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Home Insider Blogs John Stepleton's Blog Property Websites Made Simple - Part I
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Aug 20
2010

Property Websites Made Simple - Part I

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Posted by: John Stepleton on Aug 20, 2010 11:49

Not all websites are created equal.  It can be confusing to understand precisely what the difference is between certain types of websites.  We hope this helps clear up some of the confusion surrounding what type of property website is best for you.

First it’s important to think about the purpose of your new site.  There are three main types of websites for properties – Prospect Portals, Resident Portals and Corporate Sites.  Each type serves a different function and would, therefore, be designed differently.

Corporate Site: Used by a property management company needing to promote their property management services to other owners. This is also a site for employees to find information, and potential employees to apply for positions, etc.   A corporate site would also be used so the management company could post news, company updates, investor relations, etc.

Resident Portal: A website where current residents would go to do their business with the property;  pay their rent online, submit repair or maintenance requests, view the upcoming community events, connect with fellow residents, etc.

Prospect Portal: A website that’s all about your future residents.  The purpose of this site is to promote your property, help your potential new resident get to know, like, and trust you.

Because each of these websites serve a distinct purpose and are designed dramatically different, they should be treated as separate endeavors.  There are no benefits to combining them all into one project, and it won’t save you any money and it will just confuse your audience.

In the next installment we will review the Prospect Portal in more detail, describe the differences between some of the options available (template sites, custom sites, etc.), and help you understand which might be the best choice for your property.  Having this kind of insight is part of the reason why Property Marketing Gurus are your leading choice for property marketing services.


Comments (2)Add Comment
62
written by Brent Williams, August 23, 2010
John, I agree with the concept of having three different messages that cover the three different audiences, but why does it have to be three different websites? I've seen websites that have two giant selection buttons to identify whether you are looking for a home or already live there. I thought it worked well because it gave equal footing to the residents, who are usually vastly underrepresented in apartment websites. I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard to set a cookie if they were a resident, so it would automatically send them to the residents area when they enter the site from then on.

By the way, one of my biggest pet peeves is when certain apartment websites ask for the referral source, but don't have an "I'm a resident" option.
3774
written by John Stepleton, August 24, 2010
Brent -

The primary reason we suggest that they are broken into three different sites is to ensure Google and other search engines see consistent content. The key words you would use to attract perspective tenants would be much different than the key words you would use to attract owners of new properties. Consistent, reinforced content is what engines like Google like to see.

This doesn't mean they can't be sub-domains off of a main URL - in fact, having separate sites can increase page rank as you can back-link to each of the sites.

Bottom line? There are many ways to skin the cat (so to speak) and having a solid strategy and sticking to is is smart.
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