We're continuing a holiday tradition of revisiting classic articles from the past year. This article was originally published back in May. Enjoy!

Is your website losing traffic to third party sites like Zillow and Trulia? If you're like many brokers, the answer is probably "Yes." Since 2011, traffic to broker websites has gone flat, while activity on third party sites has flourished.

This doesn't have to be the fate of your real estate website, however. By discovering what real estate consumers want and how they behave online, you can craft an effective website strategy.

Find Out What Consumers Want

Broker websites have traditionally been developed around the business needs of the broker. However, it's consumers that drive success--not brokers, MLSs, or even agents. If you don't understand what the consumer looks for in a real estate website, you have no foundation on which to build a successful online presence.

So what do consumers want? Let's take a look:

• Education - Consumers often feel lost during the homebuying process. They want to know what to expect during the homebuying process, what can go wrong, and what decisions they'll face.
• Service and quick response - During their research process, homebuyers want service--they don't want to be converted. They want you to respond quickly, and they want support services throughout their property search.
• Clarity - Many brokerage websites are messes of unorganized information. By including everything under the sun, brokers may think they're being thorough, but they're only confusing visitors--and driving them away.
• Local content - 73% of all web searches are for local content. Ideas for local content include landing pages, ebooks, and dynamic information on area markets, trends, and demographics.