The Importance of Digital Landscaping

Is it worth the money? Yes. Yes, it is.

The justification for such an expensive cosmetic update is that it makes for a better and more attractive drive-up experience. Beautiful landscaping provides tangible evidence that the property is maintained to the highest standard, catching the eye of the prospective resident and giving current residents a sense of pride in their community (which increases resident referrals).

Chances are, the first place a prospective resident will come into contact with your community isn’t at the physical property but online. This number is just increasing as the months go by. Your website is now the place where your prospects will get information on your property instead of picking up fliers in your leasing office. It is becoming more and more important that your website has as much curb appeal as your community. So, doesn’t it make sense that you would give your website the same amount of care and focus as your flower beds? 

Maybe it’s time to do some “digital landscaping” on your website.

So, how do you keep your website looking fresh?

Here are some suggestions: 

1. Make sure the content on your site is an accurate reflection of what your property offers. It can be incredibly off-putting for a prospect to find out that the unit or amenity that they cared about isn’t actually available or isn’t exactly as the website represented it. This includes making sure you always have the latest pricing and availability reflected on your website.

2. Make sure your content is visitor-friendly. This means ensuring that people can quickly find the information they need the most without getting distracted or lost in the details. Sometimes less information is better than more. 

3. Nothing looks worse than a “neighborhood” page that hasn't been updated to reflect the changes in the surrounding area. Keeping your site fresh is critical to keeping it functioning effectively as a business tool. Fresh content is also great for your SEO!

4. Make sure you let people know what’s going on. If you have specials, keep them posted on your site! If you’re active on social, make sure people know where to find you. If you have an event calendar, keep it up to date. And don’t forget to weed out all the old “overgrown” content. Remove old photos and upload fresh, current pictures.

5. Hire a content specialist or SEO agency to do your regular updates. You hire professional landscapers and contractors to keep your properties up to date and looking good. Do the same for your website. Finding someone who specializes in website maintenance and/or SEO (search engine optimization) is key. 

Remember, your website is your online “curb appeal” to the world. Show your pride with a freshly landscaped website. You will find prospects stopping to smell the flowers.