Hopefully, the purpose and value of a business website require no explanation. If I’m off base in that assumption, start here and rejoin us later.

But what if you’re a real estate agent hanging your license with a brokerage… Do you still need your own website?

The brokerage has a website that includes your professional profile (or at least it should), along with a list of your current listings and past deals.

Plus, you can use your personal social media pages – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter (X), LinkedIn, etc – to promote your real estate business. You can also create business pages for many of your social profiles. All of which contribute to your online presence.

Considering these factors, is a website specifically dedicated to your individual real estate business necessary?

In short… A resounding YES!

Why?

As an agent, even operating under the umbrella of a brokerage, you’re running your own business. A business you likely hope persists, even if, for whatever reason, you choose to move on from your current brokerage. 

And concerns like personal branding, establishing an online presence, and generating and nurturing leads are critical to maintaining your individual real estate business.

Which is what launching a website dedicated to your business accomplishes.

If I’ve piqued your interest, keep reading for more details one why your real estate business needs its own website.

Personal Branding

You’ve likely heard the term “personal brand,” mostly because these days, seemingly everyone claims to be a “brand.” And while the concept of a personal brand isn’t new, more people are adopting the approach because its proven effective proven to be an effective means to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

An excellent example is Kim Kardashian’s younger sister, Kylie Jenner. She became one of the world’s youngest people to achieve near billionaire status, with her cosmetics line valued at $910,000 million at its peak.

Do I know anything about her cosmetics? Nope. Are they any good? No idea. And if you polled folks over 35, most would have a similar response.

Yet this 27-year-old is sitting on a nearly nine-figure empire. How? Her enormously popular personal brand. The folks in her target audience, mostly young women under 30, are not just customers but rather dedicated followers.

How to build a personal brand is a more involved discussion (that we’ll leave for another day).

But suffice it to say, as a real estate agent, prospects and clients aren’t working with your brokerage (though you may gain a certain cache working with a particular brokerage) – they’re working with you.

As such, your personal brand is vital to how you’re perceived, the kind of clients you attract, and, ultimately, the reputation you cultivate over the course your career.

And a website dedicated to your individual real estate business can do significantly more to establish your personal brand than a mere profile page on a brokerage website.

Establishing a Presence Beyond Your Brokerage

You may have a career-spanning relationship with your brokerage. There are certainly many agents who’ve been with the same brokerage for decades. But just as many agents have moved between brokerages five, six, and seven or more times throughout their careers.

In some cases, agents have been wooed away with higher splits and more perks. But many agents have also moved on due to management changes, because a brokerage closed its doors, or was folded into another firm.

Regardless, if you decide or are compelled to leave your current brokerage, you could be at a great disadvantage.

Let’s say your online presence consists of a profile page on your brokerage’s website with a bio and links to your current listings and completed transactions.

If you leave your current brokerage, that all goes away. Eventually, your new brokerage will add a profile page and post your current listings and past deals. But it takes Google and other search engines time to index such changes. That means when prospects search for you online, they won’t find you.

Meanwhile, if you have your own website, you have a permanent online presence separate and independent of any brokerage. And it’s a space that you control. The presentation and content are yours and live on perpetually (or until you shut down the site).

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

You’ve likely heard the term SEO and may be familiar with the concept. But to ensure we’re on the same page, here’s a quick definition: Search engine optimization is a technical practice designed to push your website to the top of Google (and other search engine) search results.

SEO is a broad field that involves various strategies and techniques. If you have your own website, can SEO can be a powerful tool that helps you capture more potential client leads.

Here’s a typical example. Let’s say you specialize in a particular neighborhood or neighborhoods. Your brokerage profile page may state this fact. But how many other agent profile pages on the same brokerage site are targeting the neighborhoods you’re farming? Plenty, right?

That puts you in competition with many other agents, a scenario unlikely to land you many new leads.

But if you have your own website, you can use SEO to target the neighborhoods you’re farming and drive traffic to your site, where you can capture leads, deploy tracking cookies and pixels, and run remarketing campaigns.

PPC, SEM + Other Digital Marketing Campaigns

Pay-per-click (PPC) ads are digital ads run through Google Ads and social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter (X), and others.

These ads are part of Search Engine Marketing (SEM), which refers to using search engines, such as Google or social media platforms, to generate leads with paid advertising campaigns.

PPC ads are served to prospects searching for services in your industry that are targeted through keywords. When a prospect clicks on your ad, they’re redirected to your website, and you’re charged a fee.

Now imagine investing in advertising to drive traffic to a profile page on a brokerage site that also lists scores of other brokers, all just a click away.

This is by no means a sound investment.

Thus, launching your own dedicated website is a MUST if you’re interested in leveraging PPC and SEM strategies.

Establishing a Hub for Your Business

Ever thought about how your brokerage’s website works? It tells the brokerage’s story, details its services, profiles its affiliated agents, offers detailed contact info, and likely includes several mechanisms to capture contact info for lead generation efforts.

It may also feature case studies, how-to content, and concierge services, such as links to related vendors (interior designers, contractors, movers, etc.).

In short, a brokerage website functions as an online hub for its business that’s accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Why not create the same kind of online hub for your business? Whenever a prospect wants to know more about your business, simply invite them to visit your website.

If you’ve crafted an effective website, prospects will discover your story, find out about your services, and opt into your email list (a key tool for lead generation).

Standing Out in an Increasing Crowded Market Place

With higher interest rates and plenty of economic uncertainty, the real estate market doesn’t have the firmest footing at the moment. Whatever you can do to set your business apart from competitors is paramount to your success in the current market.

Launching your own reality business website ranks among your best options for carving out your own distinctive space in an increasingly competitive market.

Need Help Launching Your Real Estate Website?

I’m here to help! With nearly 20 years of digital marketing experience, I’ve launched and managed dozens of successful real estate websites.

And I can help put your reality biz online, too.

 

Get in touch to discuss launching your website: ryan@ryananys.com | 310.466.7893