IS YOUR WEBSITE JUST PLAIN BORING?

Over the past several years I have told you that a good website will drive business to you, then it's up to you to get the prospect in your door.  But have you honestly looked at some of the home builder websites out there?  Boring!!

This housing recession is not going to go away any time soon and I'm sure a lot of you sit at your desk wondering how to get prospects in your office.  Let me give you a rundown on why that's not happening.

• Your Marketing Plan is antiquated.  OOPS!  You don't even have a marketing plan?  Well, you get what you sow.
• You stopped all advertising.  NICE!  Nobody even knows if you're still in business.  I can hear it now.  Some of your past customers probably think you must have passed away or gone out of business.
• You've let yourself go to seed.  You've done nothing to make your offices attractive and your out of date business cards and literature were probably last updated in 1997.  You're like the dandelion that has gone to seed and and the wind has spread you lack of enthusiasm to the four winds.
• But the worst problem is probably your website.  Have you really taken a good look at it lately? If you're like most builders, you haven't visited it or even updated it in over a year.  Why should you?  Nobody ever calls you or emails you.  You don't even know how many "hits" you get on a daily basis or where they come from.  So sad!  :(

OK, let's cut to the core of the problem with your website.  It's BORING!  If I were a prospect and wanted to find a builder in my area, I would go to the Internet before I opened the yellow pages or looked in the classified section of the newspaper.  The Internet is where over 90% of the prospects for a new home look first.

First they Google "Home Builders" in their area and find maybe 5.  One by one they open the sites and look at what's been  put there and go "Yuck!".  A couple of pictures of some homes that your modular factory supplied and some other BORING information. 

What's wrong with you?  Are you this boring in person?

After looking at your site for a whopping 10 seconds, they move on to the next one.  Then they make the decision to contact the one that looks the least dull and boring. 

OH! Wait a minute!  Your website didn't come up when they Google' d for home builders!  That's because you don't known how to use keywords and have no idea how to make Google find you.  Too bad you never had a shot at that prospect.  Maybe the next one will find you.  Highly unlikely.

And if they do find you, what then?  Here are my 5 pet peeves about your site:

1. No personal email address
2. No pictures of yourself, you staff or your homes
3. You don't say which factory you buy from---no link, no name, no hint.  People want to know this!  Are you ashamed of your factory?
4. Your website is one of those terrible "Yellow Page" sites or has been done by you using the crappiest software on the market.
5. No link from your modular home supplier to you because you didn't give them one!  Or are they ashamed of you?

Take an hour or two and start Googling home builders in your area. Then go to other states and look at some home builders there. And finally, after you've done that; go to yours and try not to throw up!

Since a vast majority of home builders, I estimate about 99%, have boring websites, you have time to make yours

 POP!