How to Build the Best Site Possible
Monday, August 6, 2007 - By: Laura Chan
How to Build the Best Site Possible – Some Handy Tips
- Change your main page content immediately. Every AgentAdvantage site comes programmed with default text. Search engines will penalize your site in their rankings if they see the same text appear on several websites. To get your website noticed by search engines immediately, change your site content immediately. Customers looking for listings on Homes.com encounter dozens of these new sites on their search. Make your site stand out to them by changing your content.
- Choose a template suiting your geographical location or franchise. Our activations team makes every attempt to choose an initial website fitting your area or franchise. This does not mean that you have to stick with the one they choose! Feel free to browse the hundreds of layouts we have on file in your Control Panel.
- Add content throughout your site. Quality information is the most important part of your page. More content will rank your site higher on search engines, as well as make your site a more valuable resource for your customers.
- Add information about your town or city to your website. This promotes the concept of your site as not just an advertisement of area listings, but a valuable information resource. You can create pages about area recreation, schools, cultural opportunities, and other similar information using the Articles Editor of your website.
- Keep your site free of clutter. A well-organized site allowing users to find information quickly keeps interested visitors on your site. A visitor not able to find the information he needs within 15 seconds, he probably will leave your site.
- Check your spelling and grammar. While a typo here and there may seem harmless, poor writing reflects inattention to detail and diminishes the overall impression your website - and business - makes on a potential client.
- Use .jpeg or .gif formats for images. These formats keep the file size of your photos small enough so that an average user can download easily. AgentAdvantage will not let you load too large of a file in standard photo loading areas.
- Please do not use animated .gifs. They are tacky relics of the early 90’s. People laugh at these .gifs, and not in a good way. Don’t use them.
- Leave broken links on your website. Not only does it give your clients the impression that the site is not well maintained, but search engines equate malfunction with irrelevance.
- Avoid adding too much multimedia on your website. Remember that most website visitors utilize dial-up connections to their ISPs and NOT high-speed internet. If a page takes minutes to load because of a movie you believe a visitor MUST see before viewing the rest of your site, chances are that the visitor will not share the same opinion and leave your site.
- Avoid long domain names. Long domain names are hard to remember. Choose memorable names over descriptive ones to enhance branding. Your Member Services staff can help you choose a domain name best suiting your needs.
