How many have a website?

[SpartanAG]

I’m curious how many of you have a website for your business?

Is it an Xsite through alamode, one you designed yourself or a professionally designed site?

Have you noticed a difference in business volume due to the website? Did the website bring in a more diverse group of clients?

Do you update your website regularly?

Do you actively market using the website, or does it passively bring in business?

Do you accept orders and payment through your website?

Any other information you would care to share would be appreciated

 

[Fritz in NY]

I paid $ 2,000. for mine to be "built". A couple of graphics, 4-5 pages of info, but I don't think in the 10 years it has been online I have gotten an order because of it. More of an ego builder I guess, in 2001 saying I have my own site.
bankerschoiceappraisalsllc.com

 

[Tom Woolford]

I had a fancy high priced website like fritz, and also go no traffic. I get more with my free Xsite (which isn't much, but still more than the fancy one).

 

[Mountain Man]

Have my own, professionally built for $150, serviced with QR codes and a killer SEO guru for $65/Mo.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Created for me. Changes little. Results in very high fee mineral rights appraisals. It makes me about $30,000 in sales annually. I turn slightly more than one assignment per month to slightly less than 1 per month in average year with average fee around $2,500-3,000.On par so far this year with 7 assignments finished or pending.

 

[JTip]

I remember seeing Terrel's website before. Pretty impressive.

If you are a CG and specialize (like T), then it is a good thing. But for us burger flipping CR appraisers, you are better off playing the daily number with your website budget and advertising FREE on appraiserusa. I get one or two emails from my FREE listing, mostly fishing AMCs, but it does generate activity.

 

[Vermonter]

Enterprise Xsite here. Customized it as much as possible, but not a website wiz and there are limitations to it. First year or so it didn't get much traffic, but has been increasing ever since. Don't update it nearly as much as I should.....and right now it really needs to be updated.

Gets me private appraisal and property management work as well. Private has been over 50% of my appraisal business for the past few years. Mostly owners wanting value for various reasons (selling to neighbor, FSBO, assessment appeal, etc). The rest is estate work.

 

[Joe Flacco]

You guys paid $2,000 for that site? I will design websites for anyone that wants one. $1,500. Complete with Google apps for business. You will have to pay $60 per year to maintain your Google Apps account and domain name.

 

[Joe Flacco]

Terrel,

I am curious. How much are you billing your time at for a $3,000 fee? I do not know much about CG fees.

 

[Phil McDonald]

Free

Over the years I have spent thousands on websites. Now I have several sites that are no bells and whistles free with Weebly and get 80% of my business from these sites. They rank very high organically in search engines because they get updated with relevant content.

In my opinion, clients just need to find you and when they do they need to conclude that you are competent and qualified. I may be wrong but I don't think they make an engagement decision based on the flash of the site, they hire you and the site just puts you on the radar.

If you want to get away from lender assignment the websites make this happen.

While the sites are pretty plain we spent a whole bunch building our online bid generator which provides a client with a real bid in real time complete with bid letter and letter of engagement. I have not run across anything else like this. Provide something of value on your site and it will work. Make it the same as the rest and something else will probably happen.