How to Optimize Your Real Estate Listing Photos to Drive More Leads

Bringing people to your website or to your property listing is hard enough.  You have to do marketing, pay for ads in local papers or magazines, and also spend your own time and money on digital platforms like Facebook and Google just to get a buyer lead.  After all this work, have you wondered if there is a better way to turn more of the viewers into home buyer leads?  you do to help encourage more buyer leads to contact you, instead of looking and leaving for the next property.  The answer is yes.

One of the most underutilized opportunities is the way your real estate photography is displayed and the wording you can place next to the photo.

The photos are what drive a homebuyer to view your property listing.  But have you thought about if the photos are directly relatable to the shopper?  Do they capture and relate to the person enough to make them want to read through the rest of the listing and click to set up an appointment?  This is one of the largest opportunities for real estate agents like you to stand out from the other properties and turn lookers into home buyer leads.  Here are a few tips that you can use to turn listing viewers into actionable buyer leads.

3 Steps to Turn Real Estate Photos Into Home Buyer Leads

1. Make the photos about the homebuyer buyer and not the seller.

   You don’t know if the buyer is going to have or want kids or pets.  Pets for example can be associated with smells or allergies for non-pet owners.  If the current owners have cat trees, dog houses, bird cages, fish tanks, or other visible pet related items, remove them from the home and the yard before taking the photos.  If there is a swing set or something that you cannot take down in the yard, make a note that the seller will remove it upon request.  A swing set or jungle gym can be seen as an added expense and hassle which can work against you.

2. Tell the story, don’t just display the property.Many photos on listing sites are taken in harsh daylight. 

   The photographer will show up when you ask them too, but the middle of the day may not be the best option.  What about sunrise or sunset when the sky is lit up?  Then think about the description and see if it tells the story of what it will be like for the homebuyer to wake up in the morning and look out the window to watch the sunrise.

   If natural sunlight in the morning is a selling point, why not show up at golden hour to take a photo for the website and let the potential buyer experience sipping coffee in the morning.  The same goes for a sunset view.  Show the stunning view of a sunset from the patio with a glass of wine in the evening?  You can set the scene and also place items like a magazine or book and a wine glass or two with wine in them to set the mood.  If a view and natural light are mentioned in your copy as a selling point, especially for vacation properties, give the home buyer a matching visual and let them experience it through the photography.

   Next back this image up with the photo description. Don’t just say “gorgeous sunrises from your kitchen window”, try saying “wake up each morning to a majestic sunrise while you enjoy your first cup of coffee and start your day on a good note, every day”.  Instead of saying “natural light in the kitchen”, say “the light naturally fills your kitchen while overlooking the stunning landscape in your private oasis”.

3. Share the surrounding areas and amenities.

   If a selling point is the farmers market which is open every weekend, a dog park, or running trails, are you including them in the listing photos?  Community amenities are part of reason someone will buy a home, but not everyone remembers to have their photographer include the images of the nearby amenities that attract the home buyer to that neighborhood.  By including photos instead of just writing that they are nearby, you can help the person to picture themselves having access to them and making these features be a part of their everyday lives if they buy this specific home.

It’s that easy to help make a listing go from the standard, to something that stands out.  Simply pull out anything that is not appealing to the majority of buyers moving into the area, make sure that you show the times of day and describe the experience the person will have if they buy the property, and if there are amenities nearby that are also selling points, show them visually instead of just saying they are near the house.