Five secrets to success on the Web (Marco Spoerrle, marcospoerrle.com)

Five secrets to success on the Web

Is your XSite doing everything it can to boost your business?  We give you all the tools you'll need to maximize your online ROI, but in the end it's up to you.  (We just gave away secret number five!)  Step back and take a look at the whole of your website/online marketing plan.  Here are five secrets to its success.

1. Eyeballs. 
   If a total of five people see your website, its chances of reeling in one of those five to apply online is remote indeed.  If 5,000 see it, your chances of landing an applicant are exponentially better.
   
   Consider exchanging links with local agents and other real estate professionals you work with.  The more links to your site, the more people will find it from your partners' sites and the better your search engine ranking is likely to be.
   
   And speaking of search engine ranking, consider a pay per click campaign.  It's the best — and only — way to guarantee a first-page search result placement.  See our article on Pay-Per-Click 101 here.
   
   
2. Time.
   The longer visitors spend on your site, the more powerful your branding and marketing message becomes.  The more likely they are to see you as the mortgage professional they can trust.
   
   You keep visitors on your site by including lots of engaging, relevant content, like the pre-written material available to XSite owners.  Give them tools like calculators, rate sheets and local information.  Retail stores know they have a better chance of selling you more the longer you stay.  The same principle applies on the Web.
   
   Add content to your site that increases the time visitors spend there. Write about local events, add high school sports schedules or include our newest feature - RSS Feeds. Click here to learn more about RSS Feeds.
   
   
3. Flash.
   It's human nature: the more attractive and engaging information is, the more persuasive it is.  The more people pay attention to your site, its tools and your content, the more likely they are to request more information or apply online.
   
   Your Mortgage XSite lets you showcase your business with rich tools, sound and graphics.  You have a better chance of selling with a feature-rich, attractive site than a simple online brochure.  (Just be sure to complement your substance with style, not drown it out.)
   
   Add one of our pre-made Flash intros to your XSite or create your own. Just log into your XSite, click on the XSite icon and then My Intro to get started.
   
   
4. Lead capture. 
   Lots of visitors is good.  Getting visitors' contact information for followup is ten times better.  Mortgage XSites come with pre-built, customizable lead capture forms you can drop on any page. When visitors submit responses, the lead is sent to your e-mail and your mobile device. It's also automatically added to your contact manager.
   
   Relying on a dazzling, information-rich website to sell isn't enough — you'll want to follow up with visitors who began applications but never completed them, visitors who supply you their contact information and more.  XSellerate campaigns are a great way to stay in touch with minimal effort. Set up campaigns that automatically go out to website leads or stay in touch with past clients to encourage referrals. Which brings us to the final secret:
   
   
5. You.
   Your XSite will inform and empower visitors, and provide incentives to return.  Once they leave though, you take over, by following up quickly and aggressively with web leads, marketing to contacts and providing the kind of attention and quality service your clients expect.