Online Real Estate Technology

Get Your Free Web Site SEO Health Check

Last week I wrote an article on this blog about the importance of an SEO strategy for your real estate web site and in talking to a number of agents recently, it is one of the most neglected areas of Internet marketing by real estate offices.

Your web site is your link to the on line property searcher and making that web site not only be found on the web, but making sure it ranks in the top 10 results on Google and Bing for the terms that people search should be high on your agenda.

Some facts that you’re probably not aware of and published by the Commonwealth Bank about searching, reveal the way of the future when it comes to how consumers search on the web. Last year 75% of people did not use Yellow Pages, so where did they go to research business? to the web of course. Over 80% of consumers use the web to research purchase decisions and products, and that is why your web site needs to rank well on Google and other search engines including Yahoo and Bing.

How much do you spend per year on promoting your business on Yellow Pages? why not divert some of that into making sure your web site is performing as well as it should. It is a known fact that Google continually update their search algorithms and your web site needs to be constantly tweaked to make sure it is search engine friendly and searchable by search engines.

Don’t take it for granted that your web master will have set it up correctly, in my experience most of them don’t, so make sure it performs for you, their were over 16.6 million searches last month for the term real estate in Australia and if you don’t rank, you don’t get the business. Don’t think that getting your web site optimised is expensive, because it isn’t, and the return on your investment is worth every penny you’ll spend on SEO.

To help you find out how your site performs I’ve organised for SEOBOSS, an SEO Optimisation company to give your web site a SEO health check for free, they will analyse your site for the most searched industry keywords and then send you a report and a recommendation on how you can improve your site, what’s it cost? Nothing.

If you’d like to get  your web site checked then click on the link and SEOBOSS will do the rest. Give me my SEO Health Check

One thing that has really annoyed me over the past few months is the amount of spam I’ve been receiving via social media sites I’m a member of. I’m sure you know the sort of spam I mean, “Click here to earn a million dollars”, “A friend of mine just found the secret to Internet marketing and you can too thanks to me”, all that kind of rubbish.

Then there’s the Twitter spammers, spamming Twitter with all sorts of offers, promising to increase your followers by a 1000%, and then when you’re hooked, along comes the crunch, it’ll only cost you $99:95 for this amazing strategy.

Then if you sign up for these fantastic once in a life time offers, you get suckered, they will never ever leave you alone again, everyday getting email after email offering amazing deals only available to you.

The reality of this, is that if a deal sounds to good to be true, it probably is and a lot of the testimonials used are fake, just there to get your money, so my advice to you is give them the big heave ho.

So what is the point of this article? I want to assure you that you don’t need all of these quick paths to fame and fortune on social media, you’ll achieve great results by providing good quality content and information by becoming a trusted adviser. There is no quick fix on this and the followers you will gain by using these spam sites is rubbish, so don’t waste your money.

What you want to do with your social media network is generate referrals, and turn those  referrals into business. Clients come from referrals and often those referrals originate from friendships we’ve made via social media sites, so there are ways to do it right and generate long term relationships via social media, not by spamming people. For example I’ve allowed my Twitter following to build organically and I get new followers every day, why, because I only Tweet when I’ve something to say, I always try and provide good quality information that is of use to them in business and I’ve never ever participated in spam.

So what are some of networking things you can do to avoid being considered a spammer and become a trusted adviser.

Don’t sell me before you get to know me – Build rapport and trust before trying to sell me your product.

Don’t spam your friends or followers – We don’t like it, it’s annoying and it just makes you not want to support your product or service.

Don’t play the numbers game – Allow your follower numbers to build organically by providing good content and networking, who cares about huge numbers of followers if they never connect with you. A small loyal band of supporters will do me thanks.

Don’t be a faker – We can all see through you, don’t have a hidden agenda be honest and up front. If you are a fake, you’ll go on my spam blacklist forever, no second chance here.

Don’t ignore people - It only takes a moment to communicate with your followers

Take time to get to know me – Spend some time with me and get to know me, then I’ll be open to your product or service, but I don’t wnat it rammed down my throat every second of every day

Treat me with respect - I’m here to follow you and get advice, give me some good staff and I’ll think you’re a guru.

Ok, there endeth the lecture, so now I’ve got that off my chest I feel better, and hopefully given you some advice, particularly those of you who haven’t yet got into social media but are thinking of starting your strategy.

Remember it takes time and effort to build loyalty and create friendships, there are no quick fixes not even by spam, but in the end,all your efforts will be worth it.

Mike Andrew owns and operates an Internet Marketing Consultancy on the Gold Coast in Queensland

Experts Are Everywhere

I don’t know about you, but the word expert pops up so often when talking about the internet and marketing, that it’s a wonder there are any of us mere mortals left in the world. There’s the SEO expert, ” I’ll show you in 3 easy steps how to dominate Google” yeah right, the Facebook expert, the Twitter expert and the list goes on,well now there’s a new breed called social media experts.

These are the ones that are popping up everywhere, they’re on  Twitter, a site they probably didn’t even know existed until 2 months ago, pumping out daily updates of useless tweets about social media, what links to click on, who you need to follow etc.

In some cases these so called experts were recently working in the real estate industry, are now unemployed and think that internet marketing and social media is the gravy train they need to get on board with.

Well lets set the record straight, there are no experts in social media, it is evolving at such a rapid rate that no one can be deemed an expert , I know from experience, just trying to keep up with the research is a full time job, then translating that into a solid business strategy takes a lot of hands on experience and knowledge. Just being a user of blogs or Twitter or Facebook does not make you an expert in social media marketing

So beware, the next time you speak to a consultant or are contacted by those who claim to be experts on social media or Internet marketing, check out their background, ask them to list the clients they developed a strategy for from the ground up, and get testimonials from those clients, because the proof is always in the tangible results delivered .

Search Engines

Your blog will have a better SEO result when you utilise good SEO techniques such as link building, and one of the ways to do that is by creating internal links within your posts or content.

A good internal link structure can have a size-able impact on your rankings on the major search engines. Most blog writers either don’t use this strategy or don’t know how to create internal links and it is really quite simple. You want your readers, particularly new readers to discover all your great content, and by including links to your older posts, it gives them a whole new life, as well as maintaining your readers on your blog for a longer stay. For example, in February I wrote a post about Google Analytics and in January I wrote about how important an SEO strategy is to your business, as you see I’ve included internal links to both of these posts I’ve mentioned, knowing that when new readers visit my blog, they will be able to visit those posts and read the stories, effectively giving those older posts a new lease on life.

So here are a few tips for you on creating an internal link strategy and a few things you should avoid:

1. Avoiding Bad Anchor Text: Whilst adding “Click Here Text” may drive a better click through rate, it is not good for anchor text. You need to decide if click here or keywords are more important. In the examples above, I’ve decided that keywords are more important, you can of course mix them up, by including good keywords and then a separate link containing the words “Click Here”. So if you want to rank for “Red Widgets” don’t use the phrase click here. I’ll cover this in my next post.

2. Uneven Distribution of links: Make sure you spread your links around, promote all your old posts in your new content. But one word of advice, don’t over do it. One or two links per post is sufficient.

3. Broken Links – Make sure all your links work,there’s nothing worse for a reader than to click on a link in your post and it not work. If you change or upgrade your blog software it can cause broken links,so make sure they all work and test them regularly. If you are using Google webmaster tools on your blog, it will tell you if a link is broken. But beware, the search engines don’t like broken links.

4. Missed Opportunities: If you are blogging about a subject you’ve written about before, don’t miss the opportunity to link to your older content.

5.Edit Instead of Linking: Sometimes there is the temptation to go back and edit an old post, or you might even want to add some up dated information to it, Well resist the temptation, you are far better to write a new post and then include a link to your old one.

I hope this post on how to create internal links is helpful to you in getting a better result for your blog. You can breath new life into your old articles and posts by creating internal links, and it will help you in the search results.

Good Luck and if you need help please let me know by leaving me a comment on the blog. I’ll always respond to your questions.

You can now download and listen to this post as a podcast, click here to get the latest episode.

As you may have gathered from the posts on this blog, I’ve tended to look at the serious side of social media and it’s impact on word of mouth or brand building from a real estate agency viewpoint, and the obvious benefits that social media has on search engine rankings in your geographic area, but every now and then, you have to stop and look at the funny side of  internet marketing and there are some very funny videos available from various sources. Of course the inspiration for this post comes from a discussion I had this morning whilst conducting an internet audit for an agency in Perth WA, the question was asked of me ”How much of yourself do you reveal on social media sites?”, Now there’s an interesting question and in itself another blog post, but in the meantime here’s a great video for you to enjoy on that “One Last Click”, The video was made as part of a UK campaign sponsored by the TUC called workSMART. This video was from a component called NSFW or Not Safe For Work dealing with aspects of IT Security as it may affect employees.

Please enjoy!!

Hi All, just wanted to advise the breakfast seminar in WA is next Wednesday morning 12th November at Frasers Restaurant, King Park West Perth.

Proceedings will kick off at 7:15am for a 7:30 start, I’ll be presenting the “Impact of New Media and Technology on real estate offices” and also presenting the “Power of Blogs and podcasts on real estate office marketing in 2008 – 2009″ 

If you happen to be in Perth next week and would like to attend, please contact Sarah Hopkins domain.com.au on 08 9423 8909

This week I’ve spent a lot of time talking to, and presenting seminars, to real estate agents in North Qld, and I thank all of the attendees at the Bundaberg breakfast session on Wednesday as well as the team at Elders Mackay and Northern Beaches for their time, input and feedback into my sessions.

During the presentations, which were all about the power of blogs and social media, I thought I would write a post on the potential uses of these tools in your office. Social networking has changed the way people connect with and communicate with other internet users. I remember, on my recent holiday to the US, watching a CEO of a large US company being interviewed on TV, telling us how she now uses Facebook to invite and notify her friends of social events and dinner parties, she no longer gets on the phone and calls them.

So lets see how you can use these tools in your marketing and strategy for your office.   

Internet Exposure:By using social networks and tools you increase your presence on the net, Facebook allows you to invite groups into your office and blogs are your personal communication to consumers. By using these tools, you open doors to other networks and users. 

Building Rapport with Your Clients: Use the social aspect of these platforms to find out what interests and hobbies your clients share.  More importantly, you can share yours with your clients as well as your experience, it might just generate a lead or repeat business.

Keep Clients and Prospects Informed:  You can communicate with users on market updates, provide them useful tools and information and do this instantly via RSS feeds and “The Wall” in Facebook. You can also set up discussion groups and provide your input and knowledge which can improve your value as a market expert.

Word of Mouth Brand Building: Using social network platforms and blogs to help build your brand or business or profile helps you take advantage of the impact the web is having on brand and consumer awareness. See my post on this earlier this month. The Impact of Social Media on Word Of Mouth Brand Building

Targeted Prospecting:  By using these tools to search the profiles of other members of social networks you can improve the effectiveness of your prospecting. Using Facebook as an example allows you to search for engaged, newly married or divorced consumers and you can then tailor your message to have the right impact. You can also search for employer groups or people who are interested in real estate. You can also create groups and share information with them.

Blogs and Podcasts: These allow you to constantly update information or communicate with your readers. If you are reading this then you’ll know what I mean. Blogs can drastically increase your profile in your market and the search engines, because they are frequently updated and the search engines such as Google and Yahoo like good quality frequently updated information and will help syndicate your blog, plus this will help your profile on the search engines. Search Mike Andrew Real Estate on Google and you’ll see what I mean.

Your Podcast allows you to deliver this message in a downloadable format which consumers can subscribe to, This month my podcasts have been downloaded over 260 times. Great for profile building and using in your listing presentations and as a listing tool.

Directing Traffic: By using blogs, podcasts and social networking sites you start to effectively drive awareness of you, your service and experience to internet users. This also helps your web site traffic.

One word of advice! Use these tools and distribution methods, because that’s what they are, the same way you would act face to face. Be respectful and provide relevant and valuable information that your consumers will appreciate and respect. Use these sites and users with respect, don’t send them unsolicited commercial adds or Spam. You’ll acheive your goal if you use the sites wisely.

The most successful on-line networking efforts will be the ones that you integrate with using face-to-face techniques.  Invite people and clients you know to join the networks you are on, and invite people you “meet” on-line to meet with you in person, when appropriate.

I’ll look at bookmarking and the impact it has on your web site and blog in the next few posts, because these tools will have impact of generating traffic for your sites.

This post now available as a podcast, please click here to listen or download:Mike Andrew’s Real Estate Tips & Technology Podcasts

“The world just got a little smaller” that’s how the official media release from Google opens, Google Earth now available for download to your Ipod Touch or Iphone. By downloading and adding this to your Iphone you’ll be able to search for local businesses and using the MyLocation feature you’ll be able to zoom in on your exact location in the world. Here’s the link to the release for further study http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/10/google-earth-now-available-for-iphone.html

So how will this affect real estate searches in the future?  Being able to find information on the local area is very valuable to property searchers, information on schools,employment,suburb data etc is very valauble and now with Google releasing the Google Earth application for the Iphone it all has gone mobile. There’s an interesting post on using Google Earth in a real estate application and if you’re interested in reading more about this, click on the link.

http://blog.unionstreetmedia.com/technology/4-ways-to-use-google-earth-for-the-iphone-for-real-estate-internet-marketing/ 

As always let me know your comments

Today I’ve just finished the second of the domain.com.au power breakfasts here in Qld and we will continue the series over the next few months with Bundaberg next Wednesday and then it’s off to WA & Perth during the second week in November, followed by Adelaide in SA just after that.  I know after the feedback that I received directly after the seminars had finished that there is still a real need for training and advice on internet marketing for real estate agents. One question that does come up quite frequently is getting your listings to work more effectively in driving both property views and email enquiries. As a follow up to this current seminar series, we have planned to run writing successful copy for the net seminars in each of the regions that we have been to so stand by for that, I’ll be letting you know via this blog the locations,dates and times for each of these follow ups. I’ll also then conduct all the Audits or Health Checks on the offices that have requested them of me.

I thought as a starter to this that I would look at publishing for you a Best Practice Check List that can be printed and placed next to your computer or given to your admin staff as a check list. This is by no means as complete as what I will go through for you during the copy seminars, but it will give you the basics on what to check and tick off before placing your property on line.

This is a starter to introducing a best practice policy within your office. The link is below, please click on it and print the list and place next to your computer, and don’t put a listing on line with out ticking every box.  As always have fun and let me know if this is helpful to you.      

Good-Online-Advertisement-check-list

Looking at the impact that new media and web sites such as Facebook and Myspace have on how people communicate with each other got me to thinking about how much impact they have on “Word of Mouth”.

Social media sites,Blogging and podcasting have had a huge impact on how businesses and individuals can get their message out to a ready and willing audience on the internet, Well, have you ever given any thought on how this might be impacting what you do on a day to day basis?

In my On Line Reputation management presentation I look at the impact of web sites that allow consumers to publish comments about you or your business and rate a service that you may have provided and how that comment can kill your business if it’s bad. In fact when planning my recent overseas trip, I frequently went to tripadvisor.com to check on a hotel or service provider and if it was given a negative review and there were a number of these about my choice, I would change my hotel based on those comments. I believed the consumer and these comments were published and available for everyone to see.  

So the question I ask is, if this is the impact of negative comments, what would the impact be of positive reinforcement of your brand, business or service and is the method of reinforcing this word of mouth advertising changing? To me the simple answer is yes it is bigtime, so are you or your business ready to really change the way you approach social media and the internet? Are you adopting new communication tools in your business?, are you aware of what comments are being made about you, your business or industry? If so are you gearing up to take full advantage of the power of the new word of mouth?

Here’s an interesting video about the change in Word of Mouth advertising from Gary VayNerChuk, Internet businessman and celebrity about brand building and the way that word of mouth is changing in 2008/2009: