For anyone trying to buy or sell a home in 2011, the news from San Diego-based DataQuick Information Services was a punch in the gut.

Of all the negative news about the state of Orange County’s real estate situation, one number stands out: Compared with last year, countywide home sales are down 18%.

Yes, that is down 18% from a sales year everyone would like to forget.

Sales prices are down, too. It is important to remember during tough times like these that despite the bad news, there are still buyers and sellers out there. Indeed, 523 homes sold in the beach communities in May.

Sellers, if your home is about to go on the market or if it has been on the market too long, it is more important than ever to remember that these desperate times do not call for desperate measures, just different ones.

Not too long ago, your agent was the person to whom you handed 100% of the job of selling your home. You’d go about your business each day confident that before too long, you’d hear the message you’ve been waiting for:

“We got an offer.”

Today, however, you must think of your agent as a team captain, someone who partners with you to sell your home.

Selling your home at your asking price, or close to it, requires that you think of inventive methods of marketing your property. One of the keys is to use e-marketing, that is, create a website for your home that will attract the attention of the buyers you want.

Your home’s website doesn’t have to cost you anything more than a few dollars to register a domain name.

Those registrations are usually accompanied by a free website you can create without too much computer knowledge.

Why have a website? Because almost all of your buyers are using the Internet to search for a home. Your website increases the chances they’ll find yours. And an optimized website increases those chances further still.

Here are some tips for a successful website to sell your home:

Your buyer is not going to buy your home online. Though it may seem counter-intuitive, the goal of your website is not to sell your home. The goal is to get your prospective buyer to pick up the phone and ask questions or make an appointment to see your home.

That personal contact will go a long way toward closing the deal.

Don’t answer every question. Because your goal is to initiate personal contact with your prospect, you need to give them a reason to call you.

Yes, that reason could be because your price is 20% below the comparable homes in your area, but that’s probably not what you have in mind. So instead of listing all of the information on local schools, or the other usual information, have a line that invites questions and list a phone number. Use the words, “Call today.”

Optimize your website.

Pepper your website’s copy with the keywords that your buyer will be entering into a search engine. That will help drive your website toward the front pages of the search results.

Avoid the fancy Flash presentations and clumsy designs. Remember that the two keys to your successful home selling website are readability and ease of navigation. Keep it simple.

Break the rules. Most agents like to keep buyers and sellers miles apart. That may have been a good policy in robust times, but today you need to get personal. Show pictures on your website of your home that include you and your family, whether of a backyard barbecue or a pool party. Create the impression that these happy times could be your buyer’s if they purchase the home.

Finally, make sure that you refresh your website frequently with new content. That will keep you front and center with the search engines.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to smi161@aol.com.