If you’ve got a career in real estate, you’ve got a website. At least you should Indeed, it is the rare business these days that is successful without a website.





But many realtors and other business owners (and, remember, you ARE a business owner) don’t spend the time it takes to keep their website fun and interesting. True, most realtors do spend time building their initial site, but then it seems to fall by the proverbial wayside, with realtors only logging on when they want to add a picture and description of a new listing.





But what the other kinds of things you can do to refresh your site? What should you post? And will those items/ideas bring you more traffic?





Consider the following.





Is your site mobile-friendly? 





While some folks may be searching for a realtor on their laptop, more often than not, you’ll likely be searched for on some sort of mobile device. Especially if someone sees your sign in front of a listing as they drive by and are prompted to look for your website to gather more info.





As a matter of fact, the National Association of Realtors did a survey last year with the help of Google. It determined that about 89 percent of all home shoppers use a mobile device to search for a home or to find a realtor during the home buying or selling processes.





That’s why it’s ultra-important to be sure that your website can be easily viewed and navigated on a mobile phone or other small devices. There’s nothing more frustrating than going to a website on your phone only to discover you can only see half the page or that the navigation doesn’t work correctly.





A website that is not mobile-friendly will cause you to lose potential clients. Rather than dealing with the limitations of your site, they’ll just move on to the next house…or realtor.





Do you blog? 





A blog – or weblog – is an essential part of your website, and it should include high-quality articles on subjects that interest you and are important to you and your past, present, and future clients. That means you’re not writing useless blogs containing high-search keywords simply to get the search engines to find you. You truly must write blogs that provide a service to the reader.





Blogs can be for buyers or sellers and can cover a bevy of topics like first-time homebuying, securing a mortgage, staging your home for sale, buying foreclosures, purchasing an investment property, and any number of other subjects, especially those that are particular to the region in which you practice real estate. For example, if you sell high-end homes, you’ll want to do a lot of blogs about luxury living and not necessarily about purchasing your first house on a VA loan.





Get the picture? Make it relevant, and they’ll read it





You can also link your blogs to your social media accounts and promote them on platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter. The more people they reach, the better





Use “Local” Keywords 





Speaking of targeting particular audiences, you’ll want to do that no matter what your forte, especially if you’re aiming to nab clients from a certain locale. This is done by the proper placement of “local keywords” on your site and perhaps in your blogs so that search engines can then identify them and place you near the top of the list when someone searches for that particular keyword.





For example, if your office is in Wilmington, North Carolina, you’ll want to be sure to include keywords such as Wilmington real estate, real estate agent in Wilmington, North Carolina real estate, home buying in Wilmington, home selling in Wilmington, Wilmington real estate listings, homes for sale in Wilmington, etc. You get the picture.





Be sure, however, to use them well. Don’t just place them in awkward spots on your website simply because you need them for the search engines to find you. Incorporate them into well-written paragraphs or blogs so that their use sounds natural. 





Keep it interesting 





Be sure that you make changes often to your website, especially the landing page. Visitors want to see something different when they come back a week later or a month later. That includes changing photos and descriptions of listings, highlighting your most recent blog with a short blurb on the homepage, and maybe even offering some local information such as upcoming events in your neighborhood. Become the go-to person for your region, and you’ll keep the visitors coming. 





Include testimonials from happy clients 





Those who arrive at your website are checking you out Seriously, they visit your site not only to look up a particular listing but to learn something about you as well. So, give them something to read.





While it’s fine to list all your credentials and awards, what potential clients really want to read about is the quality of service you provide, and how you interact with others. So, if you’ve received kudos from satisfied customers via a thank you note for a job-well-done, list the text from that note on your website along with the “name” of the client (i.e., Mr. and Mrs. A. of Ft. Lauderdale or John from Daytona Beach).





It’s okay to toot your own horn. That’s how you attract attention





Get help 





If all this website stuff scares you, hire some help. A website builder can put the pieces together, and a quality writer can help you with your blog or any other text you need.





Money invested in website building and maintenance is all money well-spent and might be the best thing you can do for your growing business.