Real Estate Marketing Blog

Your Real Estate Web Site is not Your Real Web Site

The most successful marketers on the web realize that the value of their web efforts is their list. Not their website. But to build their list they must capture leads thru a valuable opt in offer.

The way you create a list in real estate is by offering MLS data which is usually attached to your website.

We also know that the main reason that a viewer comes to a real estate website is to see homes for sale. Thus, the real reason they are at your site is not to see your 52 points of action, your recirculated articles, or a picture of you and your dog spot.

Real estate visitors are there to see pictures and details on houses for sale.

The most recommended way to offer listings is as an opt in registration. This creates a transaction, and avoids the "napster effect" which I will cover in a future post.

So therefore, your real website is what is behind your registration-your listings.

You don't want them spending too much time at your site, you would rather have them looking at houses in your web listings feed. That way you know they are hot. As you court them you can always point them to your original(hopefully) articles, blogs or general information to help them get to know you. But nothing will hook them into you and keep them engaged with you, like your listings feed.

This is why SpiderWorkz.com builds targeted sites that generate leads. As opposed to brochure type sites that don't do much in the way of lead generation of buyers and sellers.

Yahoo V Google Which is better?

According to a survey by PCWorld, Yahoo! Search and Google are tied for quality of search results.

The race is now on for personalization, presentation and quality of service.

Personally, I like Yahoo for its search results.

It seems like Google is showing 80% directories in its results.

I can't wait till MSN is rocking and rolling in full swing. Have you seen the Beta MSN search engine?

Keyword News:

Onestat.comreported that most people use 2 word phrases in search engines. Of all the search phrases world wide, 30.09 percent of the people use 2 word phrases, 26.83 percent use 3 word phrases and 16.60 percent use 1 word phrase. More and more people use now 3, 4 and 5 keywords since the last measurement. The global usage of 2 word phrases has decreased with 2.49 percent from 32.58 percent to 30.09 percent since February 2004.

Bursting Bubbles

Atlas DMT released a report this week titled The Atlas Rank Report: How Search Engine Rank Impacts Traffic which showed how the clickthrough rates breakdown within pay per click ads.

The report is showing a huge drop off from the top positions.

Mike McDonald at WebProNews.com says:

There is nearly a 40% drop off in the 'click potential' of a paid placement from first position to second position in Google. The difference between first and second in Overture wasn't quite as pronounced but still significant at about 23%.

This is shocking to most online marketing experts as most would agree that the cheaper lower position is always better anyway. I am skeptical of the report myself.

In other news, it seems that the Real Estate Industry pundits are as polarized as our American Political landscape.

In the recent "Is the Housing Bubble About to Burst?" They argue that we are heading for a fall. I won't go over the arguments because they are pretty much the same one's that preceded the real estate crash in the 90's.

What I would like to discuss is the argument from my perspective in Southern California. This is as heated as any real estate market is in the country so we are a good market to pick.

As the recent numbers have just arrived we see that we have broken more real estate sales records. We also can see that Foreclosures are holding steady or low.

This is despite interest rates rising and the threat of more rate hikes.

The economic debate roars loudly over at Inman.

What I would like to point out is some obvious but hardly discussed issues.

1. Rates are still low compared to our last real estate gold rush. In the late 80's the market roared at 8% rates.
2. Good Ole Supply and Demand.
Where I am in Torrance, California, other than rezoning large commercial lots there is no more residential land. If you want to make more housing you have to tear down existing houses and extend the acceptable unit per lot. So we see many two and three unit town home developments replacing that "old world charmer".

As millions move into The Golden State we have to ask where will they live? Certainly not all of them will stand to live in apartments. They will demand home ownership. And they will get it-for a price.

Google Bar

Google has recently added Realnames like functionality into its tool bar. Meaning that if you type a keyword into the Google bar, Google will search for your keyword.

Rate Hike Spikes Web Traffic

Real estate Web sites enjoyed an overwhelming increase as interest rates spiked last week after the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate a quarter of a percent.

HomeGain, AOL Home & Real Estate and MSN House & Home experienced double-digit growth during the week ended July 4, according to Nielson//NetRatings.

HomeGain, which matches consumers to real estate agents, grew 83 percent to 678,000 unique visitors, while AOL Home & Real Estate rose 54 percent to 909,000 visitors. MSN House & Home saw a 28 percent increase to 499,000 unique visitors. The top page viewed on MSN House & Home provided an overview on real estate financing, attracting 21 percent of those who visited the site.

Googles for Google

Stelor Productions, the company that owns and operates Googles.com, said Wednesday it has initiated trademark proceedings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office against Google. The complaint is based on Stelor's belief that the search engine has begun infringing on its brand name.
http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104-5259688.html

Tim's Wise Crack of the Day

"Today's technology is tomorrow’s homework assignment"

Technology is only as good as it makes you money. That is the underlying rule that all marketers (online or not online)are subject.

Many of the great technologies for which investors paid Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs millions, are now simple code being taught to our next generation in high schools across America.

So my question is always, “how does one take a technology such that we get to hear, “Cha Ching!” instead of the vacuous sounds of bells and whistles?”

Begin with the buck and work backwards. This exact process is what made me develop the Five Steps to a Successful Website.

These five steps to online Nirvana are:
1. You need a website
2. You need eyeballs (traffic)
3. You need conversion
4. You need to court them
5. You need to sell them. This is the sales contract or appointment.

All of these steps are really sticking points on the learning curve of most online agents.

The typical scenario is I need a website. And many agents go after every bell and whistle. Flash, heavy graphics etc. In effect they buy into an online brochure. "Plenty of technology in this page",you are told. "Everything but the kitchen sink". It is gorgeous, it has java, it has flash, it has java script and CGI. WOW!

It is all great until you realize no one is visiting your site.

"So traffic must be the answer", you say. You have heard of this SEO thing. Maybe that is what you need.

You finally realize all the bells aren't gonna let you whistle. Bummer :-(

So then you learn everything you never wanted to know about search engines and link popularity this and Page Rank that.

...and we are only on step two.

That is why a website is just a website. Traffic is just traffic. A listings feed is just a listings feed. And as one vendor comes up with a hot item, another three copy it all over the web.

But in the end it is just an exercise in futility. There is no way one person can do all this and still practice real estate. Believe me, I considered it for a few delusional moments.

In the end, truth be known, the spoils will go to those that know how to evaluate and manipulate their technology into market friendly services. You see technology is constantly devaluating and becoming obsolete.

The web process above is really a holistic relationship that must syncronize with the rest of your business. Thus, the technology flavor of the week does not make a hill of beans.

By making your technology your servant you can demand a return on your investment.

Thinking about a new computer? Put it against some sort of multiplier just like an apartment building. You will demand y revenues times the cost from your computer.

This is not always perfect, but it does make your purchase accountable.

I like to show our clients the metrics that will help them determine the value of doing business with us. We look at the predicted cost per sale, the cost per lead, and so on to help prove value to you.

I demand the same from my vendors.