Dennis O'Neil - Speaker & Author on Internet Sales, Marketing, and Social Media for Home Builders » Mobile

How Does Your Website Traffic Measure Up?

dennisoneil — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 13:00:58 +0000

Just like every market is different, every builder is different. This means how best to judge a successful campaign or online initiative will be different for every builder.

Despite my best efforts to convince builders to compete against themselves when determining their success, most builders still ask, “So how am I doing compared to other builders?” While there’s no perfect average, the chart below provides some great benchmarks to compare your website’s performance.

Home Builder Website Performance Statistics

A couple observations jump out at me:

With just one exception, there’s a steady rise in the percentage of mobile traffic
With Apple & Android clearly ruling the mobile traffic sample, mobile websites should focus on providing the rich experience that these phones support rather than dumbing down a site just so it works on less sophisticated phones.

Even greater detail will be available to those builders who opt-in to the data sample. If you’d like to participate, complete this form found here.

Why You Might be Wasting Your Time with Email Marketing.

dennisoneil — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:37:28 +0000

Its no secret I’m a big fan of what opportunities the mobile web presents for home builders. What I didn’t quite expect was a recent wake-up call on how closely email marketing is linked to mobile.

We recently sent out an email promotion for an apartment management client. The day after the email went out to a couple thousand leads, I eagerly visited the client’s Google Analytics dashboard. I was anxious to see the fruits of our labor – a big ‘ol mountain peak in the traffic chart as of the flood of leads came running back to the website for more. Only, this time I was more than disappointed. No mountain. There was barely a blip on the total traffic chart.

I was a little more than disappointed. This was the first email the client had sent in a long time, and the list was a prime database of leads who had contacted them. They should’ve been hungry for this email. They should’ve responded en masse and blitzed the website for more details. The creative came from a third party. It was good. It should’ve resonated, but it didn’t look like it did. So, a little dumbfounded, I moved on.

Perhaps it was my disappointment that caused me not to look in the client’s MailChimp account that day, but whatever the reason, I didn’t do it right then. Today, however, I did go there. And I struck gold. The kind of “a-ha” that makes you wonder how you’ve passed over the conclusion so many times. I had all the pieces of the puzzle, but never completely put them together. There it was now. In the MailChimp stats was the data detailing the most popular email software used by the list of leads. Take a look at the screen shot below.

27.3% from iPhones!

That’s right . TWENTY-SEVEN PERCENT of the opens were on iPhones! Second only to Outlook 2007, and well above GMail and Yahoo. Shortly after I finished smacking my forehead I continued to wonder why I hadn’t put the pieces together before.

Of course, the number of people who read email on their phones is growing tremendously. Of course we think about what emails look like on phones. Only now, did it click. The immediate goal of many email promotions is to drive traffic back to your website.

If you don’t have a mobile friendly website or landing page, you’re providing a poor experience for a large percentage of your email marketing list.

For this particular client, we track the mobile website traffic inside a dedicated Google Analytics account; and that’s where I found the other part of the mountain.

Clearly, the impact of this will vary a little for every email database, but its changed the way I think about email marketing and mobile websites – and how inseparable they are. There is no way we’ll send another email blast for a client without first researching how their list reads email. I can’t imagine trying to drive traffic to a landing page without a mobile friendly option.

As if we needed another reason to make the case for mobile websites. The mobile web continues to impact everything we do… now including email marketing.

QR Codes. We Can Do SO Much Better.

dennisoneil — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:38:18 +0000

QR Codes seem to be all the talk these days, picking up a tremendous amount of steam in the last year especially.

The companies that sell this free technology are making claims about how “QR Codes are the future”, “QR Codes are a ‘must-have’”, “QR Codes Saved my Life,” etc.

If QR Codes are truly the future of the connection of the physical-to-virtual worlds, I’ll be surprised. I expect that they’re a short-lived transitional tool. As an aside, QR Codes were actually invented in 1994.

Technology is most beautiful, and most useful when its invisible. The process of needing to open an app on my phone, wait for my camera to focus, take a picture of a funky looking image, and then wait while having no idea what’s going to happen next is anything but invisible, beautiful, or natural.

So what are the alternatives?

Better:

My phone is smart. My Google Goggles app has the ability to take a picture of a painting and then tell me who paitned it and when. It doesn’t need me to speak “machine” to it with a QR Code. If my phone is smart enough to recognize that, and, even simpler, an phone number in an email, why can’t I just point my phone’s camera at text on a surface and have it recognize that?

Even Better:

NFC – Near Field Communications (NFC) is a technology that will be appearing in more phones later this year. NFC is a short distance wireless communication technology that will allow a user to “wave” their phone in front of an NFC enabled object to receive data, a link, download an app, etc. Its already part of Google’s Nexus S and it is rumored that it may be included on the iPhone 5. This type of activity will prove to be a lot more natural to most people.

If you are using QR codes, just a couple tips:

Its free to generate a QR code. You can do it in places like this or this.
Be sure to add tracking, like Google Analytics tags, to the URL you’re embedding in the QR Code. That will let you know how many people are actually using it.
Send people to a mobile website. If someone’s using a QR Code, they’re doing it from a mobile device. Send them to a mobile website, or at least a mobile friendly page on your full website (no flash, etc).
Tell me something new. If I go through the process of following the QR Code, the website should do more than tell me the same thing I just saw on your ad, business card, or whatever else you printed the QR Code on. Give me more details, information, etc. Make it worth my time.

While QR Codes may have their place for a little while, I don’t think they’ll have a long life in the mainstream. They’re still too clunky for the average user, and technology will quickly pass over their limitations with something a lot better. Something natural and invisible.

My Mobile Real Estate Predictions for 2011

dennisoneil — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 16:15:26 +0000

Photo Credit: Michael Stout

Over the years I’ve written down a number of opinions about the mobile Internet and home builders. In 2008, I wrote Homebuilder Mobile Marketing with Google discussing the impact Google’s Android platform would have on mobile usage (now with the greatest market share). In 2009, I wrote about how Foursquare would impact mobile real estate marketing. And more recently I wrote about mobile apps versus mobile websites for builders.

Why I got some things wrong over the years, I hit the mark quite a bit, too. I thought it might be fun to put some more skin in the game and outline a list of 2011 predictions for the mobile web and builders. Since 2011 is well under way, I’m going to revisit these in about 12 months time, maybe sooner, to see how I did.

Separated into “likely to happen” categories, here it goes:

Pretty Confident:

Mobile website visits will be 10% or more of total website visits for the average builder.
Mobile traffic originating from organic search will represent 25% of total mobile traffic.
A major builder will offer special bonuses to nearby check-in’ers to come over for a model tour.
Most Builders will stop using QR Codes to direct people to non-mobile sites. (Hint: If your prospects are scanning a QR code, they’re doing it from a mobile device)

Maybe/Hopeful:

A Realtor incentive program will be launched incorporating geo-location to reward agents for model home check-ins.
A major builder will launch an app that includes geo-location data (nearby check-ins, specials, etc).

Tough Puts (I’m not a golfer, but I’m told this means “unlikely, but doable”):

A showcase of homes will take place incorporating a geo-location app or a tie-in with an existing geo-location service like Foursquare, Gowalla, or Facebook Places.
An innovative builder will release an iPad app in the App Store (not just for sales office use)
It will be commonplace for a mobile listing page to include a mobile optimized video of the property.

Some of these are less quantifiable than I’d like; i.e. “most”, “major”, “commonplace”, etc.

Am I missing something? Feel free to chime in and let me know your thoughts.

App, Schmap… Mobile Websites are Where its At! (sort of)

dennisoneil — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:03:37 +0000

The mobile Internet is still a young frontier for builders. While directories and large brokerages have invested in mobile apps beginning a couple years ago, most builders have just begun to dip their toe in the water. The benefit to a company with an “innovator/early adopter” approach to marketing technology is that, while they pay the occasional dumb tax, they also get paid with insight their competitors miss by waiting on the sidelines.

Recently, I’ve been seeing a solid trend across the mobile websites of clients – increasing organic search traffic. To be clear, I’m not talking about examples where users are Google-ing “ABC Homes.” We’ve seen a significant rise in broad keyphrases; “new homes in Washington,” “home builder in Florida,” etc.

In the past, the majority of traffic to a builder’s mobile website has been either direct traffic or a search for that builder’s name. Direct traffic describes people typing in ABChomes.com into the browser of their phone. They were directed there by a friend, or a sign, or some other ”unplugged” activity. When someone Googles your name, its nearly the same as direct traffic. They had already chosen YOU as their target.

What we’re seeing is traffic coming from broad phrases like those above — phrases builders typically target for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

So what’s the big deal about an increase in broad search organic traffic to mobile websites? Its an evolution in consumer behavior. The promise of mainstream mobile traffic is becoming real. Instead of seeking a specific target website, more consumers (a 300% increase in the last year from our sample) are using search on their phone to find homes. This means the mobile web broswer has been come a home search tool, not just a home information tool. This is territory previously owned by mobile “apps.”

So what’s a builder, broker, or marketer to do?

Look at your current website traffic data to see how many people are accessing your FULL website using a mobile device. If you’re a Google Analytics user, go to to VISITORS > MOBILE > MOBILE DEVICES in the left menu. Ignore the quality metrics like time-on-site and pages-per-visit, as you should expect them to be low when trying to navigate a full website via a mobile device.
If 5% or less of your traffic is coming from mobile, maybe you’re an active adult project, or in a rural area. Mobile is still coming to your town, but you’ve got some time if you want it.
If 5-10% of your traffic comes from mobile, you’re like many other builders. I recommend building a mobile site. That number will be growing.
If more than 10% of your traffic comes from mobile, I hope you already have a mobile site. Your potential customers clearly want you to have one.

What else does this signal?

The rise in organic search means that consumers are using search engines on their phone like they do on their desktop. This seems like a overly simple statement, but consider that advanced real estate searches on mobile phones are most often done through an app. No one uses an app to search the web on their home computer.
This is good for builders and brokers without the budget to build an app for every smart phone platform (iPhone, Androind, Blackberry, Windows) – a costly endeavor.

I am NOT saying that apps are dead in any way. For a long time to come, they will offer rich functionalities that will be tough, if not impossible, to replicate through a mobile website. However, 2010′s numbers are promising. It’s clear that mobile websites are a smart and viable alternative to mobile app development.

Ignore the Mobile Internet at Your Own Peril

dennisoneil — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 12:45:09 +0000

I’m not normally one for drama, but I’m not sure the message is really reaching the industry. In the past I’ve written about home builder mobile marketing and how to use Foursquare for real estate. Thankfully, a group called Mobile Future has put together a great “Did You Know?” type video with some sobering stats on mobile Internet usage.

This type of shift in consumer behavior does not disappear when its time to search for a new home. This new standard of information and convenience ubiquity will be applied to every consumer experience; including shopping for a home. Are you prepared for this?

If you can’t see the video, click here.

Location, Location, Foursquare. How the Game will Jolt Mobile Real Estate Marketing into Prime-time

dennisoneil — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 02:54:04 +0000

I am convinced that the mobile web offers some of real estate’s most exciting opportunities in the next 5-10 years.

Some of the ideas I’m about to share are certainly not the “show me some case studies” type, but most great opportunities are best identified early, no? And as is the case with all impactful technologies, those companies that identify and take advantage of that potential sooner than their competitors, have an advantage. They gain critical “trial-and-error” wisdom that will take their competitors years to learn.

Check out my posts from September and November of 2008 for a primer on my thoughts about Mobile Marketing for New Homes and Home Builder Mobile Marketing with Google. Below I’d like to hash out what I see as the next step (not that, as an industry, we’ve taken the first one yet.)

What we’re just beginning to see is the power of the Internet, combined with location specific relevance, combined with mobility, combined with personal recommendations. Yes, all of this has taken off with a game by the name of Foursquare.

For those of you not familiar with Foursquare, I encourage you to check out their website and even sign-up to play – I was excited when the game was finally made available in my hometown of Baltimore. The short explanation – Foursquare is a game where users who register (for free) use their mobile phones to “check-in” at any location/business to which they travel – gas station, coffee shop, deli, school, etc. Players are rewarded for check-ins based on volume, frequency, and consistency. After regular check-ins at a particular location, a user may be awarded the status of “Mayor.” For example, a Foursquare player may carry the title of “Mayor of Starbucks – East & Main” or “Mayor of BP Gasoline – Downtown.” Players are also connected to their friends, getting to see where their friends have traveled, and even receive notes and recommendations left by their friends.

Why should any business care about Foursquare?

First, Foursquare is building a very reliable local directory. I’m sure more than a handful of people have been frustrated with local business directories online. Foursquare is using its players to build an accurate database of local business and is using the GPS data from their phones to help.

Second, Foursquare players are “early adopters,” meaning they tend to be early users of new technology, and have a lot to do with a product’s evolution into the mainstream. This also means that they have a high likelihood to be influencers within their social circle; i.e. other people go to them for advice.

Third, Businesses can identify loyal customers. Most businesses would like to think they know all their regulars, but for many, it’s not realistic. Businesses can identify those regular patrons and reward them. Many businesses in popular Foursquare cities, like New York, already offer discounts and specials to whomever has been crowned “Mayor” of their establishment – Click here for a sample. What better way to reward customer loyalty, and encourage others to visit more?

Fourth, Research. Where do people go after they leave your business? What competitors are growing/shrinking their popularity? What else do people do around or near your business?

And if those aren’t good enough…

It seamlessly integrates with Twitter and Facebook making it easy for people to tell all their friends where they are, too.

Two great places to learn more about how businesses are using foursqaure:

foursquare.com – Great samples, and the company has made a commitment to provide data to businesses in the future – Like web analytics for real life… Truly, this could develop into the online-to-offline traffic connection we’ve been wishing for since the dawn of the Internet.
Robert Scoble – In a recent blog post he shared quite a few examples of how businesses are using Foursquare. Its more tech and less business, but a great read.

So what does all of this mean for home builders and real estate?

Lets look at the key features of the game/service:
We’ve given consumers a fun tool that encourages them to log the places they’ve visited.
We’ve got a tool that employs geo-location to suggest new places to its users.
We’ve got a tool that encourages its users to leave “tips” (aka reviews at times) for their friends.

Below are just a handful of ideas:

1. A “Parade of Homes” where users would check-in at each model using Foursquare. Reward participants for checking in at all the models on the tour, and encourage them to leave “tips” for future visitors. A little while ago I projected that within 18 months, somebody will do this. I’d love to see it happen sooner.
2. What about organizing a Realtor tour? Encourage agents to visit your models on a tour, or simply encourage them to “check-in” at your models more often (with clients preferably).
3. Reward your regulars. Identify the agents who visit more than one of your communities.
4. Partner with a local business and offering their “check-ins” some type of bonus to stop over for a model tour.

But wait… there’s more

Foursquare recently announced it released an API (Application Programming Interface) – a way for other companies to build on top of its service. This means that almost any company who can think of a creative or useful way to use Foursquare’s service, can now integrate the data into another system. When announcing the release of its API, Foursquare shared that an integration is already under way with the Layar browser for Android powered mobile phones and iPhones. Not familiar with how cool Layar is? You can see an example video here. Mashable.com also has a nice write up on why this API is big news.

Waste of time?

Foursquare has been called a waste of time by some. How many remember when the Internet was called a waste of time? I still hear that from some people today.

Some of the thoughts I shared above use Foursqaure as the basis for the idea, but it may not actually be Foursquare that is eventually used to accomplish them. Like many tech startups, they can be bought in an instant, or their technology duplicated by someone with a better twist. With the release of its API, Foursquare has empowered a new world of possibilities. The eventual tool the home builder and real estate world embraces may not even look like Foursquare.

Who knows, maybe there’ll be a white label Foursquare solution available to Home Builders Associations, Property Management Companies, and Multiple Listing Services?

Most of this is a bit far out (not the concept, but the timeline). I don’t expect to see something like this for a while (maybe 3-6 months in an urban market), but I see amazing possibilities here.

What model home couldn’t use more traffic? What model home doesn’t want more visits from influencers in the community? What home builder isn’t trying to attract and identify active Realtors?

So, what are your thoughts? Waste of time, or real potential? I’d love to hear from you below.

Mobile Real Estate Marketing Just got Awesome… thanks to Trulia

dennisoneil — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:11:06 +0000

A few weeks ago I got seriously excited when I saw the future of hyper-local real estate search offered by the Layar browser. At the time, this “augmented reality” browser wasn’t available yet in the U.S. However, now it appears it is, and Trulia is the first one that I know of to offer their homes-for-sale data through Layar.

Currently, this is only available on phones running Android, Google’s smart phone platform, so market penetration will be a little low until its available for other web-friendly phones, like the iPhone.

If you didn’t see the video, check it out below.

A Nearly Free Mobile Website Option for Home Builders

dennisoneil — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:14:35 +0000

If you’ve toyed with the concept of a mobile campaign or a mobile website, but were turned off by the additional cost or the complexities, there is an option that is fast, simple, and maybe free. Yep, it might be free.

NewHomeSource.com is the consumer portal of BHI, and if you’re not part of the database, you probably should be. I’m not going to go into a pitch for BHI, but I will say that they are the hub of new home listings on the Internet.

One of the under-promoted benefits of being in the BHI database is that all of your listings are automatically available in a mobile friendly format – at NO extra cost. To visit the New Home Source mobile site, go to www.nhs2go.com from your phone. Search your area, or search for your listings, to get an idea of what a user will experience on their phone.

So an nhs2go.com user can find your listings if they’re searching, but how does this give you a mobile opportunity?

Step One: Find your listing(s)

You can also visit www.nhs2go.com from your desktop computer. It looks a bit odd on a large screen, but it’s still easy to follow.

I’ve searched my area and located a community in Baltimore named Ashman’s Hope. Below is a direct link to the Ashman’s Hope page on nhs2go:

http://www.nhs2go.com/community.php?cid=41714&adv=0/

Step Two: Create a Redirect

You’ll need to get your IT or web people involved in this step. A “redirect” is when you tell someone to visit to yoursite.com/whatever, but then redirect (or automatically forward) them to a new location.

Obviously http://www.nhs2go.com/community.php?cid=41714&adv=0/ is not an address you’d print on a sign. It’s not memorable or easy to type. However, if you visit www.ashmanshope.com/mobile from your phone, you’ll see that we’ve created a redirect that will forward you to that complicated URL above.

Step Three: Promote it

This new mobile website (ashmanshope.com/mobile) is simple to print and remember. It belongs on onsite signage; at the very least on the closed sign. It’s also well suited for brochure boxes when prospects are likely to pick up information alone in your community. This address could be used anywhere you think a user would be well served by accessing the info on a mobile site, including combining it with a Text Message (SMS) campaign.

It really is that simple.
So what are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach?

Disadvantages:

- The Mobile Site is Unbranded – The “New Home Source” header is at the top of the page, as opposed to your builder logo. However, there are no ads, including no competing builder logos.

- New Searches are Possible – At the bottom of the mobile page, there is a link where a user could start a “new search,” potentially exposing them to other properties. It’s a small option, and very low on the page. It’s not prominent unless someone knows what to look for, but it is there nonetheless.

Advantages:

- Low/No Cost – The cost is absolutely $0 if your community is already a part of the BHI network.

- Rich Content – The site includes community photos, prices, floor plans and elevations; almost everything that is available on newhomesource.com.

- Current Content – Prices, plans, and availability is automatically updated when BHI is updated. There’s no need to maintain something new.

- It’s Mobile & Simple – This is a great tool for brochure boxes and closed signs – When visitors want more information now and no one is onsite. When visitors don’t have a computer, but they do have their have their phone. The website address can be texted to a client or real estate agent as a follow-up. The possibilities are literally limitless.

While the solution is not a perfect one, it certainly makes it nearly free and really simple for a builder to have a fully functional and info rich mobile-web presence.

In 2009, being a homebuilder with a mobile website is cutting edge. So go forth, and be cutting edge for free.

Homebuilder Mobile Marketing with Google

dennisoneil — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 02:27:54 +0000

EDIT: This image was added in November 2009. Post originally published November 2008.

Early in September [2008], I wrote an article about the how mobile marketing and the evolution of mobile phones was going to impact new home marketing. If you have not read it, it can be found here:
Mobile Marketing & New Homes – A Perfect Fit

In the article I discussed how Google’s new cell phone software, Android, was going to be a game changer for the mobile industry. It’s free and open source model means it will likely be the fastest spreading mobile system in use for new phones, and its software developer friendly nature will make it easy for millions of Google-loving programmers to enhance it with useful applications.

Why do you care? How does this impact homebuilders?

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with a programmer working at Google, Dmitri Plotnikov. In case you’re not aware, Google allows all of its employees to spend 20% of their paid time at work on whatever project they choose… don’t you wish? We can all thank Dmitri for using his 20% time to create the greatest little real estate application for Android phones. Simply titled “Homes”, this simple download available for free from the “Android Marketplace” enables fully featured searches on homes for sale or rent. It allows users to search within a radius from a specific zip code, or their current location. You can read more about Dmitri’s creation here:

http://homes-android.blogspot.com/

Can you imagine the family that’s relocating using a tool like this?

The husband and wife are driving around in their rental car alone after an agent showed them a few properties they were less than thrilled with. They drive through a random neighborhood that really appeals to them. They take note of a school they just passed. They use their Google phone to quickly search for the school and find it rated highly in the key areas they value. They stop the car and, using the “Homes” application, perform a search for houses for sale under $400k within a 3 mile radius of where they’re parked. They narrow the initial list of five results down to two possibilities based on the photos and descriptions. One of them is a new home community. From within the application, they email the two listings to their agent and request that he schedule an appointment to see them immediately. The new home sales center is already closed for the evening, but the listing within “Homes” contains a link to the builder’s website. The couple is able to view floor plans, virtual tours, and photos of the model homes all from their phone. How powerful is that?

What do you do now?

First – Be aware. Understand how this is going to change consumer behavior. Understand how this is going to change how people shop for homes.

Second – Make sure you’re a part of Google Base. Google Base is Google’s database of pretty much everything on the planet (eventually). This is where applications like “Homes” retrieves its search results. If you’re not a part of Google Base, you’re not a part of the search results. You can submit your listing there for free, but if you’re a homebuilder, the better way is probably through a listing distributor service like Builder Homesite (BHI, http://www.builderhomesite.com/listings).

Third – Try this out for yourself. If you don’t have a TMobile G1 (the first phone running Google Android), borrow someone’s for a few minutes or go to a TMobile store to try one out. Just like you need to drive your weekend directional signs to make sure people can find you, you need to follow the same digital paths consumers do to ensure you can be found that way also.