This document outlines 10 best practices for using WordPress for real estate and realtor websites. It recommends defining clear goals, focusing on content over design initially, using an editorial calendar, targeting a specific niche market, commenting and linking out to other sites, not being afraid to fail, writing a lot of content, using effective calls to action, testing and tweaking site elements, and getting an effective home search tool. It also lists some popular real estate themes and plugins.

1. Top 10 WordPress Best Practices for
Realtors & Real Estate Websites
Jay Thompson PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com @PhxREguy
WordCamp Phoenix. February 25, 2012

2. #10 Define Your Goal
✤ Good
✤ X home search registrations / month
✤ X newsletter subscriptions / month
✤ X% increase in Y over Z time period
✤ Bad
CC Licensed. matsukawa on Flickr
✤ More visitors
✤ Commission checks

3. #9 Forget the Design. For Now.
Crappy design can be effective.
CC Licensed
badjonni on Flickr

5. #9 Forget the Design. For Now.
Crappy design can be... crappy.

7. #9 Forget the Design. For Now.
Great design can be effective.

9. #9 Forget the Design. For Now.
Great design can be... crappy.

11. #8 Use an Editorial Calendar
✤ http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/editorial-calendar/
✤ or Google “WordPress Editorial Calendar”

12. #7 Go Small, or Go Home
✤ My Biggest Mistake...
✤ Being the PHOENIX Real Estate Guy

13. #7 Go Small, or Go Home
✤ I should have done...
✤ Subdivisions, MPC’s, niche markets
366

14. #6 Comment and Link OUT
✤ Create accounts at: ✤ Link OUT to “get discovered”
✤ Disqus ✤ To other Real Estate sites
✤ Intense Debate ✤ Including “The Competition”
✤ LiveFyre
✤ Wordpress.com
✤ Blogger

15. #5 Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNJGtjd00VU

16. #4 Write. A Lot.
✤ Content is critical.
✤ Well, good content is
critical...
✤ Bad content is... bad.
Image CC Licensed
sami73 on Flickr

17. #3 Calls to Action are Everything

18. #2 Test, Tweak, Retest
✤ Google “WordPress A/B Testing” (or Split Testing)
✤ MaxA/B
✤ A/B Test for WordPress
✤
✤
Headline Split Tester
WordPress Split Test Optimizer ($)
A/B
✤ Try changing:
✤ Words, locations, colors, phrases, titles

19. #1 Get an Effective Home Search
✤ Indexable vs. Framed
✤ User friendliness
✤ Multiple solutions

20. Real Estate Themes & Plugins
✤ Plugins ✤ Themes
✤ Real Estate Chart of the Day ✤ AgentPress (StudioPress)
✤ Simple Real Estate Pack ✤ ElegantEstate (Elegant)
✤ Great Real Estate ✤ Estate (Woo Themes)
✤ Firestorm Real Estate
Plugin

21. Jay Thompson
@PhxREguy
PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com
CC Licensed
Stephan Baudy on Flickr