BRER Real Estate Marketing Blog

A new home search site has recently hit the Internet, www.Roost.com.

I was contacted by a reporter at the Washington DC Examiner to discuss the new site for a story she was doing about the Roost.com introduction.  We spoke at some length, and I’ll wager she did the same with the CEO of Roost.com.  Both of us got one line in the article.  At least the one that appeared on the Examiner’s Internet site.  If anyone from the Baltimore/Washington area has seen the print version, I’d be interested to know if it is the same as the Internet version.

The quote attributed to me in the article is accurate.  Roost.com does have a unique way of narrowing the property criteria of a search using sliders.  And, at this point, the site is very fast once the global search is completed.  It is also possible to narrow the search by neighborhood or school district.   In general, I think the site is clean and user-friendly.

Roost.com is a Lead-Generator

The issues I discussed with the reporter that didn’t make it into the article, however, have to do with the lead-generating aspect of Roost.com. 

Here’s the good news:  The broker or agent who sponsors listings in a specific town do get links directly to their website.  The bad news is that the site is set up as a Pay Per Click (PPC) operation.  Every time a visitor clicks through to a professional’s website, a fee is charged. 

According to the reporter, there will be multiple brokers and/or agents sponsoring listings in a city, and those sharing sponsorship in a city will be rotated in terms of who appears on the search result pages.  The algorithm will have something to do with how much of a presence someone has on the site.   So, it seems to me that the little guy won’t show up too often, but since it is PPC fee, they may not be charged when they’re not visible.  I don’t know if there is a flat service fee in addition to the PPC.

Don’t Give Up on Your SEO

For me, the bottom line is that Roost.com does have some slick features for visitors.  Time will tell how it fares against Zillow, Trulia, and the myriad other home search sites on the Internet.

But, in the end, from a professional’s perspective, it is still a lead-generator.  And, in my opinion, paying a lead generator is never as effective as building up the ranking of your own website so that you have control over your own destiny.

I’d keep an eye on Roost.com, but I don’t see how the site hitting the scene represents an outstanding exposure vehicle for real estate professionals.

I’m sure you’ve all been on the edge of your seats wondering if I have Internet access, given the problems I’ve had with my Internet connection.

No?

Well, last Wednesday I was going fairly nuts because my DSL connection was operating intermittently.  So, thought I’d tell you the rest of the story.  It might help someone who is having the same type of problem.

I have been having trouble with my DSL connection for quite some time.  The technicians who came to try to help were very conscientious and really wanted to help.

However, we all knew that my equipment wasn’t the problem.  At some point, one of the technicians had installed a separate telephone line that ran directly to the connection box outside to an outside DSL filter.  And, my modem had been updated to the latest version.  It was obvious that the problem must be somewhere else.

Unfortunately, I was having a difficult time getting the problem addressed.  So, I called the Public Service Commision to register a complaint.  The fastest way to find them is to do a search for Public Service Commission CITY.  I searched for Public Service Commission Atlanta, and quickly found a contact number.

Based on a description of the problem I was having, the PSC suggested that I also file a complaint with the FCC.  If you ever need to do that, you can do a search for FCC, or just go to this page online, which is the recommended way to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission.

The following business day, I got a call from the phone company from someone in the “Executive Escalation” department.  Wow.  Shortly thereafter, several of the techs who had been trying to fix this problem arrived.  They tried making a change to something related to the connection at the box on the street.

When that didn’t fix the problem, they replaced some equipment at the central office.  That worked, and my Internet connection has been solid ever since.

Hopping on my soapbox for just a minute, I will also say that I wrote to the utility in question, for what it’s worth.  The gist of that communication was this: 

• It is ludicrous that their customers must contact oversight agencies to fix a problem. 
• It is ridiculous that they will only provide the service for which they are being paid under duress.
• If their own employees have exhausted every other avenue, they should have a way to get approval for replacing central office components as a part of normal equipment maintenance.

I don’t think my communication will have any impact on the company.  But, it did make me feel better.  And, I will be much quicker to call out the big oversight guns if I ever run into the same type of problem!

Since I know Internet surfers are notorious for scanning rather than reading, I wanted to point out the Special Offer in the left sidebar of this blog.

The PDF file containing the series on Website Content Mistakes has been offered there since that series was completed.  A PDF file containing the series on Do-It-Yourself SEO has just been added to the list.

If you found those two series of posts helpful, you can download the PDF files and get all the posts in one document.  Please let me know if you find the PDF files useful.  They take a while to put together, but it’s worth it if some of you like having the information consolidated and ready to download.

And, if you have any suggestions for issues you would like to see addressed on this blog, please leave a comment.

Here’s an update on the poll that is running in the left column: 

• 21 people have responded
• 58% of respondents receive very little or none of their business from the Internet
• 43% of respondents receive one-half, the majority, or almost all of their business from the Internet

If you’re quick at math, you’ll know that rounding has resulted in a total of 101%, but you get the idea.

Take a moment right now to respond to the poll.  We’d have a lot better results if more people responded!  If you’re in the 58% category, the PDF files containing the two website series may be just what you need!

How Do You Make Your Listings Stand Out?

Your marketing plan for your listings probably includes a number of strategies for making the homes you list stand out from the crowd.  And, it’s especially important in a buyer’s market.  There’s a lot of competition out there.

One strategy many agents and homeowners use is Home Staging.  It can be an extremely effective way to attract home buyers.  But, can you promote Home Staging to home buyers?  Not really.  I’ve never seen (nor would I recommend) a promotion for a home that said “And, the home has been professionally staged to make it look its best!”

I recently came across an interesting idea that you can add to your recommendations for preparing a home for the market, and use it as a marketing tool to buyers and sellers.  The idea is a pre-listing home inspection.  Now, before you decide I’ve totally lost my mind, let me explain.

A New Way to Use a Pre-Listing Home Inspection

More specifically, the idea I came across is a new way to look at pre-listing home inspections, and a way to use it as part of your marketing plan.

The analogy is to use a pre-listing inspection the same way the car companies use a pre-sale tune-up for pre-owned automobiles.  And, I think that makes sense.  I’ve always found it very effective to think outside the box and apply marketing strategies from other industries to the real estate industry.

If you make recommendations to your sellers for things to do to prepare their home for sale, why  not go all the way?  Why not find out and correct the issues that may arise and complicate a close?  And, if you can use it as a marketing tool, that’s even better!!

Does a pre-sale inspection mean that the buyer won’t want one of their own?  No, but the buyer’s inspection should reinforce the problem-free condition of the home.

Create a Certified Pre-Owned Home Award

You can create a certification program for your listings that have undergone a pre-sale inspection.  This is something that you can use to promote the home to buyers.  It would also be a good feature to include in your listing presentation.

Create a graphic to identify the homes that are pre-certified.  And, do a better job of it than the one I threw together quickly for this post!

You can promote a Certified home to consumers in the Featured Listings that you have on your website.  If you can’t add a graphic image to the description of your Featured Listing, use the certification graphic as one of the photos you upload for that listing.  Then, in the written description of the home, you can explain what that certification means.

Read the article by Steve Rodriguez at Realty Times to get the full story.  If you use pre-sale inspections, or you think it’s a good idea, or you hate it, let me know!

I am often asked what the secret is to getting real estate website visitors to turn into leads.  That is, to get website visitors to fill out a form or call the website owner.

This could be the world’s shortest post:

There Is No Silver Bullet

But, I’ll say just a few more words.  There are things we know often do the trick. 

But, generating leads is different in different markets - it depends on what people in a particular market think is an irresistible offer.   It’s different depending on the agent - how they want to present themselves, and how they’ve defined their position in the marketplace.

The bottom line is:  Don’t look for the silver bullet. 

Know your market.  Know yourself and what you bring to that market.  Try something.  Think of lead generation as a process, not an event.

Don’t Wait to Find the Perfect Answer

I haven’t had a chance to write many posts ahead of time lately.  In addition to regular work, I’ve been pretty busy handling technology messes.  If I’d had a chance to post this last night as I had intended, it wouldn’t have been a Whimsical post because I forgot today is Wednesday.

So, what technology messes have I been handling?  Glad you asked!

First, I have been having a great deal of trouble with my DSL connection.  It’s an INTERMITTENT PROBLEM. 

I hate those.  What that means is that when the repairman (no, I’m not being chauvinistic, all of the repair persons have been males) comes to check the connection, it is working fine.  When he leaves, the connection can drop 10 times in an hour.

The phone company (who shall remain nameless, except to say that it is a combination of the companies who were previously separated) has replaced my older modem, and a dedicated line was run directly from the modem to an outside filter.  I’d say that pretty much eliminates the possibility of any wiring problems from the computer to the outside lines, right?

So, why does the company insist on sending a technician to check the connection every time I call?  No explanation.

So, last Friday (yes, at that point, I knew what day it was) I finally called the Public Service Commission.  And, at their suggestion, filed a complaint with the FCC.  Kinda scary.  The FCC…  We’ll see what happens.  I got a nice call from a woman in the “Executive Escalation” department yesterday.  Film at 11.

The second problem occurred when I tried to download and install a trial of Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional software.  Ever heard of Error 1606?  Neither had I.  But, we’re now old friends.  After talking to support folks from Adobe, Dell and Microsoft, I learned a few things.

First, NO ONE knows how to handle Error 1606.  Second, NO ONE is responsible for assisting someone who is getting an Error 1606.  Pretty amazing, huh?

Third, the “escalation” at Adobe is truly amazing.  Most of the time, when a problem is “escalated” in a tech firm, that means you are transferred to a more senior-level technician.  At Adobe, it means that after the tech you’re talking to fills out about 10 minutes worth of paperwork documenting the issue, you can expect a call back from the “escalation team” within 48 hours.  48 HOURS.  The world could end in that amount of time.

Needless to say, I didn’t have 48 hours to wait.  Needless to say, I no longer use Adobe Acrobat.  Ever heard of Nitro PDF Professional?  It works pretty well.  If anyone has a suggestion for the best alternative to Adobe, however, please let me know.

So, What’s Your New Home Page?

Well, Joel Burslem made a case on his blog Future of Real Estate Marketing, explaining how your listing pages are destined to become your new home page.  I’m not convinced that we should all give up trying to be found for main keywords like CITY Real Estate.  But, I think there are any number of reasons why your listing pages should get a good bit of your attention.

MLS vs “Featured” Listings

All agents put their listings on their MLS system.  It’s a necessity, if for no other reason than to get the most exposure to other agents in the area who may have a buyer, and exposure to buyers through IDX agreements.

Most real estate websites have the capability to produce “featured” listings.  That means you have the ability to create custom listings on your website.  If you don’t have that capability, you should - check out Point2 Agent websites for a great real estate website platform.

Which Listing Portal Should You Use?

Both!  Why?  Because they are two very different animals!

MLS Listings are for promoting your listings to other agents

Featured Listings are for promoting your listings to consumers

MLS Listings typically let you display a few photos and a very brief description, which often comes out in code like this:

• 5% FIXED RATE ASSUMABLE MORTGAGE!LOCATED IN HEART OF PTC RELAXING SUNRM*VAULTED CEILINGS*MSTR RETREAT OR NURSERY/ OFFICE/BEDROOM 4*SMOOTH CEILINGS, CROWN & TILE ON ENTIRE

I imagine there was an end to that last thought.  But, it didn’t show up in the MLS listing.  That description is great to give another agent the basics about the home.  Maybe.  I’m not sure what a Mstr retreat or nursery is, though.  But, obviously, it doesn’t sell the home to a consumer!

Your featured listing on your own site is your opportunity to speak directly to the consumer.  In English.  In complete words and sentences.  With lots of photos.  It’s your chance to “sell” the home, not just list it.

Overcome Duplicate-Entry-Itis

The biggest reason I hear from agents for not putting time and thought into their featured listings is that they hate the “duplicate entry”.  They have to put the listing in the MLS system, then enter it again on their own website.

Leave your duplicate-entry-itis behind!  You’re not duplicating effort - you’re talking to two very different audiences!  Don’t sell your listings short.

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

Blogging and SEO

If you blog on a regular basis, your blog will be a search engine favorite – search engines just love the fresh content.   And, if the information you post is useful, your site visitors will love it, too.

7 Tips to Make Your Blog SEO-Friendly.

1. Blog Frequently - Blog as often as you can.  Check the Real Estate Blogging category on this blog for ideas on how to be consistent with blogging, and where to find topics.
2. Optimize Your Blog - Use the same guidelines for the On-Page Optimization of your web pages.  On your blog, you can put keyword phrases in your blog’s title, post titles, post content, category names, tag names and the ALT text of photos or images that you use in your posts.
3. Maintain a Focus – You can blog about anything you want.  But, especially when you’re first starting up a blog, make the majority of your posts about real estate and your keywords.  That focus will help the search engines understand the theme of your blog.  If this blog had two Whimsical Wednesday posts for every post related to its keywords, the site would not rank as well.
4. Link to Your Website  – Use your blog as a way to get quality incoming links to the pages of your website.  This is a great way to get deep links to the interior pages of your site.  You can write about a variety of topics and link to your community pages, MLS search page, market condition page, etc. and it would make perfect sense within the post.  Use good anchor text in your links to get the most from them.
5. Link to Outside Resources – You don’t want to put too many outgoing links in your posts, but 2 or 3 links to quality outside websites that can be helpful to your readers is a good idea.  You may get a link in return, and the search engines will notice your choice of outgoing links, too.
6. Submit Your Blog to Blog Directories – One way to jump start your blog is to submit it to blog directories to help the search engines find it.  Just do a search for real estate blog directory, and you’ll find quite a number of directories that focus on real estate blogs.
7. Advertise Your Posts – Set your blog up to “ping” Update Services.  If you’re not familiar with pinging or Update Services, take a look at this explanation on the Wordpress site.

Typically, you can also increase the traffic to your blog by being active on other blogs.  If you read and leave comments on other related blogs, that may bring visitors on that blog to yours.  And, if you leave comments, very often other blogmasters will return the favor.

I hope you have found this SEO series helpful.  If you decide you’d like professional assistance, you can find more information about SEO for real estate websites, and please feel free to contact me!

I’ve looked at quite a few virtual tours, and I’ve always thought that there was something missing.  Was it the music?  No, lots of tours have music.  Was it good photographs or video?  Well, sometimes.  But, the production of many of the tours is good.

What I’ve always thought was missing was the personal touch - a person to relate to, and someone to help me focus on and understand what I’m looking at.  There may be some people who can tell a Travertine floor when they see one.  I’m just not one of those people.

But, I was interested to come across a company that is offering tours and property websites that include voiceover capability.  The company is called VizzVox.  They offer a number of services, ranging from do-it-yourself online tour creation, to professional script writing or a professional to do the voiceover for you, to statistics on the number of times your tour is viewed.

I liked one of the examples where the agent did the narration herself.   What a great way to make an impression on your seller and become known to potential buyers!  Take a quick look at that one.  I found it much easier to interpret the tour with someone pointing out the key features in each room.

Another example had written “slides” toward the end that reinforced features of the home when they appeared in writing.

You can learn more about VizzVox at their real estate page.  The fees as of this date are competitive with some other virtual tour companies - $99 for a “Vizzie To Go” and $149/year for a single listing website.  The single listing sites don’t have as many bells and whistles as some I’ve seen, but I think the voiceover is a big advantage.

The other interesting thing is that they are offering a Free Personal Account that allows you to try their service and make up to 10 tours that can be viewed via a link to the VizzVox site.  Those tours will show their advertising.

If you’ve ever watched a virtual tour and wondered where to look first, you might be missing the personal touch, too. 

• Do you think a voiceover is an advantage on a virtual tour?
• Would you record one yourself?
• Have you ever used a virtual tour with a voiceover?
• If anyone has or does try this out, let us know what you think!

After my meeting with the Turkey Vulture a while ago, I started thinking about all the cute little animals that we are lucky enough to have in our neighborhoods.  In fact, a friend of mine has adopted an entire troop of small animals as pets.

It probably began because my friend and her husband travel quite often for business and family visits.  Therefore, having a dog as a pet didn’t seem fair.  And, since her husband is allergic to cats, that eliminated the feline pet opportunity.  So, over time, she seems to have adopted all the local wildlife and turned her backyard into a haven for quite a variety of outdoor pets.

The staple food for her pets are the peanuts that she throws out on the back patio, deck and lawn.  As long as the various species get along, they are all welcome, but there are rules.

First, squirrels aren’t allowed to chase the chipmunks away.  If such an infraction is discovered, a quick sweep of the broom sets the squirrel felons running.  And, in fact, it is the squirrels that live on the left side of the yard that are always the culprits.  The squirrels that live on the right side of the yard never get so aggressive.

The hawks aren’t really part of the family, but if they stop by, they aren’t allowed to hunt the squirrels, chipmunks or rabbits.  The squirrels and chipmunks can take shelter under the outdoor furniture.  But, the rabbits mostly stay on the grass, so there are a few strategically placed chairs on the lawn to provide emergency shelter.

Box turtles stop by from time to time.  A shallow water dish set out for their use reports their visit if no one is around to see them.  The amount of mud in the dish indicates that a turtle has recently taken a bath there.

And, like any pets, the animals have rules, too.  The bully hummingbird won’t let any others share the feeder by the house, and the interlopers seem to prefer to fight it out rather than just go to the feeder in the backyard.

It isn’t unusual to be sitting around my friend’s breakfast table chatting, and look out the glass door to see a squirrel or chipmunk sitting on the doormat outside peering in.  A sure sign that peanuts are required.

Or, to see a titmouse or cardinal sitting on the outdoor furniture making a racket.  I’d think it a coincidence, except that all is quiet once the required peanuts are thrown out the door.  And, the birds don’t even fly away any more when the back door opens.

When my friend and her husband bought this house, they also looked at some new construction.  The new homes had all the latest amenities, but the backyard on this home won out.  And, there’s a large family of nature’s children who applaud that decision.