How Michael Rice Had His Best Year in Real Estate, Ever.
In our newest blog series, we’re talking to some of our clients about the way their businesses have been directly and positively affected by working with Artifakt Digital.
In the first post in the series, we’re talking to Michael Rice, also known as The Conejo Valley Guy. Michael’s new website launched about 18 months ago, and we sat down with him to learn a little more about his experience and what has changed for his business since launching his new site:
A Little More About Michael
Michael is a successful agent in Conejo Valley. Since he already had an interest in marketing and web development, he had previously been building and managing his own website. But there came the point when he felt he could no longer take the site any farther. “For me to continue what I was doing, I needed help,” he says. This is something we notice in many of our clients, they may have had a solution that worked for them in the past, but to grow and develop a more significant presence, they need professional help.
That’s why Michael came to us.
An Exceptional Case – Michael is a Hands-On Client
“I wanted to work with a company that would let me be a little more hands-on,” Michael says. His interest in web development meant that he wanted to work with a company that would be willing to work with him and collaborate, rather than dictate everything. In fact, before starting his project, Michael hopped on a plane and left sunny California for Toronto so that he could meet with our team in person.
“I knew that I could work with the team because they made me feel so welcome right away. I never felt like I was overstepping my boundaries.”
Throughout the entire process, Michael says he worked collaboratively with the team. “It was a completely different experience than working with most website companies,” Michael says that open communication was a big thing for him and our team continued to impress him by remaining open, honest, and forthcoming. “We met all the deadlines,” he says something that many web companies often fail to do.
A Website So Good, Even Competitors Noticed
“I was ecstatic,” he says, in regards to seeing his new website for the first time. “The entire process made me realize how important it was to have consistent branding and messaging across my marketing.”
After the website launched, he immediately started getting positive feedback, both from clients and competitors alike. “I’ve even heard from other agents in my area that they use my neighborhood guides for their own clients because they’re so good,” he laughs.
He often gets stopped by people who are excited to meet “The Conejo Valley Guy” because they know him from his branding and website.
The Important Numbers are Rising and Leads are Coming In
Michael’s interest and proficiency in web development mean he knows the importance of tracking analytics. And since his new site launched 18 months ago, he’s been keeping an eye on the traffic and conversions on the site.
“Overall,” he says, “Traffic on the site is down. But traffic on the important pages on the site, the pages I want people to go to, it has more than doubled. The pages I don’t really care about, the fun stuff, is not driving as much traffic, but that’s fine.”
This means Michael is attracting more qualified leads to his site.
On average, Michael gets about 12-15 closed deals each year from his website exclusively. “When your average price is around $1 million, these are great numbers.”
At Artifakt, we focus on story-telling, connection with target audience, and making the personality of an agent shine, so for us, we continually push for a quality-vs-quantity approach; we want more leads that are ready to convert and establish a connection with the agent before they even meet them in person.
Maximizing the Website’s Effectiveness with Content
“Unless you’re willing to put in some work, don’t bother getting a new website. You can’t just spend money on a new site and expect it to change everything.”
We echo this sentiment when we speak with clients. A new website is not a magical solution that is going to bring you a ton of leads without any work. It’s important to know your business and know what’s going to work for you. For Michael, he found his niche in his neighborhood guides.
“My number one tip for getting the most out of your website is content creation.” Michael experimented with blogging for a while, but found that he had more success by regularly writing and publishing detailed neighborhood guides.
With this hyper-local content, he ensures that his neighborhood pages rank high on searches organically, and he does SEO work and regular audits to keep things running smoothly.
What’s Next for Michael?
Even though Michael’s website is only 18 months old, he’s already in talks with the Artifakt team about making updates and revamping some parts of it to make it even better. “It’s a constant moving target for me, and I always have to be working to keep things current and ranking high.”
Want to learn more about what Artifakt Digital can do and how we can help your business get ahead of the competition? Book a no-obligation consultation call with our team quickly and easily.
