Using Resources to Increase "Stickiness"
Getting to Yes and Yes Again
by Ron Thibeault

One of the least understood concepts of internet marketing is the relationship it shares with traditional marketing. Nowhere is this more evident that with the concept of client "stickiness".

Too often, Realtors and real estate agents fail to realize that, much like with their non-Internet leads, success is tied to the ability to draw a second or a third or a fourth visit from a User. Visitor stat tracking software is partly to blame for this situation because rather than focusing on how many return visits a site has, the software leads one to the conclusion that unique users for a day is the most important statistical factor.

Here's the dilemma; do you honestly think that visitors to your site are also not going to check out other sites of your competitors? Of course they are! With the Internet comes one important concept to understand…that your competitors are never more than a few clicks away. So, how do you really compete? Is the answer all that difficult? Thankfully it isn't.

For Realtors and real agents, the concept of Internet "stickiness" comes down to content. We are not talking here of long lists of your accomplishments. Although your awards and achievements might be lengthy, they do little to bring a user back to you again later after they have left your site. These types of information simply reinforce a User's decision to use your services, However, they do not cause the initial decision.

What is intended by content is the series of tools, information, articles and hints that you can put together to create a total Internet experience for your User. Because of limited resources we are not intending that you go out and purchase a news service or similar items. However, by scouring the Internet you can get yourself in a position to deliver the needed content that makes Users want to come back to you.

An example of this is a Resources List for your City. We review a lot of realtor and real estate websites and notice that the lists of resources on these sites are woefully inadequate. If you claim to be a relocation expert shouldn't you at least have links to each and every Utility Service in your area? Of course, apply your local knowledge and use it to construct a list of resources that your Users will appreciate.

The important thing to note is that adding this "content" will also assist you in getting your site noticed by the search engines. Most of the larger search engines analyze the usage of certain words to determine how relevant your site is to that term. Think this through for one second…the effect of having links to "New Orleans Restaurants" can help you significantly in being for anything to do with New Orleans, including real estate. Imagine now what the effect is when you have 25 links on your page, all of them using words that you want to be found for!

The effect, therefore, of this strategy is twofold: to use the links and content to develop additional traffic that otherwise wouldn't have come AND to create a level of "stickiness" that makes users want to stay at your site and to come back again in the future.

Ron Thibeault