Content Checklist – Make Your Website Wow

As we talked about in Building Block #1 in The Click Power System, your website is the foundation and most important element of your web marketing strategy. After reviewing hundreds of analytic reports for various-sized builders across the country, I noticed patterns about what works and what doesn’t work for home builder websites. From those patterns, I developed the Builder Website Scorecard™. It’s an evaluation tool for effective website design and development.

Website Content – The first area scored on the Scorecard.

Content refers to the copy, images, links, and multimedia you use on the website. Think about the content in terms of building a house. The more quality building materials you use, the higher the quality of the finished home. The same is true for websites.

Photo and video content are the most popular types of content for web visitors. If you are a builder, you should include an in-depth photo and video gallery on your website. Organize your photo gallery into albums by project name if you are a custom builder or remodeler, or by photo type such as exterior, interior, kitchen, bath, etc.

Don’t make the mistake of showing only product photos on your website. Remember, buying a home is an emotional decision and the best way to appeal to emotion is to show photographs of homeowners enjoying the benefits of a new home.

While visually appealing content is important for the visitor’s experience, amount and quality of your text impacts your search engine rankings. To achieve a page one ranking, you need relevant, educational, value-added content in the form of HTML text. Google cannot index photos, videos, and images; they are essentially invisible to Google. Remember to think about your content in two parts: graphics that will wow potential home buyers, and HTML text for Google.

Content checklist:

• Is your website content relevant to your target audience?
• Does the copy speak to the questions, concerns, fears, and homes of your potential home buyers?
• Is your website content an appropriate quantity?
• Do you have enough HTML copy to make Google happy and enough visual graphics to make website visitors excited about your homes?
• Is your website content accurate and free of errors?
• Have you made sure the copy is grammatically correct and free of spelling errors and typos?
• Is your website content educational? Does your copy inform home buyers about the process of buying, financing, and building a home?
• Is your website content value-oriented? Does the copy sell new homes as a better value than a resale home? Does it visually demonstrate the benefits of your company?

Today’s post contains information found in Click Power, Meredith’s book written specifically for the new home building and residential real estate industry. It’s a comprehensive, digital marketing how-to guide for home builders. Meredith steps you through the sometimes overwhelming maze of web marketing and shows you how to optimize your potential online. Order it online at Amazon.com.

Categorised in: FANtastic Marketing Tips, Marketing Mondays