Real estate websites in India are by the dozen, each trying to outnumber the others by way of
number of hits; total properties listed or overall traction. Very few try and
go beyond these numbers and look at actually giving the end user value for
money.
The reason for this number game ruling the Real estate websites in India
is that all ranking websites on the internet whether Alexa, Similar Web, Google
analytics, only look at a few factors i.e. to include the number of hits,
unique users, time spent on website and number of pages visited. These
rankings, figures and numbers are also used by independent agencies trying to
rate the real estate websites and recommending the best ones. One needs to
understand that these are statistical figures and can be boosted through quite
a few ethical as well as unethical means. Traffic or traction definitely
needs to be one of the components while rating or ranking any real estate website in India, but
by no means can be the only one.
While analysing real
estate websites in India the agencies/organisations need to keep in mind
that templates which are applicable for e-commerce or other websites cannot be
blindly applied here. In case of real
estate websites, the content is the single most important factor and
cannot be overlooked. User experience, design and ease of negotiation are other
important factors which need to be accounted for.
An analogy could be drawn with commercial cinema and art/content
based movies; traction is akin to box office jingles; however, critic awards
are always taken away by content based movies. A combination of both these
aspects leads to a win-win situation. Similarly, traction on real estate websites in India is only
indicative of its popularity quotient (that also if it is not through unethical
means); it is a direct derivative of the marketing budget and does not reflect
on the quality or content.
Unless and until these rankings/ratings do not account for
content, the real estate websites in
India would be happy playing these number games and the end user would
keep struggling for authentic information.
It is time for Residential
property in India get way from this number game and concentrate on
providing meaningful content which meats the end user requirements. The real estate websites in India need to
actually bridge the gap between the end users and real estate developers in a transparent and unbiased manner. This
would go a long way in reducing the trust deficit which exists and
unfortunately is further widening between the end users and real estate developers.
