to view property listings. As a best practice, we suggest allowing visitors to see the basic information about a property (a small photo, number of bedrooms and baths, square footage, and even location). If the visitor is interested in more details, they simply have to give up some information - usually their name and e-mail address.

What this does is weed out the serious buyers and sellers from the casual and curious ones. It also means that you won't be wasting your time when you do reach out to them. If you'd like more ideas on how you can generate leads from your website, talk to us today!