Some multifamily marketers focus more on the amount of web traffic to their apartment community and its cost than the website itself.
Yet the typical prospective resident's apartment search—a.k.a. the leasing funnel—ends at the community's website, where apartment seekers ultimately decide to pursue a lease or move on to another property.
That means that your apartment website deserves more of your focus and attention, not less, because of its critical impact on leasing and your community's overall performance.
Is your website struggling to get conversions? Do you seem to need more and more advertising even though you have steady traffic to the website? . If either of those things are true, it may be due to one or more of these problems we see with many apartment websites today:
- Lack of engaging, floorplan-specific content.
- Bad mobile version of the website.
- Pricing and availability information that hurts lead generation.
Let's break down these common problems with apartment websites and how to resolve them so that your community's most crucial marketing source engages prospective residents at the deciding point of their search and converts them into leads.
Problem #1: Lack of engaging, floorplan-specific visual content.
Renters demand a lot of information from your apartment community's website. The more they can see and learn on your website, the more trust they build, which is why website engagement is an essential part of the equation for converting more leads and leases.
The question is: Does your website provide that information in an engaging way that builds trust with renters?
While it's always critical to include detailed information about your property, floorplans, and amenities, the most compelling feature will be having quality photos and videos of your property on the website.
Yet, confusingly, visual content is where most apartment websites fail to promote engagement.
When the only visual content you have is a gallery page, your website doesn't accurately depict the floorplan with the bedroom count they want. That lack of critical information could cause them to seek out nearby communities to see if their websites are engaging and let them see the inside of the units that fit their needs.
The biggest culprit is the 'Gallery' page. You might think, "The gallery page is the most important feature on my apartment's website." However, it becomes a problem when it is the only page on your website that features quality visual content of your apartment community.
Many gallery pages on apartment websites we've come across over the years will have photos of a kitchen, living room, and bedroom mixed with pictures of the clubhouse, pool, or gym.
The problem with randomly grouping photos of your apartments like this is that there's no way for a prospect to know whether or not those interior photos are of the 2-bedroom floorplan or a studio floorplan.
Prospective residents determine precisely how many bedrooms they need before beginning their apartment search, and most importantly, they want to see photos of the inside of a floorplan that fits that need.
When the only visual content you have is a gallery page, your website doesn't accurately depict the floorplan with the bedroom count they want. That lack of critical information could cause them to seek out nearby communities to see if their websites are engaging and let them see the inside of the units that fit their needs.
Solution: Present floorplan-specific content on your apartment website.
The problem with photo gallery pages isn't the page itself; it's the lack of floorplan-specific content featured on your website.
Reorganizing your website so that each floorplan has a dedicated page provides the most transparent representation of your apartments for prospective residents. They can see photos and video tours of the floorplan they're looking for and get a comprehensive breakdown of rent, availability, pet policy information, amenities, appliances, included utilities, and more.
When you utilize pages with floorplan-specific media and information, you positively impact a prospective resident's search and their ability to engage with your apartment community's website.
Problem #2: Bad mobile version of the website.
Many multifamily marketers unintentionally evaluate only the appearance of the desktop version of their community websites, whether they were built in-house or purchased from a vendor.
Over 80% of all traffic to our client's apartment websites is mobile. That means the mobile version of your community website is likely more than double the value of your desktop version, so it's a big mistake to ignore its appearance and usability.
Today, it's a huge misstep to ignore the appearance and usability of the mobile version of your community website.
Over 80% of all traffic to our clients’ apartment websites is from mobile devices. That means the mobile version of your community website is likely more than double the value of your desktop version, so it's a big mistake to ignore its appearance and usability.
A bad mobile apartment website could be why you're not getting enough lead or lease conversions.
Solution: Prioritize the appearance and performance of the mobile version of your apartment's website.
A great mobile apartment website should load fast, display media that works seamlessly, and utilize built-in calls-to-action that open navigational applications or instantly dial the leasing office's number.
If you're purchasing or building a new website, focus on its mobile appearance and performance first, as that is the medium by which most prospective residents will engage with your apartment community.
Problem #3: Pricing and availability information that hurts lead generation.
While your apartment website must have engaging, floorplan-specific visual content and information, the two most essential items of information every prospective resident needs are rent price and unit availability.
The problem is that many apartment websites present pricing and availability information in a manner that hurts lead generation.
Imagine how a prospect would feel if they came to an apartment website, grew interested in applying to that community after engaging with the content, but then saw that the listed rent for their desired floorplan was shown as '$980-$2,100/month.'
Imagine how a prospect would feel if they came to an apartment website, grew interested in applying to that community after engaging with the content, but then saw that the listed rent for their desired floorplan was shown as '$980-$2,100/month.'
A broad price range like that is a typical byproduct of the legacy revenue management systems the multifamily industry relies on. We understand that the prices reflect the differences in term lengths, but prospective renters don't know what that means and will almost always assume that the rent price they'd pay is closer to the high end of that listed range.
That would obviously hurt their chances of further pursuing a lease.
The same issue applies to how apartment websites display unit availability. Everyone understands the need to show real-time availability online, so integration with property management software is a must-have.
However, some apartment websites fail to create urgency when they display availability for floorplans with many openings. When there's no apparent scarcity in unit availability, prospects feel less obligated to decide to tour or apply now, opening the door for them to continue their apartment search elsewhere.
When there's no apparent scarcity in unit availability, prospects feel less obligated to decide to tour or apply now, opening the door for them to continue their apartment search elsewhere.
Solution: Display accurate, understandable pricing and availability information on your apartment's website that initiates lead and lease conversions.
We wrote another article with more keys about effectively displaying pricing and availability on your apartment website, and the objectives are still clear:
- Availability information must be up-to-date, which is most accessible through integration. If you don't have integration, do you have someone on staff who can make frequent changes? Or do you rely on a vendor to make changes? Make sure you get this process down.
- Be careful with showing unit availability if there's not enough scarcity. One recommendation is to use language such as 'Available Now' instead of showing the exact number of units available when that amount is high.
- Never let pricing information be the reason an interested prospective resident moves on. The best practice is to show only one price for each unit, the rent for the standard 12-month lease term. (That is a core feature of RentVision's apartment revenue management solution.)
Summary
Problems with Apartment Community Websites:
- Apartment community websites often face critical issues that affect their leasing performance.
- The primary challenges are the lack of engaging, floorplan-specific content, poor mobile website versions, and problematic pricing and availability information presentation.
Solution to Lack of Engaging Content:
- Apartment websites should feature floorplan-specific content.
- Creating dedicated pages for each floorplan with photos, video tours, and detailed information helps build trust and engagement among prospective residents.
Solution to Mobile Website Issues:
- The mobile version of apartment websites is crucial, as most traffic comes from mobile devices.
- Prioritizing the appearance and functionality of the mobile website, including fast loading times and seamless media display, is essential for increasing lead and lease conversions.
Solution to Pricing and Availability Challenges:
- Apartment websites should present pricing and availability information clearly and accurately to enhance lead generation.
- Display up-to-date availability through integration, use language to create urgency when units are sparse, and simplify pricing by showing a single rent price for the standard 12-month lease term.