"Not Every Company Can Be In The Top 10 Links A Search Engine Returns, Says Read-Chua, Who Has Optimized His Site For Search Engine Listings Based On Terms Such As Toronto Real Estate And Toronto Condo" -

The Toronto Star Full Story as it appeared in the Toronto Star:

Paul Lima - Special To The Toronto Star

Lee Carter and her husband, Byron, were in a house-hunting mode last year and were seriously considering a condominium. They hit the Internet for more information but about 25 percent of the advertised condo Web sites were not operational.

"There seemed to be a trend toward the premature advertising of Web sites that weren't launched," says Lee Carter.

She also came across a number of "badly designed sites" that did not include floor plans or focused on outside architecture instead of room interiors. Then there were the virtual tours that were not functional.

Web site problems were a major irritant but not the deciding factor in the couple's decision to buy a house, says Carter, who runs an Internet Intelligence and consulting company and calls herself "a geek by profession." Being a geek, she returned to many of the sites and found most of them online, but still felt they could provide more information.

The web has become an effective marketing tool especially in a connected city like Toronto.

According to Industry Canada, 59 percent of Canadians have Internet access; 65 percent of those living in Ontario are connected. The concentration of connected consumers in the GTA exceeds the provincial average, analysts say. And 45 per cent of those connected to the Internet comparison-shop online before they shop in person.

It's no wonder most condo ads and bill boards include Web site addresses.

"Web sites lead to sales, absolutely," says Brad J. Lamb who operates Brad J. Lamb Realty and specializes in downtown condo and loft sales. His Web site (www.torontocondos.com) has even connected him with buyers in England and across the US and Canada.

Lamb gets 10,00 hits per month to his site and within three weeks of posting sales news on the Tip Top Lofts at Lake Shore Blvd. and Bathurst St., he had 800 requests for information.

Lamb doesn't think condo developers should give away too much information on their Web sites. Developers spend serious money on model suites and sales offices and their goal should be to get people to visit their developments, he says. He advises developers to put renderings and the odd floor plan on their Web sites but to shy away from expensive virtual tours.

"The goal is to generate traffic through your sales office, not to let perspective customers understand your project completely and stay away."

Menkes Developments Ltd., a company involved in the planning, design, and construction of commercial, industrial, retail, residential and mixed-use properties, has been online for about five years; but it completely revamped its Web site (www.menkes.com) about two years ago in response to consumer demand for more information, says James Schindel, Menkes' vice-president of marketing.

Armed with information, including floor plans, before they arrive at the sales office, consumers can make more informed buying decisions, says Schindel. He's not afraid of giving away too much information. Consumers can only see so many developments and skip developments that have insufficient information on Web sites, he says.

"The Web is your virtual sales office," he says. These days it is often the first impression prospective clients have of the developer and the development. A poorly designed site can leave the impression that a development is poorly planned, he adds.

Menkes tracks how consumers found out about their developments and the Web has led directly to sales, he says.

Steven Green of Royal LePage Real Estate has four web sites, two focused primarily on condo sales: http://www.condoandcastlestoronto.com/ and http://www.youngestreetcondos.com/

Up to 75 percent of his initial contacts reach him over the Internet. The day he was interviewed for this articles, he had 75 e-mail prospects looking for condos.

When he gets an e-mail lead he usually exchanges two or three messages with prospective clients to ascertain price range and location and to pre-qualify them for mortgages. Web sites can also save brokers time. Green's site includes the location of the hottest lofts in the city and that saves him from answering the same question repeatedly. The Web sites "open lots of doors," even doors to prospects in the US and overseas he says.

More Americans are buying condos here because of the low value of the Canadian dollar, he says. A person can't buy much for $275,000(US) in Detriot or New York, but that same amount will get a buyer a condo selling for around $385,000 in Toronto, " a safe, multicultural city with an exciting downtown core," he adds.

While a significant percentage of the population uses the Internet, a common misconception is that creating a good Web site will get you clients.

"It won't," says Alan Read-Chua, a Sales Broker with Sutton Group - Associates Realty Inc. who is online at http://www.toronto-condominium-homes.com/

"You have to go a step further and market that Web site".

The proof is in a Google search. Using Google and search terms like "Toronto condominium developments" turned up few of the hot condo sites in the city.

Companies can spend time and money optimizing their Web site for search engines but they should also include their Web site name on billboards, in ads and flyers and on business cards because not every company can be in the top 10 links a search engine returns, says Read-Chua, who has optimized his site for search engine listing based on terms such as Toronto Real Estate or Toronto Condominium.

While people are using the Web for research, Schindel sees a day when virtual sites can lead directly to the closing of deals online.

It will be a few years before condominium sales close online but its something "we banter around at Menkes," he says.