Television Websites and Real Estate: A Good Mix?
I never visit the websites of my local tv stations on any kind of regular basis. There was no appeal for me, but I have seen where stations are trying to create stronger internet presences. While flipping through the news broadcasts the other day, I saw that one station had advertised its site as a place for real estate information, so I thought that I should check out how different stations may be handling real estate on their sites. Here is a survey of what is happening in Houston:
The NBC affiliate, Channel 2 has created a practical site that can be good for the home buyer or seller. It was pretty complete, which honestly surprised me. I was dissatisfied with the fact that it was obviously a mash-up of information from different websites. I would have liked to see some of their own news features included in this spot as a way to connect with the consumer.
The CBS station, channel 11, also offered a bit in the way of real estate offerings. You could search the MLS through Keller Williams, while also being put in touch with one of their agents. They also included tips from Danny Lipford. Two things impressed me about this site: the fact that you could submit your own blog to be on their blog page, and their SEO. I submitted this blog to see what they would do, but this blog is business oriented, so I would not imagine that it would be accepted. On the SEO front, I have to give kudos to their marketing team. I typed in “Channel 13 Houston” into Google for their web address. The sponsored link stated Channel 13 Houston, and I just clicked on it. Oila, channel 11 appeared. Classic use of SEO to upstage your rival. I began laughing.
The ABC station, Channel 13, did not have a specific place for real estate, but their consumer alerts blog did have information for the homeowner, buyer, and seller. The site relied too heavily on videos and pop-ups for my liking, but video is the wave of the future on the net.
The Fox station, channel 26, had an easy to navigate site. For navigation it was my favorite, although I generally ignore Fox News. They had a good blog section, where maybe someone could create a real estate news blog. That might be to the sites benefit. Like Channel 13′s site, I did find stories on real estate easily available.
The CW station, Channel 39, seemed more focus on the shows than on building a larger community. Their consumer information page was not intuitive to reach. I clicked on the button marked “consumer”. Then I realized that another step was needed; I had to click on the picture to the right after that initial click. I found their blogs listed on the bottom of the page. Once I came to the blogs, I liked them, and the consumer information had useful stories concerning real estate.
The last station I looked at was Univision, Channel 45. I get some traffic through people typing in phrases into their search, so I knew that some people on the site were interested in real estate. Their site focused on finding an apartment with nothing about buying a home. I checked out their message boards, but there was nothing there either on the topic of real estate.
Maybe television stations can become hubsites to build loyalty among their communities, and real estate may be a good fit for them. Topics dealing with the home from repairs to ownership will always be part of their news repertoire, so finding a way to meet that need of their viewers could be useful. I think that they should focus on developing their own material, as well as a way to make it look like their site is the main focus, rather than directing you to another site for each part. It will be interesting to see how much further these spaces on the web may go to build brand loyalty.
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