Advanced Summary: For real estate agents, this article shows how to improve real estate Internet marketing success by improving the usability of your website. Because website usability is a cornerstone of Internet marketing.

Picture this.

You’re standing behind your real estate website, eager and ready to take on a new client. A potential client stands in front of your website, eager and ready to hire a friendly, professional real estate agent just like you.

The only thing is, you don’t know the potential client is there. How could you? They haven’t contacted you yet. So in order for you to connect with them, they first have to enter your website, navigate through it, like what they find, and then contact you in some fashion.

But what if they can’t use your website? What if they find the navigation confusing? Or they can’t find your property listings? That’s right. They’ll leave your website as quickly as they came. After all, there are plenty of other real estate websites to look at, and other agents to consider.

Website usability is critical to real estate Internet marketing success. If a person can’t use your website, you have no chance to connect with them. You don’t have the luxury of personally guiding them through your website. They’re completely on their own.

Usability Hot Spots
Entire books have been written on website usability. So for the purposes of this article, let’s just cover some usability hot spots. Here are some areas that can always use improvement.

• Navigation. Label your navigation in a clear way. Don’t be cute or clever.
  Home page. Keep your home page clean, inviting and uncluttered.
• Action paths. Define the actions you want people to take, and present them in a clear way.
• Calls to action. People will go where they want on your site, but it helps to offer direction.
• Interactivity. If you have listing data and searches, be sure to offer clear and ample instructions.
• Web conventions. Following web conventions (like making your logo a link to the home page) helps visitors get around by using things they’re familiar with.

* You may republish this article online if you retain the author’s byline and the active hyperlinks below. Copyright 2007, Brandon Cornett.

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Brandon Cornett is a real estate marketing specialist and publisher of ArmingYourFarming.com. For hundreds of additional tips on real estate Internet marketing and lead generation, please visit http://www.armingyourfarming.com