Calls to action

WebCubic (visit www.webcubic.com) recommends a focus on offers with compelling value to convert website visitors into leads. More than simple lead generation, real estate websites must enable rapid lead generation.

First consider the question, "how many visitors does it take to get one lead?" A typical conversion is roughly 200:1. With reasonably good website design this can be improved to 50:1. However, 30:1 is a better objective.

Conversion comes from on page conversion optimization. Most people have heard of Search Engine Optimization. Some experts have named "offers with compelling value" to be "on page conversion optimization".

The call to action is critical. What features can attract or distract the viewer from your objectives?

Here are some "on page factors" that may increase or decrease conversion:

• Ask them to sign up (make your call to action clear)
• A "Johnson Box" (these are tabled boxes that break up your body copy)
• Color can attract or distract
• Too many buttons
• Animation
• Offer placement. Where are you placing your "calls to action"?
• Variety of "calls to action"
• Frequency of your "calls to action"

These are just a few of the attributes that may help your lead count to go way up.

Choosing a website designer

The real estate professional has many choices when selecting a website designer. Much will depend upon affordability. Here are a couple of basic criteria when making this selection.

Make sure the website developer specializes in real estate

Be sure to choose a professional web design company. Do NOT select friends, relatives, next door neighbors who will provide you with a low cost opportunity. They likely cannot serve your professional needs.

For a full report, go to www.webcubic.com/website.html and fill out the form.

Housing uncertainties

In a recent article regarding the future of the housing market, the author said that if you expect to keep the home for at least four or five years, there's more risk to staying out of the market than getting in.

Firefox

Recent reports indicate that Mozilla Firefox usage has increased by 3 percent since April. this means that Firefox is now being used by 11.5 percent of Internet users. Of course, Internet Explore remains the most popular web browser - over 85 percent of Internet users use IE.

In the US, Firefox is used by over 14 percent of Internet users, and in Canada it is used by 17 percent of Internet users. In the UK, Firefox is used by only 5 percent of Internet users.

We found that 15 percent of our visitors to our website at www.webcubic.com use Firefox and 82 percent use IE.

Browsers other than Internet Explorer and Firefox have much fewer users and are statistically insignificant.

WebCubic's websites are compatible with Internet Explorer and Firefox. For more information on real estate websites, please visit www.webcubic.com.

Colors

WebCubic websites offer many design and color options. For each of the design styles, there are at least ten color combinations. We suggest that the primary decision be the design style. But colors also influence the impact of the website itself by what the colors themselves convey. If you select the right colors, you will be perceived as professional, the site will be easier to read, you will convey action, and so forth. If you make the wrong choice, your site will be difficult to read, portrayed as negative, and so forth.

Here are some perceptions of color. We show the positive perceptions on the first row and the negative perceptions below that.

Red: Power, strength, action, passion
Anger, impatience, intimidation

Yellow: Cautious, bright, intelligent, joy
Critical, lazy

Blue: Acceptance, patience, understanding, cooperation, comfort, loyalty, security
Fear, cold, passive, depression

Orange: Steadfast, courage, confidence, friendliness, cheerfulness, warmth, excitement, energy
Ignorance, inferiority, sluggish

Purple: Royalty, sophistication
Foreboding

Green: Money, hope, growth, freshness, soothing, sharing, responsive
Envy, greed, disorder

Black: Dramatic, classy, committed, serious
Evil, cold

White: pure, fresh, clean, good
Winter, cold, distant

Visit our website at http://www.webcubic.com. What do you think is portrayed simply by the colors? We hope it reflects our corporate values and objectives of integrity, service, success, and technical strength.