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What Visitors Don’t See on Your Web Site Could Generate More Sales

Some of the key factors necessary to create an effective Web site for your active adult community are ones most visitors won’t even notice.

Perhaps the biggest decision you will make concerning your Web site is choosing the company to design and host it. There are hundreds of host companies out there, but it’s important to find the right firm. Look for companies that offer the following:

•  • Web Statistical Programs — It is critical to know what types of statistical programs the company offers to analyze traffic on your site. Tracking the number of hits on a daily, weekly and monthly basis will help you gauge the effectiveness of your marketing program, including advertising, press releases and direct-mail pieces, to steer prospects to your site. You also should know where your visitors come from and the search engines they use.

Other data includes the Web pages your visitors use to enter or leave the site, the length of time they spend online, the keywords or phrases they use to locate your site and the search engines that refer them. Having some type of visual cues will help them as they do their online research.

Most hosting companies compile a report profiling the visitors to your Web site. This should be presented in an easy-to-understand format because the data can be a valuable tool for the builder, marketing team and sales staff.

• Stability and High-Tech Support — Select a company with a proven track record for technical stability and knowledgeable tech support. You can’t entice prospects to drop by your community if your Web site has crashed or is temporarily unavailable.

Look for established companies that have been in business for several years. Also, make sure that the hosting company offers phone support in case your site has a problem. Always ask for references to verify the company’s service and support track record.

Ensure Maximum Usability

Your Web site must be user-friendly. If your site is “usable,” visitors will spend more quality time learning about the homes they plan to buy and less time bouncing around the site trying to figure out where your homes are featured. The best sites are:

• Easy to Navigate — This is the most significant element of all. If your site's navigation frustrates visitors, you will lose them before they have a chance to check out your models or drop by the sales center.

The main menu should have clearly defined sections that allow visitors to click on the pages that interest them. Including visual cues ― such as designing your menu(s) with titles that change color to indicate that the visitor has already clicked on a particular page or section — that help them navigate your site is a plus.

• Easy to Read — Keep the content on each page succinct and limited to no more than one or two paragraphs. Visitors would rather look at photos, illustrations, maps and floor plans than scroll through bulky copy. Also, be sure that the typeface is large enough (10-point type or bigger) to be read by a 55+ reader.
  
  
• Fast Download Time — If you opt to have an “Introductory Page” before the home page, make sure it doesn’t overwhelm the visitor or take too long to download.

Also, be sure to do your visitors a favor by including a “Skip Intro” button that allows them to go directly to your home page. Although more and more Web users have access to broadband or high-speed Internet, keep in mind that many of them might still be using dial-up (56K modem) access to the Internet.

Branding and Design — Be Consistent

Any marketing professional knows the value marketing material that has a consistent look. This rule of thumb also applies to your community Web site.

Your community’s overall look or theme should be conveyed simply and clearly on your Web site. Let your Web designer know which primary elements you want on each page of your site. Use your company or community’s colors, logos and any photos on your site to brand your community the same way you do in your advertisements, printed material, marketing brochures and signage.

A coordinated marketing message will help you distinguish yourself from the competition. Combining a professional, creative Web design with optimal usability will make a lasting impression.

Your Web site’s design should have these features:

• Emotional Appeal — Develop a look and feel for your site that will appeal to your visitors’ emotions and get them hooked. If your community is located near a waterfront, add photos of a lake or beach and maybe a few sound effects that will stimulate interest in learning more about living in your community.

Active adults are always big on lifestyle, so make sure your Web site gets that point across.

• Flexibility — Plan your site with future additions in mind. Building a Web site is similar to building your active adult community: one phase at a time.

Virtual home tours, home owner testimonials, lifestyle photos of your on-site recreational amenities and an inventory price list showing the sales status and availability of your current phase are just a few examples of content to add to your site.

It isn’t cost-effective to completely redesign your site every time your community reaches a new phase; instead, make sure your site is flexible. Allot space for new sections and update your site regularly. It will be less expensive to maintain your site than it is to reprint a marketing brochure.

• Floor Plan Options — When illustrating site and floor plans, design your Web site so that visitors can click on a particular location that can be color-coded to match a particular home style. Once they make their selection, give visitors the choice of viewing the floor plan on the screen or allow them to print out the plan. Your site also should permit visitors to see photos of each building plan or take them on a virtual tour or your community.

Use Search Engines to Drive Traffic

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become a specialized field and will not be covered in great detail. However, there are several techniques to generate traffic from search engines:

• Catch Keywords or Phrases — When designing your site, think of keywords or phrases (usually two to four words long) to include in your content or to embed in a page's META tags (the hidden portion of a Web page). Using keywords like “active adult communities” or “retirement communities” will make your site more searchable.
  
  
• Awareness — Once your site has been completed, develop a promotional plan to increase awareness of your community's Web site.

You may want to have your site featured on a regional or national directory of active adult or lifestyle communities. Other options are your local chamber of commerce, the real state section of your local newspaper or sites that appeal to seniors. Try to get other Web sites to link directly to your site. This is how search engines determine a site’s importance.

Your keywords, content and the number of other sites that link directly to your site are the main criteria that search engines employ to determine your site’s value. Search engine companies like AOL, Google, MSN and Yahoo are constantly evolving their methods of organizing Web pages and as part of the process, they will pay attention to your Web page’s content and the number of referrals you get.

A Good Web Site Can Lead to More Sales

Remember that the purpose of your community Web site is to attract prospects to your community. You want visitors to learn more about your community online and pre-qualify them as informed buyers before they arrive at your sales center. While they may not purchase a home right away, they will be much more knowledgeable and motivated when they visit your community. That will make your sales staff’s job easier, and that, ultimately, could lead to bigger sales.

Rich Carlson, MIRM, is the president of Carlson Communications, a Northborough, Mass.-based firm that specializes in the active adult real estate market. Carlson currently is working with 13 active adult communities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic areas. Carlson is active in the Builders Association of Greater Boston, the 50-Plus New England Housing Council, the National Sales & Marketing Council and NAHB’s Institute of Residential Marketing. For more information, e-mail Carlson or call him at 508-393-9922.

This article appeared in the Fall 2005 issue of Seniors’ Housing News magazine, a quarterly publication of the NAHB Seniors Housing Council.

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