Posts Tagged ‘internet’
5 Compelling Reasons You Can’t Forget Your Website
Friday, November 4th, 2011
While we enjoy bringing you all of the latest and greatest tips and tools for social media, we also are firm believers in the tried and true basics of online marketing! Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, a custom blog and other social media sites are all extremely valuable for marketing as they allow you to connect and interact directly with your clients and leads. However, they should never take the place of a customized, content rich website!
With the lean towards social media, it could be that your website has fallen to the wayside and has gotten a little outdated. Hey, it happens. The key, however, is to not let it stay that way!
Think of your website as foundational to your online marketing. Sure, people will flock to your social media sites, but they’ll eventually look for the link to view your website. They want to see that you’re on top of all of your online presence mediums and will be searching for further information on your real estate company, reviews, homes you currently have on the market, homes you’ve sold, more about you personally and other pertinent real estate information.
So here’s the test. Go to your website and look at it from a visitor’s perspective. Is it visually appealing? Are you providing enough information about your services and your community? How’s your bio? Is it outdated? Does your personality shine through? Are you social media sites even listed on your website? If your website is lacking in any of these areas; it’s time for an update!
Still not convinced that your website still plays a vital role of your online presence? Take a look at these five reasons why websites still matter as pointed out by social media and online marketing consultant, Mikal Belicove.
1. Branding: Since it’s your site, you set the design, which affords you the flexibility to optimize the user experience in ways that directly support your business model and brand-related goals. There’s no competition on your website, just a branded experience that you direct yourself.
2. IT and Engineering Jurisdiction: When you control your own site, you have complete jurisdiction over its code, hosting environment, page count, content, plug-ins and more. With regard to branding, here too you have the elasticity required to make small or sweeping adjustments at will, an advantage you don’t get with third-party websites. With sites like Facebook, you can change minor graphics and some content but not code, navigation scheme, server speed or the graphic user interface.
3. Content: Create compelling and useful content that speaks to why someone is visiting your site, and you stand a higher chance of that visitor taking action with respect to your services. And since web pages are virtually unlimited on a site under your control, you have ample opportunity to add additional content and calls to action in any way you choose.
4. SEO: If garnering multiple, relevant and highly positioned placements in the SERPs (search engine result pages) is part of your marketing strategy, a website is a must. When properly coded and managed, your site delivers natural and sustaining search results that drive qualified traffic to the exact pages on your site where you want visitors to be.
5. Analytics: While many social mediums provide access to data related to demographics associated with who accesses your profile and how often they do so, website analytic tools go much deeper. They can provide you with the type of business intelligence you need to determine in real-time how your online marketing performs and stacks up against the competition.
It’s apparent that your website can’t be ignored! Your website is the foundation of all your other marketing and should reflect the excellence and effort that you put into every area of your marketing and service.
If your website does need a little renovation or if you aren’t quite sure where to begin, let your Real Estate Virtual Assistant know! They can help make those few minor tweaks or the overhaul that’s needed to your website to ensure your continued online success!
Contact Carrie
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Increase Website Traffic Through SEO Optimized IDX
Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011You probably pay a lot for your IDX service, but have you ever wondered if you are getting as much out of it as possible? Many agents don’t realize that proper and strategic use of your IDX integration can not only make your site more engaging to the visitor, but increase your traffic and search engine ranking as well. You just need to take four steps…
Four Steps to Getting the Most from Your IDX
Search engines, are constantly crawling sites, looking and comparing information to determine the best results to return to users searching for a particular set of keywords. By using a few simple strategies, you can leverage your IDX for content:
Step #1: Ensure your IDX resides on your site.
Most do this now because of the high demand for it, but if you don’t start from this premise, the rest of this article is a moot point for you. When it does, then every individual listing in the MLS can be viewed as a page of content on your site – and this is the central crux of the matter.
To see how many pages you are being credited for, try this… In a Google search, type site:yourdomain (in the example below, site:onlinedominance.com). In light gray writing at the top of the page, you will see the words “About ______ results returned.” So Google finds 1,340 pages of unique content associated with Online DominanceTM.
You can get “content credit” for all those listings in your MLS, provided you follow the next steps.
Step #2: Create predefined searches and install them on your site.
Having just a form for people to fill in with their search preferences, while vital, is not sufficient for this purpose because search engines are just an algorithm and are not interested in completing preference forms. So, if you want the search engine to see your content, you have to make sure the data from the MLS is being actively pulled onto your site. By creating predefined searches, such as by price, location, or even type of property, you are setting up a stream of constantly linked data of every listing that falls within those parameters.
Step #3: Create unique content describing that search
One of the more recent “gotchas” initiated by Google is an update that finds “low quality” pages, which is basically information it determines is syndicated from one source to many different sites. So, unfortunately for you, this means you can’t have just the predefined search. But you can end run this by taking the time to write a paragraph or two of custom content and add targeted title tags, so when the search engine indexes the page it may see some syndicated material but this will be offset by the unique content.
OK, you’re almost there!
Step #4: Link often and well
If you want the search engine to think a page is valuable, you have to treat it as if it IS valuable. So, every time you write something that relates to one of these searches, for instance a blog post about a recent upswing in sales in a certain price range in your market, include a link to that predefined search result page.
How this Helps Get Traffic to Your Site
So I know right now you are saying “Sure, I understand how to strategize the IDX, but what about the traffic and visitor engagement?”
Well, when the search engines find more pages of relevant content that is frequently updated, it helps your page ranking. Also, having lots of related third party sites (such as Trulia, Active Rain, etc.) link back to multiple points on your site helps not only ranking but the likelihood of people finding you. Finally, since every listing is viewed as a page on your site, searches on specific addresses (like when someone drives by and sees a yard sign) will yield your site as a result, so you don’t have to rely on over-used or highly competed for keywords.
As to customer engagement, people love the convenience and instant gratification of being able to see properties in the ranges or categories they prefer with the click of a button. Often, they aren’t sure exactly what they are looking for until they see some results, and having to go back and adjust information in a search form can be a bother. You will get more clicks on saved searches that then allow the user to sift and sort their specifics from there.
A Few Words of Advice
You have the step by step plan to get your IDX SEO optimized, and as always the next step is to implement. But be aware of a few more things before you do!
- Do Not Sock Google – Google is like the referee in a game, it watches to see if you are playing by the rules, and will throw the red card at any suspected foul punch. So, if you had say, 30 pages on your site one day and then next had 20,000, what do you think will happen? That’s right! So, pick the top 2 or 3 searches you think would be most effective in your area, and start adding those, going through all 4 steps to get them strategized. Add slowly to make your results most effective.
- Use the language your users use – People will tend to type search terms that they use in natural language. Name your predefined searches that same way to increase the match rate and hence your page position.
- Get a help in executing this over time – This is the perfect kind of task, low-level and long term, to get a VA to help you execute. Set up the process, set your priorities, and give a VA marching orders. You will see the results as they are added to your site, while freeing you up from worrying about maintaining the flow of information.
So, there you have it! Make sure you are getting the most out of your IDX’s capabilities when it comes to site traffic and visitor engagement by consistently initiating these strategies over time. The best thing is, since that IDX resides on your site, it will all be for your greater good!
Special thanks to Brad Carroll of Dakno Marketing for his contributions to this article.
Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the October 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.
Increase Website Profitability by Instantly Testing It
Saturday, June 18th, 2011
When you build your Website you hope that it will be effective in engaging visitors so they pick you over your competitors. Perhaps you included several unique offers on your site that you hope will catch their eyes and cause them to start clicking on their way to doing business with you. This is all well and good except for one thing. You really don’t know how your visitors are going to react to any particular part of your Website until you test it. Typically, this was a process that only the “big boys” could afford to do. Now there is a way you can instantly test any aspect of your site’s ability to engage visitors, so you know for certain what works and what doesn’t.
A/B Testing on Steroids
A/B testing is the process of creating two or more versions of your Website that are delivered at random to your site visitors and then measures the click-through rate for each version. This is a proven way to have your visitors vote with their mouse as to which version engages them more. The traditional tool for this is Google Website Optimizer which is free. However, it requires that you (or your Webmaster) create the different versions of your Website that need testing which is time consuming, requires a fair amount of technical skill and therefor is definitely not free.
That has all changed now with a new online service called Optimizely. With Optimizely you can create different versions of any part of your Website instantly right from their Website. Its online WYSIWYG editor allows you to make create alternative versions of your site’s copy, images and even move whole sections around in just a few minutes. And the astounding thing is that this can be all done without creating different versions of your Website’s code.
After you have created the alternative versions of your site, you simply add a bit of Javascript code provided by Optimizely to the pages being tested. Once your A/B test is active, Optimizely will automatically and randomly send the different versions of your site to visitors and measure the click-through rate of each one. You just let it run until you’ve had sufficient numbers of visitors to give you a reasonably certain statistical answer to which version more effectively causes visitors to click or convert. And don’t worry about trying to remember your Statistics 101 class because Optimizely automatically calculates the statistical significance for you.
Since videos are worth a thousand screenshots, the following will demonstrate just how easy and powerful this new service is to use:
Your first 30 day’s use of Optimizely costs nothing, after that it is a very reasonable $19/month. Now here’s the thing, you can turn this service on and off at any time which means that for about $19 you can determine what kinds of changes to your site will produce greater conversion of visitors to new transactions. Not a bad ROI.
Of course all of this begs the question as to just what you should consider testing on your site…
Offers, Offers, Offers
Ideally your site has one or more “Irresistible Offers” that are designed to attract your visitors’ attention and compel them to take action. If you are a little fuzzy about what irresistible offers are just check out my earlier REALTOR Magazine article “Make An Offer They Can’t Refuse”.
Often what we think is irresistible is anything but from the consumer’s perspective. So creating different variations of your offers is the first thing you would want to test for conversion effectiveness. Here are some other things you might consider testing as well:
- Copy – create alternatives to copy that compels visitors to take action. For example, one Pennsylvania REALTOR found that he received a far greater click-through by changing “Featured Listings” to “Best Buys”.
- Images – perhaps a different kind of image in the body of your home page will cause more people to click on getting your special report or check out your IDX listings.
- Action Buttons – this is a subtle yet potentially very powerful test. Consider changing the shape, color and/or copy of your clickable buttons and see which version receives the most clicks.
- Reassurance Language – test different variations of the copy above your important forms that reassure your visitors that their privacy will be protected and see which ones cause the form to be filled out more often.
Avoid Build and Forget
The most profitable Websites are under a constant state of refinement. Far too many people just have their Website built and then do nothing to improve its ability to convert visitors into new business. The main reason for this is that it was just too time consuming and expensive to do it the old way. Now with Optimizely you have no excuse for having a site that “doesn’t work”. It’s just a matter of testing different variations until it does.
NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.
Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.OnlineDominance.com and Facebook page at Facebook.com/OnlineDominance
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the June 2011 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2011. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.
Multiple Custom Facebook Tabs That Cost Nothing!
Monday, June 13th, 2011
A few weeks ago I wrote a post about how to make a Facebook Welcome Tab that helped convert visitors into fans. It depended on the ability to create a custom Facebook tab which back then was not free. I’ve now discovered a way to do this that costs nothing and even allows you to create up to 12 custom tabs on the same Facebook page. Here’s how…
Static HTML is a free Facebook app that let’s you create these custom tabs very easily. It also gives you the ability to create “fan” and “non-fan” versions of each tab with any kind of Web content you can imagine. And, just as importantly, these tabs are still visible to those visitors who have logged into Facebook via the secure method.
Using this app to create custom tabs is very straightforward. However, if you would like to see a brief step-by-step tutorial on how to use this app to create your custom tabs just go to www.Facebook.com/OnlineDominance and click the Free “How To” Videos! tab (yes, I created it with Static HTML) and watch the first video.
Your ability to stand out and generate new business via Facebook is changing almost daily. I will continue to do my best to help you discover and implement the best of these. The key word here is “implement”. The only useful tool is the one you implement.
How to Create Dynamic Contact Forms & Calls to Action on Your Website!
Friday, April 29th, 2011
Have you ever visited a real estate website that resembles an in your face used car commercial with flashing graphics, neon colors and every sentence competing for your attention all at once? You immediately feel the urge to click off the page and avoid being pressured to “act NOW!”
On the other hand, there are those websites that seem somewhat mysterious and finding any type of contact information feels like a treasure hunt with a dead end. After a minute of trying to figure out where the real estate agent is located or attempting to contact them to ask them a question about a property, you give up and find another more user friendly site.
So where’s the middle ground? How can you grab your audiences attention without “yelling” at them? How can you provide clear information in a compelling way?
There are two simple elements that can completely change how visitors view your website: contact forms and calls to action. Let’s take a quick look.
Contact Forms
Gone are the days of merely having your phone number and email posted somewhere on your home page. Today’s consumer wants to have an easier way to contact you. Consequently, the contact form has become a staple of cutting edge real estate websites.
Here’s what you’ll need:
1. A clear, easily accessible contact page. This should be a tab on your website that is easy to find.
2. This contact page will be a fill-in form that will feed directly to your email inbox.
3. You can also put your contact information on this page, but your main focus will be the contact form.
4. State clearly near the top or bottom of the contact form that their information will be kept confidential to make them feel at ease and built trust.
5. To make it even easier, a link at the bottom of each page of your website to your contact page will allow for even more immediate interaction.
Calls to Action
Our culture has become so used to the responsiveness of social media sites that they come to expect the same thing from a website. While you may not be able to respond right away once someone has filled out a form, you can give the feeling that your site is just as interactive.
Calls to Action are words that encourage readers to take action. You’ve all heard of them, but sometimes taking the time to get to the basics allows you to look at something from a fresh perspective. Imagine if you were visiting your site. What type of call to action would catch your eye and make you take time to fill out your information?
Here are a few key elements for creating effective Calls to Action:
1. Action words will instinctively draw in your readers. Words like subscribe, call, view now, search, etc… will provide a definitive action.
2. Offer an incentive. People will not freely give out their personal information, so a “trade” will make it easier to evoke a response. Provide a free market analysis, e-book of your community, or anything else you feel would interest your audience.
3. Graphical buttons are great for calls to action. Create buttons that complement the look of your site, but still stand out on the page.
4. Limit the number of calls to action. If you have too many on your site, visitors will get overwhelmed with the amount of choices. Three to five is usually an ideal amount as it offers variety, but keeps your calls to action from crowding up your site.
5. Keep it simple, yet creative. A short phrase or sentence will draw the reader in and will force you to choose your words wisely. Creativity in the graphic and wording will be the most effective call to action.
While often overlooked on a website, these two elements are essential for creating a website that reaches out to today’s audience. If you have more questions about creating a contact form or calls to action for your website, or need someone to create them for you; let your Real Estate Virtual Assistant know!
Contact Carrie
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How to Develop Your Online Kaizen
Monday, April 4th, 2011
If you had a choice between instant results and “slow and steady” implementation, which would you choose? Okay, now which one is reality? Well for most people it’s neither, but for the really smart ones it’s the latter.
Last night I had a chat with one of my all-time favorite students, Doug Newby. The purpose of the call was to get his permission to include his Website’s monthly unique visitor count for a Realtor Magazine article I’m writing (over 25,000/mo. in case you were wondering).
Our conversation quickly evolved into reminiscing about how we first got together. He was in the audience of a presentation I did on behalf of the Dallas Association of Realtors, way back in the 1990′s. After the session he came up to me and tried to hire me as a consultant (at several hundred dollars per hour) which I politely turned down.
Not one to be frustrated in his attempt to move his online business forward, Doug attended one of my first 3-Day Advanced Workshops in the early 2000′s. Even though he had made some changes to his Website (based upon my first presentation) it had a long ways to go. He volunteered to be on the “Hot Seat” in front of the entire workshop audience –which was a gutsy thing to do. There wasn’t much left of his Website by the time I was through with it, other than the possibilities of something much greater. Instead of feeling dejected, Doug literally glowed with the excitement of what could be. In fact he won a medal from my staff and me at the end of the 3 days for being the one attendee with the greatest possibilities of improvement.
The following year he attended yet another 3-Day Workshop (still in the early 2000′s) and proudly announced that his online business had shot up 300% from the previous year. He has continued to make small, incremental improvements over the years to his Website. And then in July 2009 he took the leap of creating his ModernHomes Facebook page. Though he was very uncertain about this whole “social media thing” he trudged onward with the advice of Brad Carroll and myself. In just over 18 months his fan base for this page went from zero to over 300,000. And as a result of his slow and steady approach to implementing other proven online principles, his Website now enjoys over 25,000 unique visitors a month and has higher Google rankings than even 500 agent firms in the Dallas area.
Oh, there is one thing I almost forgot to mention. Doug will be the first person to admit that he is anything but a techy. He can send and receive email and use a Web browser without getting lost, but that’s about it.
We live in an “instant” world. Instant news, instant pain relief, instant weight loss, instant wealth. There is no pill to take or silver bullet to purchase that will cause your business to flourish immediately.
Doug Newby, with his contagious enthusiasm, sense of wonder and commitment to consistent incremental improvements is a perfect example of what really does work. His Kaizen approach to business is an inspiration that we all could look up to and learn from.
Up Your Google-Juice With PDFs
Saturday, December 18th, 2010
If you have links to PDFs on your site, chances are you are not taking full advantage of how they can improve your Google search ranking. It’s very easy to turn this on, here’s how…
First of all the following process assumes that a) you have the rights to the PDFs on your site, and b) you have access to the full version of Acrobat (if not, find someone who does that can take a minute to do the changes for you).
- Open your PDF using the full version of Acrobat;
- Hit CTRL-D on your keyboard to open up this file’s Property dialog box;
- Enter the Title, Author, Subject (i.e. what the PDF is about) and appropriate keywords/phrases you want Google to pick up.
- Click the dialog box “OK” button and then save the changes to your computer.
- Upload the modified PDF file to the same server location as the earlier version.
Google will index all the non-image based (i.e. non-scanned) text in any PDFs linked to by your site. However, it gives extra weight to your Website by having this “metadata” information (i.e. Title, Author, etc.) completed as well. If the five steps above seem a bit intimidating, then have your VA or Webmaster handle it for you —it is definitely worth it!
NOTE: special thanks to Graphics Designer Nancy Ruzow (Ruzow Graphics) for bringing this to my attention :0)
Code to Your Online Success
Saturday, December 11th, 2010
In case you didn’t notice, there is a whole crop of young, willing and able real estate buyers that seem to have their head buried in their smartphones. Gen-Y prefers texting over talking and their phone IS their world. Here’s a way to get their attention and business —fast!
QR Codes to the Rescue
Think of QR (Quick Response) codes as a two dimensional bar code that can contain just about any kind of information and be read instantly from any number of free smartphone apps. The opportunities for real estate marketing are nearly endless since one of the main uses of QR codes is to embed URLS that when scanned will take the phone user to wherever the URL was pointing (i.e. your Website, listing detail information, etc.) They effectively turn anything (including paper) they are printed on into an active and trackable hyperlink.
QR codes were invented in Japan by a subsidiary of the Toyota Motor Corporation to help identify car parts. Once people recognized their flexibility of encoding links to the Web, they took off big time in Japan and other Asian countries. In fact, you will find QR codes plastered on billboards, signs, storefronts and just about any place you look in all the major Japanese cities.
Here is where you can find free QR Code Reader apps for your smartphone (by smartphone type):
- iPhone QR reader app search
- BlackBerry QR reader app search
- Droid QR reader app search
- iTunes
- BlackBerry App World
- Android Market
There really are only two issues to consider when incorporating QR codes into your marketing: a) how to create them, and b) where to place them for maximum exposure and impact.
Create QR Codes Instantly for Free
If you do a Google search on QR code generators you will find literally dozens of sites that will create them for you at no cost. My favorite is a site called BeeTagg QR Generator which allows you to create any number of QR codes in different formats for free. When you first land on this page you can enter the URL of the page you want your code to go to and choose the type of code it generates (make sure you have the QR Code selected and uncheck “Optimize size”). Then just hit the “Go” button and you will instantly see your code with download options like this:
Now this next part is very important. Of the six different download options shown, there are only two you will typically work with. Gif if you plan on placing the code on a Webpage or email and Eps if you plan on using it in print. Gif images are the smallest file sizes for this kind of image and are ideal for placement in Webpages. However, they are not good for print or other media because they don’t scale well. That is, they get blurry or pixelated if you try to blow them up beyond their original size and will become unreadable by the smartphone apps.
Eps file formats are ideal for print media because they can scale to any size (including 16 foot billboards) without any loss of fidelity. The key here is to use the appropriate QR code image type for the right kind of application.
GEEK TIP: here’s a quick shortcut you can use to place a QR code on any page of your Website (with the code pointing to that page) just by including the following Javascript in your HTML code where you want the QR code to show up on the page:
<script src=”http://s3.amazonaws.com/dakno-qr/qr.js”;font-size: 9pt; font-family: “Arial”,”sans-serif”; color: rgb(64, 64, 64);”>
The resulting QR code image will point to the page it is on. Unless you are comfortable working with HTML code it is probably better to give this to your Web designer to implement.
Where to Use QR Codes For Maximum Impact
In addition to placing a page-specific QR code on every page of your Website there are many innovative ways you can incorporate them into your marketing. Here are just some ideas that came out of a recent brainstorming exercise for QR code use:
- Put them on your sign riders pointing to your Website with the details for that listing (NOTE: make sure the QR code on the sign rider is at least 10” x 10” so it can be scanned from the comfort of a prospect’s car)
- Print ad with a QR pointing to a YouTube video of you walking thru your latest listing;
- Put a QR code decal on your car that points to your Website, or better yet, an irresistible offer on your Website (again, make sure it is at least 10” x 10” so it can be scanned easily by other drivers.);
- If it is winter, develop a QR code on the sign rider and link it to photos or a video of the house when the landscaping is in full bloom in spring;
- Sponsor a local team and put the QR code pointing to your Website on their uniforms;
- Give away t-shirts with QR code that points to your site;
- If send out calendars each year, put a QR code pointing to your Website on every page;
- QR code open house scavenger hunt. Put a QR code in ad or web ad of open house where the QR code on each house maps you to the next house. Have to read them all to get to the prize at the final house —great for brokers open tour;
- Put a QR code pointing to your Website on the back of your business card.
QR Code Best Practices
Now before you go hog-wild with QR codes and start plastering them on every available surface (digital or otherwise), here are some best practices that will help you get the most out of these cute little smudges:
- Tell them what it is – since QR codes are still very leading-edge in this country it is a good idea to provide additional info that explains to the less-techy consumers just what they are. Here’s an example of what shows up on every page of my Websites that include QR codes:
Just click on the link in the image at left and see how it takes you to a page that fully explains what QR codes are and their benefits to the consumer.
- Point to something worthwhile – make sure that whatever your QR code points to provides real value to the consumer. Ideally, the landing page has a specific call to action and lead capture mechanism.
- Make sure your QR codes are readable – make them big enough for the context they will be used. This means about 175 pixels x 175 pixels for Web pages and email, 10” x 10” for outdoor use (sign riders and car decals) and huge for billboards.
- Track your QR code traffic – you can easily track your Website traffic that is generated by people scanning QR codes. If you are using a Web analytics program like Google Analytics it is easy to track QR code traffic by adding just a bit of text after the URL you are pointing to before generating the code. For example:
http://www.myrealestatewebsite.com/?source=QR_printad
Where the highlighted part was added before generating the code. Your analytics package will show any traffic specifically coming from people scanning the QR codes in your print ads. There is nothing magic or special about the text that comes after “/?source=”, you can make it anything you want —just make sure there are no spaces and that it effectively describes where the code was embedded.
At this point you might be thinking: “Is this QR code thing really necessary for my business?” and the answer of course is no, it’s not. However, if you want to be a leader in your marketplace and really catch the attention and business of the up and coming Gen-Y buyers, then yes it is.
Implementing QR codes is not about being a geek, it’s about staying up with your customers and serving them in the way they expect. After all, that is what business is all about, isn’t it.
NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.
Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an internationally recognized Internet speaker, trainer, author, and strategic consultant to the real estate industry. He’s dedicated to helping real estate professionals leverage their people skills into profit on the Internet. Send your Internet questions to help@askmrinternet.com or you can visit his Website at http://www.russer.com
This article is reprinted in its entirety from the December 2010 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.
How to Be Many Places At Once
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
Real estate is such a “local” business that anything you can do to associate your business with your locality will help you stand out and be found more easily. Here’s a very cool free tool that will help your business get listed in multiple major online business directories faster than you can say “bi-location”…
First Check Your Business Listings Then Get Listed
Get Listed is a free site that a) first checks to see if you are listed in the major online business directories and search engines, b) helps you get listed in the ones you currently are not. After entering in your business name and zip code it takes just seconds for it to check six of the major search engines and business directory and then provide you a result page similar to the example below:
For the ones you are not currently listed it will allow you to enter your information right from their Website making the process very easy and convenient. And this is just the beginning because GetListed.org also provides additional guidance on how to maximize your online hyper-local presence that is so important for both SEO and professional credibility.
Take a few minutes to Get Listed now and in a few weeks or months you will be glad you did.
How to Generate 10,000 Page Views In One Month
Wednesday, September 15th, 2010
It is very rare indeed when something comes along that works as advertised. Here is an incredibly powerful, quick and easy tool that will turn your listings into lead generation monsters…
Craigslist the Smart Way
ListingsToLeads.com is a service that automates most of the process of posting your listings on Craigslist in a way that generate results, big time. The sad fact is that most REALTOR’s attempts to use Craigslist to generate leads from their listings fail miserably. Scott Pierce, CEO and Founder of ListingsToLeads.com is a Craigslist Guru that figure out the formula for consistent lead generation results, which includes:
- High-impact HTML ad templates – which can be customized with your brand look and feel;
- Compelling Call-To-Action Landing Pages – essentially a powerful and proven lead capture system;
- Best Practices – for posting your Craigslist ads for maximum exposure and impact.
I Lied…
I have to confess that the title of this post is a little off —the case study detailed in the video below actually had over 12,000 page views in the last 31 days as a result of using Craigslist ads.
Just click the video image below to view a 1 hour full-screen video that includes a case study of how Linda Jefferson of GoArmyHomes.com was able to generate over 12,000 page views in just one month advertising only 31 listings on Craigslist. BTW, she also receive three lead phone calls this past weekend alone asking to see homes just from these ads…
This is one of those things that if you don’t use it, well you are leaving major money on the table —period!
NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.
