“The only way to build authority is through content.”
If you’re serious about generating leads, real estatetestimonials can be a key content element because they are unbiased comments that prompt visitors to give you their contact information.
See How Carrot Works How many deals are you losing to your competitor’s website?
Key takeaway: 123% increase in leads for sites with personalization.
We compared a batch of our CSU member’s motivated seller sites over 6 months to see the difference in the lead count.
Now, there are, of course, other factors that play into site conversion. It’s also a great reminder that great-looking sites still need the personalization element to round out.
We compared member sites WITHOUT personalization on the homepage (no testimonials, photos of the member, etc.) and homepages CONTAINING testimonials (1-3) and a personal photo in the about section.
The result?
PROOF: 123% increase in leads for sites with personalization!
Our most engaged members create the most content and get the most leads.
Using real estate testimonials on your site in text or video, you introduce content that will authoritatively promote your business.
You should be using real estate testimonials to help establish credibility and authority. Quality testimonials increase conversions because they aren’t looked upon as sales pitches. If they come across in an unbiased voice, they will build trust. You’re using real people to show success in your service.
In the end, your testimonials will convert more visitors into buyers and sellers if you use them correctly.
According to a study… “Testimonials and case studies are considered the most effective content marketing tactics.” In short, in a crowded market like today, great testimonials for real estate agents and investors formatted correctly can boost your leads and deals. They help add credibility to an untrusting world.
Additionally, as those values go vertical, many aspiring wholesalers start flipping houses, making for increasingly saturated online spaces.
But before panic sets in, breathe. It’s not as bad as it sounds… well, but it’s also an opportunity. It’s a chance to flex your real estate muscles, to stand head and shoulders above that semi-debilitating clutter, to be the solution rather than contribute to the problem.
What I will teach you will apply whether you’re an investor, buyer, seller, or agent.
I will teach you how to build credibility by leveraging testimonials that shine.
Before we dive into our list of top tips, here’s what you need to know about testimonials and why they’re essential.
A real estate testimonial relays a story from a current to a potential client. The shorter, the better (unless you sacrifice quality). You don’t want an hour-long testimonial.
When a client has a great experience, let them share it. Get real testimonials. Potential clients experience shopping anxiety — you know, that feeling before buying something that says, “It costs too much. It’s not good enough. How do you know it’s what you want?” — and testimonials are one way of shooting down this discouraging devil.
The testimonial says, “Other people have worked with this company and had a good experience. I probably will too.”
Here are some examples from one of our member sites:
Example Real Estate Testimonials
Why are high-quality testimonials such a big deal?
If used correctly, testimonials for real estate agents and investors are important for website visitors (and your conversion rate).
They can…
Completely eradicate concerns that prospects had about working with your business.
Build immediate trust for who you are and what you do.
Convince prospects to give you their information via an opt-in form or call you on the phone directly).
Consider that 88% of consumers claim that they read at least 10 reviews before deciding whether they can trust a company or not (and they have to trust you if they’re going to work with you) or that 88% of people trust online testimonials just as much as personal recommendations from a friend.
To prove just how powerful testimonials can be (at least the conversion rate side of things), Unbounce reported on an A/B test. Ideal for testing, Version A and Version B are identical save for one difference: Version B includes a testimonial above the website’s opt-in form.
In the end, Version B increased the conversion rate by 34%.
Let’s put that in perspective for a wholesaler’s website.
Imagine you drive 1,000 website visits every month, generating 100 leads per month on your website (a 10% conversion rate — typical for Carrot websites), and you close 1 in 25 leads. That means you’re doing about 4 deals per month at, let’s assume, $10,000 profit per deal.
Boom — you add a glowing testimonial to your website and increase your conversion rate by 34%, from 10% to 13.4%.
Now, you will get more than 130 monthly leads with the same amount of traffic (1,000 website visits). And since you close 1 in 15 to 25 leads, you’ll now do more than 5 deals monthly with the same amount of website traffic.
You added $10,000 in monthly wholesale fees (from $40,000 to $50,000 per month) by putting a testimonial on your website.
And the same goes for real estate agents. You can increase your conversion rate and monthly income by adding excellent real estate testimonials to your website.
Of course, I’m not promising that you’ll get exactly those results. I’m just trying to illustrate how powerful a slight boost in your website’s conversion rate can be on your business revenue (at Carrot, we provide high-converting websites out-of-the-box for our members)… and that testimonials can help you achieve that slight, powerful boost.
But… all of this depends on using high-quality testimonials.
You Might Be Doing It Wrong
Most people have testimonials helpful in taking up website canvas, but little else.
To avoid spitting lousy devil killers, I will walk you through the four levels of a quality real estate testimonial. Unfortunately, most people are stuck in levels one and two.
P.S. – If you learn better through video – check out this podcast episode we did with two of the top investors in the Carrot community, where we walk through how to get testimonials, what questions to ask, and how to leverage them on your site!
Level 1: The Basic Real Estate Testimonial
The first level is your most basic testimonial:
“Hey, Mark was great to work with. – J.K.”
If a level one testimonial is on your website, it’s best to take it down. It’s not helping. There are no specifics. It doesn’t say what Mark did for you that was so great. It doesn’t say how Mark did it.
It doesn’t end there if this lack of context isn’t enough. The signature says, “J.K.,” the client’s initials. Although the testimonial is made a joke by the initials J.K. (if someone has these initials, don’t even get their testimonial…), initials, even without such inconvenient letters, are impersonal and potentially create distrust in the viewer.
A testimonial doesn’t always help your reputation. Level one testimonials, particularly, can damage it.
Level 2: Be Specific
Level two is better, but still in the sad zone 😢
Do not use painfully vague real estate testimonials.
“Mark did what he said he’d do, closed on time, and I refer him to friends. – John Kennedy”
It says Mark is reliable, timely, and good enough to get a referral. Level two is getting more specific.
When a testimonial is ambiguous, it can work against building trust for your business and create unease in the prospect’s mind. If this testimonial is real, why isn’t it more specific?
Notice, also, that the testimonial used the person’s name, John Kennedy, not his initials. However, skeptics abound even with a real name and an honest, mildly-specific testimonial. The more specific, the better… and fewer critics.
Here’s a sample of a good review for a real estate investor:
“Best Decision I’ve Ever Made!!! I was in a situation where I needed to get out of my house ASAP and Colby came through for Me!!! Nobody else will ever beat his services and I’m relieved I don’t have the financial stress any longer!!! I will forever be grateful for what he did for me!!!”
But specificity isn’t all that counts toward your level. Even if your testimonial is true, you must convince people it’s true. It’s all thanks to that crowded real estate space with no shortage of lies and deceit.
Level 3: Be Real
Unfortunately, being authentic isn’t enough in our world of “alternative facts” and reality television.
It’s tempting just to write your real estate testimonial under an alias name and throw it on your website to increase the conversion rate. It sure would take a lot less time, and it might even boost your conversion rate if you’re a great writer.
But chances are, the testimonial you’ll receive from someone who authentically loves your service will be far more powerful (and conversion-boosting) than something you throw together yourself. Plus, people can usually tell when a testimonial is fake.
You have to convince people you’re authentic.
How?
Well, levels three and level four testimonials seem more believable simply because they include a visual and they’re a bit more specific:
“I inherited a house and couldn’t sell it, but found Mark online. I was skeptical, but their offer was fair, we closed on time, and I’d work with him again. – John Kennedy – Tampa Seller”
Viewers will look at an image or video, and immediately, the dud of a testimonial becomes impactful.
The image could be a picture of you and the prospect at the closing table or their face. It could be you shaking their hand or a short video of them discussing the process.
Your only goal is to make it real, to make it believable. Don’t forget to include a short bio for the testimonial giver; tell the viewer who’s recommending you. Even something as short as “John Kennedy, Tampa seller.”
Here is an example of a good testimonial with an image of the client and the investor:
“Thank you for all your help and walking me through the mess I got stuck with. You explained everything and went over the contract step by step; never once did your answers change. You gave us all the information we needed and we could see you were serious about what you do. If someone asks if I know who could help them, I would not hesitate to name you as a reference as you are an honest person. Once again, thank you so much.” – Louise R. Friel
Level 4: Record Video Real Estate Testimonials
If you want to climb to the testimonial pinnacle, make a video. Record a video of the whole process of your client, recommending you, emotions, and all.
Video captures something text cannot: the human ability to communicate nonverbally. And that’s a powerful prospect.
Written Real Estate Testimonial Examples
Here are a few examples of good “real” written testimonials:
2nd Chance Investment Group
“Like many others in this unstable economy, and after looking into other organizations, such as Keep Your Home California, I exercised my options by contacting Second Chance Investment Group in Chino Hills, CA. It was the best phone call I could have made. Now I am doing better than ever – free of debt. And moving forward with a clear mind. Thanks, Ray Foster and Second Chance. Keep up the good work.” – Sheryl Brown-Pearce
Townsend Realty Group
“Townsend Realty Group has been the finest company to work with as we sell our home in Canton. We have sold several homes and have never had such a professional and compassionate company guide us through the process. Their realtors are always a phone call away and are readily available to help in any way. Their team made some great recommendations for selling our home, and they also helped us avoid pouring lots of money into getting the home ready for the market!” – Ray and Patricia Massengale
Florida Cash Home Buyers
“Thanks to all the fine people I have dealt with in the past 2 to 3 weeks. I especially like to thank Annette with the law firm. She was very helpful in processing the closing paperwork. Alejandro kept me aware of my need to show the property to various people. Thanks again to all that helped with the sale and closing.” – Glenda Skaggs
Video Real Estate Testimonial Examples
Here are a few examples of good “real” video testimonials:
Let me end with one final tip…
You Need to Ask Good Questions
Don’t forget to set yourself up for success at the gate. You must ask the right questions to get a high-quality real estate testimonial.
Here are some questions to ask to get POWERFUL testimonials:
What problem did you need to solve,and did we solve it as you expected? — You want to pull out the pain they were experiencing before working with you. What were they going through? Could they even sleep at night? What was the emotional pain like? How stressful was the situation?
Why did you choose to work with us? — You want to understand better what made them decide to solve their stressful situation by working with you. What was going through their head? What was the final straw that made them give you a call?
Why did you choose us instead of some other company? — Why not somebody else? This question will help illustrate your USP and what sets you apart from competitors in your market.
What was your favorite part about working with us? — Being on the other side of that stressful situation, what was the client most enjoyed most during the time they worked with you? It could be how fast you closed or how easy it was.
What surprised you about working with us? — Asking this question can get the client talking about the thing they loved about working with you that was the most unexpected (i.e., how you went above and beyond for them).
Elements of an Effective Real Estate Testimonial
Creating impactful testimonials for your business is essential. To ensure your testimonials stand out and resonate with your audience, here are some updated guidelines for 2025:
Precision Is Key: Dive into the specifics of your client’s experience to provide a clear and detailed testimonial.
Authenticity Matters More Than Ever: Share their genuine thoughts, emotions, and real-life experiences to establish trust and credibility.
Thorough Insights: Offer a comprehensive and well-rounded review, covering various aspects of their interaction or transaction.
Showcase the Benefits: Highlight the positive outcomes, advantages, or solutions that resulted from their journey.
Go Visual: Enhance your testimonial’s impact by including a photograph of yourself with the seller. For an even more engaging approach, consider recording a short video testimonial.
Personal Touch: Add a brief bio to your testimonial to help your audience connect with your background.
Thought-Provoking Questions: Guide your testimonial with thoughtful inquiries that provide valuable insights into their experience.
With these updated tips and examples, you can create compelling real estate testimonials that resonate with your audience.
Where to Place Testimonials on Your Website
When placing testimonials on your website, a few options exist. Some investors dedicate an entire page to reviews or testimonials, while others prefer to sprinkle one or two on their homepage and other landing pages. However, it’s important to remember that buyers and sellers researching and wanting to know you better are more likely to visit your reviews page, “How it works” page, or “Our company” page.
Placing testimonials on your reviews page can be especially powerful, as this is where potential customers will go to read about the experiences of others who have used your products or services. You may also want to consider creating YouTube videos showcasing your business on your homepage and city landing pages, as this has been shown to increase search engine rankings correctly.
While you may not see many people watching these videos on your landing pages, once they are shared on your reviews page and other platforms, they can be highly effective in building trust and credibility with potential customers.
Here are a couple of examples how Carrot members use testimonials:
Kind House Buyers – Reviews Page (scroll on the image to see the full page)
Simply Sold Testimonials Page (scroll on the image to see the full page)
Suppose you’re uncomfortable on video, email past clients the questions above and ask for their answers. Call a friend and ask them to vouch for your character if you can’t think of any clients who’d give you a testimonial.
As your business grows, you’ll get better real estate testimonials, improving your conversion rate even further. But it’s a process.
Testimonials can increase conversion rates if you use them correctly, and there are very few instances where a testimonial would hurt your conversion rate.
So work with what you have.
So embrace it; get some testimonials and add them to your website. Remember, a slight increase in conversion could mean thousands of dollars per month for your business.
“The only way to build authority is through content.”
If you’re serious about generating leads, real estatetestimonials can be a key content element because they are unbiased comments that prompt visitors to give you their contact information.
Key Takeaways
Quality testimonials establish trust and authority when formatted correctly with real names, photos, and specific details rather than vague statements or just initials.
Video testimonials represent the highest level of effectiveness as they capture nonverbal communication and emotions that text alone cannot convey.
Ask strategic questions like “What problem did you need to solve?”, “Why did you choose us?”, and “What surprised you?” to gather compelling testimonial content that addresses prospect concerns.
Even a slight increase in conversion rates through properly formatted testimonials could mean thousands of additional dollars in monthly revenue for your real estate business.
Key takeaway: 123% increase in leads for sites with personalization.
We compared a batch of our CSU member’s motivated seller sites over 6 months to see the difference in the lead count.
Now, there are, of course, other factors that play into site conversion. It’s also a great reminder that great-looking sites still need the personalization element to round out.
We compared member sites WITHOUT personalization on the homepage (no testimonials, photos of the member, etc.) and homepages CONTAINING testimonials (1-3) and a personal photo in the about section.
The result?
PROOF: 123% increase in leads for sites with personalization!
Our most engaged members create the most content and get the most leads.
Using real estate testimonials on your site in text or video, you introduce content that will authoritatively promote your business.
You should be using real estate testimonials to help establish credibility and authority. Quality testimonials increase conversions because they aren’t looked upon as sales pitches. If they come across in an unbiased voice, they will build trust. You’re using real people to show success in your service.
In the end, your testimonials will convert more visitors into buyers and sellers if you use them correctly.
According to a study… “Testimonials and case studies are considered the most effective content marketing tactics.” In short, in a crowded market like today, great testimonials for real estate agents and investors formatted correctly can boost your leads and deals. They help add credibility to an untrusting world.
Additionally, as those values go vertical, many aspiring wholesalers start flipping houses, making for increasingly saturated online spaces.
But before panic sets in, breathe. It’s not as bad as it sounds… well, but it’s also an opportunity. It’s a chance to flex your real estate muscles, to stand head and shoulders above that semi-debilitating clutter, to be the solution rather than contribute to the problem.
What I will teach you will apply whether you’re an investor, buyer, seller, or agent.
I will teach you how to build credibility by leveraging testimonials that shine.
Let’s dive in!
What is a Real Estate Testimonial?
A real estate testimonial relays a story from a current to a potential client. The shorter, the better (unless you sacrifice quality). You don’t want an hour-long testimonial.
When a client has a great experience, let them share it. Get real testimonials. Potential clients experience shopping anxiety — you know, that feeling before buying something that says, “It costs too much. It’s not good enough. How do you know it’s what you want?” — and testimonials are one way of shooting down this discouraging devil.
The testimonial says, “Other people have worked with this company and had a good experience. I probably will, too.”
Here are some examples from one of our member sites:
Example Real Estate Testimonials
Why are high-quality testimonials such a big deal?
If used correctly, testimonials for real estate agents and investors are important for website visitors (and your conversion rate).
They can…
Completely eradicate concerns that prospects had about working with your business.
Build immediate trust for who you are and what you do.
Convince prospects to give you their information via an opt-in form or call you on the phone directly).
Consider that 88% of consumers claim that they read at least 10 reviews before deciding whether they can trust a company or not (and they have to trust you if they’re going to work with you) or that 88% of people trust online testimonials just as much as personal recommendations from a friend.
To prove just how powerful testimonials can be (at least the conversion rate side of things), Unbounce reported on an A/B test. Ideal for testing, Version A and Version B are identical save for one difference: Version B includes a testimonial above the website’s opt-in form.
In the end, Version B increased the conversion rate by 34%.
Let’s put that in perspective for a wholesaler’s website.
Imagine you drive 1,000 website visits every month, generating 100 leads per month on your website (a 10% conversion rate — typical for Carrot websites), and you close 1 in 25 leads. That means you’re doing about 4 deals per month at, let’s assume, $10,000 profit per deal.
Boom — you add a glowing testimonial to your website and increase your conversion rate by 34%, from 10% to 13.4%.
Now, you will get more than 130 leads per month with the same amount of traffic (1,000 website visits). And since you close 1 in 15 to 25 leads, you’ll now do more than 5 deals monthly with the same amount of website traffic.
By putting a testimonial on your website, you added $10,000 in monthly wholesale fees (from $40,000 to $50,000 per month).
And the same goes for real estate agents. You can increase your conversion rate and monthly income by adding excellent real estate testimonials to your website.
Of course, I’m not promising that you’ll get exactly those results. I’m just trying to illustrate how powerful a slight boost in your website’s conversion rate can be on your business revenue (at Carrot, we provide high-converting websites out-of-the-box for our members)… and that testimonials can help you achieve that slight, powerful boost.
But… all of this depends on using high-quality testimonials.
You Might Be Doing It Wrong
Most people have testimonials helpful in taking up website canvas, but little else.
To avoid spitting lousy devil killers, I will walk you through the four levels of a quality real estate testimonial. Unfortunately, most people are stuck in levels one and two.
Level 1: The Basic Real Estate Testimonial
The first level is your most basic testimonial:
“Hey, Mark was great to work with. – J.K.”
If a level one testimonial is on your website, it’s best to take it down. It’s not helping. There are no specifics. It doesn’t say what Mark did for you that was so great. It doesn’t say how Mark did it.
It doesn’t end there if this lack of context isn’t enough. The signature says, “J.K.,” the client’s initials. Although the testimonial is made a joke by the initials J.K. (if someone has these initials, don’t even get their testimonial…), initials, even without such inconvenient letters, are impersonal and potentially create distrust in the viewer.
A testimonial doesn’t always help your reputation. Level one testimonials, particularly, can damage it.
Level 2: Be Specific
Level two is better, but still in the sad zone 😢
Do not use painfully vague real estate testimonials.
“Mark did what he said he’d do, closed on time, and I refer him to friends. – John Kennedy”
It says Mark is reliable, timely, and good enough to get a referral. Level two is getting more specific.
When a testimonial is ambiguous, it can work against building trust for your business and create unease in the prospect’s mind. If this testimonial is real, why isn’t it more specific?
Notice, also, that the testimonial used the person’s name, John Kennedy, not his initials. However, skeptics abound even with a real name and an honest, mildly-specific testimonial. The more specific, the better… and fewer critics.
Here’s a sample of a good review for a real estate investor:
“Best Decision I’ve Ever Made!!! I was in a situation where I needed to get out of my house ASAP and Colby came through for Me!!! Nobody else will ever beat his services and I’m relieved I don’t have the financial stress any longer!!! I will forever be grateful for what he did for me!!!”
But specificity isn’t all that counts toward your level. Even if your testimonial is true, you must convince people it’s true. It’s all thanks to that crowded real estate space with no shortage of lies and deceit.
Level 3: Be Real
Unfortunately, being authentic isn’t enough in our world of “alternative facts” and reality television.
It’s tempting just to write your real estate testimonial under an alias name and throw it on your website to increase the conversion rate. It sure would take a lot less time, and it might even boost your conversion rate if you’re a great writer.
But chances are, the testimonial you’ll receive from someone who authentically loves your service will be far more powerful (and conversion-boosting) than something you throw together yourself. Plus, people can usually tell when a testimonial is fake.
You have to convince people you’re authentic.
How?
Well, levels three and level four testimonials seem more believable simply because they include a visual and they’re a bit more specific:
“I inherited a house and couldn’t sell it, but found Mark online. I was skeptical, but their offer was fair, we closed on time, and I’d work with him again. – John Kennedy – Tampa Seller”
Viewers will look at an image or video, and immediately, the dud of a testimonial becomes impactful.
The image could be a picture of you and the prospect at the closing table or their face. It could be you shaking their hand or a short video of them discussing the process.
Your only goal is to make it real, to make it believable. Don’t forget to include a short bio for the testimonial giver; tell the viewer who’s recommending you. Even something as short as “John Kennedy, Tampa seller.”
Here is an example of a good testimonial with an image of the client and the investor:
“Thank you for all your help and walking me through the mess I got stuck with. You explained everything and went over the contract step by step; never once did your answers change. You gave us all the information we needed and we could see you were serious about what you do. If someone asks if I know who could help them, I would not hesitate to name you as a reference as you are an honest person. Once again, thank you so much.” – Louise R. Friel
Level 4: Record Video Real Estate Testimonials
If you want to climb to the testimonial pinnacle, make a video. Record a video of the whole process of your client, recommending you, emotions, and all.
Video captures something text cannot: the human ability to communicate nonverbally. And that’s a powerful prospect.
Here are a few examples of good “real” written testimonials:
2nd Chance Investment Group
“Like many others in this unstable economy, and after looking into other organizations, such as Keep Your Home California, I exercised my options by contacting Second Chance Investment Group in Chino Hills, CA. It was the best phone call I could have made. Now I am doing better than ever – free of debt. And moving forward with a clear mind. Thanks, Ray Foster and Second Chance. Keep up the good work.” – Sheryl Brown-Pearce
Townsend Realty Group
“Townsend Realty Group has been the finest company to work with as we sell our home in Canton. We have sold several homes and have never had such a professional and compassionate company guide us through the process. Their realtors are always a phone call away and are readily available to help in any way. Their team made some great recommendations for selling our home, and they also helped us avoid pouring lots of money into getting the home ready for the market!” – Ray and Patricia Massengale
Florida Cash Home Buyers
“Thanks to all the fine people I have dealt with in the past 2 to 3 weeks. I especially like to thank Annette with the law firm. She was very helpful in processing the closing paperwork. Alejandro kept me aware of my need to show the property to various people. Thanks again to all that helped with the sale and closing.” – Glenda Skaggs
Video Real Estate Testimonial Examples
Here are a few examples of good “real” video testimonials:
Let me end with one final tip…
You Need to Ask Good Questions
Don’t forget to set yourself up for success at the gate. You must ask the right questions to get a high-quality real estate testimonial.
Here are some questions to ask to get POWERFUL testimonials:
What problem did you need to solve,and did we solve it as you expected? — You want to pull out the pain they were experiencing before working with you. What were they going through? Could they even sleep at night? What was the emotional pain like? How stressful was the situation?
Why did you choose to work with us? — You want to understand better what made them decide to solve their stressful situation by working with you. What was going through their head? What was the final straw that made them give you a call?
Why did you choose us instead of some other company? — Why not somebody else? This question will help illustrate your USP and what sets you apart from competitors in your market.
What was your favorite part about working with us? — Being on the other side of that stressful situation, what was the client most enjoyed most during the time they worked with you? It could be how fast you closed or how easy it was.
What surprised you about working with us? — Asking this question can get the client talking about the thing they loved about working with you that was the most unexpected (i.e., how you went above and beyond for them).
Elements of an Effective Real Estate Testimonial
To recap, these are the elements necessary for a killer testimonial. Check these off your list before posting.
Be specific
Be authentic
Be thorough
Emphasize benefits
Include a picture of a face, or better yet, record a short video
Short bio
Ask good questions
Where to Place Testimonials on Your Website
There are several options for placing testimonials on your website. Some investors dedicate an entire page to reviews or testimonials, while others prefer to sprinkle one or two on their homepage and other landing pages. However, it’s important to remember that buyers and sellers researching and wanting to know you better are more likely to visit your reviews page, “How it works” page, or “Our company” page.
Placing testimonials on your reviews page can be especially powerful, as this is where potential customers will go to read about the experiences of others who have used your products or services. You may also want to consider creating YouTube videos showcasing your business on your homepage and city landing pages, as this has been shown to increase search engine rankings correctly.
While you may not see many people watching these videos on your landing pages, once they are shared on your reviews page and other platforms, they can be highly effective in building trust and credibility with potential customers.
Here are a couple of examples of how Carrot members use testimonials:
Kind House Buyers – Reviews Page (scroll on the image to see the full page)
Simply Sold Testimonials Page (scroll on the image to see the full page)
Suppose you’re uncomfortable on video, email past clients the questions above and ask for their answers. Call a friend and ask them to vouch for your character if you can’t think of any clients who’d give you a testimonial.
As your business grows, you’ll get better real estate testimonials, improving your conversion rate even further. But it’s a process.
Testimonials can increase conversion rates if you use them correctly, and there are very few instances where a testimonial would hurt your conversion rate.
So work with what you have.
So embrace it; get some testimonials and add them to your website. Remember, a slight increase in conversion could mean thousands of dollars per month for your business.
One thing we’ve all got to figure out as entrepreneurs is how to actually get things done. How do we actually get the right things done in the business?
So we’re actually moving forward towards the goals, towards that vision because when we get wrapped into a business into the day-to-day, it’s really easy to get caught in the day to day and the things that are mundane and the things that are boring.
Just the day to day tasks that may or may not be moving the business forward toward your goals.
Planning Versus Doing
So I’m going to walk you through actually a process we’ve created here at Carrot because we ran into the same issues where we would get into the year and we would be going “Shoot, are we doing the right things?
Are the actions we’re doing today actually pushing us towards our goals? Pushing us towards our vision? Do we even know if we’re planning correctly?”
Planning
So over the years, we built this framework. I going to walk you through this framework, kind of behind the scenes stuff here at Carrot on what we do to make sure we’re all going towards the same thing, but also how do you do planning versus doing?
Okay, so the first thing we want to start with is mission and vision. Now, this isn’t anything new, right?
You’ve heard the phrase mission and you have the heard the phrase vision. None of that’s new.
It’s actually often times kind of over said, and sometimes people overlook it because they go “Oh my Gosh, that’s boring. I don’t need that. I just want to get to action doing things.”
But the reason that this is at the foundation is, that, there’s no way we can be doing the right things if we don’t actually know where we’re going. So we have to sit back and go “Where do I want to go in life? Where do I want to go in the business?” Write those down.
Vision Story
The way that we do this is we wrote a vision story, and we just really sat there and actually wrote a story about the business, about our lives.
For the next five years, what is this business going to look like? What is it going to look like product wise, people wise? What mission are we going after? What impact do we want to make? All those types of things. Just sit down and write a story, and it might be two pages, it might be twenty pages. So write that story.
Where are you going? That’s something your whole team needs to be a part of making. Maybe you sit down and write it at the start and share it with the team, get their feedback. That’s the way that we did it.
We shared it with the team and said “Hey, what are you excited about? What do you think needs to be more clear? What did we miss?” And they added stuff to it. They made our vision even stronger.
Mission
And then the mission part of it, which a lot of people get kind of confused is, this is where we’re going, but this is kind of what are we doing on the way there?
What are we trying to impact? What do you want your business to actually impact? It can’t be just money in your pocket, it can’t be just something like that. It’s got to be something to excite you over the long term about “Man, what do I want this business to really impact and do?”
So once you’ve got the foundation set, and make it simple for yourself. Just write the vision story.
Goals
The next thing you want to do is write some basic goals. So what do you want the business to do this next year? What do you want that business to do the next five years?
If we’re talking about just planning for this next year, what are your company goals for this year? Write those top-line goals down. If it’s as a real estate investor or agent, it could be how many deals you want to do.
It could be how much revenue you want to have. Whatever it is, write those goals down at a company level now.
Next, when you have a company with multiple people you need to kind of start breaking it down into different parts of the company. So here at Carrot, we have a couple of dozen employees almost, and we have different parts of the team where we need to set goals there.
Like, what are our marketing and growth goals? What are our goals around our product? What are our goals on our customer success side of things? And that way the team goes away then and comes up with their own goals that all feed into the company goals, that all feed into the vision.
So these all cascade down.
These goals help you achieve the company goals for helping you achieve the mission and vision.
And then it goes into again, once you have your goals nailed, how do I actually get those goals done? What do we need to do first? Are there projects we’ve got to do? Are there initiatives where we need to hire people?
This comes into … this is the rubber meets the road. This is where we actually get the work done this year. So we set our mission and vision. This is where we’re going.
That’s your story.
That’s what gets you excited.
That’s what gets your team members excited to join you because people want to join somewhere … they want to join a company or a movement where it’s going somewhere.
They want to go somewhere with you. They don’t want to just be going and sitting in place in a business or in a movement.
Roadmap
So where are you going? What are our goals on the way there? What things do we have to do to knock off on our way there? What are the actual things that we’ve got to do project wise on our roadmap? Put them on the roadmap.
These are things we need to break down by quarter and go “Okay, this quarter these are our roadmap items. These are the projects we’ve got to do, these are the people we have to hire.”
KPI’s
Things like that. And then from there on the day to day, are your KPIs. That’s your key performance indicators, so how do you actually track to make sure that you’re on task, on pace with those roadmap items? How do you actually know if you’re reaching those goals?
How do you actually know if you’re actually on pace to hit those things?
Well, that’s your KPI.
So what we do is on a weekly basis, what are those things that are the most important that measure whether you’re on pace? For us, let’s say the growth side of things, it might be how many leads did we get this week?
For you guys, it might be how many leads did we get? How many offers did we make? How many people did we meet? Things like that.
So what are those KPIs? Now, when we started rolling this out to the team, we got the foundation, then it builds up to this pinnacle of this is what you’re doing on the day-to-day. This is planning stuff, this is day to day how you track it.
But for the team, it made a lot of sense when we kind of put these lines into it. It said “Planning goes this way.” Planning always goes this way. When you’re sitting ready to plan for the year, your planning always needs to start here.
You need to review that vision. You need to get excited about it. You need to adjust it, work with your team on it.
You need to set goals. Then you need to come up with milestones on the way to those goals or split it up between team goals if you have a big team.
And then you need to go “Okay, to reach those goals, what projects do we have to do?”
That becomes your roadmap. And then we go “Okay, how do we track to make sure we’re on pace with that?” So your planning always goes this way.
Doing
The funny thing is, doing, once you get into the year, it goes the other way. Doing starts here at KPIs and it goes “Okay, are we doing the right things? Let’s look at the KPIs and see if we’re actually doing the right things. Okay, what are the projects we ought to do? Are they leading into these goals? Are they feeding into our vision?”
And those are the things you’ve always got to look at there. So as you’re going in to plan this next year, look at these in this order when you’re planning.
Vision
Company goals,
Team goals and milestones,
Roadmap
KPIs.
When you’re actually doing, flip it around. KPIs should cascade all the way down into the vision that you’re going for.
So take this … we actually have a page up. We’re going to link below this video the actual page with this document. Take the document, print it out, go use it with your team and report back.
Download Your Dreams Now Worksheet
On the call, I walk you through how to fill out this worksheet.
We want to hear the success stories. If this helped you kind of clarify your planning process, we have a lot more resources that go with this. Just click the link below this video or this blog post. It takes you to that resource, and share it up. Share it up if this helped you.
And also, go to our Carrot YouTube Channel if you’re not on YouTube right now. Go to YouTube, find our channel and subscribe. Just click subscribe wherever it is. It’s going to be on this page over here.
Subscribe to our channel and you get first access to any content we put out. And also we put out some contests every now and then that is only published on our podcast channel and our YouTube channel.
One of the biggest mistakes we see a lot of real estate investors and agents making with their paid advertising is honestly, you stop doing your marketing way too soon.
Demo Carrot: How many deals are you losing to your competitor’s website?
One of the calculations we’ve come up with over the last year or so that kind of helps you wrap your mindset around where you should be putting that money and when you should stop is just something that I call your max CPL, your max cost per lead.
In this short video, I’m going to walk you through this really, really simple calculation. In under three minutes, you’ll be able to figure out your ceiling for the max amount you should be paying for leads.
The funny thing is we want you never to have to pay this amount, but this calculation is what the big guys in every single market are doing. So, if you’re wondering how the big guys in your market are winning and getting most of the leads, it’s using this calculation.
You just don’t know it. I’m going to walk you through this really, really quick, and I want you to grab a piece of paper and follow along as you’re doing this. I want you to do it yourself and come up with your max cost per lead.
I’m going to tell you exactly what to do with that when you’re working with your pay-per-click person or when you’re doing it yourself to really go out there and dominate your market.
How to Calculate Max Cost Per Lead
The first thing we want to put down here is your APD, your average profit per deal. Your average profit per deal, of course, is going to vary in markets, so write down yours. For this particular scenario, we’re going to use $20,000.
Let’s assume that your average profit per deal is $20,000. Now what we’re going to do is how many leads does it actually take to get one of those deals?
The acronym for that LPD, so how many leads per deal?
How many leads does it take to get one of those $20,000 deals? Write that down. We’re just going to use a really, really round number here. We’re going to use 10 on here.
The average that we see, honestly, the average for pay-per-click is about 10 to 15. The average for SEO is between 8 and 14, 8 and 15, around there.
If you’re doing direct mail, it’s going to be closer to the 30 to 40 to 45 range leads before you get one of those deals, but when you’re doing pay-per-click, which is what this particular video’s about, this is probably pretty close to where you’re going to be, 8, 10, 15, somewhere around there.
Now, this is where we kind of changed the calculation over the years for people to really make it hit home. Now, this is not scientific.
I’m probably going to get comments from people saying, “Well, that’s a complete guess. What does that matter?” Well, this does matter because this helps you psychology-wise wrap around what your ads budget should be.
To get one of those $20,000 deals, what would you trade? How much would you actually trade to get that $20,000 deal, assuming that you know all the effort it will take, the commissions you’ve got to pay out, and things like that? So, would you trade $2,000? Would you trade $5,000? What’s the max amount you would trade to get that deal?
In this particular instance, we’re going to use $5,000 because I’d trade five grand all day to get 20 grand all day. Now, it’s probably pushing it to say that you’d trade $10,000 for $20,000 because then the risk becomes too much.
What’s the max amount that you know you would be insanely ecstatic if you were able to trade those all day for that? I’m going to put $5,000.
This is way, way simpler than you think it is. Right?
What Would You Trade to Make a Deal?
Here’s what we’ve got. We’ve got your average profit per deal of $20,000. You’ve got 10 leads per deal, which, once again, that’s just using an assumption here. Then you’ve got, I would trade $5,000 for that $20,000 all day long.
All we’re going to do now is we’re going to take this number, your $5,000, divide it by how many leads it takes, what you would trade divided by the number of leads it would take to get there, and that’s your max cost per lead. In this case, it’s $500.
So, a lot of you are probably looking at that going, “Oh my gosh. A $500 lead is insane. Why would I pay $500 so I can get leads for $120 or for $80?” or, “My friend over here’s getting leads for $62.”
The thing is, when we think about leads in the mindset of trying to get them for as low cost as possible, what happens is you really limit the number of leads you can go after.
The big guys in the markets, when you start to see how they’re going in there and dominating the markets, it’s because they know their numbers. It’s because they know they’re willing to trade $5,000 all day long for 20, and they can go out there and outspend you.
They can spend more money to get in front of the prospect. They can spend more money on Google Ads on Facebook to get in front of the prospect. They’re willing to spend up to $500 in this scenario to get that same exact prospect that you’re stopping your marketing at $100, or at $150, or f$200.
You can look at that and see who’s going to win the game. If you’re stopping your marketing, you’re turning your campaigns off, you’re bumping your bids down, and you’re stopping it at, man, $150, “I don’t want to go over $175 a lead,” and your competitors know that they’re insanely profitable at up to $500, they’re going to win all day long.
Now, do you actually want to spend up to $500? Ideally, not. Ideally, our clients don’t spend anywhere near their max cost per lead, but we have a client in Boston whose max cost per lead is pushing $700 or $800 per lead when you look at his numbers.
He’s spending about $300 to $400 per lead in his market, sometimes $250, and crushing his market, where his other competitors are coming at us saying, “Hey. We’re struggling. We’re getting leads for $150, $175.” We’re like, “Spend more money, and you’ll start competing.”
Calculating Your Max Cost Per Lead
Find your max cost per lead. Figure out what you would trade to get that average profit per deal. Then divide it by how many leads it will take to get that, and that will give you this nonscientific but insanely, insanely effective, mathematical max cost per lead number.
You go to your pay-per-click person with that number. As long as they’re managing your pay-per-click well and your pay-per-click campaign, your stuff is converting well, and your averages hold still, spend as much money as you can up to that cost per lead, and you’re going to win.
Hey, guys and gals. This is Trevor with Carrot, coming at you with another series of Carrot strategy sketches. Today, we’re gonna be talking about small market versus big market.
But, before I do, I want to throw a shout-out to one of our long-time clients and good friends of mine, Doug Faith, representing the Legacy Capital shirt you sent me a little bit ago. Man, I really appreciate you … Me, as a client, and you, as a client as ours, here at Carrot. Thanks, man. I’m gonna represent Legacy Capital. If you’re in Pennsylvania and you guys need capital to flip houses, go to Doug at legacycapitalpa.com.
Does SEO Work for Small Real Estate Markets?
Are you in a small market and you’re kind of wondering, hey, does Search Engine Optimization actually work for my market? Now, we get that question all the time here at Carrot. Is, shoot, can I, should I invest in Search Engine Optimization if I’m in a market of 30,000 people, 100,000 people, of a quarter million people, versus a large market, like Dallas or some other large market like that?
Well, my short answer is 100% yes. Do not get discouraged because you’re in a small market. Now, the dynamics are gonna be a little bit different. I’m gonna walk you through what you should do and kind of how to set your mindset there.
Then, we have other resources here at Carrot, other strategy sketches, coaching calls that we do for our clients, content pro members are above every single week. We have our three lead per day training, as well, that dives in deep on the specific strategies of SEO.
Large Real Estate Market Versus Small Real Estate Market SEO
The large market versus the small market. Here we go. The first thing is what qualifies as a large market or a small market? Well, there are lots of different definitions that we can kind of follow here, but I’m gonna follow this right there.
Are you less than 100,000 people?
Are you between 100,000 and 500,000 people population in your market area?
Or, are you 500,000 and above?
That’s population in your primary market area, okay? As an example, I live in a town called Roseburg, Oregon, where we’re here right now in our studio at the loft in Roseburg. It’s a small town. It’s a town of between 20 and 30,000 people, so would we be able to flip five, ten houses a month in Roseburg just using SEO? 100% no.
So, one of the first things we need to do is we need to set our expectations, first of all.
You need to set those expectations for what your market is going to be able to handle. If you have these dreams of flipping 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 houses a year in Roseburg with SEO, you probably better reset those expectations and, then, implement what I’m about to teach you, okay?
If you’re in a large market and you’re looking to flip two, four, five, ten houses a month, a market like a Houston or a Dallas or many other markets, is that realistic? 100% yes. But you’ve got to go after and implement the strategy I’m gonna lay out, okay?
The first thing right here, if you’re in a smaller market like we are here in Roseburg or you’re in a town, like Medford, Oregon, which is around 80 to 100,000 people.
What we’re gonna do here is we’re going to expand our strategy. Because we can’t just go after the main keyword phrases for house-sellers like we buy houses or sell my house fast or cash home buyers, in that one city and think that we’re gonna get enough leads to fuel a two, four, five, ten deal a month business.
So what we want to do is we want to expand our keywords and we want to expand our markets. By expanding our keywords, what I mean is, you can’t just go after the one or two primary keywords in that market for sellers or for buyers or whatever you’re going after.
Go after those ones because that’s probably gonna be 60 to 80% of your overall traffic for sellers in that market.
But then expand them out. Go after more niche down phrases, like your probate phrases, like I’m selling a house in divorce or lots of different phrases and reasons why someone would sell their house.
If you’re going after cash buyers, go after phrases, like handyman properties or fixer-upper properties in insert city. Discount properties, cheap properties, cheap real estate, investment real estate, buying investment properties. Expand your keywords out in that market.
Targeting Different Markets
The next thing we’re gonna do is target other markets around ours, okay? We have a client here in Oregon and he mainly operates in rural parts of Oregon.
He really doesn’t operate in the main part where the main population is in Northern Oregon where Portland is. Now, he does have great rankings there, but his main thing is rural.
If he were to focus just on Roseburg or just on Medford or Grants Pass or any one of those cities, he wouldn’t be getting the deal volume he is right now.
But he has a massive band assigned strategy and his SEO and PPC is all based around expanding the markets. He’s in about 10 to 20 different markets right now, doing between 5 and 15 deals a month.
Expand your keywords and expand your markets if you’re in a smaller area, that’s gonna take care of your lead volume. You cannot stay just focusing on that one market with one or two keywords and have the deal volume that’s gonna sustain you.
Very similar strategy for 100,000 – 500,000. The thing is, you’re just gonna be getting more leads when you get those rankings, get the traffic coming in. So you might need to expand it into fewer markets or to fewer keywords because the population’s larger, but you are still going to need to expand.
Once again, going back to an example that is type of that city, like a Eugene, Oregon. Now, I’m using Oregon because I’m familiar with the area … Or Bend, which is around 100,000 plus mark.
You’re probably not gonna fuel a 5 to 10 deal a month business in just one of those cities, but if you tackle both of them and maybe six or seven other cities around that … Redmond and Prineville, and go down into Klamath Falls and come over to Roseburg. Then, tool up your business to be able to serve those markets.
Then, you’re gonna be able to really build a really, really consistent and stable platform in your house flipping business. Or if you’re doing another type of business, I always use the plumbing example.
If you’re in a tiny, tiny market and you want to grow a bigger business, expand it out to other service areas, and make sure you’ve set up your business to do so.
Expanding Into a Large Real Estate Market
Last, if you’re in a larger market. 500,000 isn’t that large of a market. A lot of the larger metro areas are a million plus, a million, 1.5 million, whatever it is. You can completely go deep in that market. If you’re in a Dallas and a Houston, in a large city in Florida, you can keep on going on down that list.
You can completely sustain your business in that large market. Portland, Oregon, as an example. One of our clients, Joe Taylor, which we’re gonna be doing a CarrotCast with him, is the largest home buyer in that area. Buys tons of homes and he’s just in that area. He has a very, very big business because he’s going deep.
He’s going deep on his direct mail net market, he’s going deep on his other marketing strategies, and he’s going really deep on his SEO, targeting multiple websites in that same market. Also, doing some PPC, I believe, don’t quote me on that. But, then, go deep in that market even further to capture it.
Go deep there, get the top two to three keywords, focus on those in that market first, and, then, expand out to more niche down, longer tail keyword phrases, like selling a house without a real estate agent in Portland, as an example. Then, from there, you start to hit the suburbs around that. You’ve got your Sherwood’s, you’ve got your Tigard, Tualatin, and Gresham, that kind of thing. So, that’s how you expand there.
Long-Term SEO Thinking
A couple other tips here really quick. Think long-term. Anything with SEO, we’ve talked about so many times, anything with SEO, you’ve got to be a long-term thinker in there. If you’re not, you should probably hang up your gloves right now and go try something else because long term is exactly what SEO is, and if you don’t think long-term, you might as well burn your money, all right?
Next is small markets are great, so don’t get discouraged because you’re in a small market. We have a lot of clients in small markets that are doing very, very well. We just have to go back up to tip number one with setting expectations and, then, making sure that you know your expectations in that market.
If you’re in a market, like Roseburg, of 30,000 people, you’re probably only gonna get, if you rank number one in Google for the main keyword phrases, you’re probably only gonna get between 2 and 10 leads per month from that.
Then, you add on some PPC and, then, you add on some other keywords. You’re probably not gonna get more than 10 to 15 motivated house sellers coming in, in that market. Max. That’s if you’re going after that.
So, you hit up the five or ten other cities around you, expand deeper there, then, that’s how you start to get your 20, 30, 40, 50 plus leads a month.
Are you going after a small market strategy? Sweet. Stack ’em up and expand. If you’re going after a big market strategy, dive deep.
Go After It!
Go after it, hit us up with your progress on that. Email us at support@oncarrot.com and let us know if you need any help. If you’re a Carrot client, we have our weekly coaching calls every single week where you can ask those questions. We can dive in and help you craft a plan for SEO or PPC or getting your website conversion up.
If you’re not a customer, go try us out. Go to oncarrot.com/plans, join. You have a 30-day trial to give us a try and see if it’s a fit for you. I think you’ll really, really like it, but know you’ve got to work your butt out, you’ve got to either invest your time or money, but also know we’re here for you. We are the best. We’re gonna help you get that result.
All right. Take it easy. Check out the other whiteboard strategy sketches on our YouTube channel and subscribe here in this video, so you can get first updates to all of them that come out.
Are you operating in a really competitive market like a Houston or a Dallas or just a large market where there’s a lot of competition? Well, a lot of our clients are and every single week we do coaching calls on every Tuesday at 11 o’clock Pacific time for our care customers who are in content pro membership or above.
And one of the main questions we get on a really consistent basis is, “Man, I’m in a crazy, competitive market. There’s a lot of other investors, investing there, and there’s a lot of other care clients there. Can I crack through it and how do I do it?
The first answer is, “100% yes, you can.” That sounds like a political stump that I just did there, yes you can, yes you can do it, we have clients every single day who are going out there implementing the plan we lay out on these whiteboard strategy sketches, on our coaching calls in our training’s and in, through support and they follow these methods I’m going to show you to get that result. So I want you to know that it can be done, but you gotta follow this to a T and don’t come complaining to me if it doesn’t work if you don’t do these.
Online Real Estate Marketing in Competitive Markets
OK, so here we go. So if you’re in a competitive market I’m gonna be kind of walking you through, how do you get in that search result for search engine optimization but also just in search in general, to get those consistent stream of leads coming in to fuel your business because when you’re in a large market like that you really can go deep in that market like we’ve talked about in other whiteboard strategy sketches you can go deep, and you can focus just in that market for the first year and get 30-40-50-60 leads a month if you really hit it hard, okay? And that can fuel your entire business 2-4-5-6-10 deals a month if you do it right.
OK? So we want to get you here first of all, and we want to get you there through paid and through SEO in the competitive market. It’s going to be really hard to get really consistent, and a lot of momentum with just SEO okay? PPC is great, but you can stack on SEO to really add momentum over that year and this is kind of what we want to do.
We’ve done a whiteboard Strategy Sketch on this exact topic before go check out youtube, go to YouTube.com and then go look up InvestorCarrot, find our channel, the first thing you need to do is subscribe to our channel the second thing you need to do is go search our channel for a video I think it’s called the 90-day marketing plan or something like that where we layout in a lot more detail what you should do in the first 90 days in any market to have leads coming in and to set yourself in a really, really solid foundation, okay? But we’re gonna give an abbreviated version of that today.
So you’ve got here, and you’ve got twelve months out there and if you’re in a large market the first thing you need to do is we need to know that it’s going to take time, and we need to have a lot of patience, okay? Because with SEO, search engine optimization large market, it’s probably going to take you between 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 plus months to really get that momentum to get that ranking that’s going to get those leads to start trickling in and then start coming in more.
I was talking to one of our clients yesterday, Martin, out of Phoenix, Arizona and he’s flipping a lot of houses, okay? Ten plus houses a month and when we were talking, you know a year ago he joined Carrot a little over a year ago he was in a very competitive market, he wanted to get some more organic traffic coming in, he was turning on PPC as well, but we’re like, you know what? I think that there’s going to be a great chance for you to crack into this market from a website that had never ranked in the top three pages of the main seller search phrases to what it is today getting really consistent leads, and he’s in top one-two-three rankings in google for the most competitive search phrases in Phoenix, how did he do that? The first thing, like I said, locked, and then it’s gonna take time, and he knew it, and he knew that he was going to have to be patient okay?
Choosing Your Top Keywords
The second thing, is we need to go out there and choose the top keywords, so what are those top keywords that are likely going to give us 70% or more of that traffic? For house sellers it’s likely your cash for homes, sell my house fast, insert city, we buy houses, insert city, there are a few others, just go to carrot.com/seo-bible, and you can check it out, we have a full report there that goes through all of the top motivated house seller keyword phrases for SEO, and you can check it out. If you’re doing pay per click go to carrot.com/ppc-keywords and oncarrot.com/seo-bible, and you can find both those reports where we give you all of the keywords based on our research, so we solved that one for you.
Alright but the first thing that we always like to do in a market, in a really competitive market is we’ve got to get leads coming in right now okay? If we don’t have leads coming in right now and it’s gonna take us 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 months to start to get the real traffic to get traction and get deals in that market it becomes really, really discouraging, you know none of us want to be discouraged on our journey to grow our business or start our business so get pay per click going right away, okay?
PPC Marketing
In that first month to two months and it you don’t know how to do PPC we have a lot of resources on our blog you can check it out at oncarrot.com forward slash blog, or we have guides and resources and checklists on how to do it and we also talk about it all the time in our coaching calls if you are a carrot customer, and our three lead per day training okay also during that same time period during the first month to three months, in a competitive market the biggest thing we need to focus on is, how do you stand out from your competitors, how is it that your clients are going to chose you versus the 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 25, 30 other investors that are also vying for their business?
The people that sent them that direct-mail piece, the people that have the bandit signs up in their neighborhood the people that are in the same rankings, the same paid search results that you’re competing for. Even if you get there, even if you get right here, and you don’t take care of the credibility piece then you’re not gonna win the game, the other people are going to win the game okay? So focus on that as a core strategy, what is your credibility score?
Building Credibility
We have a CarrotCast episode, which is our weekly podcast, just go to CarrotCast.com, and you can go directly to the CarrotCast to find our episode on credibility score. You can even go to Google and Google Investor Carrot credibility score or CarrotCast credibility score, you’re going to find that episode where we walk you through everything you need to do to ramp up your credibility whether you’re an experienced investor or brand new and set yourself apart. Also, we did a CarrotCast episode on USP, unique selling proposition, which in a competitive market that is a requirement, you’ve gotta have a unique selling proposition why people should choose to work with you versus someone else. Tackle those in the first three months.
Get your PPC up and going, get leads coming in in the first several weeks get your first deal in the first month or two, and then during that time you’re setting up your SEO foundation the first one, two, three, four, five, six, seven months in a competitive market you’re likely going to get no leads so prepare for that mentally, okay?
Consistency Wins the Game
But after you start implementing that plan consistently over those months you’re gonna see a bump, and you’re gonna see another bump, and you’re gonna see another bump and around that 10 to 12,10 to 14 month time period if you’re implementing SEO well you’re gonna start to see those results coming possibly even quicker, okay? We have some clients in our concierge traffic service, which is a high-end service that we do internally for clients that are closing a lot of deals that are in really competitive markets that we were able to crack through the top five in the first five to six months and now we’re working on getting through that top three, but they’re already getting SEO leads in the first five to six months, that doesn’t always happen, but it can happen okay?
So, make sure you’ve got that locked down in your mindset now if we’re going to go through on the SEO side of things in a competitive market here’s what we need to do, we need to go after the top keywords that are going to give you 70% of the traffic, go to those resources I mentioned before to find those keywords on PPC and SEO, okay then what we’re going to do next is expand locations immediately in that first one to three months at location-specific landing pages, We’ve done other whiteboard videos on this topic, and we teach in detail in our training if you’re a carrot customer in our blog we have a lot of free resources as well.
So launch about ten location-specific landing pages and what those are, if you’re in Dallas, but there’s Ft. Worth and there’s a lot of other cities around Dallas that are suburbs or surrounding cities that you would also buy house in, launch pages on your Carrot site or another site that are specific to that location for your primary keywords, okay? For your primary keywords. And get at least ten of those up because those are going to be easier to rank for thank that primary large market of Dallas or Portland that big market and those rankings are going to happen faster so as you’re working on your SEO those are going to climb faster, your primary markets gonna climb a little bit slower, and they’re gonna rise together.
Build Citations
Next, do your citations, okay? Go to our blog, carrot.com/blog we talk about citations. If you’re a Carrot customer we can do your citations for you in our marketplace so check out our marketplace but this sets the foundation for credibility for your website in that local market right here, optimize for your company name plus the word reviews ‘cuz if you’re doing pay per click, or you’re getting traffic, or you’re doing direct mail we need to make sure that you rank well for your company name when people are trying to research you to see if you’re legit, and you never want to lose any deals because someone googles that and then don’t find any good things about you okay?
So optimize your about page for company, company plus your reviews then go get a Better Business Bureau Profile pay that three – four-hundred bucks, whatever it is, and then drive your clients over there to do reviews and optimize it as well for this and that going to help you close more deals.
Social Signals
Next are social signals. Get five, ten, fifteen people to google plus your homepage and Facebook like it over the first two months, backlinks if you’re going to do your own SEO just grab for three to five backlinks a month it’s not a big deal, and we teach how to do this in blog posts, we teach how to do this in our coaching calls, and our three lead per day training, if you’re a member, has it very, very detailed okay?
If you’re not a client we don’t sell that to the open public yet but we will if you’re watching this video after I publish this video just go to carrot.com/3lpd, don’t do it right now because nothing exists but if you’re doing this for several months, go to carrot.com/3lpd, you can check it out.
PPC to Guide SEO
Last, use PPC, use your pay per click data to guide you on your SEO that’s one of the biggest mistakes people make in competitive markets, is they use their pay per click and their SEO in silos, what we always like to do is launch your PPC campaigns, find out the ones that are converting into leads and turning into deals the most and then go after those keywords in your SEO so use PPC to guide you.
I’m gonna wrap this up, fast follow-up is huge in that market, if you’re in a competitive market you need to be calling your leads back within minutes or answer them live. We’ve talked to many clients that as soon as they switch to answering their calls live from pay per click and SEO they started closing more deals okay? It’s a big deal.
Answer them live and if you’re a Carrot customer turn on your text message notifications where you get a text message notification within seconds of a lead coming in, you’ll have a phone number there you can tap the phone number, call them up fast follow-up’s gonna help you cut through in that market. And then last, have an abundance mindset okay? One thing we always love to do is, there’s enough for everyone. There’s enough to go around for everyone; leads, deals, success, abundance, share that with people in your market, don’t try to hold all of your secrets in, the more you share, honestly the more comes back to you. So have that abundance mindset.
Real Estate Marketing in Competitive Markets
Alright, you’re in the competitive market, use that as a blessing, it’s a great thing for you, don’t say, “oh my gosh I’m in this crazy competitive market it’s going to be hard.” It will be work, but there are amazing, amazing things for you on the other side of it. When you have the patience and time locked in your brain you have the plan and you’re working with the right team. Alright? Go after it, tackle it, check out our other episodes of Carrotcast go to carrotcast.com and our other carrot whiteboard strategies sketches on our youtube channel just subscribe right here, here wherever the heck it is. Subscribe to our channel and you get updates as soon as they come out.
Learn more on the Carrot YouTube channel and start growing your business by leveraging the web as a real estate professional!
In competitive real estate markets, your online credibility score—the subconscious evaluation prospects make when visiting your website—can dramatically impact your deal flow and determine whether potential clients choose to work with you.
Key Takeaways
Visual elements like clean logos, authentic local images, and properly formatted testimonials with real photos and names significantly impact your website’s credibility.
Your “About” page is typically the third most visited page on real estate websites because prospects are evaluating whether you’re the right company to solve their problem.
Every element on your website either adds to or detracts from your credibility score, including social media links that should only be included if they enhance rather than harm your professional image.
Audit your website and marketing materials to eliminate negative credibility points and strengthen positive ones—from logo clarity to content authenticity—to stand out in a crowded marketplace and earn the trust of potential clients.
But, it amplifies when you have a competitive market. When you’re in a market with a lot of competition but lack online credibility, you have lower deal flow.
When a buyer or seller has multiple choices, they often look at the agent’s or investor’s credibility.
To help you learn how to build online credibility for real estate, we’ve devised the “credibility score.”
Whenever you go to a store, whether online or in person, you go to the grocery store. You’re walking in the grocery store, and subconsciously, there are all kinds of things that you’re doing to size up that grocery store.
Is the floor clean? Are the vegetables arranged in a way that makes sense? Are they rotten, or are they good? Are the people who work there wearing good clothes, clean clothes, or something that’s a uniform that looks like they’re put together? Are they friendly? Is the signage in the grocery store in a make sense way?
All these little things stack up to create this score subconsciously in your mind. You’re probably not going to work with that grocery store because one of those things is wrong.
You’ll probably not choose not to work with the grocery just because the signage isn’t exactly clear and clean. But, when you stack up all those together, and there are these negative credibility marks, what happens is, you leave the store and you go somewhere else, and you’re not sure why sometimes.
You can’t place your finger on why you chose not to work with that company but another one, but this credibility score is subconsciously stacking up in your mind.
We’re going to walk through as an agent or an investor. How do you size your business and find your credibility score?
The first thing you need to look at is to realize people are subconsciously sizing you up, whether you think about it or not. If you’re doing what everyone else is doing, you’re probably not giving yourself many positive credibility marks.
What we’re going to be doing is looking at the website. There are a lot of different things that people are doing when they’re trying to size up your website and size up your credibility score subconsciously.
How to Build Online Credibility for Real Estate
Having Clean Logos Is Important
The first thing they will be looking at is your logo area, your logo area. Is your logo clean, or is it fuzzy? Is it pixelated? Does your logo match the colors and the branding on your website?
I know that’s a little thing, but it’s one of those things that people can go, “Well, there’s something off. I can’t place what it is, but there’s something off,” so make sure you have a very clear, clean, simple logo design that delivers the benefit or delivers the good, warm, fuzzy feeling.
Make sure that the colors on your website match up. That’s a positive credibility mark. Here are a couple of good examples.
Credibility Badges
Are you using specific badges to show that third-party processes and third-party entities vet you? For example, the Better Business Bureau.
Credibility Badges on a Carrot website
Maybe you’re a member of the local Chamber of Commerce. Or, a designation with some entity such as a CCIM in your profession is a respected designation. Those badges help in a big way. Those are all positive credibility marks.
Demo Carrot: How many deals are you losing to your competitor’s website?
Let’s say you have social proof on your site, so you have testimonials formatted correctly. Just because you have testimonials doesn’t mean that’s a positive credibility mark.
We have other content on how to format a testimonial correctly. If you format a testimonial incorrectly, it could be a negative credibility mark because if you just put a testimonial up there that has the person’s words.
Let’s say you just used their initials, TK, with no picture or other context around that testimonial. People think it’s not real, so it could detract from the credibility.
When you’re building out your testimonials, have pictures of the person or photographs of the property. Put as much of the person’s information on there. Tom, whatever, and then their location. Trevor Mauch, location Roseburg, something like that. It adds more credibility to it.
Use Real “Local” Images
Other things, the content, the pictures, all of these things stack up. Are your photographs localized?
Do you have authentic images on your website? Or are the photos stock images? In the studies, we’ve done and other studies we’ve corroborated with, stock photos don’t lend toward credibility, especially if they’re too stocky.
There are stock photos that look amazing and stock photos that look clearly like stock photos.
People look at a website and go, “I can’t connect with this website. It looks like a stock photo. Maybe I’ve seen the same photo on another website.” If you’re a Carrot member, swap all the images with local, real ones for your market.
Get rid of any stock photos of people you’ve not worked with and put pictures of people you’ve worked with. Make sure that the images look like houses that are in the area. If you’re in Phoenix, your photographs should look way different than someone up in the Northeast part of the US.
What are you doing to build a storyline and connection with your prospects?
They’re going to your about page because they’ve already probably discovered that you have a solution. You have a solution that can solve their problem. They’re already past that. They don’t need to know whether you can solve their problem.
They need to know whether you are the company they want to choose to solve their problem, so they’re going to your about page.
If you’re using social media, such as adding your Facebook link, make sure they give you positive credibility, not adverse.
If your Facebook page isn’t built out, has minimal engagement, and stock photos, that’s negative credibility. So get it off.
Don’t put that link on your website. Don’t put the link in your marketing. If you’re going to use social, use it to build your credibility. Never use it as negative or neutral credibility. It’s going to hurt you.
Optimizing Your Website For A High Credibility Score
Audit your on and offline marketing. What’s your credibility score look like?
Go through each thing subconsciously and then start to put a plus or a minus on it and add those up.
One by one, eliminate every single one of those negative credibility points.
Is it easy to read on mobile, or is it not?
Is your logo pixelated?
Does your branding match up?
Does your content make sense?
Does it look localized?
Do you have real images?
Do you have real badges?
Does your social media actually help you?
Make sure you pay attention to this. Go check out your website right now. Let us know what you found in the comment section and what you’ve found to be your biggest credibility driver.
Know you know how to build online credibility for real estate. Implement this, and let us know how it works!
Think of the companies that you admire. Think of the companies that you work with all the time. Oftentimes, the ones that you really admire and you keep on buying from over and over again — think Amazon or Apple or name the local one that you really appreciate — each and every time, they all have something called a unique selling proposition (USP).
USP: Their unique advantage that they serve in the market. It’s something that no one else can claim but them.
One thing that a lot of real estate investors and agents don’t do is they don’t come up with their own version of their USP real estate pitch.
They put out the exact same message that every single person in their market is putting out. If you’re a real estate agent, “Hey, we can sell your house. We can show you homes.”
Everyone Is Saying The Same Thing
What are you doing to separate yourself from the 400 other agents in your market?
If you’re a house buyer or house flipper, what are you doing to show the sellers or buyers or tenants that you guys are different?
The thing is you go to nine out of 10 real estate investor websites are going to be showing the exact same message.
They’re going to be saying, “Hey, we can buy houses. We can buy them fast.” You know, “Fast cash closing.” Those types of things.
If you’re saying the same thing, how is it that someone is going to choose to work with you versus working with someone else?
That’s what we’re going to be talking about today on this Whiteboard Strategy Sketch is a unique selling proposition.
Especially in the cluttered market right now. The market’s going up, which means a lot of investors want to pile in and start flipping houses or wholesaling. A lot of real estate agent prospects are piling in there, wanting to sell houses, because it’s easy today. How do you stand apart?
The Solution: Having A Unique Selling Proposition For Your Real Estate Business
The people who are doing that are the ones winning the market. The people who are not doing that are going to close some deals probably, just by the sheer mathematics of getting leads, but the ones who are actually coming with a unique selling proposition are going to be here through the market cycle.
They’re going to be here in the next cycle. They’re going to be here in a year, in two years, in five years. All right, so a unique selling proposition is the key.
What’s Your Unique Advantage?
The first thing is, what’s your unique advantage? What is it that you have that no one else can claim? This goes directly into the next one. No one can claim the same thing. Okay, so this is something where it could be your experience.
It could be a unique process that you have in your business. It could be the credibility that you have based on the experience that you have. What is it that no one in your market can claim the same?
As an example, we’re working with a local real estate brokerage here. They are the number one, the largest, privately-held brokerage in Douglas County which is sweet. No one can claim the same thing.
That’s one of their unique selling propositions. They probably have several others. One of the other unique selling propositions, they’re amazing at commercial real estate.
No one can claim the same, that they have two CCIM-accredited brokers that are specialized in commercial. That’s something that’s an advantage to them.
If you don’t pull that out and put it in your marketing, put it on your website, then you’re not using your unique process, your unique selling advantage, as an advantage.
A Few Examples
Another one, your unique selling proposition creates a massive advantage in the market. With Carrot, let’s kind of bring it home to us.
We don’t just put out websites or software, okay? If we did that, we would be one of the many others who do that, but we have a unique selling proposition. Our unique selling proposition is you get better results when you work with us.
You get a higher ROI with your ad spend. You get a higher ROI with your marketing. Okay, we’re going to help you with our software and our training and our support to get a better result, so you have less of what we call phantom expenses: fewer things where you get a lower ROI because of underperformance.
That’s one of our unique selling propositions out of many.
What is the one advantage that you have? One company that you guys have probably heard of, it’s a national company. It’s actually a Silicon Valley-funded company called Opendoor.
Many of you guys have heard of Opendoor. They’re in Phoenix. They’re in LA now, in Las Vegas I think too. If you go to their website, and people are wondering, “Why is Opendoor doing so well?” They’re doing a lot of direct mail. They’re doing a lot of online marketing. What is it about them that’s doing so well? If you go to their website, number one, they’re insanely, insanely transparent about their offer process.
There are no questions on exactly how they come about a price to offer the seller. That’s a unique advantage because all of their competitors are hiding the way that they come up with their offer.
If you’re one of the people who is just saying, “Oh, I’ll offer you money. I’ll offer to buy your house,” but you’re not uncovering the process in how you do that so they know that it’s a fair process, then you’re at a unique disadvantage to a company like Opendoor. They’ve got that unique advantage.
Another thing on their website if you check it out, they’ve been a part of over 4,000 transactions.
No one can claim the exact same number because that’s unique to them.
Put that on your website. If you’re an experienced investor and you’ve done 20 transactions or hundreds or whatever it is, use that unique advantage to your own benefit. Put on there, “Hey, helped hundreds of local home buyers, helped hundreds of local home sellers,” that’s unique to you specifically, or use the exact number, even better.
Maybe you have an insanely high rating on Zillow. You’re the number one agent on Zillow. No one else can claim that but you.
Maybe you are the number one commercial or you’re the number one North Umpqua River, that’s a river that we have here, one of the rivers here in Roseburg, you’re the number one river real estate agent in the entire area. Claim that if you can claim it.
Then challenge your other competitors to come over the top of you and claim that space.
It’s Hard To Win Without A USP
What is your unique selling proposition? If you don’t have one, the likelihood of you crushing it in this market and being here through the market cycle is probably pretty low.
If you’re a new investor, you might be going,
“Oh my gosh, I don’t have a unique selling proposition. Does that mean I should quit my business right now?”
The answer is no. There is something unique about you that you need to put out there. If you don’t have something, you really do need to work on it. You should also look at your business model. Don’t just copy the business model from your coach.
Find a way that you can make it better. What in your process can you do that’s different? What in your process can you do, in your offering process that you can do that’s different or better?
Express Homebuyers out of Baltimore, okay, they have done over 2,500 real estate transactions buying and selling homes themselves. One of their unique selling propositions is they’re going to get you an offer within like seven minutes, I think it’s something like. Don’t quote me on that, but it’s something like that. All their advertising hones in on this one USP: get an offer within seven minutes. That’s their claim to fame.
What is yours? Find your unique selling proposition.
Put it into all of your marketing so you have something that’s clearly, clearly different than your competition.
How serious are you to build your business? You have to have a unique selling proposition.
Otherwise, no one’s going to think you’re unique, and you’re a commodity, so go out there and do it today!
We’ve done a ton of content on SEO — on search engine optimization — over the years. That’s actually one of the things that we’re known for here at Carrot.
A lot of our clients own and control search engine rankings all across the country for all kinds of phrases, but one of the questions we get a lot that we’ve never answered before is, how do you choose between a couple different SEO providers, and specifically, what are they doing to build their backlinks? And what should you avoid?
This particular video is going to talk about something called a private blog network, or PBN for short. If you’re out there hiring an SEO firm, one thing you want to really look at is how are they building their backlinks because that’s one of the biggest, most important parts of what they’re doing and what it is you should look at.
If they’re going to be building backlinks, are they going out there and organically building them? Are they onesie, two-sie, hands-on building them, or are they using something called a private blog network? Is that a good thing or is that a bad thing?
I’m going to walk you through what it is really quick, and what to avoid, and what to look for, and why you could be taking a risk if you go with an SEO firm that uses SEO private blog networks.
What Are SEO Private Blog Networks?
What a private blog network essentially is, is some really, really smart people found out that you can go buy expiring domain names in the real estate market or wherever. You can buy expiring domain names for really, really cheap where people have built up the SEO juice on those domain names, a very fancy term there, SEO juice, on those domain names over the years and it might have a domain authority of three, or four, or five, or something like that. It comes with backlinks. It comes with juice, and they buy those up.
Then they buy up a series of them, and they put on very simple websites and put on content. Then they use those websites to then drive backlinks to your website, so backlinks are, of course, a really, really good thing when it comes to SEO.
It’s one of the most important things after you nail the on-page stuff.
In order to really get your website ranked higher, you need to have your on-page stuff nailed. So,
Good content
Well-optimized
The website needs to be structured in the correct way, but then you also need to build up these signals that Google’s going to be looking for.
Social Signals
Are you getting some people to take action on Facebook likes and things like that? Your citation profile, are you listed on Yelp, and Yellow Pages, and Manta, and local places that list your business? Is your phone number in all those the same? Do they match?
Then backlinks, if you’re in a competitive market, you’ve got to get backlinks to get higher. With a private blog network, it’s really attractive because when you go with an SEO firm that uses PBNs to build links, whether they tell you or not — many of them won’t tell you — oftentimes the price is going to be cheaper.
Why You Should Care About PBN’s
You can get an SEO service from someone who is using a PBN for probably half the cost of someone who’s doing it the correct way.
What happens is this. This is your website right here.
Each one of these black squares is a separate website and they’re all linking to your website, but they are purchased websites from expiring domains.
They put up some basic thin content on them, and then every now and then they link to your site. Every now and then they link to their other clients’ websites, too. You might be asking,
So is this a big deal? Why is that a bad thing? They’re linking to my website. It’s got content on it.
Well, the issue is eventually they all tie back to that SEO firm in some way, shape, or form. Now the smart ones have figured out ways to really obfuscate whether Google can find if they own them. They found ways to register the domain names under different names, have hosting, a different host, which is all really smart stuff.
A PBN may never ever get discovered by Google, and that’s sweet because that’s going to be great for you on the link building side.
What’s the Risk?
But… if a PBN gets discovered, all those backlinks that you just paid for, all that SEO that you just paid for, those links are likely now going to get negated.
What’s going to happen is if your SEO was built off of a PBN backlinking structure? That entire structure could topple and fall.
Now, is that going to happen? The likelihood is probably under 50% for sure. You may go years, and years, and years with an amazing ranking, close a bunch of deals, get a bunch of leads, because of the PBN links that you got from the SEO firm, amazing.
You have great ROI, but we never ever like to build anything off of a foundation that could crumble. Make sure when you’re building SEO when you’re hiring an SEO firm, that they’re going after it building backlinks the real way, the organic way, which is hard, which is expensive.
That’s why you see the firms that are really good at SEO that charge a lot of money.
If you’re going to hire an SEO firm that’s going to be $1,000 a month of under, the likelihood that they’re using private blog network links is probably pretty high.
I would ask them questions. Ask them,
Where are you guys building your backlinks?
Is it from a private blog network or are you guys going out there organically?
Many of them won’t tell you the truth, but you can reach out to us at Carrot all the time. We’ll dig into some of their clients’ websites and we can track it back.. many times, not every time, but many times to see if they’re using a PBN.
If it were me, I would definitely, if you had a choice it is, yes to use PBN for backlinks or no, I would always choose no. We’ve never used them ourselves. We suggest you don’t either.
Once again, can it work? 100% yes, but we also go with a long-term mindset and model.
The next time you’re going out there talking to an SEO firm, find out their methods. Find out how they’re doing it. Talk to other clients. See other rankings, but look behind the curtain a little bit.
Ask them those questions. How are you getting your backlinks? Are private blog networks related? Get them to say it in writing. They’ll oftentimes say,
Hey, it’s a good white hat thing.
It’s very gray hat, and it’s not something that we suggest. It could get discovered and could topple because anytime you’re trying to gain SEO, Google doesn’t like the practice of using such tactics or techniques.
What You Can Do
All right, so until next time, go out there, and do SEO the right way, and hire the right firms.
![Planning Versus Doing: Why You Need a Bit of Both [Whiteboard]](https://image-cdn.carrot.com/uploads/Featured-Image-72.png)
![How to Calculate Your Max Cost Per Lead [Whiteboard]](https://image-cdn.carrot.com/uploads/Featured-Image-61.png)
![Does SEO Work for Small Real Estate Markets? [Whiteboard]](https://image-cdn.carrot.com/uploads/Featured-Image-39.png)
![Real Estate Marketing Online: How to Rule With SEO In Competitive Markets [Whiteboard]](https://image-cdn.carrot.com/uploads/Featured-Image-34.png)
