Here’s something that happens to every new broker. You meet someone at a party, they mention they’re thinking about buying, you hand them your card, and you feel great about it.
Then they go home and Google you.
What do they find? For most new agents, the honest answer is: not much. Maybe a one-line bio on the brokerage site. Maybe an old Facebook profile. Maybe somebody else with the same name. That moment, when they’re deciding whether you’re legit, is where a lot of first deals quietly go away.
So get your web page ready before you need it.
Your brokerage page isn’t enough
Your brokerage will probably give you a profile page. Fill it out, absolutely. But remember it’s their page, not yours. It looks like everyone else’s, it lives on their website, and if you ever change firms, it disappears along with everything you put into it.
You want at least one place online that belongs to you and follows you for your whole career.
Step 1: Grab your name
Buy the domain with your name on it today, even if you don’t build anything yet. Something like yourname.com or yournamerealestate.com. It costs about as much as a lunch, and it’s yours forever. While you’re at it, grab the same handle on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube so everything matches.
Step 2: Fill out the free stuff first
Before you spend a dollar on a fancy site, get these done. They’re free and they’re where people actually look:
- Your brokerage profile. Real photo, real bio, real phone number.
- Google Business Profile. This is what shows up on the map and in search. Huge for local agents.
- Zillow and Realtor.com agent profiles. Buyers browse these. An empty profile looks worse than no profile.
- LinkedIn. Underrated. Your past coworkers and classmates are your first sphere.
Use the same photo, the same name and the same short description everywhere. Consistency makes you look established, even when you’re brand new.
Step 3: Build a simple page that’s actually yours
It doesn’t need to be fancy. Honestly, one good page beats a ten-page site full of stock photos. Here’s what it needs:
- A real photo of you. Smiling, well lit, looks like you on a normal day. Not a glamour shot from 2015.
- A short bio in plain English. Who you are, why you got into this, what part of Chicago you know best. Skip “dedicated professional committed to excellence.” Everybody says that.
- Where you work. Name your neighborhoods or suburbs. Specific beats general.
- How to reach you. Phone, email, maybe a link to book a quick call. Make it stupid easy.
- Something helpful. Even two or three short posts or neighborhood guides. This is what turns a business card into a reason to call.
- Reviews, once you have them. Add them as they come in.
What can wait
You don’t need a $300-a-month website with property search, chatbots, and pop-ups on day one. Buyers already search homes on Zillow and Redfin. Nobody is coming to a new agent’s site to browse listings. They’re coming to figure out if you’re a real person they’d trust. Build for that.
Check with your managing broker
Quick but important: anything you put out there advertising yourself as an agent usually has to follow your state’s advertising rules and your brokerage’s policies. In Illinois that typically means showing your brokerage’s name. Run your page by your managing broker before it goes live. It’s a five-minute conversation that saves you a headache.
Your weekend checklist
- Buy your name domain.
- Get a decent headshot (a friend with a good phone and natural light works).
- Write a 100-word bio that sounds like you talking.
- Set up or claim your Google Business Profile, Zillow and Realtor.com profiles.
- Put up one simple page with your photo, bio, area and contact info.
- Google yourself. See what a stranger would see.
That’s it. A weekend of work, and the next time someone goes home and Googles you, they’ll find someone worth calling back.