A. According to Chip Johnson with Builder Designs, “It’s a sliding scale depending on the needs of the builder. A reasonable price range would start at $8,000/$10,000.
To dig a little bit further into the elements that determine the cost factors, most of them are broken down into two categories: functionality and marketing. Functionality relates to what the site has in it (page content) and how you manage that content. For example, what type of homes are you selling? Starter home or semi-custom? Are you selling homes in communities or are you a custom builder that ‘builds on your lot’? If you are building in communities, then you’ll need to have detail pages for each community that outlines the amenities, location, schools, etc.
From an Internet marketing standpoint, you need to consider how competitive the market is where you are building. If you are in a hyper-competitive market with strong competition from other builders then you’ll need to develop a search engine marketing strategy that can be incorporated into your new site. Content is king with search engines, and your site must have the pages built with the right kind of organic copy.
The biggest thing to keep in mind is that your website is an ongoing investment for your business. You have to have an organized plan of implementation and be prepared to make adjustments to the plan.”
In her new column on Probuilder.com, home builder marketing consultant Mollie Elkman will gather advice from the experts to answer your questions on a variety of home building topics. Got a question? Send it to Mollie at melkman@grouptwo.
