BRER Real Estate Marketing Blog

Zillow Announces Smart Search 

Zillow is at it again.  They’ve introduced new capabilities for their search, and you can read about it at their media room.  Here’s an excerpt from that Smart Search news release:

” ‘Smart Search sets a new standard for online real estate search and solves one of the biggest challenges on the Internet today by taking an enormous amount of data and displaying it in a way that is easy to digest and meaningful to each of our users,’ said David Beitel, chief technology officer at Zillow.”

Some of the new capabilities have to do with providing additional real estate market information, map searches and easily accessible community information on the home search pages.  It seems to me that this could have ripple effects throughout the industry.

Will Third-Party IDX MLS Vendors Start Responding?

I think that third-party IDX MLS vendors should be seriously considering expanding their offerings, too.  Wolfnet has a great map search.  And, Birdview incorporates mapping and community information.  It seems to me that the third-party vendors should be planning to offer capabilities that rival some of those offered by sites like Zillow to keep their customers competitive.

How Will Agents Respond?

As there is more information available online, agents will need to consider ways to keep pace with their own websites.  Depending on your budget, you have a number of alternatives:

1. Take advantage of paid services, some of which have been discussed on this blog before, including real estate market condition information from Altos Research, or school information from GreatSchools.net.
2. Create interactive maps to give your visitors an overview of a neighborhood.
3. Provide links on your community pages to free online resources.

There are lots of sites that provide free information.  It’s not as effective as having the information integrated into your site, but if your budget doesn’t allow for that, consider some of the freebies.

For example, The RealEstateJournal has information on schools and communities.  You’d have to open those sites in a new window, but at least with the Journal, it isn’t as easy for your visitors to find other agents.

The best way to take advantage of the online sites is to provide a link to a specific page rather than expect your visitors to flail around on a second site to find what they need.  For example, if I had a page on my site about Peachtree City, GA, I’d provide the following links:

Learn more about Peachtree City, or research local schools.  Those two links go directly to the pages your visitors want to see.  It’s a simple process to do the search yourself, then copy the URL in your browser’s Address Bar once you find the page you want.

And, the RealEstateJournal is just one of many sites that provide community information.  The resources are out there.  

Stay competitive and start including a broader range of information on your website!

I love giggle fits.  I’ve had them myself - from childhood.  You know, it’s one of those times when you start laughing, and even if it’s inappropriate, you just can’t stop. 

I remember one time my mother had to remove me from church because something my sister said got me started.

Another time, I was training people on how to use a computer application, and one student did something so ridiculous, I had to hold myself together, fix her problem, then excuse myself so that I could leave the room and get the giggles out of my system.

I also love the shows on TV that show outtakes.  Actors can get into giggle fits that I usually find much funnier than the shows ever were.  And, it’s fun to watch news anchors when they’re out of control.  I think it’s because they’re usually so serious, and because when it’s a live newscast, they really want to stop laughing.

But, one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of someone causing a entire crowd of people to suffer from a group giggle fit was on YouTube.  It’s a video of a gentleman at a comedy club.  No, not the comedian, but someone from the audience who was on stage for one of the comedian’s sketches.

You can see it in it’s original form on YouTube, and I’ve embedded it below.  You have to wait for it, but if you’re in a real hurry, advance the video to the 1:30 minute mark.

Maybe you can start your own giggle fit - laughter is good for you!

We Can Make A Difference!

It’s important all year ’round, but especially important during the Holiday season.  Listening to the radio yesterday, I heard about an organization that assists the families of our military called Operation Homefront.   As stated on their website,

“Operation Homefront is one of a select few charities privileged to operate under a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) presented by the Department of Defense.  Operation Homefront provides emergency assistance and morale to our troops, to the families they leave behind, and to wounded warriors when they return home. A nonprofit 501(c)3 founded after September 11, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,000 volunteers in 31 chapters nationwide. Since its inception, Operation Homefront has provided critical assistance to more than 45,000 military families in need.”

I can only imagine the hardship caused to families when so many soliders, some of whom had not planned on extended service, are posted overseas for multiple tours or are wounded.  Operation Homefront gives us a chance to donate time and money to help those most in need.

And, How’s This for a Bit of Christmas Magic? 

Today, I received an email from a gentleman I don’t even know, but here’s an excerpt from it (emphasis added):

I came across your recent blog post mentioning America Supports You, so I thought I’d drop you an e-mail making you aware of some misinformation regarding mail to our troops.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of cards, letters and care packages addressed to “A Recovering American Soldier” (or a variant thereof), are returned to senders. For a variety of reasons-documented on USPS.com, Snopes.com, MSNBC.com article, and on Walter Reed’s Web site-a 2001 Defense Department policy forbids the delivery of generically addressed mail to service members.

Instead, the DOD encourages people to send mail to one of two homefront groups associated with the America Supports You program (http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/wounded_letters.html):

Soldiers’ Angels
1792 E. Washington Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91104

Or, for those in the metropolitan Washington, D.C.-area:

We Support You During Your Recovery!
C/o American Red Cross
P.O. Box 419
Savage, MD 20763-0419

Both Soldiers’ Angels and the Red Cross will collect, screen and deliver the well-wishes of those who want to brighten the day of a wounded service member who is recovering away from home this holiday season.

Thanks for your time, and happy holidays!

Jonathan Rick
Director of New Media
Susan Davis International
www.SusanDavis.com

Thanks, Jon, for taking the time to pass this information along.  You can read more about the restrictions on mail to the military at MSNBC. 

It DOES Make A DIFFERENCE!

Here’s an excerpt from one of the responses from a soldier who received postcards and a gift box from Let’s Say Thanks:

As I was leaving an un-eventful Valentine’s Day today, one of the mail clerks yelled “Adams!! You have a package!!” A package, I thought to myself. I’m not expecting anything. What could this be? I took the box into my office and closed the door. As I opened the box, a flood of joy came over me as I looked over the cards from you and the young ones, one of my co-workers walked in to see tears rolling down my eyes. I had never received a gift with this much love, packed into one little place from someone that I’ve never known.

As I thought about what the cards talked about with soldiers giving their lives and privileges up to ensure the freedom of Americans, it was nice to know that someone out there does not take it for granted. I don’t know who you are, but you are truly a gift from God. The gift that gives me the drive to serve my country proudly. As you pray that the Lord keeps the soldiers here safe and brings us home, I pray to the Lord that people like you do not die off from this world. Your contributions are nowhere near inadequate. Please never forget what this means to a soldier. Thank you for your love and thoughts.

The Quote Above is From The Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1989 by HH the Dalai Lama

It was a real honor to be included in the list of Top 50 Real Estate Marketing Bloggers recently published by the International Listings website.  No, there was no gold cup, it’s just for decoration.

Thanks go to Andy Hagan and Brian Thibault for recognizing this blog.  Their list of Top 50 is organized into General Marketing, Internet Marketing, Coaches, Development Properties and Marketing Tools. 

I’d suggest you check out the list.  It’s an interesting combination of blogs you read about every day and some that don’t get the big press, but provide a wealth of information.

And, if you are targeting the international real estate market, you’ll find that International Listings offers an opportunity to display your listings and look for properties around the world. 

There’s a beautiful Australian property that is listed at $6,000,000 AUS.  Keep in mind that you can get a real deal if you’re in the US, and snap it up at list for a mere 5,134,216 USD.

We all know that everything is getting more automated all the time.  For example, getting a human being on the telephone is almost impossible.  Take calling the bank, for example.  First, you get a recording that wants you to talk to it.  Doesn’t the bank have any idea how silly we feel sitting around talking to a telephone?

The other thing that has always puzzled me is that the recording always wants to know my account number.  That would be fine, except if I do actually get to talk to a person, I have to repeat the account number for them.  So, what’s the purpose of giving it to the recording?  The only thing I can think of is that the recording can make sure that I’m actually an account holder.  So, why was that instituted?   Did the bank experience a lot of people who are not account holders calling them up all day?  I doubt it.

The other thing that I’ve noticed is that restaurants are less personal.  In the “old days”, if you were waiting for a table, you’d tell the person at the front desk where you’d be, and they’d come and get you.  Now, many restaurants have invested in these disk-type things that are supposed to do something when your table is ready. 

One day a friend and I went out to dinner.  We registered our name and took possession of a large square plastic disk with lights on it.  I guess we both assumed that when we were needed, the lights on the disk would turn on.

We sat at a booth in the bar next to the window to wait, and placed the disk at the edge of the table.   All of a sudden, the plastic disk started vibrating, and in the process, made a noise that sounded like the table was about to explode. 

Being deep in conversation, we were startled to say the least.  In fact, we both did a fairly good imitation of that Garfield character that you stick to your car window with suction cups on his feet.

After peeling ourselves off the windows, we determined that the table was not going to blow up.  Actually, our dinner table was ready.

Needless to say, we needed another drink to calm ourselves before ordering.  Ah, for the good old days….

Speaking of SEO, if you’re not aware of the website www.StomperNet.com you might want to check it out.  StomperNet was founded by Brad Fallon and Andy Jenkins, two individuals who really know Internet marketing.

The major purpose for the site is to promote a training program, which as defined by the founders is: “THE program that teaches you everything need to know to start, grow, and explode your online business.”

I’m not sure that joining the student body at StomperNet is something every agent needs to do – the tuition is fairly steep, and they aren’t taking any new registrations at this point.

The site offers a lot of information.  Most of it is only accessible by members, with one notable exception:  the video series.

When you first reach the site, you’ll see a video player at the top of the page.  They have recently announced that they will be publishing a number of free videos, and from all indications, it should be a great series for those of you serious about Internet marketing.

The first two videos are already available.  If you want to access the various videos, use the PlayList button on the video player.  If you’re in scan mode as often as I am, you might have a difficult time finding the PlayList button, so I’ve pointed it out below.

Let me know if you find these videos helpful!

Use this link to see all the posts in this series: Do-It-Yourself SEO. 

SELECTING KEYWORD PHRASES

What’s the Big Deal About Selecting Keywords?

Selecting keyword phrases is to SEO as selecting a location is to a retail store.

Let’s say that you were going to build a new greeting card store in your town.   You got plans for the store, you located a building site, built the store and stocked it with the widest range of greeting cards possible to meet any need .  Then, you waited for the customers to come flocking in.  But, no one visited your store.  Why not?

Well, the one thing you forgot to do was figure out how much traffic was on the road leading to your store.  Too late, you discovered that while you got a great deal on the building site, very few cars passed by your store.  And, the location was too far out of town for people to make a special trip just to purchase a greeting card.

You can do the same thing to your website if you don’t choose the right keyword phrases.  As was discussed in the series on Content Mistakes, the biggest mistake you can make when selecting keywords is to use common sense.

You can’t use keyword phrases that you would use to find homes in your area.  You must use phrases that the majority of other people use to find homes in your area.

How to Research Keywords

How can you figure out which keyword phrases other people use to find homes in your area?  The most effective way to do that is to use one of the online tools that gather information from a variety of search engines.  There are two popular paid research tools.

• WordTracker.com – Lowest cost subscription $30 for one week
• KeywordDiscovery.com – Lowest cost subscription $70 for one month

These tools will help you identify the number of searches done on a particular term, the competition for that term (the number of other websites that optimize for the term), and suggestions for related keywords.

There are also some free online tools that provide varying degrees of accuracy.  Here are just a few:

• Digital Point
• Yahoo
• Google

How to Select Keywords

The most commonly used search terms for real estate are typically CITY Real Estate and CITY Homes for Sale.  I’ve found that people typically search by the name of the city they want to live in.  They’re less likely to search by County or State.  And, that makes sense to me.   Counties are usually fairly large places and people typically don’t want to live anywhere in a county.

So, you might think that the best keyword would be City Real Estate.  But, it depends on what you mean by best.  My definition of best goes something like this:

The keyword phrase that 1) attracts the most targeted traffic, and 2) has the best balance between the amount of usage and the amount of competition.

Let’s take Atlanta as an example.  The search term Atlanta Real Estate is probably the most used search term in my area, but it also has the highest level of competition.  In addition, metro Atlanta covers a lot of territory.  Ranking for Atlanta Real Estate would take time, effort and expense.  It would be a great SEO accomplishment.  However, it wouldn’t attract very targeted traffic.

So, really think about what you want to accomplish with your website.  If your website and domain name are new, you already know that it will take longer to rank in the search engines.  If you want to generate traffic as quickly as possible, it might make more sense to optimize for a term that is very targeted and has a good balance between usage and competition.

If ranking for the highest usage term in your area is a good business decision, you can include that term in your list of keyword phrases, but even then you may want to optimize your home page for a less competitive term to get the quickest results, then work on the most competitive keyword over time.

Look for Keyword Gems

Researching related keywords can sometimes identify what I call Keyword Gems.  To me, a Keyword Gem is a term that has almost as much usage as the main keyword in your area, but much less competition.  For example, sometimes just putting the two-letter state designation in the phrase will make a big difference.

When you find a keyword like CITY ST Real Estate where the usage is 90% of the main keyword, but the competition is 50% of the main keyword, you know you’ve got a real gem!

NAR has published its list of top real estate tools and services.  I like this list because it is created as a result of NAR members “voting” by showing interest in these tools.

Not surprisingly, the list this year consists of tools and services that help to keep you in front of your clients and prospects.

One particularly interesting entry on the list is provided by QuantumMail.com.  They provide direct mail products and services.  There are a number of interesting things about this company:

• They’re a one-stop shop.  You can create a mailing online using designs they provide or your own.  QuantumMail provides the mailing list and does the mailing for you.
• They offer low minimum order points - such as a quantity of 20 jumbo postcards.
• Prices seem to be reasonable - $.46 each for a jumbo postcard on 80# stock with color on one side and black/white on the address side.
• Multiple types of lists.
• Advanced list features allow you to select mailing addresses by Neighborhood (enter an address and you’ll be presented with the addresses around that address), Street Mail (select a street to mail to addresses on that street), and Radius around a location, to name a few.

Sounds like some time-saving features are included.  If you have any experience working with QuantumMail, please let us know!