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The Apartment Search: How a Renter Searches Online

By Sarah Gabot on January 23, 2012 in Renters with 1 Comment

Renters looking for a new apartment need to go through hundreds of listings.

Renters who need to to move or find a new apartment head straight for their computers to help start the search for a new home. It can be difficult to figure out what renters are thinking as they go through this process.

Ellen Mae Valdez, a registered nurse, who relocated from California to Texas, told us about her rental search process. Her methods prove that renters are particular and sensitive to many small details that are frequently overlooked by rental professionals.

The search started on Google.

Completely unfamiliar with her new hometown, Valdez started her research for her new Texas home on Google. She searched “Apartments in Temple, Texas,” which is a very common search for people looking for apartments in a specific city. In fact, the most common search word for rental searches is “apartment,” as noted in the guide on creating “Better Rental Websites.”

While on Google, Valdez looked at the results on the first page, assuming that the best results would appear first. Renters are quick to make decisions, and expect Google to give them the best results first. That’s why renters focus their attention on the top search results, and neglect the rest. If you want your rental business to get visibility on Google, rental professionals need to channel energy into SEO, which helps get websites higher in Google search results.

Then, she went to Craigslist.

While some renters go to Craigslist first, Valdez went to it second. She skipped listings with subject lines that obviously were visually trying to grab her attention. “I skipped the ones with all caps or up and down letters,” she said, “It’s like they were yelling at me. I didn’t like that. It was also unreadable.” Writing visually distracting subject lines grab renters’ attention, but make sure it’s the right kind.

Once she started opening apartment ads, she looked for one major item: a link to an external website. Apartment rental listing on Craigslist are a sufficient way of getting essential information about a unit to a prospective renter, but a rental website is expected to give more details. Valdez said, “If they don’t have a link, I don’t go much further.”

She felt that if a rental business is professional, it should have a website to support it. She said, “The website is the first impression you get from the business.”

Websites need to be intuitive.

Rental websites need to answer all the questions renters may have by including all the information they need. Requiring renters to call for more information is one additional step they don’t really want to take.

“The websites needed to be especially intuitive,” Valdez said, “They need to include enough details about the apartment, and be organized.” Websites that didn’t provide the details she needed, she abandoned.

Rental websites that are easy to navigate are essential for renters. Renters on websites that don’t tend to their needs will find one that will. Websites that cover their bases will get rental leads.

Learn about how this renter decided on a property based on one factor in tomorrow’s blog post.

The Greatest Hits: Best of the RentJuice Blog 2011

By Sarah Gabot on December 30, 2011 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

Ready to close more rentals in 2012?

Just in case you’ve missed out on some of the RentJuice Blog posts this year, don’t worry, we’ve summed up the most popular ones for you. Check them out and start your rental business on the right foot in 2012.

3 Tips for Better SEO for Apartment Rental Websites – Learn how to get higher on a renter’s search results using SEO.

How to Build a Successful Facebook Page for Rental Professionals -Increase your exposure to potential renters and capture leads using Facebook.

4 Tips to Improve Your Phone Etiquette to Win Tenants – Don’t lose potential renters over the phone. Polish your phone skills when talking to tenants.

Make Your Rental Website Lead-Generating Machine – Learn about the six key strategies used to build a successful lead-generating website.

How I (Almost) Got Scammed, Part I & Part II – Read about how I almost was scammed when looking for a new apartment.

Better Craigslist Subject Lines, Best Practices – Lure prospective renters to reading your listing with a great subject line.

How to Attract Generation Y Renters

By Sarah Gabot on December 27, 2011 in Marketing with Comments Off

Generation Y focuses on social experiences and connectedness.

Generation Y is the next wave of renters. Actually, it’s a huge wave. There are about 70 million people in Generation Y, who are people born from 1982 to the early 2000‘s. These renters, sometimes known as “Gen Y” or “Millennials,” come with very specific wants and needs that you must know about if you want to start attracting them as tenants.

Use these 3 tips to attract Gen Y renters to your properties:

Tip #1: Show your apartment’s “connectedness.”

This generation thrives on being connected. Hence, the reason they spend hours on social networking sites or glued to their smartphones.

Gen Y also needs to be connected in real life. Meaning, they appreciate being close to social places like cafes, shopping or friends. Also, many of Gen Y are recent college graduates, so they’re fresh out of dorm life, and are used to closely knit communities.

Therefore, emphasize the stores and other conveniences that your property is near. Use tools like Walk Score to demonstrate how walkable your property is. Show that your property is close to the local “happenings.”

Tip #2: Post everywhere.

There’s no question that Generation Y is extremely tech-savvy. This means, when they start looking for an apartment, they’re avid researchers using the internet. This generation looks at several websites when searching for an apartment, trying to find the best deal and options.

While your listing may be on Craigslist, which is the primary resource for rental hunters, that can’t be the only place you post. Don’t forget about other sites with listings or building your own website for rentals. If this adds too much work, use a tool that posts your listings to multiple sites at the same time. If they’re looking at several websites, make sure you’re found, too.

Tip #3: Remodel for the latest and greatest.

Generation Y are big time shoppers. They like things that are “new” and “innovative.” In fact, since many of this generation are used to living in a dorm or apartment from college, they’re used to the small space.

Living in a “hip” apartment can be like a status symbol, and a place to impress friends. Having the best amenities and property can be like showing off buying the latest iPhone.

If you want to attract this demographic, you may have to make some upgrades to your unit to increase appeal. To Gen Y, the newer the amenities, the better.

Gain More Tenants with an Interactive, Engaging Rental Website

By Sarah Gabot on December 6, 2011 in Marketing with Comments Off

Photo credit: da_ladd (Flickr)

This is a guest post written by Patrick Camacho, founder of 38 Media, a digital design firm focused in technology consuting, which is headquartered in Boston. His specialties include designing and building server side systems for managing data and access, with a secondary focus on front end usability and design.

Launching and maintaining a real estate website is a challenge. And, while good SEO might get visitors to your site, a positive user experience can be a major player in turning that potential tenant into a signed lease.

Here are a few quick tips and features that can help provide a great experience for your site’s visitors:

Make it interactive

One of the most exciting revolutions in the web browsing experience has been the development of great interactive functionality for users. Long gone are the days of static content; from Facebook to Google, users are constantly experiencing a fluid, dynamic browsing experience.

Real estate websites have great opportunities to take advantage of this functionality. Providing users with photo galleries, interactive maps (or even a Walkscore), financial calculators, and even Facebook or Twitter share buttons can be a great way to engage the user and get them excited about a listing.

Photo galleries
Photo galleries present an excellent way to cleanly present media for the prospective renter in a non-obtrusive manner. When a renter is looking for an apartment, photos are a crucial selling point. Covering a page in huge photos, or making a user go to a new page to view a single image, can be distracting and discourage the user from paying close attention. Pop up photo galleries allow you to cleanly display high quality, larger images in a manageable and organized fashion.

Interactive maps
When a potential tenant is looking for a new apartment, the location can be just as important as the listing itself. Interactive maps are perfect for letting users digitally explore the neighborhood and see what’s nearby. By integrating with services like public transportation or Yelp, your map will allow you to highlight neighborhood amenities. And for those real estate companies who might worry that showing an interactive map would give users the ability to discover the true address of the listing, it is possible to slightly randomize the apartment’s marker on the map, display a custom shape (like a circle) depicting the apartment’s general location, or even prevent zooming in too close and giving away the address.

Financial calculators
Financial calculators are a great tool for convincing a potential tenant to contact you about a listing, especially if they are hesitant about the cost. From predicting utility costs, to just putting together a simple monthly budget, these tools can help visitors realize how they could afford the apartment of their dreams. Check out CalcMoolator.com for a list of great tools you could use.

Allow for easy contact
Once you get a prospective tenant engaged and excited about a listing, it is important that you provide a simple, painless process for contacting you. Contact buttons or links should never open up a third party mail application, and ideally shouldn’t even direct the renter to a new page. By integrating directly into the page, you can eliminate most of the pain associated with the contact process and, as a result, generate more leads.

Instant messengers

There are lots of great instant messengers out there now for companies to use on their websites (RentJuice uses SnapEngage.com) for customer support and feedback. Allowing users to instantly contact an agent when they are on a listing’s page helps visitors get the answers they need, and makes it easier to generate new leads. These IM systems allow visitors to quickly connect with a live person, and the software can even integrate with your favorite 3rd party instant messengers, like Google Talk or Skype. Best of all, agents don’t have to be tied to their desk to take advantage of this feature. They can use their mobile devices to provide support from anywhere.

38 Media is experienced in creating these custom, interactive webpages for rental professionals. The websites we build emphasize creating a great user experience through interactivity. These interactive elements will not only make a prospective renter’s experience enjoyable, but it will make them want to come back to use your site when looking for an apartment.

How to Work with a Web Designer for Rental Website Design

By Sarah Gabot on December 1, 2011 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

Once you’ve picked your web designer, to ensure receive your ideal rental website, you need to be a well-prepared client. Previously, we taught you how to pick a design firm for your website, and now we’re going to show you how to work with them. Patrick Camacho from 38 Media helped give us some insight on what you can do to have successful communication with your professional web designer to keep your rental website production smooth.

Tip #1: Have a very clear goal.

Know what you want! To prevent confusion or missed expectations, it’s important to have a very clear objectives. Before meeting your designer, you should have a rough idea of the website’s structure: how many pages you want, what kind of pages do you want (ex. “Home”, “About”, “Listings”, and “Contact”), and how you want it to look (ex. colors and font style).

A rough idea of these details will help designers envision what you want, and gives them a foundation to start with. After all, you know your company and renters best, so any direction you can give your designer is extremely beneficial.

Tip #2: What do you want your page to do?

List what you want each page to include. For example, plan which pages will have in-page contact forms, slideshows, maps, or instant messaging built in. If you don’t have a clue, Camacho said, “Look at your competitor’s sites and figure out what you like and don’t like.” This will give your designer an idea of how you want your webpage to look or not look.

Tip #3: Have a deadline.

Know when you want your rental w ebsite to be completed by. This will help designers gauge the urgency level of building your website. If you don’t give them a deadline, then there will be a chance that your website will take a backseat to other design projects they may have.

However, be reasonable. Finishing your website in 3 weeks is an urgent demand for designers. Anything less than that may be a push for a designer, depending on his or her current workload.

Picking a Web Design Firm to Build Your Rental Website

By Sarah Gabot on November 29, 2011 in Agent Tips with Comments Off

With so many design firms out there, how do you decide who to work with?

Building a website for your rentals is a big responsibility. You can’t skimp on your website because it defines your web presence and business. Creating a customized website helps strengthen the brand of your company, making a one-of-a-kind site that is tailored to your company’s needs.

With so many web design firms out there, how do you go about choosing the “right” firm for you? Patrick Camacho from 38 Media provided us some insight to how to picking a firm to design your rental website.

Tip #1: Identify what you need.

Before contacting web design firms or designers about building your website, figure out what you want, first. Determine the color scheme, the “style” (modern, contemporary, minimalist) and the general structure of the website. Don’t worry, these ideas won’t be set in stone – it’ll just give designers an idea of what you’re envisioning.

Tip #2: Pick a good designer.

Look for designers that have a portfolio with a style you like. “Don’t go to Craigslist,” Camacho warned. Good designers don’t need to resort to Craigslist for work, customers go to them.

“Go to sites like Dribbble.com, DeviantArt.com, or Sortfolio.com,” Camacho said. These are websites where designers showcase their work. Use one of these sites to find a professional designer that matches your preferences.

Tip #3: Understand their methodology.

Effective communication is crucial in the relationship you have with your designer. How do you figure out whether you’ll have good communication with a designer? “Figure out what their process is,” said Camacho.

Figure out how frequently you meet and how you will collaborate to build ideas off each other. See if they grasp the concepts of what your ideas are. If you and the designer envision two different things, then maybe you should seek a different designer. “Good designers won’t just take your ideas and echo them back,” Camacho said, “Firms with good designers will take your ideas and expand them.”

3 Tips to Better Optimize Your Rental Webpages

By Sarah Gabot on November 21, 2011 in Marketing with Comments Off

We know you want to be one of the first websites to appear in search results when renters Google for available rentals. Small factors, like where you place your keywords and what your URL says make a difference. We’ve given you tips about better SEO for your apartment rental websites, but this article is a little bit different. This time, we’re breaking it down to giving you tips to optimizing individual pages.

Tip #1: More text than pictures.

When a renter enters in “available apartments in Boston” into Google, search engine “crawlers” search the web trying to find the best match to the search entered. These crawlers read your text to match search results, and cannot read pictures, Flash or videos. So, don’t waste your time overdesigning websites with all the flashy images and graphics, because they’re not getting you better search results.

Tip #2: Put the important information first.

Just like people, webpage crawlers don’t always read webpages from beginning to end. They start with the top of the page and eventually taper off, depending on the website relevance. Therefore, you need to put the most important, relevant keywords at the top of your page, so the crawler will find it first. For example, on a page about the neighborhood “Beacon Hill,” place keywords like “Cambridge Street” or “available apartments in Beacon Hill” the beginning of the content.

Tip #3: Simple URLs.

Search crawlers like simple, easy-to-read URLs, not web addresses that take up multiple lines or have various characters. URLs that are short and state the page content, which should have keywords in it, will help get your website be found. For example, http://www.yourwebsite.com/beacon-hill is more likely to be found than http://www.yourwebsite.com/article?Id-52&Page=5.

Look for publishing platforms that allow you to control the URLs to your webpages. WordPress is a great platform for publishing websites because it allows you to alter the URL for individual pages, putting you in control.

3 Reasons to Start a WordPress Site for Your Rentals

By Sarah Gabot on November 17, 2011 in Marketing with Comments Off

Starting a rental website from scratch can be a curse and a blessing: It’s great to increase visibility to get more business, but it’s a pain to design, build and maintain one.

Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable said, “I’m going to out on a limb and beg you not to create an original design. There are more than a billion pages on the web. Surely there’ son that you can start with? …Your car isn’t unique, and your house might not be either.”

It becomes difficult to choose a place to host your website with so many options available to you. Our preference is to choose a host that makes website building quick and painless. Use resources that involves elements that are predesigned, making your job easier. That’s why we recommend using WordPress as your publishing platform for your rental real estate website.

Why put more work into your website than you should? WordPress has many features and add-ons available, customizing your webpage is a cinch.

Reason #1: Your own domain name.

WordPress is flexible and allows you to self-host your website. You can choose any provider to buy your domain name like GoDaddy.com or BlueHost.com. This means you can have www.YourName.com.

Having your own URL with your name in it makes it a lot easier for renters to find you. This makes you more searchable, establish yourself as a professional rental business and it’s easy for your clients to remember (it’ll be a lot easier to remember than www.free-hosting.com/yourbusinessname/).

Reason #2: Plugins for endless possibilities.

There are over 17,000 plugins available on WordPress, and people are always developing more. If you want to include your rental business’s Twitter feed on your homepage or see detailed statistics or include a Facebook “like”, Google +1 or a Twitter retweet button, there are plugins available for those. You can also include videos of your properties or post a calendar of your showings. Plugins allow your rental website have flexibility for customization.

Reason #3: Wide selection of themes.

Themes, created by designers, guide the look and feel of your website. Themes remove the need for a web designer, because they’re like a packet of pre-made designs. They’re like a coloring stencil; it gives you the outline that is the framework, but you decide what colors and patterns to fill it. In WordPress, you can use themes to shape your website, but you have control over the colors, content and features. There are free themes, paid themes or, if you want, have a developer create a theme for you.

3 Effective Website Qualities Renters Want

By Sarah Gabot on November 11, 2011 in Marketing with Comments Off

Photo credit: Addison Place at Boca Raton (Flickr)

Rental websites are made for tenants and prospective renters, making it important to tailor your website to satisfy their needs. First, however, you need to know what renters are looking for to begin with.

We conducted research on renters that gave us some insight to what they’re interested in. Tweak your website in these three ways to give renters the information they’re looking for to boost your chances of closing a deal.

#1: Show your sales tag.

We asked renters what they first looked at when searching for a new apartment, and majority of respondents (45%) said asking rent. This surprisingly beat out other listing qualities such as information on amenities (6.7%) or commute to work (10%). This means that before renters hit the rental marketplace, their wallets point the way.

When constructing your rental website, the asking rent needs to be clear for every listing. Prospective renters have a price range and first filter out available apartments based on their budget. Meaning, the cost of your rental plus additional costs like utilities, security deposit or cleaning fees must be loud and clear on your website.

#2: They don’t care about much else but your listings.

When asked what information was most valuable to renters, 55.8 percent said that they wanted detailed information on individual listings. Other elements like information on rental agents (0.8%) or neighborhood details (7.5%) weren’t as valuable to renters.

With renters’ eyes focused on individual listings, it’s important to provide them with detailed and effective descriptions about the unit.

#3: Post the square footage and floor plan to save time.

When visiting apartments, 42.5 percent of respondents looked at the amount of living space first and 35.8 percent cared about the apartment floor plan. Knowing this, don’t make your renters leave the house. Tweak your website so that it has specific information of your property. Save your prospective renters the trouble of visiting irrelevant apartments and include the square footage and apartment layouts with units listed on your website.

4 Tips for an Effective Website for Rentals

By Sarah Gabot on November 10, 2011 in Marketing with Comments Off

Photo credit: SimonDoggett (Flickr)

An increasing number of rental brokers and landlords are building their own websites to showcase their properties to prospective renters. You can build your own free website using a website like WordPress, or you can buy your own domain name to personalize your URL, such as www.CathyRentalProperties.com.

Once you’ve found a place to host your rental website, make sure it has the following essential elements that compose a good rental property website.

Tip #1: Keep it simple.

Avoid using Flash and fancy moving graphics on your website. Rental users want to cut to the chase and immediately look for rental properties, so don’t subject them to sitting there to watch Flash animation or videos because they’re too time consuming.

Instead, put your energy into making your website user friendly. Structure your webpage to be intuitive to the renters. Make links and pages frequently used by renters, like the apartment search functions, easily accessible. Also, if your brokerage has properties in various neighborhoods, you may want to include neighborhood profiles.

Tip #2: Make it interesting “just right” pictures.

Keep your website visually appealing by including quality pictures of your properties. Images can’t be too large or small. Large pictures cause renters to unnecessarily scroll to see an entire image. Small pictures fail to show the details of your unit, for example, it may be hard to tell that the counter is granite from tiny image. Instead, use medium sized pictures that are big enough to show the property details, but small enough to not be visually overwhelming.

Tip #3: Keep the content fresh.

Don’t let the information on your rental website go stale. Put up the best, recent pictures of your rental unit. While continually adding properties to your online inventory, it’s important to also remove your listings as soon as they’re signed. This will keep you from getting angry phone calls from prospective customers who realize the unit they’re interested in is taken.

Tip #4: Make an about me/us page.
Be a little vain and create a page about you and/or your company. This important because renters would like to know a little bit about who owns the property. They’re paying you, after all. They should know to whom their money is going.

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