A website is a major investment that may oftentimes leave property owners and managers a little hesitant to take the plunge. You’re already aware of all of the wonderful the benefits associated with a website; but, similar to that knotted feeling that emerges in your belly with any major business move, the fear of the unknown takes over, stalling your next move.

Here are some of the top website worries debunked so that you can be well on your way to win-win results for your property.

I don’t know where to start!

First things first, assuming you’ve already crafted your marketing plan and are aware of your target prospects, you’ll need to determine if you’ll be using a template for your site or hiring a web designer to create it from scratch. It’s typically much cheaper to go the template route, but if you’ll want a completely unique site with custom features and designs and you have some financial flexibility, then a custom site may be more your speed.

After you’ve determined which design route you’re taking, you’ll need to begin to think about content (including a great call-to-action), imagery and layout. If you’re working with a designer, you two will either be working hand-in-hand to craft a concept and vision for the site or you will have the option to provide the initial guidance and allow your designer to take the lead full force, only providing the promised deliverables at your agreed upon deadlines. No need to worry at this stage, as you have ultimate flexibility here in regards to your level of involvement.

How will I know it’s working?

Unfortunately, it’s not just as simple as designing a site, taking it live, and seeing instant results. It’s important to know that a great website, much like any worthwhile investment, is a work in progress. Throughout the course of your website experience, you will be making a few tweaks here and there to ultimately reach that “sweet spot.” You should also know that a website alone can not be the end-all, be-all marketing source for your property; rather, it should serve as the root of all of your marketing efforts.

But, with that being said, you can easily evaluate the success of your site. There are certain metrics that you will need to monitor on a monthly or quarterly basis to determine if your site is producing successful results. Through Google Analytics, you’ll be able to determine exactly who is visiting your site, where they’re coming from, how they’re using it and how long they’re staying there. Within the Google Analytics platform (which is quite the user-friendly tool), you’ll need to pay close attention to lead/conversion rates, unique visitors, visits by source, average time on page, and bounce rate. By understanding these metrics, you’ll be in a much better position to establish both long- and short-term goals for your property and website, while making those needed tweaks along the way.

How will my prospects find me?

So, you’re site is complete, and now the fun begins! Search engine optimization, or SEO, will help your website rank higher in search engines, allowing your prospects to find you first. Some popular SEO tactics include incorporating action-focus meta descriptions, alt text for imagery, keywords, and strategic and relevant content, just to name a few, but the opportunities are endless.

Google Ads, for instance, is a tool many businesses use to boost their SEO results by allowing advertisers to pay to have their business appear at the top of search engine results. The concept has become quite popular for its cost effectiveness, as advertisers are only charged when users actually click on the ads.

These are only just a few of the tools that you can leverage to increase traffic to your website, and website discovery should be the least of your worries.

I don’t have the time!

Time is a luxury that we simply do not have in the leasing world, and the amount of time you spend on your website development is completely up to you. If you are working with a designer, photographer and copywriter, this process will run fairly smoothly, with an initial meeting to determine the scope of your website and quick check-ins along the way with presentations of deliverables until the site goes live. If you ‘re going the template route, you can carve off even less time yet still achieve fantastic results.

Now, if you opt to create your own content, you will be dedicating substantially more time to this process, which would likely translate to weekly time investments. Now matter the route you decide to take, just know that all things great take time, and a great website proves no different.

Just remember, it will all be worth it in the end!

Rentbot can help.

Rentbot makes it extremely easy to get a new website for your property. Considering that our sites are designed specifically with property managers and owners in mind, we already know how hectic your life can be and have designed our website creation process with you in mind. In a matter of days, you’ll receive a custom and responsive turnkey website equipped with built-in SEO, online rent payments, maintenance requests and applications, smart integration and more. Your Rentbot site is guaranteed to attract more high-quality leads, increase lease conversions, and retain more tenants. Most importantly, you’ll have your own personal account manager that will provide personal support for your website around-the-clock and help put those initial website worries to bed.

Get started today!

About the Author

Jonsette Calloway joined the Rentbot team in 2015. With a background in public relations, advertising and copywriting, she has helped a multitude of clients achieve their marketing and communications goals within various fields, but she particularly enjoys working with the apartment industry.