If you don’t have set goals for intangible marketing strategies (like blogging and posting on social media), then you’re bound to fail. Seem harsh? There’s a couple of reasons for that: 1) goals help you work toward an objective; 2) goals help you figure out how successful your efforts are.
But how do you set goals – and determine the ROI – for the intangibles? Let’s dig in.
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CommentsSo you started writing a blog, but no one’s biting. No comments, no “likes,” no mentions on Twitter. One of the biggest challenges that real estate bloggers face is getting their blog noticed on a larger scale and expanding their reader base beyond their friend circle. While blogging success is a lot about diligence and plain ol’ luck, there are some proven tactics to get your writing noticed by a bigger audience.
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CommentsThink of your favorite brand.
Think of Apple. Nike. Red Bull. Besides multi-million dollar profits, these companies all share one common characteristic: a strong brand voice. In fact, your favorite brand’s voice is probably part of the reason for why you like them so much.
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CommentsIf you’re having trouble sticking to a weekly blogging schedule, read on. Regularly adding valuable, unique content to your site will benefit you now more than ever before.
Google’s most recent algorithms – Penguin, Panda, and Hummingbird – may sound cute and cuddly, but they pack a suckerpunch of power when it comes to planning SEO strategies. The company’s most recent algorithm updates are designed to aggressively attack the low-quality, spammy content that has overrun the Internet. SEO strategies that were once effective, like creating many similar pages with only a few words tweaked, no longer fly. (Does “keyword overuse” ring a bell, anyone?)
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CommentsFor a lot of real estate websites, the majority of landing pages are simply listing pages that have been indexed by search engines. This provides a great many entry points into the site. However, since MLS data is shared with every other website on that MLS feed, including big players such as Trulia, Zillow and Homes.com, the competition for visibility is high. Sellers want to get as many people viewing their property as possible so that it will sell. This puts agents and brokers under pressure for good search rankings, where the majority of people begin their property search.
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CommentsEver since Google’s Panda Update last year, many website owners have become concerned about duplicate content–which they should be, but there is more to it than that.
At the heart of what Google does, is ensure that quality results are shown for searchers. Part of the drive behind the Panda Update was to eliminate not only duplicate content but also “thin content” that has little or no value.
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Comments“This blog series is intended to be a walkthrough for setting up a lead-generating website. My goal is to get you thinking about ways to improve your site and enhance its performance. Each blog post will be centered on a specific part of website development that will help you grow your online business. Some posts will be more specific and advanced, while others will be more general and introductory. Taken together, the posts in this series will offer valuable tips, regardless of where you are with the maturity of your website.”
Can SEO be measured, and can my site place in search engines even if it never has? The simple answer to this question is yes. To get a more detailed answer, you first need to ask, “for what terms?” Not all terms are created equal, and the terms that are most achievable for you and will return the best placement aren’t necessarily the ones that you think they are.
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For many businesses, launching a website feels like the finish line. You’ve worked hard to have a final product and you’re excited to move on to other things. Unfortunately, there is no simple finish line for web success. It’s important to celebrate a website launch, but the true test of your website is how well it works for you in the long run (how many new customers, donors, or volunteers it brings in, how much you grow your email list, how many new leads you’ve gotten). Having a site that works for you and makes you money doesn’t just happen on its own. What was true for Smith Barney in 1986 in the above video (go to the 20 second mark) is true for keeping your website up to date now. Old fashioned hard work pays off, even if the tools and strategies you must learn to use in the cutting edge of the web are far from old-fashioned.
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CommentsI discovered this affront to the Real Estate profession recently, as I was gathering material for an upcoming presentation on using video to increase online user engagement.
One of the things that I like to do in the beginning of my presentations is define a baseline of interaction. As a website owner, you know where you want people to end up when they visit your site. (If you don’t, then stop paying your hosting fees!) But before you can effectively drive people toward that goal, you need to figure out what they are thinking when they arrive: What are they looking for? What are they not looking for?
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CommentsReal estate websites should be so much more than MLS information and a contact form. An effective real estate website should not only sell the services of the office or agent, it should sell their personality and their expertise in their market area.
To illustrate this, let’s imagine a person is looking to buy a property in your market area but does not have a particular affinity to any office. This person visits two different websites in their search process. Each of these websites is built on the same web platform, using the same basic functionality and layout. If the structure and functionality are all identical, the element that will distinguish one site from another is the portrayal of the agent’s personality, experience and knowledge of the real estate market. By giving people more information, you give them more opportunities to connect with you on a personal level.
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