The Opportunity.
We love challenges. The state of Maryland, under the EmPower Maryland Act is requiring a deep cut in energy usage over the next few years. Everyone in the state will have to change their behavior to meet the objectives. We decided to reach out to the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) to see if we could provide an innovative, benefits-based solution.

The Consumer.
In order to craft an emotional message that will compel a change in behavior we needed to understand the consumer, and their perceptions about energy. Our research brought to light many important facts:
-    People generally view their utilities negatively, and believe that their bills are too high
-    People view energy efficiency positively, but few actually act on those feelings
-    People do not like to change their lifestyle, they have a routine that they want to keep
-    Most people believe that their homes are energy efficient, while most homes are not
-    The #1 reason people engage in energy efficient activities is to save money
-    People want to save money on their energy bills for emotion reasons 1) Happiness (I can do what I want) 2) Peace of Mind (I can pay the bills) and 3) Personal Satisfaction (I control my money, not the utility)

Armed with the knowledge of the consumer and the goals of Empower Maryland we set out to create an engaging campaign that would appeal beyond the rational. A campaign that would make Marylanders stop and take notice of energy efficiency initiatives. We would develop a voice that would inspire confidence and ensure action.

Our Answer:
Listen to Your Momma.

We challenged ourselves to do something unique for marketing energy services. We hope you’ll challenge us on how we can do even better.

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Each page of a website is indexed individually and stands on its own. A page is ranked against many factors including the keyword density (in the front-facing content and the code) and the cross-connection to other pages within a site as well as inbound links from other websites. Links from other sites relevant (keywords, content and links) to your website will increase its credibility.

SEO is the practice of designing, developing and updating a web site to improve its ranking in popular search engines like Google, Yahoo and MSN. This effort includes ongoing research and modification to the site to maintain the highest possible search rankings. Search engine algorithms evolve. To stay competitive Merrick Towle’s tactics evolve too. Our offering is the result of continued research; the search engine companies and industry experts actually recommend how to best utilize the available technologies.

Search engine traffic (organic or paid) is the perfect form of targeted marketing. Visitors find your site through search engines because they are actively seeking what you have to offer. Merrick Towle has employed SEO strategy on dozens of websites with the following results:

• Fully optimized property websites receive about 60% more daily visitors from search engines than comparable sites that are not optimized.
• We’ve seen a 3x increase in traffic to websites that have had the full SEO offering employed.
  • Furthermore, if the keywords are maintained and adjusted accordingly traffic numbers remain steady or even continue to increase as the site matures.
• The number of visitors to optimized sites that have been tracked to the Contact page from keywords is double that of non-optimized sites.

Organic, Paid (PPC) or both? A thorough upfront evaluation of goals and budget will help determine the best approach. A dual approach SEO and PPC is recommended when possible. Together the two will help search engines establish your relevancy for specific keywords thus resulting in a better ranking for your website.

by Jason Miller, Digital Associate Creative Director, jmiller@merricktowle.com

Zenith Apartments Screenshot

Rising twenty-one stories over Camden Yards, The Zenith Apartments is downtown Baltimore’s most striking high-rise apartment residence. The building’s unique architecture and luxurious homes make this the city’s premier rental address – a positioning captured in the cutting-edge property website.

Designed to appeal to style-conscious, status-seeking urban professionals, The Zenith Apartment website combines high-tech interactivity with a bold design. The building itself serves as the graphic centerpiece, changing from daytime to nighttime images on a 12-hour schedule. The sleek look and sharp copy are unlike any other apartment website.

In addition to the design, The Zenith Apartment website stands out because of its smooth, forward-thinking functionality. Instead of relying solely on a navigation bar, the website provides quick-links that are graphically integrated into the building image. These links change depending on which subject page the user is on, providing both easy access to in-depth information and a unique interface that enables “stickiness,” compelling users to explore the site (see previous blog for design strategy).

To make this real estate website as effective as possible, the design team included an interactive apartment home finder. Using the building image, users can select any floor, choose the specific unit they are most interested in, find out real-time availability of that unit and even reserve the home they want online. Additional interactive website elements include a 360-degree view available in night or day and a walking map that combines satellite imagery with pop-up neighborhood information.

By being the industry’s first property management website to provide real-time availability in a graphical format, the site is not just exciting to explore, it’s exceptionally useful. Prospective renters are initially enticed by the flashy appearance and then sold by the luxury finishes, top-line amenities and incredible floor plans. This integration of high-style and serious information perfectly plays into the target audience’s high-end tastes and discerning attitudes. This success made the property website The Zenith’s number-one source, generating 60% of leads and 80% of leases during its initial lease-up period.

Associate Creative Director: Jason Miller
Art Director: Heidi Landis
Copywriter: Alan Stewart Carl
Digital Art Director: Andy Freeberg

Property management websites do a great job of aggregating traffic from the Internet. But Merrick Towle has seen the benefits of driving home seekers to a branded property website.

A personalized site ensures that the unique nature of the building and its residents can be highlighted effectively. Merrick Towle’s NAHB Pillars Award winning apartment website and campaign for The Zenith featured the striking and memorable architecture . For another project down the street, Merrick Towle created an apartment website featuring the energetic nightlife in the area for Eden Apartments. This ensures that the traffic that comes to the property website is the right target. They will be more qualified and more likely to rent.

Merrick Towle creates tools to keep a prospect on the property website for as long as possible. The longer they stay, the more likely they are to contact the property.

Property websites make source tracking easier. We utilize unique tracking URLs on media sources to determine effectiveness of media and message.

What are some key things to include on a property website? What are some things to avoid?

All Flash websites have limited applications. Instead, create hybrid websites that feature HTML copy but offer Flash features like we did for Belmont Station Apartment’s website. Google and other search engines don’t see the copy if it’s embedded in the flash image. So it’s important that your copy be in HTML.

Create sites that work on two levels such as Merrick Towle’s award-winning Highland Park Apartments website:

Spend time to develop website architecture that is easy to navigate. Write SEO copy that is bulleted and information rich. Allow people to quickly get to the information they seek.

Interactive tools that encourage “stickiness” and keep people on the site longer:

• Furniture arrangers
• Floor plan searches
• Video content
• In-depth area pages
• Interactive maps

What are the top pages a prospect visits on an apartment or condominium website?

• We try to feature these sections prominently on the home page, as they are consistently the top-visited pages on condominium or apartment websites:
  • Floor plans
  • Photos
  • Specials

Next week will will take a deeper look at how we constructed the Zenith Apartments website.  We will also continue to post best practices for SEO, Vaultware integration and other tools to ensure traffic conversion.

by Jason Miller, Digital Associate Creative Director, jmiller@merricktowle.com