Internet consumer response

If you respond quickly to a prospect query, it will increase the likelihood of that prospect becoming a client. There are other statistics that help us to understand what such Internet prospects expect. We've merged both sets of statistics to show the expectations of prospects and the "win" likelihood when responding in a timely fashion.

21% want an immediate response

There is an 87% chance of winning the business if you respond in 15 minutes.

23% expect a response in 30 minutes

22% within 4 hours

There is a 37% chance of winning the business if you respond in 4 hours.

16% expect a response the same day

18% expect a response within one business day

There is only a 3% chance of winning the business if you respond in one day.

Search engine lag

There are only three search engines to seriously consider when submitting your website to search engines. The BIG THREE include Google, MSN, and Yahoo.

We've known for some time that when we submit a site to the BIG THREE, one will respond more quickly than the others and that one will respond significantly slower than the others.

For example, one of our clients submitted her site to the BIG THREE in November, 2004. Very soon, her site was showing up on MSN and doing quite well. It wasn't very much later that she had a similar experience with Yahoo. However, she was nowhere in Google. We first noticed her in Google after about three months -- her site fluctuated between 200 and 300 for her primary keyword. By April she started moving up in Google -- from 200 to 120, then up to 70-90, then by May she was on the first page.

One SEO consultant reported the following timetables for results by search engines.

* 2 - 3 months: MSN rankings secured
* 6 - 8 months: Yahoo! rankings secured
* 8 - 12 months: Google rankings secured

Learn to be patient when dealing with search engine optimization.

Thought for the day

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try." - Beverly Sills

Am I really ready for a WebCubic website? See answer above.

Internet competition

The 2006 REALTOR® Technology Survey by the NAR reported increased spending and activity on the Internet by REALTORS®.

The survey showed 30 percent of agents spent $2,000 or more annually on technology. More so, 16 percent of agents and 28 percent of brokers spend more than $1,000 annually on their websites. In 2002, only 31 percent of REALTORS® said they had a personal real estate website - that number is now 71 percent.

If you currently have a website, then you are undoubtedly already feeling the increased competition for visitor attention. If you don't yet have a website, then you need to quickly get a website and begin its promotion on the Internet.

How custom is a custom website?

There are many "template based" website providers serving real estate professionals. A common objection is that "all your websites look like - I want something different". At the same time, REALTORS know that custom websites are not really the answer they want to hear . The largest reason that custom websites are not more widely implemented is probably cost.

So, are custom websites really custom?

By definition, "custom" means "made according to the specifications of the buyer". That may not be the case with websites. Here is what typically occurs when a custom web designer approaches the task of building the website.

First of all, the designer listens to the general requirements of the REALTOR. Since many of these designers are not familiar with the real estate industry, they do not provide meaningful input on the proposed site's content. They can guide the development of the site's functionality (look and feel) but even here they may be limited.

For example they may not realize that most visitors to real estate websites want to search properties. They will not, therefore, place the navigation button or narrative text in a prime and easy-to-find location.

When they begin the work of building the website, how will they proceed? Start from scratch? Probably not. They begin from a previously developed website that possesses similar characteristics. They copy the code and start modifying the color, layout, words, navigation, etc. Any features that are added may be limited upon the experience and skills of the individual designer. What does all of this sound like to you? Like a template based website? Exactly.

Both the "template based" provider and "custom" designer will deliver a website that is similar to others that had been developed previously. The differences will center around the extent of "made-to-order" elements, the uniqueness of the content, the cost of the design, and the time-to-production of the website.

Can a "template based" provider really deliver a one-of-a-kind website? Obviously the content can and should always be unique. How about the design?

More about this in another article. The point for now is: don't be fooled into believing that a "custom" website is really all that custom.