Differentiate Between SEO and Lead Generation – Part Two

Again just to restate the theme of my last post – SEO or search engine optimization is, in other words, website traffic generation BUT in no way means the same as lead generation. With a strong marketing and conversation plan website traffic can then become leads but you need to take the proper actions.

I’ve had several of my Real Estate client sign up for Google Analytics and NEVER login to check their website statistics – then come to me and say they are not getting enough website traffic (and in their mind website leads). But again you need to capitalize on the traffic to convert those prospects into leads and further, sales. So when I am confronted with this question I simply log into the clients analytics account with them and to their surprise they see how many people actually view their site everyday! But since they do not have an effective lead conversion program set in place they lose many possible leads every week!

Google Analytics offers such tracking/statistical services such as:

• Number of visitors per day
• Location of your visitors
• Key phrases people use to find you through search engines
• Top sources of traffic
• Top entry page
• Top exit page

Now on to the 3 Laws of Lead Generation:

Law # 1 – Traffic is on an opportunity

By this I mean that website traffic is just that until acted upon. You should have a lead conversion program set in place to “route” all your website traffic to the proper channels to convert those prospects into happy clients. So before worrying about your website traffic levels, ask yourself this: “What am I doing to capitalize on the traffic I already have? How am I actively converting traffic into leads, and leads into clients?”

Law # 2 – Value and response are directly proportional

What value do you have behind your lead generation system? Your website visitors will remain anonymous until you offer something valuable and useful in exchange for their action. For example property listing updates can be very valuable to home shoppers, and many will sign up to get them. But they don’t necessarily cost you anything to produce. In this case, value is conveyed through timely information that’s beneficial to the audience. There are many ways you can add value to your website and draw your prospects in. Take time to sit down and decide what you are going to offer to more efficiently convert your website traffic.

Law # 3 – Attrition is your perpetual enemy

Attrition refers to people who “drop off” along the way, in between first contact and the close of the sale. There are usually multiples points of attrition within a real estate marketing process. Fortunately, each point of attrition can be improved upon. That is, you can minimize the number of losses at each step along marketing path.

For example:

• Example 1 – A lot of qualified prospective clients may never even find your website or blog. But you can counter this by focusing on online PR and SEO.
• Example 2 – Of those people who do find your website, many will leave if they don’t find anything of value. But you can counter this by constantly adding useful content and resources to your website.
• Example 3 – Of those people who, one, find your website and, two, find it useful, some will leave without making contact with you in any way. But you can counter this by using lead-generation techniques on all key pages of your website.

So all in all I hope you at least take this from my ranting – web traffic is only traffic until you act upon it. If you want your website visitors to act in some way, you must create a lead-generation program based on valuable incentives. Good luck with your online real estate marketing!

If you need help in getting your website jump started or need to start an online presence be sure to drop me a note!

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RE/Advantage specializes in Real Estate Website Design, IDX Solutions, and Internet Technology. We have been working with the Real Estate Industry for over 10 years so we understand what makes a site work for you and your buyers and sellers. After all we have been developing real estate web sites, Internet tools and marketing strategies since 1997. No one provides a more comprehensive, well-thought-out site and tool set for your Internet presence. We provide you with not only the tools to manage and customize your site, but the peace of mind that comes from knowing we are here to help if you need us.