Real Estate Web Design and Marketing Blog

Welcome back!

Recently, Brad and I were honored to be guest on a webinar hosted by our good friend and real estate trainer and social media expert Amy Chorew with The Tech Byte. The next day I received an email question from one of the participants asking a series of questions about selecting domain names for their real estate website. These questions are pretty typical of the questions we are asked from time to time and I thought, why not use the Dakno Real Estate Blog to provide some answers.
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The other day I was reading a terrific post by Stephen Fells on the Agency Powersites Blog. Stephen wrote an offbeat humorous post on the unusual images the Google Streetview van has captured in it’s endeavor to map the US. After my chuckle, it came to me the real power of a Google Map and how agents need to take advantage of creating a map using MyMaps by Google!

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There is a common misconception among real estate professionals that a newly or even a recently launched website with a new domain name should rank well fresh off the shelf. To exacerbate the problem, some agents also have unrealistic expectations that if they launch a website and upload a smidgen of content to the site, it will rank well and receive a flood of site visitors (traffic). Warning, my “snarkiness” is about to begin! No Dorothy, you can’t “click your heels three times” and have your site rank well for Topeka, Kansas, real estate; you’re not “the Lone Ranger” and there is no “silver bullet” you can fire to have your site gun down your competition and appear at the top of the search engines for Cheyenne, Wyoming real estate; nor is this “The Matrix” and there is no “blue pill” you can take to magically achieve quick search results for a new site (and your new domain name) in Gotham City! The good news is there are tools you can use and best practices you can adopt to gain the much sought after traffic you want.

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If you read my previous post on “Stop Creating More Real Estate Websites“, you now understand my stance on managing multiple real estate websites. I wanted to continue with the “single site solution” theme and talk about ensuing you get the most search engine credit from your single branded solution.
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I’m writing this blog post as I head out to Blog World and New Media Expo. I’ll be on a panel talking about things to think about when hiring a Vendor. But strangely enough,  this blog post isn’t about my session. Instead it’s about the session that’s happening directly after. Reggie Nicolay of My Tech Opinion will be talking about Integrating everything into “One Site”. I’m really looking forward to the session as it’s a topic that I 100% agree with. I think it’s vital to real estate agents building a successful online marketing presence.

Seamless Integration Across All Sites

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If you are in fact building a real estate website for first time home buyers, I’m sure you will find the following resources helpful. Remember, your new real estate web site will need to be centered around the “wants, needs and fears” of a first time home buyer. Your first time home buyer website should offer helpful articles, financial tools, engaging videos, detailed neighborhood information with maps and property search tools that focus on these sensitive areas.

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You have to know we are all about real estate marketing here at Dakno. I even commented to Tamara Dorris on her Blog Talk Radio Show that “if my eyes are open, I’m marketing“! One of the really cool ideas Brad (@dakno) came up with was to brand everything that stands still. With that said, we slapped some skin on our laptops, iPhones and Flips. Good thing my grand kids are so active or else they would have an extra “layer of skin on them“.

What’s a Skin?

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Take a look at most real estate websites. When you do find meaningful web copy, many times it’s a struggle to read. It’s like a “War and Peace” novel with forever scrolling content. The sheer thought of it sends me searching for the back-button. Have I written terribly long articles in the past? Yes, but no more. Plus, most real estate web sites fail to use proper sub headlines (designated with a Headline tag-H3) to help tease the site visitor to what the paragraph will say.

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Ever since the “Page Rank is Dead” post hit Broker/Agent Social, we have received several emails and phone calls from worried Dakno Real Estate Marketing clients wondering if “the Google Sky was falling”. Before anyone panics, here are a few quick thoughts. Yes, the article in general is accurate (headline is borderline sensationalistic). Please don’t think for a minute that Google is going to suddenly flip a switch and all of this is going to come online at once.

Business as Usual!

It could be construed that the author of this post is misleading his readers when he says that Google is getting ready to push an update (although I do commend him for pointing out the frequency of updates). Google has been doing these items for quite some time. Nothing here is really new.

• Universal search has been around for a while (showing video, news and blogs in the search results).
• They already track bounce rates (mouse over a search result link in Google and look at your status bar. Notice that they don’t directly link to the site but rather a page that they can track in case you hit the back button!)
• IP address based searches are already in place. The next time you talk to a friend across the country, try both doing a search for the same term. Chances are you will get two different result sets. That’s because of two things… 1) Google’s data centers have different algorithms (they continually test) and 2) IP based results.
• Google announced almost 2 years ago that they do “intent based” searches. Especially for people who are signed into your Google Account. Google actually “learns” based on your search habits and delivers results accordingly.
• The article title is a buzz generator (and judging from the amount of people emailing me, it seems that the title worked!). PageRank is NOT dead. But let’s hope that everyone’s competition actually believes this and stops building backlinks! Those who implement sound backlink strategies would skyrocket to the top.

Same Old Debate – SEO is Dead!

The whole “SEO is dead” debate comes up all the time in SEO forums, chat rooms and blogs. I think that’s just as logical as saying the Music Industry is dead because of MP3s. No, the SEO industry simply evolves. Today more than ever we focus on the entire aspect of online marketing, we evolve. Three years ago it was all about stuffing tons of keywords and trading links. Now we talk about Social Networks, YouTube and viral marketing. Just like the Real Estate and Music Industry, we evolve. It just helps separate the people who still cling to the old and people who embrace change.

Sergey and Larry Just Woke Up!

The good news about Google is that they never make any drastic changes. Everything is slow. Much of the reason is PR (Public Relations not PageRank). Think about it for second. So many companies depend on high rankings for their income. Imagine if Google rolled out sweeping changes that totally changed search results. Not only would site visitors get extremely frustrated because they could never find (nor rely on) the same thing twice, but companies would be outraged that they lost their placement because “Sergey and Larry” woke up one morning and decided to dump any site that didn’t contain video.

Yes – Video is Your Friend

So in summary, yes, it’s smart to incorporate video into your site (just look at this search result – although admittedly it’s a easy keyword) but it does give you an example. Embrace all the new ideas, just don’t think that Google has a clock counting down to launch a “game changer”! If they ever do, they would go to great lengths to let everyone know (and we would be sure to let all of our Dakno clients know too).

All the best in 2009,

Brad

Recently I’ve been sharing recently with our Dakno clients and my friends over at Active Rain about the need to expand their Internet presence by exploring the awesome applications available on the iPhone. Yes, you to can begin to broaden your web presence by using the tools that power the iPhone apps.

Map It Anyway!

Even if you don’t own an iPhone, you can begin to map your properties, your favorite restaurants, your area’s bike repair shop, or any other significant location by adding it to the website called Platial. Once the business, neighborhood school or your condo building is mapped and properly “tagged”, you’ll begin to enjoy enhanced search engine ranking as well as maybe a few more site visitors who happen to click over to your blog or website to view more information from their iPhone.

Demonstrate You Are a Tech-savvy Giant of an Agent!

The next time you have a listing appointment, say this to your potential client, “Because it is my fudiciary responsibility is to deliver the absolute best home selling results by helping you sell your property quicker and for maximum value, I utilize every means available to expose your property to as many potential buyers as possible. One of the many ways I accomplish this goal is by syndicating your property on many high-traffic national websites, and I also target the mobile computing tools available on the cell phone.” Follow that by saying; “There have been more than 3 million new generation 3G iPhones recently purchased by tech-savvy consumers and many of those same consumers will utilize their iPhone to help them search for their next home. To ensure your home is visible to those users, I will upload your home to numerous iPhone application powered websites like Trulia.com and Nearby (powered by Platial.com). That way I know your home is reaching even more potential home buyers.”

If You Use Those Lines!

If you happen to mention what I suggested above and you secure a listing, by all means come back here and leave a comment. Now go map your area and dominate your market (and think about buying a new iPhone especially if you close on that listing you just secured :>).

Until my next post,

Bobby

P.S. For a slightly different take on the same topic, be sure to visit my Crystal Coast Blog – it’s your Emerald Isle Real Estate and Rental Resource!

Post Update!

Scottsdale real estate agent Heather Tawes Nelson emailed me to say she dug into Platial.com and discovered from their “Terms & Conditions” that the site doesn’t permit commercial advertising. I suggest you refrain from “advertising” your listings on Platial.com. To take advantage of the Google power and the potential additional eyeballs you could capture, I say work the “I recommend this restaurant” or “this condo building is really close to this awesome gym.” The way you play by the rules. To me mapping schools, recommending businesses and the like are fairgame. Thanks Heather for the email – good call!