Real Estate Marketing SEO Blog

Your Long Road From Google to Escrow

Majoring in Minors

• Your Search engine ranking positions are always what might be.
• Your server logs/analytics are what are who might be interested.
• Your lead counts are who would like to get to know you better.
• Your Signed Contracts are only a potential sale.
• Only a closed escrow puts food on the table.

So often the online webmaster community is taught to look at each of these as one singular event. Without acknowledgment of the larger picture. And of course each of the above bullets represents a whole body of disciplines. We are taught to obsess over small singular actions such that our online marketing is nothing but a series of short lived, poorly executed tactical executions.

Some major minors:

Search Engine Positions: Search positions are nice. But a top position and fifty cents will only get you a cup of coffee (well maybe in 1976, I just paid $1.75 for a large at Mickie D's yesterday). A position is only implied traffic.  Folks worry about 1 ranking phrase while my clients and I rank for hundreds. Folks worry about keyword density or proximity. They matter, but not much.

Server Analytics: Look at your visitors. Who are they? How many of them are there? Well analytics do not give names, but they give numbers and behaviors based on keywords. So if you are majoring in just one keyword phrase (everyone loves to major in "city + real estate" ) phrase look at your server logs. You will find you can attract a much larger audience by considering your keywords that people use to find you.

Lead Counts: Conversion. Think of the "tootsie roll pop" ratio. This is where you get into visitor values. How many visitors do you need to get to a lead? If a visitor is worth $20. Then, theoretically you can spend up to $19.99 to get that visitor as a client. But you will not know that unless you track.

The above are what lead to sales and closed deals. Within each are mountains of knowledge bases that can easily waste a lifetime.

However, when you start with the end in mind. That is your business plan calls out for x amount of sales, and y generated online balanced by your own values and objectives. Then you have a start. A target.

Instead, so often we live with the delusion that if "I just rank number one for Happyville Real Estate, then I will reach Nirvana."

Did You Forget Why You Came to The Dance?

So often I hear that I blog to give my visitors great information to enrich their lives or at least online experience. BULLSHIT!  You are there to make money. And the sooner you admit that the sooner you will make it. Otherwise stop writing it off as an expense as it isn't a business it is a hobby.

But learning this stuff can be fun and exhilarating. I get that. But you have to stay on focus or the web and vendors will steal your most precious selling time.

The web requires you to grasp the big picture or you will get lost. Not only your time will get wilted away but also your money. In order, to succeed on line you must develop a strategy first before jumping into the next big thing.

At http://www.realestateguerilla.com is an exclusive Coaching club where we will work with you on your top down success strategy. Or if you would prefer a private consult, contact Tim O'Keefe today. 310 533 9145. He consults at $500 an hour/minimum 2 hours.

->related blog post:
Are you trying to hit a home run with your prospects without even asking them out on a date?

The New Much Larger Faster Internet

What could happen if the entire U.S. was on broadband high speed internet? Sergey Brin of Google is pushing for a new initiative that would open up the entire country to what he calls "wifi on steroids". This would no doubt put the U.S. at the top of the Nations with Broadband list. Brin says it is shameful that we currently sit at number 15. onthe list.

What this means to you

• How about your own television show
• No more fights with your cell phone company
• You would be able to serve up much larger packets of data to your visitors instantly. True real time interactivity would be possible.

The Government is currently looking at this possibility.

Color Part II

We recently reported that the consideration of your color as important in your marketing and home staging.

Ford Motor company has found that "40% of consumers will turn to another brand if they cannot find the vehicle color they want".

In fact, Ford Motor Company is moving to a choose your color model of Paint color that is all GREEN. Meaning that it is not only a Eco friendly paint, but many of the colors inply a "green freindly" shade.

The Eyes Have it

Big Ecommerce sites have known for years that if you want to sell a product you put a happy human in front of it. And nothing sells like a pretty girl.

Well now there is evidence that it is best to point the pretty girls eyes at your product, or in your case your house.

Is Your Website Leaking Secrets You Don't Want Anyone to Know?

Earlier today I was futzing in my log files and followed a link. I visited that site and was amazed that I was in the back console of the website. I had access to emails, editors, personal information. You name it.
I immediately took snap shots and sent them off to the owner of the site and the vendor.
Interestingly I have not received a reply from either.

This is pretty scary as this is the second time this has happened (that I took notice as I don't take all day clicking all my referral urls). And it was another vendor. I can tell you that both of these vendors are rather well known.

I believe he is probably alerted by email that my blog has been updated. So he followed the link and his visit left a path back to his console. He probably does that every time he follows a link from one of his emails.
Here is the letter I sent to the owner and vendor. Names and URLS are blotted for obvious reasons.

You do not know me, but I wanted to make you aware of a gaping security hole in your website. Apparently you visited my site (houseblogger.com), from your web interface.

It gave me a referral in my log files. As you can see right below:

So I followed the link as I often do to see where my traffic is coming from and I was inside your system. I am copying your vendor as I do not think that you wish this to be available to me or anyone else.

Anyway I just thought you should know and rest assured I did not touch anything other than to find your email address and to take a snapshot that you see below. If it makes you feel any better, this is the second vendor that I have seen this.

So be careful, and do what you can to check for this hole.