It began innocently enough. A broker sent me a link hoping to get my thoughts on his new website. When Brian or I get these requests we’ll scan the site quickly and, if time permits, respond with some quick observations. Sometimes we’re drawn to do more. Especially when the broker’s good intentions are nowhere to be found in the results.
Between a rock and a hard place
Meet Eirik Olsen. He’s a broker in the Pacific Northwest caught between the rock of excitement surrounding the launch of his new website and a hard place of concern he now feels as he comes to terms with what he actually has.
We are all too familiar with Eirik’s dilemma. As a broker he was handcuffed to a Website product that cost too much and provided too little. And a vendor that bound him to a ball-and-chain contract trusting that their system was so deeply woven into his business he could never leave.
This problem afflicts many brokers. And most choose to hang onto a dysfunctional vendor relationship because they are fearful of what happens if they move on — of the possibility that they can’t do any better.
Eirik gambled and moved on. He contracted a new vendor. And all seemed fine until he went live. And began to seek opinion outside his corporate cockpit.
I called Eirik after looking at his website. We covered a lot of ground. At the conclusion of our call he voiced concern for all brokers caught in his position. Out of sincere desire that others learn from his mistakes, Eirik volunteered to let us publish a high-level assessment of his new site here. The list of issues below is not exhaustive, but will hopefully help some of you thinking about making a move.
Browser compatibility
This is Eirik’s website. For those of you viewing this on a PC, you will miss the very first impression I had viewing it in Safari. It looked like this:
Making a site compatible with Safari isn’t rocket science. And Eirik is based in one of the most tech-savvy cities in the country: Seattle. Ouch.
Brand
Eirik’s online brand is Green Real Estate Center, a moniker that alludes to environmental education within the context of real estate. I expected the site to contain content about energy efficiency and environmentally friendly materials for the home. I imagined the site would also list green homes for sale and provide lifestyle information.
Those impressions dissipated seconds after I scanned the homepage and found no evidence of any such information. I explained how this creates confusion for the user and leads to distrust caused by discordant branding.
Other site copy states that this center serves to protect consumers. Yet no where on this site could we find content to support that claim. Unsupported claims are a bad idea in real estate these days.
The RE/MAX branding at the top of the page added to the confusion since RE/MAX has not, to our knowledge, ever branded itself as being environmentally friendly. With the absence of any text stating a unique value proposition that would help explain what Green Real Estate really is, we were left on our own to weed through jargon that seems to do everything but explain what Green Real Estate Center really is.
Search
How is it that three years since Trulia taught real estate how search should be done, this sort of thing still exists?
The instructional screen that hovers over the default map-based search was disconcerting. Why does search require a tutorial? Adding to the confusion were mysterious terms such as “Focus Map” or verbiage that reads “Select the Draw Zoom tool, then click and drag to create a rectangle within to focus the map. Why is the map out of focus to begin with?
This search defaults to a map even though most online real estate sites have abandoned the practice for a simpler list display. Here’swhy: Type Seattle into the one search field and hit go. Numerous little house icons appear. The user is required to hover over each one to view the image of the home.
It’s not a good idea to play hard to get with the user.
Eirik’s search solution has a significant anomaly: No refiners. Other than price there were no fields for beds, baths or square footage.
More ouch.
Other content
Agent Roster. We found little use for the agent roster other than perhaps viewing photos of 50 people we don’t know or particularly care about. The agents all have the option of publishing details about themselves. About half the agents chose not too.
The shining star in this group was George Caudill, whose page should be a beacon for all the other agents.
Contact Us. Here the user is presented with form, but is given no idea who it goes to or when they might expect a response. To the right of the form is a video from Eirik offering a commitment to full service that is with you every step of the way. The irony was hard to miss.
Video. I love video. I love it when CEO’s make a video and stand behind their brand. But as I pointed out to Eirik, throwing out terms like full service and client protection is great — provided you explain them in detail and articulate them in terms of benefits to the viewer. His intentions were pure, but very little of what he described sounded special or different than any other broker’s commitment.
Forward!
Eirik knows how to run a successful brokerage, but something got lost in translation on the web.
But he can fix that. Eirik is going back to square one with his IDX provider. He’ll source a few alternative vendors he had not been aware of. He’ll reformulate the site content and think through how his company is positioned on the site.
He’ll get it right.
Thanks to Eirik for sharing!
– Marc Davison
Twitter: 1000wattmarc
Local, Mobile, Social and the future of real estate
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Marc,
Great information for us to critique our own sites.
Cool. If you or anyone see things we did not offer up here, feel free to include in comments. it will serve to not only help Eirik but everyone else.
Ah, the dilemma of design vs. function. I think the most encouraging sign is that Eirik is willing to try again.
He really should get kudos for that.
First of all, props to Erik for being brave enough to allow his experience to be shared… that isn't easy….
I'm experiencing 8 to 15 second load times on Erik's site…. definitely not acceptable…. and safari compatibility issues are absolutely a sign that your provider is not up to par… huge red flag.
Mark, keep these reviews up, they are awesome, I know it's easy for myself and other website providers to take for granted that the public "gets" what makes a website great….
The good news is that by and far, folks on the Real Estate side have much higher quality than the folks I deal with on the mortgage side…. it isn't even close, mortgage website providers of today serve up some of the most medieval looking sites around…. which is unfortunate because this not only hurts your online marketing ROI but your offline marketing ROI as well. Make no mistake, most recipients of direct mail, flyers, or other offline marketing activities go to your website before contacting you directly to learn about your company and build trust…. this means you lose the conversion immediately when the prospect abandons your site because it is ugly, doesn't give the information they are seeking, is not authoritative or trustworthy, does not look right in Safari or their browser of choice or takes 15 seconds to load…..
I say, screw the vendors and go out on your own. It's so cheap to have your own site build these days it makes sense to own your platform. We're launching a new site and we welcome anyone's feedback http://www.realtydirectboston.com. We built this site on the wordpress platform with an integrated blog.(FREE) We used plugins and widgets that are (FREE) from around the web and then we just connect an IDX solution.
The AGENTS tab is one of the most clicked on our website. Marc how come you don't think we need an agent page?
Thanks in advance for anyone's feedback about our site.
Thanks Marc and a big thanks to Eirik. You are brave and we are all better off because of it.
As customers, we need to keep pressure on the vendors. I am not sure they know what state of the art looks like today.
@Adam, You can do yourself, sure but contrary to what seems so apparent, there are some great vendors doing great things for brokers that brokers cannot do internally.
As for agents pages, the vast majority of what Brokers offer the user are nothing more than a list of people, some who volunteer info about themselves, others who have chosen to be too lazy to even do that. What Eirik has offered on his site is what we see everywhere and have been seen that for 15 years already.
Today with access to self-publishing tools, a broker could give the agent something better than a static page to post some mission statement on as well as give the consumer something deeper to search for.
Give me a week, I'll write up my thoughts in greater detail about what brokers could be doing here.
Timely post Marc.
I think there are a lot of brokers and agents in the same spot as Eirik. I know because I was right there few weeks ago.
As real estate professionals, we know how to help people buy & sell property. Designing an awesome websites to meet the needs of consumers is another story. I recommend professional help.
->Marc – Great write up on disecting the website. I think you were spot on with the problems. You should do more of these
->Adam – I would suggest that you fix your "Home Search" link so that it frames within your site instead of making the user leave your site and go directly to the IDX
Nice write up Eric!
Surprising this stuff is still happening. Today, most brokers are in 2nd and 3rd generation systems and should know have solid knowledge of what they expect.
We at 1parkplace.com always recommend that brokers and agents looking for website solutions, first outline their goals and second check at least 5 references to ensure that the vendor they select absolutely has the execution experience to deliver results to meet the goals.
Don’t take the website lightly, it needs to operate as a business solution.
One last thought, if a company can’t operate on a month to month contract, then start worrying.
Tell Brian the Steve H says hey!
Sorry Marc, I meant you in the salutation
Eric is one lucky person to have your advice!
s.
Nice write up Marc.
Surprising this stuff is still happening. Today, most brokers are in 2nd and 3rd generation systems and should know have solid knowledge of what they expect.
We at 1parkplace.com always recommend that brokers and agents looking for website solutions, first outline their goals and second check at least 5 references to ensure that the vendor they select absolutely has the execution experience to deliver results to meet the goals.
Don’t take the website lightly, it needs to operate as a business solution.
One last thought, if a company can’t operate on a month to month contract, then start worrying.
Eric is one lucky person to have your advice
Tell Brian the Steve H says hey!
s.
@Loren – Thanks and yes we actually do these all the time. It's a core service we perform for brokers normally under NDA so we don't often get to publish like this. Eirik was really cool and in a pickle so we went over much on the phone together. I tried to keep this post short enough to be readable and keyed in on the major problems.
Adam, per your request, and offered with complete professional courtesy, here's 10 things that jumped out about your site.
1. Main graphic on left is an arguably useless display sitting in highly desirable piece of web real estate. Replace the stock photos with images of listings. Make that area clickable and drive that traffic directly to the listing page.
2. Your welcome text is spirited by the "we help your dream come true". This is a cliché phrase feels off base considering the stressful realities of home buying and selling today.
Also, the final statement "Plus, our financial team can work with just about any income situation" concerns me since it was this very type of lending action that turned the real estate dream into the nightmare it is.
A quick edit to "Realty Direct Boston is a different kind of real estate company that provides helps relieve the stress that typically comes with purchasing a home" would be a quick fix.
3. Your site does not work in Safari. Mac users (like me) should not be excluded from your sites experience.
4. The "subscribe to blog feed" would be far more effective if you pulled 3 or 4 of your most recent blogs posts headlines to the home page and placed the call to action beneath it. In its current position it feels lost and out of context.
5. "What is your home worth"? This is all wrong. A) It's inconsistent with your brand promise that offer a stress less experience. Case in point, I put my address in. Here are the results:
Low – $348,509
Middle – $410,010
High – $471,512
I live minutes from the Pacific Ocean on the Central Coast of California in a 4 bed, 3-bath home with a private guesthouse, pool, spa and outdoor kitchen on 1.3 acre. A Martian could render a better estimate than your website.
The stress level this estimate could cause someone in this down spiraling market is considerable and could be viewed as irresponsible on your part as a professional agent.
Either ditch this all together or at the very least, change the title of it so it doesn't give the impression of being so definitive.
6. Why is SELLERS the first link in the nav? I clicked into that page and while I found Lisa Kaufman pleasant to look at, the page itself was not. Separating the two content columns are Google ads. Odd. It creates this chasm between the content on the left, listings on the right and a few quality calls to action below. This is just bad.
7. Where's Search?
8. Why a link out to Trulia.com?
9. Why all the Google ads that link visitors off the site. Huh?
10. Mortgage. My only thought is who's going to read all that content. Why not have a simple SEARCH THIS SITE box that can help user find what they are looking for.
Okay, I'll stop here.
There's a reason why agents advise laymen to not practice real estate themselves and those reasons hold firm when professionals advise agents not build sites themselves.
The mistakes can be glaring.
I hope this helps and further opens the eyes of reader to what wrong looks like. But knowing what's wrong is just beginning. Making it right is where challenge and fun begin.
Marc, thank you for your feedback. Our site is a work in progress and we will make the changes you discussed. We only have about 5 hours of programming into the project and we will continue to improve on the areas you stressed. On there any off the self real estate tools, widgets, plugins you would recommend to us "do it yourselfers"?
I have just become so frustrated with companies like Birdview, Alamode and Most Home. Alamode was the best but they have fallen behind the tech curve and I don't see them catching up.
I hear you on the work in progress and doubly hear you on the lack of focus of many vendors to provide something more than a facade of a product for real estate professionals.
But the ones you listed are part of the old guard. There are new companies within this space built on a completely different mindset that offer modern products for progressive agents. Rather than sound like an advertisement for them here, call me and I'll point you in the right direction.
Great post Marc,
I think we learn more from good criticism than we do from sycophantic praise.
Let's see more of these…unless it is my site of course…
Actually I love your blog site and what you write about.
But as long as you put yourself on the cutting block – think about extending the design (see http://www.engadget.com or http://www.Chrisbrogan.com). It would offer you the ability to expand the content on it. I'm thinking specifically in regard to adding search fields right at the top right of the site.
Ok Marc – I'm ready for criticism. Your insight on my previous site was helpful and I really tried to study your report on the 10 Best Broker Websites to use them as a model.
PS – Thanks for your help on that other thing. Far from resolved, but your insight, wisdom and connections were helpful in a time of stress.
Geordie,
All in all, my feedback is not going to be favorable Geordie. I apologize in advance.
For the most part the layout and color palette feel very generic and void of the spirit and vibe that should really spring forth from you especially considering your location, who you are what you do.
I find the information on the site is not organized properly (no contact info, video component seems out of place, etc.)
The site does not expand in my browser.
Search is not on the home page where it should be. The blog takes up considerable room on the design making all the other features secondary.
Some specific things to note:
The main image on the site is a tad too large using up considerable page space.
About Us should not be placed before Search.
Home Value. I question why this is a main navigation item. I also question why there is a form with no copy other than two repetitive sentences that ask how much is my home worth followed by a form. My expectation was that once I complete the form, I would receive an answer. That did not occur. In fact nothing happened for about 10 minutes when I receive a very boiler plate like email informing me I need to call a Realtor. Mmm.
Contact us. Uh how do I do that? Had to search all over your site to find it. Finally found it buried in the About Us section. Not good.
Login – I would consider placing the member login registrations especially for registered users somewhere a bit more visible on the home page
Video – You know I like video and the one you have is nice but it feels a bit misplaced and just slapped onto the design. Is that a home for sale? If so, where's the listing page? If not, why is that video there? Perhaps you could design a video section on the home page and explain what the videos are for and offer some to call to action around them if indeed they regard listings.
Man, I feel bad but this is how I see it.
Folks, I wonder, why are you guys all designing your own websites? You all know how critical the web is and how much you are relying on it for business?
Seems remiss to me.
Marc-
Thanks for your insight.
As is often the case, on some of these items you are dead on and others dead wrong. It is interesting to get feedback from all sorts and to see how the feedback from the "pros" differs from that of the "consumer."
Why are we all designing our own websites? Because in this market, we probably have more time than money. Because our brokers and brokerages have websites that are even worse – and don't care. Because we think we can create the best website for our market and create value for ourselves and our clients. Because the vendors product is worthless. Because the vendors product is expensive.
Other thoughts – I know you want an automated home value. Not going to happen. Zillow can't figure out how to do it for my market (not available) and I'm not going to try. A consumer from CA filling out the "my home value" form on my website – won't ever happen. Call it a straw man or a red herring or what you will.
Overall look and theme: I guess you aren't my target market. I have gotten rave reviews elsewhere for the image and the colors. Leavenworth and the Icicle Creek area create a strong emotional image in so many visitors minds and this ties them back to that.
I think you are right about a number of other things and I certainly will continue to tweak and adjust.
Thanks for taking a look.
I would argue that I am neither dead right or dead wrong. These are simply educated opinions based on my profession.
I'm glad you've received rave reviews but rave reviews don't necessarily put $'s in your pocket or are necessarily offered by UI specialists.
And whose to say that enhancing your current elements might not increase those rave reviews even more.
As for why you are designing your owns sites, the argument you make can be easily transferred to sellers when asked why they chose to go FSBO. A Realtors response to them would echo my response to you. If you paid a qualified individual to represent your needs, that expense of that could yield greater ROI than trying to do it yourself.
However, I do agree, the lack of qualified vendors in this space is frightening.
As for Home Values, your points are well taken and of course supports my advice that all you really need to do is tweak the copy before the form so that it clearly indicates the following:
1. What areas you produce value for
2. Why the form exists and why you require the info
3. What will ensue when I hit submit.
A simple statement that reads as follows would solve it.
Valuing a home properly and providing our clients with a realistic sense of their homes value require more than a simple automated calculation.
If you would like to have your home value assessed with accuracy please fill out the form below. Instructions will be provided to you via email.
Please be assured that your information is help private and you will not be solicited by any members of our firm.
Thanks Marc. It's refreshing to have a dialog with someone on these topics. I think you are spot on in regards to the home values page.
Too many times we brokers "just want to do something", so we rush into Internet and advertising solutions that don't work. I have found that slowing down and inspecting what I expect, ultimately, saves me time and money.
Aloha,
Keahi
Very timely data regarding mortgages and what to expect. Thanks for the info. Many people have similar situations in their lives.
Change your thoughts and you change your world.
Ah, the dilemma of design vs. function. I think the most encouraging sign is that Eirik is willing to try again.
He really should get kudos for that.
Marc- thanks for the extremely valuable feedback. Don’t know why it is so hard to define the user experience ourselves.
Are you willing to look at one more and set me straight? http://Www.movingtodavis.com.
jamie
Hey Jamie,
I looked at your site. It looks more like a personal photo family album than a real estate site. As a visitor, looking at your home page I see nothing about “me” and everything about “you”.
Do you see that?