It's no hidden secret that your real estate website is the digital asset that could help your business get the needed recognition on the web. Therefore, it's an evident need of every realtor in the present time to create their online presence on the web and a well-developed and designed website helps with that.

But that's just one side of the coin. What is after your real estate site goes live and you create an online identity for your business?

Along with that, it is also crucial to understand that maintaining the reputation of your online identity is as much as important as creating it. One negative review or rumor can tarnish your brand's image severely.

So, another concern is how to protect your online reputation on the web that your business productivity isn't hampered?

Online reputation management is the means to achieve this. In this blog, you will learn in detail about its significance and methods to achieve the same!

What Is Online Reputation Management?

ORM or online reputation management is the concept of managing brand reputation on the digital platform using different means. It encompasses stringent assessment and analysis of website reviews, social media comments, positive or negative news, etc. to prevent any potential reputation damage.

It is often an integral part of an effective digital marketing strategy as brands need to continually manage their reputation on the web and spread the positive word. In this regard, they have to keep a few pointers in check -

• One should always focus on uplifting the brand image by spreading the good word.
• Deleting any negative news or reviews can be controversial and bring more suspicion.
• It is better to address the situation and publish a press release officially.

Why Is It Necessary To Build Your Real Estate Site's Reputation?

Even though you are aware of the need for ORM, you might wonder why a real estate company has to invest in it. If that's the case, have a look at these reasons!

• A real estate business deals with selling, purchasing, and renting properties. Thus, the amount of transactions is high and so is the concern of the involved parties. And, it is highly unlikely for anyone to choose a real estate agent with a poor online reputation.
• Monitoring your real estate online business reputation helps you learn about the shortcomings of your website and brand. You can work on those and create better experiences for your customers.
• As per a BrightLocal 2020 report, about 79% of consumers rely on online reviews as much as they would trust word of mouth. That' s all the more reason to invest in such forms of online marketing.

Now, if you wonder when is the ideal time to manage your online reputation, we would say right this instant. Your site needs to be recognized by potential customers so there is more engagement, lead generation, and conversion.

At times like these when you are building your real estate business's reputation, you can't afford to not address any customer grievances or listen to customer suggestions.

How To Build Your Real Estate Site's Reputation?

It is needless to say that reputation management can make or break your online real estate business. And availing of professional digital marketing services is of much essence in this regard.

Here, you will see the different methods of ORM that constitute a digital marketing plan like professionals.

1. Perform an audit to assess your real estate site' s online reputation

Before you put any thoughts on building the right ORM strategy, you must perform brand monitoring to understand how your business is perceived on the web. You can clear the cache and cookies of your browser or open an incognito tab to search for your real estate website name.

• Check out the first page of search engines for all sorts of information like reviews, ratings, user-generated images, content, news, etc.
• Find out any negative news lurking on the internet or misleading blogs where you can convince the author to remove it.
• Check your social media portal and review sites to get an idea about the general notion or perception of your online reputation.

Thus, assess the online reputation of your site and then form an online reputation management strategy that works.

2. Create a robust ORM strategy

The next step is to create an effective ORM strategy that can help you manage a good reputation on the web. So, you have to understand what's more important and what needs immediate attention and what can be managed later.

Having said that, here's a step-by-step approach that professionals utilize to form a robust online reputation management strategy.

• Define your goals based on the audit performance of your real estate site. You can make use of a brand monitoring tool and filter out the ones you need to work upon.
• You must plan on the resources you can allocate for ORM and your estimated budget. Keep in mind that it is not one-time spending and you will have to manage it regularly.
• Determine the scope of the operation so you can work to form a strategy that helps you move forward.
• Prioritize tasks based on their urgency and address them accordingly.

Once you have strategized how to proceed, you should also appoint someone in charge of all the ORM-related operations. It will help you assess whether the plan is being followed through or not.

3. Have a backup plan or crisis management plan

There may occur unprecedented events that can put your real estate website on the spot and tarnish its image. So, a backup plan or crisis management plan is more of a necessity than an alternative.

As part of this strategy, you can -

• Associate your website with ORM tools so that you can be immediately notified about any new comments, news, reviews, or crisis.
• Make sure to keep an eye out for any legal changes in the real estate Act and ensure your site complies with it.
• Monitor the digital channels from where most of your traffic comes.
• Ensure to assign specific roles to various individuals so that crisis can be evaded without losing your cool.

4. Adopt good and smart SEO practices

Your SEO efforts are clearly visible through the reputation you build for your business. Thus, adopting smart SEO tactics is a good practice for your real estate business.

As part of this, make sure to write an engaging piece of content with proper keyword usage, link building, and so on. It should help your business attain much-needed online recognition.

ORM Tips for Your Real Estate Site

To ensure your ORM strategy is successful, you would need to be extra cautious about how you handle a particular situation. One wrong move or negative comment can affect your real estate website's reputation.

Thus, keep these tips in mind while you form an impactful digital marketing strategy.

1. Publish press release to encourage positive news

One of the wisest ways to push negative news further down in the SERPs is to share the positive word about your business. So, if your real estate business has a new event planned, you can create a press release about it and share it on the web.

2. Actively engage on your real estate blogs or social media portals

Proactive participation in social media comments and blog mentions could help your brand positively. In this context, consider a few pointers as mentioned below -

• Respond to comments immediately to show active participation.
• Encourage positive reviews of your real estate site.
• Keep the tone of your comments formal yet personalized.
• Answer queries through your social media portal to engage the target audience.

3. Address negative reviews

Negative reviews of your real estate website can influence your other potential customer's decisions as well. Thus, addressing negative reviews becomes extremely important.

For this, check out different social media platforms and review sites, and address them properly. Concerning how to respond to such negative reviews, you should -

• Try to respond to such comments or reviews as early as possible.
• Your comment should be made public and you should encourage the commenter or reviewer to proceed with the conversation in private messages.
• Your comment should be courteous and respectful and show that you treat all your customers equally.
• If you are at fault, try to apologize and give an honest solution.
• If there' s a problem with your real estate site, homes for sale listings, or other issues, you need to improve them immediately and inform your customers regarding the same through comments.

In addition to these tips, you will also need to adopt smart marketing tactics and prevent yourself from committing any common online marketing mistakes. After all, your online reputation influences your business performance in the digital landscape.

Conclusion

A real estate website is a realtor's digital asset. And, managing its online reputation is more challenging than you think as a single negative review or comment can act negatively.

Thus, encouraging positive content and news through different ORM techniques is much essential. In this regard, you need to use different Google analytics tools and ORM tools for brand monitoring and reputation management, Here are some tips and tricks that will help you do the same.