Posts in category: Uncategorized

Real estate is one of the industries that benefited from the revolution brought by the Internet. Today, hundreds of different companies are competing against each other using the Internet because it is easier to reach a wider range of audience without spending more resources. Unfortunately, this revolution brought the competition to another level, and that is through the domination of search engine results.

SEO for real estate is very important, especially if you want to harness the real power of the Internet. The sad thing is that this market requires a more competitive SEO approach compared to other industries. Dozens of companies are willing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to optimize their website, hoping that this will bring tens of millions of dollars in revenue. Before you start looking for SEO services, let us discuss first the reasons why SEO is very important.

Increased Visibility

As a real estate player, you already know that converting visitors to buying customers is a very hard work, unless of course they are visiting your website with the intention of buying a property. Always remember that the secret of becoming a successful real estate industry player is to start generating more impressions and delivering more visitors to your website.

If you were able to dominate the search engine results using a complex approach on SEO for real estate, you will be receiving immeasurable amounts of traffic, which can be converted into sales – with proper marketing of course. To make it simpler, let’s just say no visitor means no sale.

Targeted Audience

Of course, visibility will increase your revenue, but it still depends on the “quality” of visitors that your website receives. How will you classify someone who uses search engines to search for “where to buy real estate properties for sale”? Can you classify them as people who are interested in buying a property in a “blink of an eye”? Or are they simply wasting their time looking for properties that they won’t buy?

Of course, these people are the ones that you want to be on your website. They are the people who are willing to buy estate properties and are simply looking for the best place to get the best deal.

Cheaper

Advertising and promoting your business on the Internet will literally burn a hole in your pocket. Unless you know how to fully-utilize or play with advertising platforms, you’ll be spending thousands of dollars before you could even make a sale. The problem with advertising and promoting is that money comes out of your pocket whether you make money from advertising or not.

SEO for real estate is more advisable because it is a process. All you have to do is to look for a credible SEO service and they will be handling all the tasks of optimizing your website. You’ll take all the sales, and all you have to do is to pay the company a monthly service fee, which is a lot cheaper, compared to most advertising platforms, especially for this industry.

With the recent despair in the housing market, house values are dropping substantially throughout the US. Homeowners are researching ways to recoup some of their losses by selling their homes on their own.

Hiring a real estate agent to sell your home has always perplexed me. I have sold numerous homes over the years and the listing agent never actually sold my home. In one case I even sold my own home when someone knocked on my door after seeing my sign. I negotiated a price then and there and shook hands on it without the real estate agent. The sad part of the matter was that he made 6% on my home sale ($16,000) without doing anything. I remember asking him if he could give me a break in the commission price since I sold the home. In a rude manner he said that it was his sign in front of my house that sold the home, not me.

According to 2006 National Association of Realtor statistics, 13% of all homes were sold without a real estate agent. 90% of FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sellers end up going to realtors in the end. Be that as it may, I decided to check in to some of these websites and the options they offer.

I started my research by searching on Google. I found a list of National For Sale By Owner websites. Here is a quick overview of my search results.

1. HomesByOwner.com: You can list your home for free. You can upload 1 photo in the free section. If you would like to add more photos, it will cost you.

2. BuyOwner.com: They do not have a price listed on their website, they recommend that you call them. They offer great Virtual Tours. BuyOwner sends people out to your home to take these Virtual Images. I am not sure on the price, but I had a friend who used their service and spent $2,300. Contact BuyOwner.com for more details.

3. Owners.com: They provide a free listing service. They also offer a $377 MLS listing fee to add your property in to the Multiple Listing Service. If an agent shows up and sells your home, you would only pay the 3% to them as opposed to paying the full 6% if you hired a agent as I have in the past.

4. ForSaleOwnerHomes.com: They also offer a free listing service. These free websites like ForSaleOwnerhomes.com make their money through things like Google ads, that is why they can keep their listing services for free.

5. ForSaleByOwner.com: Fee for a listing is $89.95 a month or a flat fee of $199 to be listed until your property is sold.

There are more websites, but you get the general idea of what is out there. If you are planning on selling your home, I recommend you go through the same research I did and list on as many free websites as possible. If you hit it and sell your home, you will only have more money in your pocket in the end.

Social media has the potential to bring about dramatic improvements in your SEO efforts. However, it is important to understand how activities on social channels can have an impact on your ranking. Search engines use links shared on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, etc. as ranking signal. One important thing to consider at this point is that social media is not a direct ranking factor.

Increasing number of people are carrying out more and more of their daily communication on the internet, particularly social media which is a great way of sharing and obtaining information. People love to consume interesting content on social media. If you create amazing content and share it on relevant social platforms, it is likely to get popular. As a result, your rankings will experience a boost. Following are 3 of the ways social media can help you with your SEO efforts:

1. Generate links

First of all, you must create and post shareable and engaging content on platforms relevant to your industry. The more share you generate on social media, the more likely that people will see your content and link to it. Few years ago, marketers took it as granted that Facebook shares were a great ranking signal and, therefore, they put considerable emphasis on generating more and more shares. It was not really the number of shares that search engines took as indirect ranking factor, but the links that Facebook shares can generate. Which means you need to focus on creating high-quality content and sharing it on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. to get links from other websites.

2. Build presence

In today’s competitive environment, it is crucial to not only produce great products but also market them in an effective manner. As a business manager, you must stay proactive and reach your audience wherever they are in the world. You can’t find a better place than Facebook where you can have the chance to connect with 2 billion active users. Build your audience through social media marketing and earn customers trust. Social media helps you promote your brand and get it in front of potential customers who wouldn’t have otherwise found you. Once you earn more share of clicks in Google from a rapidly growing audience, you will be ranked higher.

3. Make good use of YouTube

We know YouTube is the second most-searched search engine where people can find plenty of incredible content and solutions to their problems. If used properly, YouTube marketing can have a positive impact on your SEO performance. If you create enticing content to promote your brand, it can leads to more links, just like Facebook. Videos can rank organically in search. The best technique is to create how-to videos that can help your audience solve problems.

Google+ is also a very useful platform where posts are ranked almost instantly. People who are logged in to Google+ receive personalized Google results.

To make a real difference to your existing ranking in SERPs, you have to create a sound social media marketing strategy while focus on creating great content.

Investing in real estate is a very lucrative business. Analyzing the property market where you are going to invest your money is very important. Despite what many people believe, becoming a real estate investor can help you earn huge profits. As long as you go about the business the right way, you can reap huge rewards and achieve the goals that you have set for yourself.

However, as with every great business opportunities, there are some difficulties to overcome in order to be a successful investor.

Research is the most important thing when it comes to investing in real estate. Good research always plays a vital role in property investment. With the advent of technology today, it is not as time-consuming as it used to be. There are several websites available on the internet that helps a great deal in finding a suitable property, location as well as reasons to invest in it. Take your time to conduct the research and search for the best location. Check for the specifics of the region you are considering to invest in. Analyze the buyers, sellers, rental, and investor in the area. If need be, contact the property agents of that particular location through any means possible and send them quires to find out any question you have about buying, selling and renting of any property in that area. These things may give you enough knowledge about investing in real estate in that particular area. Ultimately, you will be able to get a full picture property business in that region.

Below are things you need to know about an area before considering investing in property in that region.
• Population,
• Tax and ownership law,
• Buyer and Sellers of that particular region,
• Temperature and Environment,
• Future projects and Developments,
• Rents of property,
• Management cost,
• Insurance policy,and
• Tourism Industry.

These are some basic things that must be considered before buying property in any region. These things may help to reduce your risk and give you handsome return on your investment. Aside from all of these, you may need to enlist the service of a professional property agent that has the full knowledge of that particular area. This might be necessary because when you are going to buy any property, there are some legal agreements and contracts that you may need to sign. To avoid running into crisis in the process, a professional help is a good option for you. In addition to helping you find a very profitable property, the professional real estate agent will also guide you in making the best choices that will be favorable for you. Also, whenever you want to sell or rent out your property, the help of a professional will ensure that you get a great return on your investment.

All in all, when you educate yourself about the latest market trends and learn various hints and tips on being a real estate investor, you are on your way to success. This will help you break through all the hurdles and ensure your survival in the competitive but lucrative real estate.

I was having lunch with a realtor friend of mine recently and I asked her how her business was going. We live in South Florida where everyone seems to have their real estate license and the real estate market has been in the tank for it seems forever. Plus, I knew that she worked for a small real estate firm. Her reply to me was “The internet is a great equalizer”. She told me that she is leveraging social media to connect with customers through a personal blog, Facebook and Twitter.

What was interesting to me is that she knows that the little agent on the corner is just as capable of selling your house as the large brokerage firm with the big name. She decided to create her own website where she would brand herself as a successful realtor in her niche market, which is waterfront property.

I could see she is completely correct on this approach. The future belongs to the little agent because in a bad economy they are particularly hungry to make commissions and will be more creative and innovative in order to survive. Certainly the large brokers can outspend them, but social media is free advertising especially once their website is created. Large brokers are like most large corporations – it takes a committee to decide anything and forever for an approval to launch a marketing campaign. In the meantime, these smaller real estate agents are finding ways to connect to their prospects and brand themselves as the expert for selling homes.

I read an NAR report that said 76% of people who decide to sell their home with the assistance of a real estate agent will interview only one agent for the job. So, how can you be the one agent that everyone is looking for? If you have succeeded at positioning yourself as the realtor of choice, you will be the person that they think of to call. By branding yourself correctly, you can create that perception that you are their only option – the only agent – that will sell their home.

What Consumers Want from a Real Estate Agent

Home buying decisions are no different than the sales process for other services that we buy from a professional. By that, I mean we want to work with someone that is trustworthy, honest, has a good reputation and that can deliver the sale. Buyers will also listen to recommendations from others on their experience with that person or company.

Today’s shoppers are much savvier due to the internet and they demand to work with someone at the top of their game. They do not really care about the name of the brokerage because they want a person to work with that will be enthusiastic, provide great service and be a resources for them, on top of finding them a home or selling one. People do not do business with a brand name, they do business with people.

As much as 80% of homebuyers use the internet to find both agents and homes. How are they going to find you if your only presence is on your brokerage site? The smart real estate agents have quickly figured out that if they brand their name and their expertise, this will help them be the realtor of choice and generate leads.

Steps to Create Your Brand as a Real Estate Agent

Step 1: Determine where your primary focus is i.e. retiree home sales, waterfront, commercial property, families and create your brand around that. As with any top salesperson, target marketing leads to greater results because you get quickly noted as the expert in that particular area.

Step 2: Create a slogan to go along with it that can be used on a website or promotional materials.

Step 3: Put into action a marketing plan to build this credibility that you are the best, regardless of market conditions.

Step 4: Branding is everything you stand for, meaning your promise to your customers.

Step 5: Match your image to your brand. If you are in the luxury market, then you must mirror that community.

Taking Your Brand Online

My friend had told me that the single most important thing that she had done was to get a website where she could write articles and provide information for her prospects and send to her mailing list. She wanted to be forefront in their minds that she is an expert and would be someone that they can highly recommend. By having a website it gave her friends a place to send any referral where she could be “checked out” before contacting her.

Her blog contains many resources other than the MLS property search for a visitor to her site. She has a mortgage calculator, home value estimator, school searcher and other tools all in one place. Additionally, she provides community information, success stories and generates a real connection with her brand. People can connect with her on Facebook and Twitter or provide their email address for her white paper on a latest home buying topic.

She has also added her personal website to her brokerage business card and added it to her email signature. My next article will discuss building your realtor blog in more depth by providing some creative ideas to drive people to your site. Facebook and Twitter are also important tools to be used, but her website is her home base where she wants to drive her customers to so that they can see that she is at the top of her game.

A perfect solution for you to begin this process is with a product called My Branding System. This is an easy step by step system that helps you build an attractive site to personally brand you. It comes with enhanced features for realtors, but also incorporates many features that other systems may not have.

Please contact me for further information on how we can create your brand as the best real estate agent in your area. Now that social media has become mainstream, it is very important for real estate agents to learn how to market themselves online, in addition to offline. Otherwise, their competition will take that position as the expert in their marketplace.