Get the Best Technology on the Web

The Raine & Horne agent websites have now only been running for a month and some of our managers have already begun the process of setting up their own Raine & Horne websites. It won’t be too long before these agents start to reap the benefits of their own site.

Setting up your own website can be no easy task if you want to get it right, but having the support from experts and other managers can make a big difference. I’ve had many questions in relation to getting your own Raine & Horne website setup with minimal fuss. There are two approaches’ you can take to setting up your websites. One way would be to sign up for the website and then leave it to the experts or alternatively you can be involved through the entire process organising the material yourself. There is nothing wrong with either approach.

In response to some of the questions coming through I would like to give you an idea of what you need to prepare to start the website process. As the website frame work is already built for you, you only need to worry about your content. The main thing to think about with your content is: who do you want to target with your website?

• Below are some key area’s to consider:
• Information about you (as a manager) & your contact details
• Information for your current tenants
• Information for the prospective tenants
• Information for your current landlords and owners
• Details of the complex
• Information targeting new investors
• Information on individual property types
• Useful tools and links for any of the above.

After some thought has been given to these area’s you’re ready to think about the individual pages that you may want to create. Remember, it’s the individual pages that will help with your web presence. I’d start by listing and naming each web page you want to create, giving each page dot points on what you would like that page to cover. At the end of this process you should be left with all the pages that you want on your website along with pages names and content outline. This basic list will help you manage the process of having your website built, or building of your website yourself.

Before I continue any further I’d like to touch on the list above. Most of the areas covered in the above list you will have no trouble in deciding what you want. The two areas that raise questions would be targeting investors and useful tools. So let’s have a brief look at these:

Targeting investors is no easy game; many companies spend thousands of dollars in doing this, and as your website deals with property management it would be prudent to include some pages on an outside investor looking into your website to consider your business as a good place for their investment dollars. Pure and simple, this is self promotion at its best. I would consider pages that would cover your points of difference, such as; the benefits of your service, the benefits of investing in the complex, a good area profile, improvements in your complex, properties or area, proximity to facilities, and then back these details with facts and figures to support your claims. Remember to think multiple pages with some of this information repeated or reworded and this will assist you with your web presence.

Useful tools will assist you and your website in a number of ways; it can streamline some of your processes by having tenants apply online, maintenance requests can go online, body corporate applications can also be stored. Some of these tools can also assist you earn extra income like loan calculators (my favourite tool). Loan calculators are the second most popular search in Google next to searching for the property itself. Keep your eyes peeled because the “Your Broker” team is working on a series of calculators that will work in our websites. Any of these tools will help to push traffic to your website and keep them in it.

Once your page list is created its time start the building process. It’s at this stage I would start to involve the experts. Start by contacting the web designer, as he will help you with the naming of your actual web pages and with some of the word choices that will assist you in either writing your own scripts or have them written for you. While the scripts are being written, I would also engage the services a professional photographer to photograph all the area’s that you need. Consider shots of the local area & city as well as the complex itself (people want more than just the complex). It is recommended that your photographer contacts your web designer so they can discuss your exact requirements because your website images not only play a visual role in your website, but can also play a role in how your website is optimised.

Once the scripts and images are completed you’re ready to have your pages built. At Onsite Sales we realise that creating web pages from scratch can be time consuming and costly, therefore, as part of our agreement with each and every manager, any web page under our framework can be replicated across any other Onsite Sales sites. This means if you see a page on someone else’s web site, we can organise that page to be delivered to your web designer for modification. The object of this is we all collectively benefit from good content. At this point we (Raine & Horne Onsite Sales) liaise with your web designer to ensure each and every page complies with our R&H web policies and subsequently approve the pages for publishing on your website.

The process of building a website doesn’t have to be costly or lengthy. Knowing what you want at the start will keep your costs under control as adding additional pages later on will raise your costs. As part of the optimisation process your web designer links each page to each other, therefore to add a page at a later date would mean having to modify every other page. So, give a lot of thought to your content when you first start.

Remember, we are here to help & support you through this process. Don’t be afraid to call us or make an appointment to help you get started, as your web site will not only benefit you but also Raine & Horne Onsite Sales.