Is Your Real Estate Marketing Ready for 2025?

Are your website and marketing tools ready to take on 2025 — without breaking the bank? Not only is it very possible to achieve all the goals you set for your business this year, you can do it while keeping your budget in check. Rather than relying on expensive lead generation services this year, take matters into your own hands by generating free or low-cost leads from your online presence.

You likely already have many of the tools you need to get started. But to assist you in identifying those tools and how they can benefit your business, we've created this handy checklist you can use to audit your marketing tools:

Basic Tools
For your marketing to make an impact, you need a strong foundation to start from. Below are basic marketing tools and collateral that every agent should have:

Your own website
Your website should be your home on the web — the place your ads, social media profiles, business cards, and more should link to. But, surprisingly, 28% of Realtors have no website at all, while 44% have a website provided by their brokerage, according to NAR's 2024 Member Profile.

Just 28% of Realtors have a website that they own themselves. That means most agents are missing out on a major source of online leads that they control. Worse, when those same agents switch brokerages, they not only lose their website and email address, but any leads associated with their brokerage-run website.

At a minimum, you should have a single-page website focused on lead generation that's set up on your own domain name (see tips for choosing a domain here). Be sure that your website offers built-in SEO and is optimized for mobile, so that you reach as many potential leads as possible.

If you need a quick and easy way to get started, check out the free Professional websites from get.realtor that are included with a .realtor or .realestate domain name.

Photos

Photos are the No.1 thing buyers look for on an agent's website, according to NAR's 2024 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, with 96% of consumers surveyed rating them as useful. Catch the eyes of leads by including beautiful, high definition photos of your listings and the areas you serve on your website.

Photos are equally important on social media and in your other marketing collateral. If you don't already work with professional listing photographers, consider hiring one in 2025. Strong visuals can make a huge impact on your marketing!

Client testimonials

People are more likely to work with those who show "social proof" of their success. Make it a habit to ask clients for a testimonial at or just after closing. Then add those testimonials to your website and share them on social media (video testimonials work great here!) to show potential leads that you're trustworthy and a great choice to guide them through a transaction.

Agent bio

Speaking of trustworthiness, consumers want to know a bit about you before they contact you. Be sure you include an "About me" section on your website. Don't neglect to add your bio to your social media accounts, too. Not only should you fill in the bio section under your social media settings, you can also create an "About me" post to pin to the top of your social profiles.

Lead contact forms

All your online marketing efforts are useless if leads don't have a way to contact you. Make sure your website not only displays your contact information in an easy-to-notice place, but that it also includes a lead contact form that prospects can use to easily reach out.

Analytics

How is your marketing doing? What things can you improve on? It's hard to say without access to analytics. Your website should include a dashboard with visitor stats and reports so you understand how it's performing.

If you have a business or creator-level profile on social media, take advantage of the analytics tools that they offer. That way, you can monitor which types of posts perform best for you and adjust your social media strategies.

Social media

You already know that social media is one of the best ways to consistently get in front of leads. To maximize social media's usefulness, be sure all your profiles link back to your website, and vice versa. Learn more about using social media for lead generation here: Social Media for Lead Gen: 5 Tips to Turn Followers into Clients.

Pro tip: Want access to all of the above tools in one place? get.realtor's Professional websites offer all the above for free with the purchase of a .realtor or .realestate domain name. Learn more here.

Intermediate tools

With a strong foundation in place, you can take your marketing to the next level. These tools can strengthen your lead generation efforts:

• Landing pages: If digital ads are part of your online marketing strategy, landing pages are crucial. Ideally, you should build these on your website rather than through a third-party service to keep the pages under your own domain and personal brand.
• Neighborhood guides: 79% of buyers find neighborhood information useful on a real estate website, according to NAR. Set up pages for each area you serve, with comprehensive information about local amenities. Bonus: these pages are great for SEO!
• Blog: Speaking of SEO, consistent blogging is one of the best things you can do for a high search engine ranking! Write about the areas you serve, upcoming community events, answers to common client questions, etc., and Google's sure to take notice.
• Video: 62% of buyers look for video on an agent's website, according to NAR. Try video walkthroughs of listings, neighborhood overviews, client testimonials, day-in-the-life clips, and more. Don't forget to repurpose these videos to social media, too — they make for attention-grabbing Reels!
• Accessibility features: To capture as many leads as possible, your website needs to be inclusive of as many people as possible. Tools like AudioEye, an ADA tool that helps the visually impaired better use your site, can help.

AudioEye, blogging tools, video inclusion, and easy webpage creation capabilities (for landing pages, neighborhood guides, buyer/seller information, etc.) are all available in get.realtor's Premium real estate websites — learn more here.

Advanced tools

Put the maximum amount of shine on your marketing efforts with these advanced tools:

• MLS website connection: Make your website as "sticky" as possible for consumers with on-site property search. With MLS data available on your site, leads don't have to rely on third-party sites to find the home of their dreams. Keep leads within your own online ecosystem for a higher likelihood of converting them.
• Branded email address: If you have your own website domain name, but your email is still you@gmail.com or you@brokerage.com, consider this your sign to upgrade to an email address that matches your website. Not only does this look more professional, it makes your online brand more cohesive. Your website provider should be able to provide this for you. Get.realtor, for example, offers branded email addresses starting at $3 a month.

Get.realtor's Premium Plus websites offer all of the above, including multiple MLS connections for Realtors who serve more than one MLS market. Learn more here.

By employing all of the tools and strategies listed above, you can turbo-charge your lead generation efforts in 2025! Happy marketing!