So what did we learn? One of the most important things we learned is that website users don’t read – at least not in the way that we’d like them to. They scan.

There’s a lot of evidence to support this in research about the web. Jakob Nielsen, one of the “user experience” wunderkinds of the web, offers eye maps and heat maps (using eye tracking technology) as proof that people move their eyes around a web page in a not necessarily orderly fashion. Large blocks of copy don’t get read in the conventional manner – people’s eyes lock on to a line or phrase and then move on.

So when we designed the property overview page, we thought long and hard about how to handle the “romance paragraphs” that sometimes accompany apartment listings.  And we eventually decided that there was a better way.

“Reasons to live here” is the solution we fashioned for communicating important information about an apartment quickly. It is the space in which a property can explain why it’s worth setting up an appointment. (Or at least it should be.) The 4 reasons copy sits in a gold box on the page, right under the contact info, near the pictures and the map. It has the potential, if correctly used, to be very powerful. 

Let’s take an example:

Apartment 'A' is located in a suburb of a major city that is known for terrible traffic during rush hour periods. Its current renters are mostly young single and newly married working people. It has a pool, washer-dryer hookups, a good fitness center, it allows pets, it has covered parking. There are other properties near Apartment A that have comparable amenities. So what would be the reason to move to Apartment A? What other things can they talk about?

1. At Apartment A, you’re within walking distance of the park-n-Ride. Leave your car at home with us and save on gas and wear and tear. Mother Earth will thank you.
2. We just negotiated a great rate for our special furry residents at Bow Wow Doggy Day Care down the street – sign a lease with us and you qualify!
3. The fitness center at Apartment A has more elliptical machines than our closest competitors – you get a better workout, we get a healthy resident, and it’s all free.
4. All our new residents get a special Happy Hour cocktail at XYZ restaurant when they show their new keys to the hostess. Get your new keys here!
5. Friday night movies in the community center come with free popcorn, comfy chairs and great neighbors.
6. We have lots of two bedroom apartments available right now, with special incentives if you need some extra room.

None of those “reasons” is particularly difficult to write about, but they all speak to the prospect about the Apartment A amenities and some extra things as well. All of them would require that you look at your property from a slightly different viewpoint. What you want to do is move the reader along in the transaction, so what do you have on your property or in your community relationships with other businesses that would help make you special – and worth the time to make an appointment?

If you’d like us to help with your reasons, we’re happy to. But, remember, the best reasons are going to come from your own perspective.