1. How are you measuring your traffic now?

You'd be surprised at how many people say, "Well, I don't really have any way to do that." If you don't measure the traffic to your real estate website, how do you know you're not getting enough? Most website server logs will give you basic info on traffic volumes, traffic sources, etc. More advanced programs like WebTrends and NetTracker will tell you everything you want to know about your website visitors. Tracking and understanding your web traffic is essential for real estate Internet marketing success.

2. How are you capturing leads or prompting a response?

Once again, you'd be surprised at how many real estate agents offer blank stares at this question. Internet marketing is a numbers game. To put those numbers in your favor, you need to have strong lead-generating mechanisms in place on your website. What's the point increasing traffic if you're just going to hope that people contact you? Hoping will not deliver results.

Real estate Internet marketing is a process of attrition. First, you start with a large number of qualified prospects using the Web. Then the number gets smaller, because only a percentage of the first number will find your website. The number shrinks yet again as people visit your website (statistics show the majority of website visitors leave without taking action). An effective lead-generation program can help you minimize this attrition.

Two Sides to Real Estate Internet Marketing

Getting people to your website is only half of the real estate Internet marketing equation. Once they get there, you need to offer some form of reciprocation to get them to "raise their hands." This is the essence of real estate lead generation. Maybe you'll offer access to exclusive listings or virtual tours in exchange for signing in. Maybe they'll get a detailed 12-page report on local schools in exchange for joining your newsletter.

Whatever form it takes, you need some way to capture leads and encourage action. Without that, your website is merely a reference source -- helpful for readers, but not very profitable for you.

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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

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