I've been there before. Everyday you check your visitor statistics and every day you see same poor results. A slow trickle of visitors, no real leads - it gets pretty painful. The good news is that this problem can be remedied very quickly (and cheaply) with just a few minor tweaks to your website.

But first you need to know problem. Let's take a look at at top 10 offenders that can cripple your website's success.

1. No Traffic You must steer a large number of people to your website to be successful. One or two visitors a day isn't website traffic - it's a waste of time. Success on web is a game of numbers - without traffic you have a very low probability of converting visitors into clients. Getting 'mucho' traffic to your site should be your first priority.

2. No Listings Don't even think about building a website that does not have MLS listings. Like a boat, a website without MLS listings is just a hole you throw money into. The #1 reason why people use Internet to research a home is to read MLS listings. No Listings = no go. Just that simple.

3. No Community Information The second reason why people use Internet to search for a home is to research neighborhoods, schools, shopping and entertainment. Visitors to your website will expect you to give them a snapshot of their desired community. The first realtor who gets them this information wil win.

4. Not Search Engine Friendly Eighty percent web surfers use search engines to find websites that interest them. If your website isn't easy to index by search engines you will have a very difficult time getting quality traffic.

Amateurs can “make news.” They can entice a morning TV crew to take video of a charity event. Or land a mention in a local newspaper column. Or even score a feature story in a trade magazine.

But these are one-time shots that are unlikely to leave an impression on your target audience. Simply “making news” will rarely attract a steady stream of prospects to your door.

Yet even top PR pros tend to focus on “making news.” There are two reasons for this. First, it’s relatively easy to score. Second, boss rarely understands that simply “making news” is virtually worthless to bottom line.

For example: Taco Bell “made news” a few years ago by piggybacking on an international story. The space station SkyLab was losing its orbit and was about to crash through earth’s atmosphere. The world press was obsessed with possibility that debris might strike a major city.

Taco Bell hired a boat to tow a gigantic target out onto Pacific Ocean. If any debris hit target, Taco Bell told world, every American would get a free taco.

The stunt gave news media a strong visual to associate with more abstract story of potential space debris. It also lent a lighter side to a completely out-of-whack media obsession.

Now, I’m not criticizing Taco Bell. This was a great one-time stunt. But in end news coverage did little to attract new customers to Taco Bell. There were no follow-up stories to tell. There was no exciting idea at heart of company’s tactic.

It was a stunt. And a funny one. Nothing more.

Taco Bell “made news.” But it didn’t make news.

Here’s another way of looking at it: “Making news” is pure expense; making news will generate revenue.

The PR Rainmaker understands this crucial difference.