Posts Tagged ‘real estate marketing’
Create a High Quality Blog Following in 2012!
Friday, January 6th, 2012First and foremost, happy 2012! I know everyone is ready and raring to go this year. Whether 2011 was great or downright miserable, it’s time to step into high-gear. Real estate virtual assistants have the grand opportunity of figuring out what the priorities are of many real estate agents when it comes to their social networking and marketing strategies. One of the main things they see realtors neglecting is a huge part of maintaining an active presence in the networking world. What could it be, you ask? It’s not Facebook. It’s not Twitter. And surprisingly it’s not keeping up with their LinkedIn and Google+ profiles, either.
Ok, I will tell you.
Blogging!
I know it’s hard to stay on top of your blogging whe
n you have 1,000,000 other things going on. Blogging is imperative in today’s real estate world, as it drastically helps with your SEO and can be fed to different places including your LinkedIn profile, Facebook profile and Twitter feed. Posting to your blog regularly will also define you as a credible source for community and real estate info in your area. If you’re already blogging regularly, or plan on starting, here are some great ways to build up an awesome following.
Turn Clients into Readers. Your current clients can be an excellent source of quality readers for your blog. In fact, your clients are the main people who should be reading your blog, and they will be the ones to pass the link to their friends and so on and so forth. Here’s why they’re great: they are already apart of your target demographic, they’re familiar with you, and most likely they know someone who could use your services. Once your blog is up and running, include a link in your email signature or send out a newsletter inviting clients, friends and colleagues to join your following.
Use Descriptive Headlines. A descriptive headline engages readers from the get-go. A headline that veers too far from the topic can leave your readers confused, or even upset when the content of the blog doesn’t match the title. For example, if the title of your blog reads “Short-Sales” but the blog is actually about how short sales are affecting the housing market, some confusion can arise. Although the difference is minor, it can have a major effect on whether or not someone actually reads your content.
Speak to Your Audience. Once you’ve identified your target audience, make sure your blog posts are catering to their interests and needs. You want the blog to be concise, focused and professional, while still maintaining a voice that is casual and inviting. For example, rather than writing a blog about foreclosures, compose a blog about the effect foreclosures have on other homes in the same neighborhood. This keeps the blog informative and specific, and answers questions of your target audience.
Stay Consistent. Posting to your blog consistently will not only increase your credibility, but it will also help you remain loyal to your readers. If you are posting once or twice per week, and then all of the sudden miss a week or two of posting, your readers are left missing something from their own weekly routine. A set routine will also distinguish your tone and voice, which your readers will learn to expect and become familiar with.
These are just a few ways to keep your blogging momentum going. If you ever have any questions about blogging, ask your real estate virtual assistant to help!
Have an awesome day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
Getting Back Into Work Mode After the Holidays
Friday, December 30th, 2011As you toss the last empty carton of eggnog into the recycling, you think of all the memories you created over the past couple of days. Opening presents with the kids, reuniting with family and friends, a kitchen full of wonderful food. Then, a new thought comes to mind. It’s something you haven’t thought of since mid last week. Tomorrow it’s time to return to work.
As a real estate agent, you love what you do and are eager to return to your work. But even with all that positivity, returning to work after a long weekend (and no to mention gorging on mass amounts of food) and getting back to the grind might be the last thing you want to do. Returning to work means the holiday that we looked forward to for so long is now over. The freedom of little structure and having no set routine or concept of time has come to an end.
Of course after a few days those feelings of dismay and longing for another day off will fizzle out, and the normal routine of the everyday work environment will settle in. But what can we do to make the transition easier? Real estate virtual assistants want to make sure you are on top of your game no matter what. While everyone enjoys a little time off, it’s even better when we can make a swift recovery upon returning to what we love…work!
Here’s how you can accomplish it:
1. Time it Right: If you travel during the holidays, make it a point to return home a day or two before starting work. This will give you some down time to prepare yourself for what’s ahead. If you have been sleeping in for a few days, this extra time will help you get back into the routine of waking up early. Arriving home the night before at 11:00pm will not help your cause of being fresh and rearing to go at 7:30am the next morning.
2. Stay in Touch: Keep in touch with your colleagues over the holidays. While some people prefer to completely disconnect during their time off, others like to keep involved. It’s actually beneficial to stay in touch with work m
atters during time off, to prevent being bombarded with an unexpected workload upon your return. Luckily, our smart phones and other modern technology allow us to keep abreast of work progress while we are away.
3. Use Your Brain: When we have some time off, we tend to neglect some of daily activities that are non-work related as well. During the next holiday, keep your brain working while you’re off by keeping up with the news, completing puzzles and reading books. This way, your brain won’t be totally confused when you have to start using it again.
4. Plan a Weekend Getaway: Plan a weekend getaway somewhere in the near future immediately after returning to work. Whether or not you actually go is immaterial, but the concept of getting away will keep you in good spirits. If taking another weekend off is out of the question, plan daily, weekly or even monthly activities that will give you something to look forward to. This might be a fitness class, taking your dog to the park, or a scheduled lunch rendezvous with a friend. In the end, it’s these little things that keep us going.
5. Talk with Workmates: When you return to the office, swap holiday stories with your coworkers. This will keep the atmosphere light end friendly while you’re getting back into the nitty-gritty of things. Not only will this lighten the mood, but it will keep the spirit of the holidays alive just a little bit longer!
6. Friendly Reminders: If you’re tempted to crawl back under the covers when your alarm goes off, remind yourself of why your job is awesome. Your job is important to you, you’re good at it, and it holds value and purpose. You’re lucky to have a career that brings you security, fulfillment and happiness!
Hopefully these tips will help all of us ease back into the working life. If not this year, there’s always 2012!
Have an awesome day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
Boost Your Real Estate Marketing Strategy in 2012!
Friday, December 23rd, 2011December is a great time to start thinking about your goals for the next year – especially when it comes to your real estate marketing strategy. You tried a lot of new things in 2011, with some of them working and some of them dwindling. With New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day on their way, it’s time to start looking back on 2011 and evaluate what worked and what didn’t, and what you will do to reach better results in 2012.
Nearly half of the United States population will make a New Year’s resolution, but only 8% will be successful. Which category do you hope to fall under in 2012? Your real estate virtual assistants want you to be successful with all of your endeavors. That is why they are always staying on top of what’s new and innovative within the technology and social media world. With these fresh marketing tips, you’re bound to be among the “succeed-ers.”
Focus on Your Goals: Create a plan and stick to it. This is the best way to generate results. If you veer off your path, chances are your goals will fall off, too. Take the time to really think about your strategy and determine what your main goals are. After you set your goals, figure out what steps you need to take in order to achieve them, and what tools you will need to see the results. Setting a deadline or mapping out a timeline will also help you stay on track, and keep you motivated
during a time crunch. Last but not least, figure out what your expectations are. While it’s always great to keep a positive attitude, setting over-the-top expectations might only lead to letdown.
Keep on Keepin’ On: It’s no secret that things may not always go as planned. You know what they say…When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. Even when your best, new idea is generating less-than-favorable results, don’t give up. Finding the best marketing tools takes time and investment, and you most likely won’t see results overnight. Keep on pushing for what you really want. Sometimes drive alone can give your idea that extra kick it needs to be successful. Keep on focusing on your target audience with innovative, fresh and engaging material. If you’re stuck on this, your real estate virtual assistant team can help you come up with some ideas.
Keep Track of Your Results: Whether you’re bringing back tools from 2011 or embarking on a new journey with resources of 2012, make sure you have a way to gauge the progress. If you’re not keeping track of your results, you may be exerting effort into a tactic that was never successful in the first place. There are TONS of tools and strategies within the world of technology, so if something isn’t working you might as well know so you can move on! Your real estate virtual assistant can help you determine the best way to track your efforts and help brainstorm appropriate changes when a particular strategy just isn’t working out.
Create a Buddy System: The Three Muskateers. The Fantastic Four. There are plenty of fictional and real life examples that show having a team plays a tremendous role in the success of a business, company or individual endeavor. If you already have a team, that’s great! Being surrounded by those who promote your ideas and success is key. If you are currently going at it alone, this doesn’t mean you have to go out and hire a team of professionals. However, it is encouraged that you reach out to people who have your best interest, or who you can seek advice from when needed. Having a real estate virtual assistant is great moral support. Not only do they have your back 24/7, but they can also take on any of your day-to-day tasks so you can focus on the BIG things.
Now that you’ve gotten some tips on how to be successful in 2012, it’s time to get out there and make it happen! With your eye on the prize and your real estate virtual assistant at your side (or on the other end of the phone/computer) you have the power to be unstoppable. Take your marketing skills to the next level in 2012!
Have an awesome day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
Are You Prioritizing Community or Content?
Friday, December 16th, 2011When you look at the words “social media” separately, it’s easy to know what each word means by itself. The word “social” means to engage or interact with other people. The word “media” can best be described as a mea
ns of communication, whether you do so through words, pictures or video. When you put the two words together, what comes to be is a combination of content and sharing. You want to provide quality content to your community, but you also want to make sure that you’re getting engagement from that content. This is where many real estate agents miss the mark.
Real estate virtual assistants have set up and implemented many social media strategies for their clients. They set up and enhance each profile so that it incorporates all of their important information and is rich with their keywords. They also post content to the wall each day. What’s important about what they do is that they also take things to the next level. They encourage interaction and engagement with an online community.
Many real estate agents are afraid to take this next step. They want their page to be a resource rich with information and useful knowledge for their community. This is great, and it’s definitely important to incorporate on your profiles, but it’s not the point of social media. The point is to interact, engage, and be social. You want to foster an environment where people will want to comment on the content that you post and contribute their own ideas. This is how you get interaction on your page, and this is how you start building relationships with clients and converting a Facebook fan into a lead. That’s why this week, my advice is this: prioritize your community over your content.
Don’t get me wrong, you should still post content to your page nearly every day. Consistency is imperative to getting interaction. What I mean by prioritizing community over content is to switch up your posts. Instead of posting stats every day or regurgitating community article after article, use some of the ideas below to engage with your community and get more interaction…you know, be social on your social media site. Here are a few ways to get your community involved:
Run a contest. People love free stuff. Whether it’s a gift card or a batch of Christmas cookies, running a contest on your page with the promise of a prize will boost your interaction and get the conversation going. Think about it: nobody wants to be the first one to comment on a page. If you run a contest, then people will feel more comfortable posting on your page and interacting with you to get the prize. Going forward, they’ll be more comfortable interacting without the incentive.
Post about hot topics in your community. While you want to steer clear of controversy, there’s nothing wrong with getting a healthy discussion going on your page about a hot issue. You don’t have to stick to the cookie-cutter real estate article or weekend events posts. You can dig a little deeper and post something that many people are discussing at the moment and ask for feedback. If it’s a hot topic, then people will undoubtedly want their voices to be heard. This will also keep people interested and engaged in your content, which is important to fostering an online community.
Share pictures and videos, not just articles. If a client of ours ever sends photos, we immediately put them up on Facebook. People don’t always want to take the time to read a full article you post on your Facebook page. Clicking through a photo album or watching a short video is much faster. Utilize visual content, and we can practically guarantee that more people will be viewing your page. Photo and video content is far more popular than article-sharing, so make sure you include that in your day-to-day postings.
Keep the comments going strong. Even if you skip posting something new for the day, you should still spend some time going through and commenting on other people’s status updates and keeping the comments on yours going. There’s more to being active on social media than posting daily. You need to be completely engaged. Nobody is going to want to comment if you aren’t responsive or fostering a conversation, so prioritize commenting on your list of social media initiatives.
The common theme amongst these tips is this: put community over content. While it is important to offer valuable information on your page, it’s more important to engage with your community. You can have a page full of amazing status updates, but if nobody is commenting on them, then your goal isn’t fully being reached. It takes time to get people commenting on your page, but if you make it a priority to get and engage with an online community, then you’ll find that this will work well for you.
If you need any help getting set up on various social media sites, feel free to contact your real estate virtual assistant for help! They are always willing to give you advice and let you know what you need to be doing.
Have a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
The Secret to Successful Relationships
Monday, December 12th, 2011
Ever have the words, “Sure, no problem!” get extended to “…but you’ll pay for it!” When you meet someone for the first time, there’s a little process everyone goes through of assessing the other person and how you will relate to each other. If both parties are up front and honest in that process, you end up with a strong relationship, be it personal or professional. If not though, watch out! That’s when people can surprise you and end up costing you way more than you expected, whether through personal emotions, or money and time invested.
Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you’ll understand what little chance you have in trying to change others. — Benjamin Franklin
Every relationship starts out with potential and branches out from there. Sometimes those branches lead to an amazingly productive and positive outcome, which is what everyone desires. No one goes into a relationship hoping it will fail! Where the bough breaks is when your purposes for the relationship are not aligned. From there, a power struggle of sorts ensues as each individual tries their best to get something from the other.
When meeting new clients, agents have an introduction period where they get to know and understand their new prospect, and with enough experience this is generally sufficient for your purposes. But what if the client isn’t entirely up front? What if the person just wants to go window shopping – next thing you have over invested your time driving him around just to satisfy curiosity. Or, perhaps you are working with a couple who as it turns out are at odds in what they are looking for in a house! Sometimes these things don’t become apparent until after you are already invested in the client relationship.
An easy way to avoid this is to create a simple needs assessment (read this as “Real Estate Relationship Readiness Assessment”!). As part of your interview process, have the individual complete it, or in the case of a couple have both fill it out separately then compare. By doing so, you are managing expectations – yours and theirs. This will allow you to keep the relationship on a productive and positive course by serving both the immediate need as well as giving you insight into future desires, which increases your ability to serve the client.
The tough part is when you have to pull out of a relationship before getting over invested. And let’s face it, it’s going to happen in life more than once. Once you realize you and the other person are not aligned in purpose, it’s very difficult to back track. To do so would be changing either yourself or trying to change the other person to suit. And that’s never a good thing for anyone.
So, go into all your relationships openly and honestly to get the greatest success!
The Foundation for Successful Marketing for 2012
Friday, December 9th, 2011
The beginning of a new year can be very inspiring as it offers the opportunity to implement change. If you’re thinking through ways to really make your real estate business stand out in the coming year, there are a wide variety of ways to do so! From social media marketing, creating videos and a customized YouTube channel, real estate blogging, enhancing your website and networking; your options are nearly limitless!
Yet at the core of all of your marketing, and even at the core of your company, there needs to be a solid foundation of your brand. Defining the brand of your company forces you to think through questions such as:
- What is the mission of my company?
- How do I want others to view me and my services?
-What is most important to my clients?
- How do I want to run my company?
Using these questions as a jumping off point will help you discover your brand and establish a base for the new year and will be a building block for many years to come!
A recent article by John Williams, an advertising guru who’s created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies such a Mitsubishi, pointed out eight effective ways to build your brand. Of course, I tweaked them for real estate, but the basic points work in creating a top notch brand for any company.
1. Get a great logo- Place it everywhere. If you don’t yet have a logo, or you’d like a professionally designed logo customized to your business; let us know! Our design team would love to work with you to create a logo that’s uniquely yours and that helps you stand out!
2. Write down your brand messaging- What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee and agent in your company should be aware of your brand attributes so they can better portray them to clients.
3. Integrate your brand- Branding extends to every aspect of your business such as how you answer your phones, what you or your agents wear to meetings and open houses, your e-mail signature, everything.
4. Create a “voice” for your company that reflects your brand- This voice should be applied to all written communication and incorporated in the visual imagery of all materials, online and off. Is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it ritzy? Be more formal. You get the idea.
5. Develop a tagline- Write a memorable, meaningful and concise statement that captures the essence of your brand.
6. Design templates and create brand standards for your marketing materials- Use the same color scheme, logo placement, look and feel throughout. You don’t need to be fancy, just consistent.
7. Be true to your brand- Clients won’t return to you, or refer you to someone else, if you don’t deliver on your brand promise.
8. Be consistent- This point is last only because it involves all of the above and is the most important tip. If you can’t do this, your attempts at establishing a brand will fail.
Putting these eight rules for branding into practice for 2012 is a great way to build the foundation of your real estate business! Even if your company has been in existence for some time; if your brand has been pushed to the wayside, it’s time to create a fresh start!
Now it’s time to get started in creating your brand that will establish your company and act as the launching pad for years of success!
Have a great day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
Increase Blog Traffic With Groupon’s Referral Widget!
Friday, December 2nd, 2011When fans visit your blog, wouldn’t it be cool to offer them a fun incentive to keep them even more engaged? With Groupon’s new referral widget, you can! By adding the Groupon Referral Widget to your blog, visitors will have a chance to take advantage of your city’s daily deal provided by Groupon. For every Groupon purchased from your blog, you will receive $10 that will go directly into your Groupon account! Pretty neat, huh? You give 
a little and you get a little, what a great compromise.
For those of you who don’t know, here’s a little information about the fast-growing business known as Groupon. Groupon is a popular business that works with other businesses to offer local deals across the country. From food, shopping, entertainment, pampering and more, Groupon’s possibilities for sweet deals are endless. The deals usually range from a 50-90% discount, and reach subscribers via email or smart phone notifications. Groupon has helped thousands of businesses gain new customers and is the fasted growing business ever, and now they could help you, too!
Your virtual assistants want to make sure you’re doing everything you can to keep your social media efforts as engaging and enticing as possible.
Whew! Now for the fun part. To add this useful, fun and creative widget to your blog, follow these simple steps. Your readers will be happy you did!
1. Go to www.groupon.com. If you’re already a member, sign in with your login information. If you’re new to Groupon, the site will automatically prompt you with questions about your location and interests.
2. Once logged in, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on “Groupon Referral Widget.” You will be brought to the Groupon Referral Widget page with the featured local deal in the top right corner. You may be tempted to purchase the featured deal, but keep on going. This won’t take long!
3. Under “appearance” select how you want the widget to look on your page. You can choose a color for everything down to the color of the price tag of the Groupon. As you are choosing your options, the featured deal to the right will update so you can see a preview of how it will appear on your page.
4. Select your location. While Groupon can automatically detect where visitors are coming from, you can select a specific location for your widget. By selecting a specific location, only deals in that area will appear on your page.
5. Enter your referral code. At the bottom of this page on the left hand side you will see the link “Get my referral code!” Click this and enter the code in the box where prompted. This will allow you to receive the $10 every time a Groupon is purchased from your page.
6. Generate your code. Click the “Generate Code” button and voila! Copy the code and paste it into your blog. For a WordPress blog, follow these instructions. For a Blogger blog, try these. About.com is great place to find step-by-step instructions for adding widgets to most blogging platforms.
Thanks to this awesome widget, you now have another way to drive more traffic to your blog!
Have an awesome day!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
7 Signs You Need a Break!
Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
With the holidays just around the corner, many of you are probably looking forward to a much needed break! Whether you’re gathering with family or friends, or are just craving a few days of personal R&R, having a little time to switch gears and turn off the noise of work can be just the thing you need to get refreshed and ready to go for the new year.
Now you may be one of those real estate agents that thinks, “Take a break? I wish!” As Real Estate Virtual Assistants, we know that there’s a lot of hard work and endless hours that you as real estate agents put into your company. If you own your real estate company or are with a very small firm, you probably feel the extra weight of keeping the momentum going, and a break seems out of the question.
However, not taking time off can hurt you more in the long run! If you get to the point of being burnt out, you’ll have to take a much longer time off in order to recover and your business, co-workers and even family and friends will suffer. So, how can you tell it’s time for a break? Here are seven key signs:
1. Loss of Joy- If the job you once loved and were passionate about is now becoming a dreaded part of your day… you need time away from it. Being passionate about your job, especially in this line of work, is imperative! Your clients will notice and your work will clearly reflect your passion, or lack thereof!
2. Lack of Focus or Creativity- It’s impossible for anyone to run at full speed all the time. When you notice you’re not able to focus and solutions to problems seem to allude you; you need a break! Give your mind a rest and you’ll find a much more productive you when you return!
3. Constantly Feeling Overwhelmed- As a real estate agent, there seem to be a million things demanding your attention at the same time. High maintenance sellers, first time home buyers, showings, marketing, social media, networking events, etc… the list appears endless! If you’re feeling buried under the weight of all these things and are having a tough time prioritizing… take a step back! Take the time to look at your business from a distance and you’ll feel more in control.
4. Irritability- We all have off days where we feel on edge, but if you’re feeling this way on a regular basis it’s a good sign you need a day off. Whether it’s related to stress, depression or worry; your irritability can have an effect on your co-workers and clients. Be sure to take a break before you burn bridges!
5. Insomnia- Sleep is essential to keeping a fast paced and high demand lifestyle. If you’re finding it’s hard to fall asleep at night, getting fresh air during the day, sunlight and even exercise can help get your inner clock back to normal sleep rhythms. Take a personal break to do these things on a daily basis!
6. Health Issues- A good sign that you need a break is when you begin developing health issues. Hopefully you’ll see warning signs and take a break before this occurs, but many people will ignore the red flags until it’s too late. Stomach issues, regular migraines and not feeling well on a regular basis may mean it’s time to visit your doctor. Chances are, they’ll prescribe a much needed break!
7. Warnings from Family and Friends- If those that know you best and are around you the most are concerned you’re overworking yourself; take note! They may see the warning signs before you do and can be that voice of wisdom that you need to heed! They’re looking out for your good and it’s important to not ignore their sound advice.
I hope that you take the time needed this holiday season to relax and enjoy being with loved ones! This is a great time of year to unwind and take in a few personal days so that you can hit the ground running in 2012!
If you’re worried about the amount of work that seems to be piling up and feel that you can’t take a break with all there is to do; let your Real Estate Virtual Assistants know! They can cover your listing marketing, social media,website maintenance, print marketing, real estate blogging, and much more! Take that much needed break this holiday season and rest assured your work is in good hands!
Contact Carrie
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
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
Visit us Online at RealSupportInc.com
Join Our LinkedIn Group
Become a Facebook Fan
Follow me on Twitter
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.
