Online marketing, Search Engine Optimization, paid ads... all of the ways you capture leads on your multifamily real estate website have their roots in one very important thing: user experience (UX).
There are so many ways we can talk about user experience, but arguably the most important is how it relates to the psychology of decision making - how decisions are made, what information people need to make decisions, and what is going on in the brain when website users are trying to make a decision.
When you are looking for the best multifamily real estate website design strategies, you can utilize cognitive psychology to capture more high-quality leads.
In fact, what we know of cognitive psychology is what greatly informs marketing decisions and strategies world-wide. When you understand how the brain takes in information and processes it to make decisions, you can tailor your website copy and design to capture and convert the highest-possible-quality leads.
Psychology Effects that heavily impact your Website Users
The Focusing Effect When a user lands on your multifamily real estate website, they base their decisions on the most obvious information. As the old adage goes, what is out of sight is out of mind. This means that potential leads will use the information that is either right in front of them or easy to find and access.
The Cognitive Fluency Effect Cognitive fluency, or processing fluency, is the ease with which our brains process information, especially when it is brand new. The simpler and easier the information is to understand, the more likely the brain is to view it favorably. When a user lands on your multifamily real estate website for the first time, this is your opportunity to make a lasting good first impression - make the information they are looking for easy to find and easy to understand.
How users look for information about Multifamily Real Estate Properties
We know that potential clients land on websites of any kind to access information to help them make informed decisions. How they find that information can vary based on their already-existing knowledge base.
Finding known items Users often re-access items they already know exist, like a link to the resident portal.
Exploring Many renters turn to the internet to find new apartment complexes in the city that they live in, or a city to which they are relocating.
Refining and narrowing If they have some idea of what they want already, renters can utilize built-in search features on a search engine or apartment website to narrow down their search by floor plan or price.
Comparing Some rental sites, especially bigger ones, have a search feature where the user can compare two different units or two different apartment complexes to see which best fits their needs.
Discovering unknown information Sometimes, a user will happen upon information that they weren't actually looking for on a brand new site. This is not very common, and doesn't usually result in quality leads.
Information Architecture
Much like tangible architecture is the organization of space and materials, Information Architecture (also known as IA) is the organization of the information on your website, and it is hugely important for a quality user experience and basic SEO alike. A good IA helps users who land on your multifamily real estate website find the information they need to reach their goals during their visit, and help them decide if you are what they are looking for.
Information Architecture is a multi-faceted discipline, and there are front- and back-end facets to it. That means that the way users directly interact with your website is impacted by it, but implied elements of your design also play in. Things like classification of pages, labeling, and back-end hierarchy of your site are a large part of IA - something that makes search and filtering functions (like the one pictured above) possible.
One way you can make a big impact on your IA with minimal expertise or time is via your website menu. Keeping in mind the Focusing and Cognitive fluency effects, the best menu for a multifamily real estate website design would be a flat hierarchy, where all menu items are easy to find from any landing page. This means that all of the information a user might need (see the next section) should be able to be accessed from a menu that appears on each page.
What information users look for on a Multifamily Real Estate Website
As you may know, most users land on multifamily real estate websites with a specific goal in mind - to find a new rental home that is a good fit for them and their roommates or family. Your website is an opportunity to give them the information they need to make that decision. If they like what they see, you get a high-quality lead and potential renter!
The top 8 pieces of information that renters want (or need) when visiting a rental website are:
Floor plans
Rental rates
Available lease terms
Amenities
Property appearance
Finishings and features
Customer-staff interaction
Company reputation (social media proof/reviews)
For the best user experience possible, you want all eight items on this list to be easy to find and access, ideally via your main menu, like in the example images above.
Taking into consideration cognitive psychology as it relates to user experience is a great way to improve your multifamily real estate website design to capture more high-quality leads.
Ready to level up your multifamily real estate website design?
J&J Creative specializes in providing multifamily companies with a framework to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their websites and digital marketing strategies as well as the opportunities and threats present in the multifamily industry. From high-converting web design, copywriting, SEO, website analytics, and ongoing maintenance, we are passionate about leveling up the digital presence of our clients to help them attract better leads and increase their digital footprint. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation!
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