Archive for January, 2008
Real Estate Search Comes Home to Roost
· CommentsA 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.
Whimsical Wednesday: Utility Problems
· CommentsI’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!
Free Real Estate Website Tips
· CommentsSince 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!
No, Virginia, There is No Silver Bullet
· CommentsI 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
