The other day I was walking my singing dogs when I saw a smart and simple domain name marketing tactic for real estate. Look at the “For Sale” sign in this picture. Do you notice anything different?
Well, on top of the For Sale sign there is a domain name for the house. If you visit “3808Greenway.com” the website is basic but shows you information on this house which is up for sale. Information on the site includes the price, detailed pictures of the house, property highlights, a loan calculator, aerial view, map it feature, send to a friend, and even more. In addition there is a widget to “Call Me” and you can request info on the house from the realtors if you more interested in more details.
What I like about putting a domain name on top of a “For Sale” sign is that I have no interest in buying this house. Yet as someone passing by (who knows about domain names, web marketing, SEO, etc) I still visited the website to see what it was about. Who knows, maybe I know a friend looking for a house in the area and I can easily email them this website on the house. Someone could also be walking around the neighborhood looking for a house and automatically get more information, without having to call anyone.
Considering that web hosting only costs $10 a month with from a reputable hosting company, like Site5, it is a no-brainier expense if you are a real estate agent. Since real estate agents earn a nice commission on a house like this, why wouldn't you invest the money to setup a website for your houses listings?
Honestly, I don't think I've seen any other real estate marketing that has been this effective. After I noticed this For Sale sign I've checking around town to see if there are other signs using this simple website marketing tactic. It seems Andrea Griffin and James Baldwin of Prudential Homesale YWGC Realty are the only ones in the Baltimore area that I have seen. Of course, I am not in the market for a house in Baltimore so I am not too focused on checking every house listing. However if you know of a good deal on a house in Hawaii, let me know.
What do you think of this smart and simple domain name marketing tactic? Do you think setting up a website could help sell a house? What about selling other products?