A growing share of home buyers and sellers sat on the sidelines last year as the pace of home sales continued its downward trajectory.1 In fact, since the Federal Reserve began its series of interest rate hikes in 2022, the combination of higher borrowing costs and record-high home prices has fostered the steepest real estate market slowdown since the 2008 recession.2
Priced out of the market, a generation of would-be buyers has been forced to delay their plans for homeownership.3 At the same time, current owners—reluctant to give up their pandemic-era mortgage rates—are waiting to sell, which has resulted in a sharp drop in listings.4
But there may be some relief in sight: In December, the Fed signaled that it was done raising interest rates—and suggested that it could cut rates by 0.75% over the coming year. While mortgages don’t directly follow the federal funds rate, they typically move in tandem—so cheaper home loans may finally be on the horizon.5
Lower mortgage rates should bring some much-needed movement back into the real estate sector. But with a market this fluid, the home buyers and sellers with an edge will be those who proactively leverage a real estate agent’s on-the-ground expertise and stay flexible so that they can quickly adapt to changes.
What does that mean for you? Read on to learn more about the current state of the U.S. housing market, the potential opportunities for buyers and sellers, and economists’ predictions for the year ahead.
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]]>The even larger issue now is the increased competition for the remaining three local positions. Businesses that previously appeared in positions four through seven will now have to strategize wiser for local visibility. And positions one, two and three are going to have to work diligently to stay evident. This will also make organic and paid results important for local businesses to work into their online marketing efforts. Therefore, a marketing and branding mindset is more important than ever when it comes to increasing brand exposure online, as well as, driving traffic to your website/social platforms.
Another modification worth noting is that we are seeing more cases in local search results where the Snack Pack is sitting at the top of the page and adverts are presented to the right. Although this now seems to be the norm, the positioning of these can vary. The variations we have noticed include local results at the top of the page, adverts at the top of the page, local results below ads and local results below a single organic listing. Since the search engines are constantly altering and testing new algorithms, it’s hard to determine how results will be displayed in the future.
What Has Changed?
- Only three listings are now displayed where up to seven were shown before
- The window of opportunity has shrunk, therefore, competition has increased
- Google is experimenting with paid local results
What Is The Same?
- Reviews are still extremely important for higher click-through rates
- Citation consistency remains essential for establishing higher results
- Links and local influence are still vital in competitive fields
What To Focus On:
- Google My Business
- Citation Consistency
- On-Page Optimization
- Reviews
- Local Links
- Local Reputation
Some Things To Keep In Mind:
- Although important, reviews and citations carry receding returns, however, legitimate links from local or related sources will continue to boost value. They are also the primary components in deciding whether you are able to be a part of, or remain visible in, the new Snack Pack.
- Make sure your local pages have snippets of reviews as they play a critical role in boosting click-through traffic.
- Ascertain location-specific on-page optimization is calibrated.
- Reviews are crucial in driving clicks and determining where you stand in the selection process.
- Organic is still the most flexible and consistently reliable driver of site traffic. So diversify when it comes to your SEO strategies and allow multiple avenues for traffic to discover your brand.
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]]>Whether you are just starting out in the marketing world, or have been running successful campaigns for years, you want to make sure you have these five areas covered.
Logo
One of the most important components of any landing page is making sure that your branding is present and visible. Whether you are marketing to loyal customers or a fresh set of potential customers, making sure your logo is visible is essential. While you may feel it’s not necessary to have, it is important because it helps people know they are in the right place and sets them at ease. They will not feel bait and switched, and will feel comforted knowing that the logo matches whatever source they clicked from. Another benefit is that it helps promote your branding.
Matching Merchandise
When sending people to a landing page, it is crucial to make sure that they have an easy way to access what they were searching. This means making sure that you have landing pages that match whatever ad send them there. Imagine a client clicks on an ad for a property search in Hollywood, but is taken to a landing page for homes in San Francisco. The visitor will have to try to figure out how to navigate to Hollywood properties and will most likely leave the page. Making sure that the potential customer can easily find what they were searching for is key to making sure they are able to convert to a lead or customer.
Call to Action
What are your visitors trying to accomplish when they get to your landing page? Making sure your call to action matches this is important. From starting their free quote to making a purchase, make sure you have a powerful message that is easy to see on what they should do next. While the text you use to make the call to action stand out may be something you have to experiment with, it is a must to have one on there.
Brief Form
Even if you are just giving a free white paper to help spread your brand name, it’s important to get something in return. Even if it is just collecting their name and email address, you can use this information to send them customized email campaigns down the road. If you are taking the time to get people to your landing page, it’s a necessity to not give your offer away for free. If they are truly interested in what you are offering, they will be willing to hand over some contact information.
Security Information
With so many concerns about protecting information online, it is more important than ever to reassure your customers that their information will be secure once it is handed over. It’s a no-brainer that you should include security seals, but that’s not the only thing you should display. Testimonials from past clients and badges for any partnerships you may have with other companies can let people know that you are a trustworthy company. Anything you can include to show that your company has a solid reputation will make them more likely to move to the next step.
Landing pages are very important to your business because they help cut down on confusion and help you focus the visitor’s attention on the most important part of your offer. They are a good way to add more content to your website and have a way to track specific campaigns and how successful they were.
Need help assessing your current landing page to see if it is performing as well as it could be? Our marketing specialists are here to help you make your current landing pages better or add on to your collection with new ones.
To get a free consultation, contact us today at 1-877-220-6584 or click here.
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