The hub of your online presence is your website. But when it comes to apartments and apartment companies, websites seem to come in all shapes and sizes. Endless options. A myriad of various website providers and platforms.
With all of the different “moving pieces” that can go into your websites, we wanted to take a closer look at what you’re doing for your property websites.
What features are you adding? What is your content strategy? What types of tools are you using to manage your sites? We had questions, and as usual, you had answers … here are just a few of the highlights from the discussion.
(Hit the links to jump straight to a specific question.)
- Q1: Do you have a property website, a company website with property listings, or both? Does one tend to perform better?
- Q2: How often do you update your website? What types of updates are you making? Pricing? Blog posts? New photos? Landing pages?
- Q3: What tool(s) do you use to maintain/update the content on your site? Is your website provided by your PM software?
- Q4: We’ve all heard websites need “fresh content” for SEO. What are some examples of content that works well for apartment sites?
- Q5: Are your websites utilizing responsive design for mobile devices? Do you have a separate mobile version?
- Q5a: How do you stay current on website trends? How often are you adding new functionality or making major design/code updates?
- Q6: What are the top features that you want to add to your apartment websites? What ideas can we borrow from other industries?
Do you have a property website, a company website with property listings, or both? Does one tend to perform better?
@AptChat Both, A!: we are only in one city. Our main site will generally show up in search results for most common at search terms #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat A1: but our property sites will show up for more specific search terms. IE property name #Aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat Company website with property listings and a seperate property website for a new lease up property. #aptchat
— D Wood (@IIIWoodD) March 10, 2015
@AptChat My last company had both. We paid for SEO on the property sites. They did well! #AptChat
— Danielle C. Noel (@daniellecnoel) March 10, 2015
How often do you update your website? What types of updates are you making? Pricing? Blog posts? New photos? Landing pages?
@AptChat A2: almost daily. Update availability & blog most often. #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat We're in the process of updating our website. It'll include blog posts, pricing and photos. Looking forward to sharing it! #AptChat
— Pacific Crest RE (@PacificCrestRE) March 10, 2015
@AptChat I find photos/landing pages are rarely updated and pricing is daily for most comp. I wish everyone would update FPs. #AptChat
— Danielle C. Noel (@daniellecnoel) March 10, 2015
@30lines Yes, exclusive deal.Building new plug-in to do more.IE. when form is submitted, show special based on what interested them #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
What tool(s) do you use to maintain/update the content on your site? Is your website provided by your PM software?
@AptChat A3: WordPress for blog, custom CMS for website. PM supplied would be easier, but doesn't allow for as much customization #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat Manualyl, we show availability by the month, not a specific date. Also, don't want to overwhelm prospect with many options #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat CMS for our website. Our site is a separate entity from our PM software, hosted with a web developer. #aptchat
— Giovanna Ventre (@VentreG) March 10, 2015
@VentreG @AptChat Same with us. The CMS isn't exactly the easiest to use but it gets the job done. #aptchat
— D Wood (@IIIWoodD) March 10, 2015
@30lines @VentreG one thing I've learned. If you have custom CMS + good developer, you can do anything you want #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
We’ve all heard websites need “fresh content” for SEO. What are some examples of content that works well for apartment sites?
@AptChat A4: updating "web specials," blog posts highlighting specific units or specific renter needs, IE. short term housing #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat We'll blog about our properties, of course, but also about Seattle life and ways to make #ApartmentLife great. 🙂 #AptChat
— Pacific Crest RE (@PacificCrestRE) March 10, 2015
@AptChat And, of course, there will be some obligatory business-y stuff, like "how to pay your rent online." #AptChat
— Pacific Crest RE (@PacificCrestRE) March 10, 2015
@aptchat Side note – Media is so important. Not just images of your property, but images & videos of specific floor plans. #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
Are your websites utilizing responsive design for mobile devices? Do you have a separate mobile version?
@AptChat Unfortunitely, we have a separate mobile site but are looking into switching to responsive design. #aptchat
— D Wood (@IIIWoodD) March 10, 2015
@AptChat We're getting there! I really wish they were now but it's on our radar. #aptchat
— Giovanna Ventre (@VentreG) March 10, 2015
@AptChat A5: new sites are responsive, use @getbootstrap to do that. In process of converting old ones b4 4/21 – bc google says #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
How do you stay current on website trends? How often are you adding new functionality or making major design/code updates?
@AptChat A5a: I follow retail website trends. We are trying to make looking for next home feel like a retail experience #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
What are the top features that you want to add to your apartment websites? What ideas can we borrow from other industries?
@AptChat A6: high quality images, videos, testimonials, targeted specials. Borrow search / sport function from retail sites #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@AptChat We recently added resident testimonials to our sites portfolio wide. I feel it's a great addition to our general marketing #aptchat
— Giovanna Ventre (@VentreG) March 10, 2015
@EricDainton @IIIWoodD Did a campaign w/ comment cards at our properties then posted a few on each site! Easy to implement/manage #aptchat
— Giovanna Ventre (@VentreG) March 10, 2015
Our sites are WIP. but we are moving towards empowering customer, make it so easy for them to find their needs then contact us #aptchat
— Eric Dainton (@EricDainton) March 10, 2015
@VentreG @EricDainton @IIIWoodD Sorry I missed this post! My old company did "Rate Us" cards and I build out mini sites URL/rateus #AptChat
— Danielle C. Noel (@daniellecnoel) March 11, 2015
Now it’s your turn. What are you doing for your property websites? Anything you’d add? What are some new features you’re trying to add to your sites? If you have a great apartment website you’d like to share with the group (even if it’s a work in progress), feel free to link it up in the comments.
Our next #AptChat will be Tuesday, March 17th at 12pm Eastern … celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with us while we discuss online ratings and reviews. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for #AptChat updates to get these recaps and more delivered straight to your inbox!