Archive for Content - Sites/Blogs
This is just a quick tip because something came up in a discussion today and I thought others might benefit.
A client was saying that he wished he could compose his blog posts in Word, but whenever he did that, the posts looked funny once he copied them to his blog.
This gets back to the rule about never copying from Word directly into any Internet vehicle. You remember that one, right? If not, here’s the scoop.
When you copy something from Word, there is underlying code that is copied with the content. You don’t see the code, but it’s there. Sometimes a blog or website platform will try to interpret that Word code by asking you to copy the content into a special window. However, I’ve found that things don’t really work out exactly the way I want it.
The bottom line is that the cleanest way to add content to a website or blog is to add just the raw content, then use the tools in the editor where the content is going to format the text.
The way you end up with just the raw content is to copy from Word to a text editor like Notepad. Then, copy from Notepad to your blog or website. Why does that work? Because a primitive text editor like Notepad doesn’t understand formatting code, so it strips the code away and you’re left with just the text.
Once you have the raw text in the editor of your website or blog, use the editor there to bold, add bullet points, etc. Your content will look just like you want it to.
If you do format in Word so you know how the content will look, you need to know about bullets and numbered lists. While the underlying code for lists is stripped away, Notepad doesn’t remove the actual bullets or numbers.
So, when I’m copying from Word, I will:
- Save the document with the Word formatting intact
- Remove any bullets or numbers
- Copy the content
- Paste the content into Notepad
- Close the document in Word without saving the changes
That way, I have raw content to copy to Notepad, but the document itself is still intact in its Word version.
Any other tips for dealing with transferring content from one medium to another??
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Get the GreatSchools.net Info Widget
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It’s been a while since I posted anything about school information. But, you can review the information on this blog about GreatSchools.net cobranding. The cobranding opportunity allows you to keep visitors on your website while they review detailed school information.
If you’re not familiar with GreatSchools.net, I think you’ll find it to be a very good school resource.
- GreatSchools.net lists a wide variety of schools in most places — not only public schools, but a large number of private schools, also.
- You’ll find Parent Reviews, information on Test Scores, Teachers, Spending per Pupil, and District Overviews.
- The Compare feature is also very helpful for people relocating – it allows the visitor to compare area schools based on several criteria such as Test Scores.
I recently discovered that GreatSchools.net has developed a widget that you can place on your website. Learn more about the school widget.
While the widget does open a new window directly to the GreatSchools.net website, it is free! And, since the site focuses on schools, you won’t find advertisements from other real estate agents. So, I’m more comfortable with this widget vs one that doesn’t do much more than give your competition some exposure.
Give it a try. Let us know how you like it!
Help Me Help You
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In an effort to make this blog as relevant to your needs as possible,
I’d like to know what’s on your mind.
In the right column, you’ll see this image:
And, below that, there’s a link to ask a question or suggest a topic for a future blog post. You can choose to have your name and a link to your website in the “answer post”, or you can remain anonymous.
So, what’s driving you crazy these days?
Drop me a line and I’ll let you know when a post concerning the issue you raise is being published!
As you may know, there’s a category on this blog called Content Sites/Blogs. You’ll find it in the menu just under the header image. If you’re wondering what types of information or tools you can add to your website or blog, checking that category will give you lots of ideas.
I recently came across a site called HousingWidgets.com, and it is a great addition to the Content category.
The site has evidently been around quite a while – the copyright is 2007 – but, it’s not been that visible on the Internet as far as I’ve seen. There’s also an indication that Trulia is responsible for creating and maintaining the site.
There are a wide range of widgets that are useful for real estate sites or blogs. Though, the first thing I think about when considering downloading something from the Internet is security. I didn’t see anything on the site indicating that someone evaluated the widgets that were contributed, and I wouldn’t automatically assume that everything on the site works well just because Trulia is involved.
So, my suggestion would be that you certainly take advantage of the site, but take a look at the profile for the person who uploaded a widget you’re interested in. If the profile looks hinky, I would think twice.
And, if you do use one of the widgets, take a moment to go back to the site and rate it. If you find something that works well, or one that doesn’t really do the job, let your fellow agents know!
If I hear the phrase “Content is King” one more time, I think I’ll scream. Of course, it’s true – but that phrase is just so highly overused!
Why Is Content Critical?
There are really two reasons. First, search engines are looking for content-rich websites. The engines are trying to find the best information for their customers, the people doing the search. Therefore, sites that have lots of content related to a particular keyword phrase get high marks.
Just to be clear – content is not the only requirement to get ranked well in the search engines. But, quality content is a critical part of the equation.
The second reason for adding quality content to your website is that your visitors like it, too. You’ve probably heard about making your website “sticky”. A sticky website encourages visitors to stay on, and return to, the site. And, of course, the more time a visitor spends on your real estate website, the more likely it is that the person will turn into a lead.
What Is Good Content?
1. It’s Original – The most critical requirement for website content is that it must be “original”. Content is original when it can’t be found anywhere else on the Internet. So, that means that copying a few paragraphs from the Wikipedia doesn’t count. In addition, linking to other websites that have original content about your communities, for example, doesn’t count either.
2. There’s a Sufficient Amount of Content – The figure that is most often quoted is this: Search engines consider a page of at least 250 words to be significant enough to take a good look at. So, you need at least that amount of content on a page to satisfy the search engines. To satisfy your visitors, you may well need more.
3. It Answers a Visitor’s Questions – When you’re planning a real estate website, you should be putting yourself in your visitor’s shoes, and asking yourself the question: “What would I want to know to help me make an informed real estate decision?” If you identify what those things are and add them to your site, you’re definitely headed in the right direction.
What Does Killer Content Look Like?
For a great example, I refer you to one of our client’s website, www.DecaturGARealty.com. Randy Chavers has been a client for a while now. We started our work together turning his logo concept into reality. Then, we established a Point2 Agent website for him, adding custom design elements, menu and marketing message. We just recently completed the next phase of his website development: community pages.
First, we created a map that would orient visitors to Randy’s metro Decatur real estate market area, and send them to the community page of their choice.
The community pages themselves are rich with information. Not all of the information is food for the search engines, but it’s great information for visitors. All of the 15 community pages are set up the same way, but take a look at the Avondale Estates real estate community page, for example. Here are the information elements on the community pages:
- Community Profile – This is original content that provides an overview of the community.
- Search for Homes – Randy is using a pre-defined map search we created on his full-featured IDX MLS search from Wolfnet. Visitors are taken directly to the Avondale Estates location on the map to see what homes are available.
- Schools - This is a widget from Education.com. There’s an earlier post on this blog about using that widget.
- Market Conditions – Randy is using Altos Research to obtain up to the minute market stats. The community page contains two overview charts and a call to action to receive reports on a weekly basis.
- Walk Score/What’s Nearby – Walkscore.com provides the engine for this widget. Randy’s market is in a “small town” area just outside the city of Atlanta, so the Walk Score information makes a lot of sense for his visitors.
- Favorite Places – Randy wrote brief reviews of a couple of his favorite places in each community, and can always add more as time permits. This gives a visitor more information about the character of a community. And, it gives Randy a chance to show more of his personality, too.
- Learn More About… – This is a call to action to contact Randy for more details about any of the neighborhoods.
Each community page has three opportunities for Randy to connect directly with his visitors: 1. The Altos Research marketing stats sign up, 2. The “learn more” call to action, and 3. the full-featured IDX MLS search which allows visitors to create an account for ease of use.
We also set up the navigation of the site so that the visitor isn’t overwhelmed, and can easily navigate to each community page and within each of those pages.
You’ll find posts on this blog, in the Real Estate Website Content category, about each of the information tools Randy is using and more. I hope this post is a helpful opportunity to see how they can all work together.
So, what are you waiting for. . . how content rich is your website?
