Posts tagged: marketing in real estate

For those who are interested in the very popular Wix website builder here is a bit of history on this company. Wix was founded in 2005 and its headquarters are located in New York. Wix website builder does a nice job of standing up against of the many popular website builders out there that are available. Wix has helped in the building of well over eleven million websites at this point in time.

Ease of Use

Wix is very user-friendly platform that even those that are not so computer savvy can use. The very easy drag and drop feature is one of the major advantages of Wix that has made it so popular and easy to use. Building static web pages with Wix is done easily but here is a major advantage with Wix, you can also build using Flash. Using Flash with Wix makes it possible to build beautiful websites with great designs. The advantage of using Flash draws many users including those who want to showcase their photography and artwork. The advantage of being able to use Flash draws in many customers because of the freedom in design and graphics. Many website owners turn to Wix to totally transform their websites to bring in more business to their companies.

Affordable Price

Not only is the Wix website builder very easy to use it is also very affordable. What may website builders are unaware of is that you can use your already existing website with Wix. Wix has a number of packages that you are able to choose from that make it quite affordable. The prices of packages range from about $5 to $20 a month. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish with your website including eCommerce is very affordable and easy to accomplish. Adding affordability with ease of use makes this a certain winner. Coupons are also available to help on the costs, which there is one offered here.

Huge Selection of Templates

One of the drawbacks of other website building programs is that the template selections haven’t been that good. One of the big pros with Wix is that there is a large selection of templates available to choose from. Whether you are building a website for business or just a family website there are over hundreds of templates. For those who do not know how to build a website or just do not want to attempt it, this is a certain stress reducer. All a user has to do is sit and go through the many templates until they find the one that works for their particular taste. Templates are free with no added costs.

Wix has proven to be extremely useful for those who are not technically savvy and want to build a website or spruce up an already existing website with the use of Flash. The one drawback that has been reported is having to upgrade in order to be able to use all of the functions. Overall, the small cost involved is well worth having the ability to use the functions available. For this being the only drawback available there is really not much to not be satisfied with.

What is Astrology?

The prediction of a person’s future (what is going to happen to you) based on a comparison of the zodiacal data for the time of birth with the data from the period under consideration. the configuration of the planets, the sun, and the moon in the sky at a particular moment.

1.Horoscope.com

Horoscope.com is the premier destination for free horoscope content. Offering an extensive selection of free daily, weekly and monthly readings, Horoscope.com is a daily destination for the majority of its ever-growing audience of over 5 million monthly unique visitors. they team of Astrologers hand-craft all of the content on the site, and they are constantly working together to conceptualize exciting new content features.

2.Astrologyzone.com

The latest in astrological trends by Susan Miller, comprehensive, complete, intelligent, and accurate. Your life in 3D: culture, style, romance, money, real estate. Read this month’s horoscope, Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio Virgo, Libra…

3.Ganeshaspeaks.com

Daily Astrology, Free Today’s Horoscope, Love Horoscope, Daily/Today’s Horoscopes GaneshaSpeaks. Get accurate forecasts for all-star/ sun/zodiac signs on love, career and more.

4.Astroyogi.com

Astroyogi.com is recognized as the premier astrology consulting service provider in India. they are a mobile marketplace for astrology and its related advisory services. they help customers hire trusted esoteric professionals for all their astrology needs. they have a team of young.

5.Indianastrologyhoroscope.com

Indianastrologyhoroscope.com was founded with a mission of providing online personalized astrology consultation to each of its customers. To achieve this mission, they have a team of astrologers who are renowned and recognized all over the globe for their knowledge of ancient principles of Vedic astrology.

6.Tarot.com

Tarot.com is the world’s leading Tarot and Astrology website, with more than 4 million members worldwide.

Launched in Portland in 1995, Tarot.com is part of Daily Insight Group (DIG) and Japan’s Zappallas, Inc., which publish a network of popular entertainment websites for horoscopes, Astrology, Numerology, Tarot, and gaming.

7. ClickAstro

Here you can even get a prediction for the next quarter of your life! So they offer the prediction for as long as 25 years from the time you approach them.

They offer a host of free services like – daily horoscope, kundli, love compatibility, marriage horoscope, pachanga prediction, Chinese horoscope, Chinese love compatibility, numerology, daily panchang, feng shui, wealth horoscope and marriage horoscope.

8. Astroved.com

Well, that’s how they like to be known and from what we know, the subscribers of this portal vouch for it as well.

The scope isn’t just restricted to family, love and work… they also have a special programme where they assess students and throw light on their weaknesses and strength.

Further, you can even check on your name change report, birth chart report, birth star report and lots more! It isn’t uncommon to find their email in our inbox.You may have not subscribed to them but then yet you may find them in your mail box asking you to subscribe and at times offering you some free predictions we well.

9. Astrosage.com

The look of the portal is a bit cluttered but then keeping in mind the plethora of services they offer, you can overlook the design dynamics being followed by them.

Headquartered in Noida, they claim to be one of the most authentic astrology online service providers.

10. Astromitra.com

The second part of their name ‘mitra’ suggests a bond of friendship. They claim to be a ‘world of astrology experts’.

From offering live astrology to horary astrology, they also offer – career report, detailed life report, foreign travel astrology and education horoscopeThe free services include – free Vedic birth chart calculator, daily horoscope prediction by date of birth, monthly horoscope, moon sign horoscope and weekly horoscopes.

They also have an online store where you can buy gemstones, authentic rudraksha and report on numerology name business correction.

11. Astroyogi.com

From offering Tarot Card reading to Feng Shui guidance, Astryogi is a one-stop solution for any field of astrology you are comfortable with.

They specialize in Vedic Astrology as well. An amazing feature that caught our attention here was their service on Palm Reading.

Who are you going to believe about how the flat fee MLS industry works?

There are four “business models” offering flat fee MLS listings in Florida:

1) National Website: They are not licensed in Florida but collect money and then refer you to a Florida discount real estate broker-who gets a portion of the fees collected. National websites are competent business enterprises that usually have a real estate broker’s license in one state but not in all states.

2) Florida part-time amateur flat fee website: There must be 70 or so of these “websites” in Florida. They are licensed real estate brokers that do flat fee listings part-time or are testing the waters to see if they can make a few bucks at flat fee.

3) Florida broker that is masquerading as flat fee: They seem like flat fee but their business model is not consumer friendly and I see their business practices as questionable. They may or do take your buyer leads from Realtor.com and other sources for their own agents; or possibly charge a cancellation fee as high as $500; or hold your listing hostage until you pay up ($500) by only “conditionally” withdrawing your listing from the MLS if you attempt to cancel and move to a full-service agent – your listing will be trapped in this “conditional” status until you pay the ransom of $500.

4) Florida licensed flat fee MLS broker that is established, trusted, transparent and paperless, specializes in Internet marketing and offers real customer support.
(Note: There is more than one trusted MLS flat fee firm in Florida but there are also plenty of firms that do fall into the # 2 and #3 categories above as well.)

Flat fee MLS requires more than simply inputting a listing into a local MLS…

1) Flat fee MLS sellers in Florida are 100% driven by control. They want their MLS listing correct at all times.

2) Third party websites such as Realtor.com, local MLS systems and IDX feeds to local real estate brokerage firms must be monitored constantly because listings do fall out of these systems. Technical glitches happen frequently.

3) Sellers make adjustments to their listing such as pictures, price, commission and their property descriptions. There are needed forms such as mold, lead-based paint and property disclosures.

4) The Florida Flat fee MLS broker is charged with the responsibility of buyer lead capture, agent showing requests, Internet marketing, trouble shooting, customer service, negotiating, editing and peace making. Flat Fee MLS brokers must be prepared to dedicate their time and energy.

Flat Fee MLS brokers must be prepared to dedicate their time and energy…

1) Taking $200 bucks and throwing a listing into the MLS as an afterthought is not what flat fee should be about. There are more moving parts that make up a “real” flat fee MLS company than one can imagine. For example: Last week, Orlando Regional MLS just took over Venice Board of Realtors. When they did this conversion, it knocked out 53 Realtor.com “showcased” properties from Mid-Florida Regional (Orlando area). It occurred on a Thursday evening and took the resources of the vice-president of Mid-Florida Regional and the Director of Operations and many phone calls to straighten out the major glitch.

2) Amateur or part-time flat fee MLS “website” operators might not have the resources or experience to deal with such matters.

3) The flat rate MLS broker must be prepared to back up the customer with support and market effectively on the Internet.

4) If the MLS discount broker requests that you print out forms, fill them out and fax back, this means they have put no thought or investment into on-line automation. This means listing changes, edit, status changes will all be fax this-fax that….back to caveman days.

What to look out for before you list flat fee

1) If the flat fee MLS “website” does not display the “listing agreement”, that should be a warning.

2) Carefully read the listing agreement “beginning-to-end” before you give any flat fee company money whether a National or a Florida based service.

3) Understand the process and policy about how buyer leads from Realtor.com and other sources get to you, the seller, if at all.

4) Realize that many calls do go to the flat fee broker. As many as 70 calls a day can come into a flat fee MLS broker. Miss one, that could be your sale.

5) Consider and verify what the hours are for the flat fee MLS service.

6) Flat fee websites that offer just one marketing option are really just a “website.” There are many marketing approaches besides just a basic MLS listing. What about marketing directly to Realtors®. For example, if a seller wishes to offer a 4% buyer’s agent commission, does the flat fee service provide a way to promote this higher than average commission? Some flat fee services do offer a Realtor eblast program which sends about 12,000 or so emails to all Ft Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville real estate agent every 15 days. This is an effective marketing approach and Realtors do respond.

7) Flat fee sellers should think about contract representation. Contract-to-close flat fee programs help get the deal done faster. Having a seasoned real estate professional handle the contract negotiations results in a smoother transaction for the seller, as well, possibly netting a higher sale. One of the trickiest parts of negotiations is the possible- subsequent re-negotiations after the inspection. Negotiating an inspection report does mean re-roofing the house because some inspector or Realtor® says the roof is at the end of its “useful” life. There is an art to getting the buyer’s agent, the buyer and the seller on the same page. As well, there are some important nuances that do help get more Realtor® showings such as allowing the flat fee broker to schedule showings (more professional), using an Exclusive Right of Sale (not Exclusive Agency Listing Agreement) and use a professional looking metal sign.

How to flat fee list in Florida and stay out of trouble

1) Read the listing agreement.

2) Call the flat fee service and ask how they handle buyer leads.

3) Call and verify the hours of operation.

4) Ask if there any penalties or conditions if you cancel the listing.

5) Ask if the listing company will “unconditionally “withdraw your listing from the MLS if you choose to cancel and go with a full-service agent.

I want to introduce several resources where a real estate investor or property owner can determine what rent you can charge for your investment property. The three most popular websites available for this purpose are Zillow.com, Rentometer.com, and Craig’s List.

Zillow is the most popular and respected so we will start there. Go to Zillow.com and put in the address of your property and then click “search”. Click on the word “rent” or “Zestimate”, both will give you rent estimates. The word Zestimate (rent estimate by Zillow) should pop up with the rental amount and the range Zillow thinks the property may rent for.

We know Zillow is not perfect. Zillow uses computer models and they are basing their rent Zestimate upon averages in the area that have similar characteristics of your property, i.e. square footage, similar number of beds, bathrooms, etc. Again, no computer model will be perfect but generally Zillow is accurate. You will need to be realistic about the property and observe its characteristics. If your house is a multi-unit building or if your house is somehow different than every other property in the neighborhood, the Zestimate may not be accurate.

The second site is rentometer.com. Once on the site you enter the property address. In this site they ask for how many bedrooms are in the property. You can also provide other information that could make the rent estimate more accurate. Once you have entered all information click “submit”. The site will give you a similar analysis to Zillow and a range they think the rent may fall in.

Another good way to get rent comparable is Craig’s List. Craig’s List has had issues in the past involving scammers and fraud. But as far as determining rental amounts it is fairly accurate. On this site, you would perform a slightly different search. You would go on Craig’s List for your area and go to “Apt/Houses” section and type in your town. Or, if it’s a development, you might type in the development name. You then enter the number of bedrooms and/or bathrooms. At that point many house or apartments will appear in your search for rent. You then need to review them and see if any of them are similar and look like your property so that you are comparing apples to apples.

Keep in mind these are estimates and you will have to test the market to really know what your property can rent for per month. We do not recommend that you try to “go high” and figure you can negotiate down. This rarely works to in today environment. Generally, if you over price your property hoping to get more rent it will just get ignored and you will not get any traffic or potential renters.

I better strategy is to use the above resources to get a close estimate of your property will rent for and then price your property slightly lower. This should attract a lot more tariff and may be result in a quick move in versus over pricing and the property sitting vacant for weeks or months.

Best sites will give you best results and for that we have one of the best leading site nashville-backpage.com. It is the site which have more than solution to all your problems, it can be anything either it may be related to searching a good restaurant or promoting your ads or related to real estate it can be anything you will get here on the sites like backpage.

An alternative to backpage is the site which will take less and give more, it means it costs very less for any kind of promotion.This is the site for those who wants reach through millions of people around the world for there business to grow more and more. with the help of sites like backpage things became more easy and reachable to many people it can be any thing like the job listing, property rentals, electronics for sale, jewelry or clothes on rent, etc.

People who want to buy or sell and searching for the sites to promote their advertisements with the very low cost they can visit to the site like backpage, now you can place your ads within fractions of second with very low cost with this.

Bedpage-nashville also provided customer service like calling and chatting where you can put your doubts and get the solution.bedpage has unique features compared to other websites. Backpage nashville can serve as many services as you want in your nearest location.Here growing your business is very easy.It is the site where you will get all the services under one roof and you dont have to waste your precious time on finding the best site and sell your busines or bost your site.here customers are treated like they are very important to the buyers,

here they have provided you with the facility of coustomere care service where you can ask or clear your dought and get the imegiate solution.

people have to just see where to post and just bye clicking on one thing they can cell there business to the world.

but as the compition is increasing day bye day so my sugetion to you is just go with the site on which you trust the most and that may be back page brighton.

so hurry up get your busines to the world and make sure that you eren more and more money.

For more details visit:- https://www.nashville-backpage.com

Property taxes are often considered a necessary evil. Most of us do not enjoy paying them, however, we are aware that without these taxes our local government, safety services and schools could not function properly or even at all.

Property taxes are based on the value of your home multiplied by the current tax rate. When you make improvements or additions to your home, your local government can reassess the value of your home and raise your property tax liability accordingly. Likewise, with many property values dropping across the country, property owners have the right to request a property value review called a reassessment. This reassessment can be done by a private firm or by your local government. Often, requesting this service from your local government will cost less or even have no cost.

Due to the recession and weak real estate market many of us received automatic reassessments from our local municipality. Some may have thought this would result in lowered property taxes for the year. Not the case for the majority of us. In order for the town or county to operate they need the revenues from our homes. Therefore, most adjusted the rate up to compensate for the lowered property value. I encourage you all to research this to understand what your financial obligation is.

Before you get started take a look at your current tax appraisal. Check measurements, square footage and any description of number of rooms or whether or not a basement is finished, etc. Make a list of any errors. You should also take a look at your neighbors’ property values. These can often be found online at your county auditor’s website. You can also get a quick idea of these values by visiting sites such as Zillow or Trulia and searching homes in your area. If their values are much lower than yours, that is a good place to begin with appealing your own property tax liability.

When considering requesting a property value reassessment, it is a good idea to consult a real estate attorney who can help you decide if this is a wise choice. A real estate attorney may have already worked on a similar case and have the knowledge and experience to let you know if the end result could be worth the effort.

A real estate attorney can also help you make sure that there are no miscalculations in your current property tax rate and should also be familiar with the property tax appeal process in your area. Working with an attorney who specializes in real estate, such as Felix Nihamin and Associates, can save you from making costly mistakes when considering appealing for lower property taxes.

1. Get pre-approved for a loan.

Most sellers require a pre-approval letter along with your written offer. You should have it ready to go so that when you find the right home there is no delay getting your offer submitted. There’s a lot of confusion about pre-approved vs. pre-qualified… even Realtors sometimes use the terms interchangeably! But the pre-approval is the real deal. With a pre-approval, the lender has run your credit, and you will usually have filled out a loan application and provided documentation to the lender, who will then tell you the amount for which you are approved. With the pre-qualification, you will typically have provided some information verbally to the lender about your credit, income and assets, and the lender will give you a ballpark amount for which you are likely to be approved. Sometimes a pre-qualification letter will be sufficient; the main thing is to talk to a lender before you start looking at homes.

2. Decide if short sales and bank-owned properties are for you.

Don’t waste your time looking at properties that don’t meet your home-buying needs. Each of these types of sales has its own challenges for the home buyer, so it is important to know the basics of each and decide if either one fits in with your game plan. For example, if you need to get into a new home within a fairly short time frame, a short sale may not work for you, as they frequently take many months to complete. And bank-owned properties are often in need of work, which can add to the overall cost, or make it difficult to get certain types of loans. If you can be patient with a short sale, or have the ability and/or resources to fix up a bank-owned home, these could be excellent avenues to explore. If not, tell your Realtor® to skip the short sales and bank-owned houses.

3. Check out neighborhoods ahead of time.

One of the best things you can do at the start of your home-buying project is to take a weekend or two and cruise around various areas and subdivisions, especially if you are new to the area. Tell your Realtor which neighborhoods hold the greatest appeal for you – it will really help her understand the type of home you want and your taste in houses. Some buyers are looking for newer homes in areas with lots of families and kids; others prefer the quieter, “mature” neighborhoods. Fortunately, there’s something out there for everyone, and a real estate agent who has plenty of local area expertise and knowledge will be a huge help in finding those neighborhoods that are hidden gems.

4. Make time for house-hunting.

Don’t plan to only go to showings on the weekend – in this market that’s not a winning strategy. There is actually a shortage of well-priced homes in good condition, and the ones that are also in a desirable location sell almost immediately. If you’re serious about finding your dream home, clear the decks and be ready to jump when your Realtor tells you a new listing just hit the market that fits your requirements. And more importantly – be ready to make an offer if it is the right house. It could easily be gone in a day or two.

5. Don’t waste time on houses that are already sold!

Do you spend your spare time house-hunting on Zillow, Realtor.com or Trulia? Or driving around and calling about houses with signs out front? Then you’ve probably already learned that a huge number of those homes – which appear to be for sale – are not really available. They are very often “under contract” which simply means that another buyer made an offer that was accepted by the seller. These often still show as available on the public real estate websites, but in most cases the sale will close in a few weeks. Work with a Realtor® who will set up a custom search for you so you can focus on just those homes that meet your criteria and are actually still available.

6. And of course, the most important thing is to find a really professional and client-oriented Realtor!

A great agent will make your home buying experience smoother and more enjoyable. Get referrals from friends or family who’ve recently had a good home-buying experience, or call or email a few local agents. See which ones are responsive and return your call or email right away, and get a feel for how professional and knowledgeable they are about the local area and current market conditions. Also check out their commitment to their clients in terms of training above and beyond that needed to get a real estate license. Realtors® who work diligently on behalf of their clients have often invested in advanced training and designations such as:

• GRI – Graduate Realtor Institute, only 19% of Realtors®
• ABR – Accredited Buyer Representative, only 15% of Realtors®
• CRS – Certified Residential Specialist, only 10% of Realtors®

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We hope these tips are helpful, and wish you success in your house-hunting!

When do you start?

As soon as you open your ‘baby blue eyes’ every morning!

“The Easy Part of Property Development is Spending Money” … “Marketing Is What Gets It Back + A Bit More For Profit.”

Anyone can spend money. It takes a good manager to spend it at a predetermined rate in line with a planned ‘cash flow.’

So this topic is very important. People think Development Marketing is all about putting an advert in the paper, designing a brochure and following up the agents … I don’t think so folks!!

Marketing starts before you buy the land.

The location of the land impacts on marketing. Is it a desirable address? Is it in a prestigue location? What market sector of the buying public are you aiming for? Does the site have local prominence? Does the land have quality houses around it?

All of these questions impact on your marketing plan, the home designs you select, the costings and untimate sales prices.

So if marketing starts with the land selection, it logically then goes on to the

design stage. Assuming you don’t want to just copy something you’ve seen another developer has done, you need market knowledge.

You need maket knowledge of the exact standard of product you are competing against in the market now. Remember you won’t be producing yours for another 12 months or so and you’ll want to improve on what is being produced today, so you have a market difference. An ‘Edge.’

Marketing is no more than the presentation of your finished product to the

buying public in the most favourable light, highlighting all the benefits

your home has over the competition.

One kind of marketing style that is a failure as far as I am concerned is the one that is based on the “Numbers Comparison.” I am sure you’ve seen the on site project boards.

Our house has 5 of these, and 6 of those … when that guy’s house only

has 4 of these and 3 of those.

The potential buyer will eventually want to know these things, but “Right Now” they want to know “How They Feel” about living in the place, on your Road, in this neighborhood.

Understand this: People SELL for Money … People BUY with Emotion.

If they don’t feel good in your place, it does not matter if you give then 12 of these and 20 of those … OK?

I have always DEVELOPED and MARKETED on the basis of appealing to the human senses of See – Feel – Touch – Smell & Sound.

I transfer all those into my designs, because I am designing and building for

‘Humans Beings’ and human beings buy with emotions … and if I do my work well, I’ll make a profit.

So as a buyer, if a house looks good when I drive up to inspect it, I am favouable disposed to buy before I open the garden gate.

When my feet touch the pathway/ entrance foyer and see the lovely landscaping my desire to buy is enhanced.

As I enter the house and feel the ambience of the house envelop me I

respond in a positive way to buy, if I feel emotionally comfortable in the space.

When I smell all the new house smells, it translates into ‘fresh’ ‘clean’ ‘new’ and who doesn’t want to buy fresh new things.

When I close the door of the house I enjoy hearing the sound of silence, which is conducive to rest and recuperation after a hard days work.

Think about how you respond to each house you inspect as you go about gaining market knowledge. Do you see, it does not matter how many ‘bibs & bobs’ the place has … if they don’t feel emotionally comfortable in the place, they won’t BUY!

Can you see why this is my number one topic?

So naturally I write about it a great deal in Residential Developmemnt

Made Easy.

So now you have some idea why marketing starts as soon as you open your ‘baby blue eyes’ every morning … marketing is a direct reflection of who you are and how you expresss yourself in creating beautiful livable space FOR HUMAN BEINGS.

The ‘by-product’ happens to be ‘money.’ And if you do it very well,
it happens to be ‘Lots of Money.

CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT – Website Real Estate Needs Unique, High-Quality Content

This article is for anyone who uses the web – I assume that includes you since you are reading this.

Webmasters, website builders, and website owners will learn why the type of content is becoming more important and how to find content that is more than just text.

Website users will learn what types of content are available. You can use this knowledge to evaluate sites and waste less time deciding if a site has what you need. You can also add or recommend some new interactive content tools to your personal, company, or favorite websites.

An Introduction to Content: What exactly IS content?

The short answer to that is – it’s EVERYTHING you see on the web! Each web page IS content that is, itself, made up of different types of content. All content is not written and it’s not created equal. Much content certainly is the written word, but content is taking on many forms on the web these days.

Web 2.0 sites like Squidoo, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, Digg, and Bloglines (to name just a very few) allow users to create, submit and manage their own content. Look at these exciting sites and ask yourself, “What different kinds of content is on here?” You should quickly notice images, photos, video, music, and text to capture and hold your attention. A little deeper look and you’ll probably find articles, ebooks, or RSS feeds.

Have you noticed more and more sites beginning to bring you interactive content? Users don’t necessarily create their own interactive content, rather they use interactive tools on these websites to educate themselves, prequalify themselves, answer their obvious questions, or just have fun. Examples of these interactive tools are online games, online calculators, blogs, maps, journals, voting, and comment boxes. Interactive content is best when it’s colorful, easy to use and engaging while still managing to be useful, helpful and informative.

Website visitors LOVE exciting and high quality content. That’s pretty obvious from the success of some of the sites listed above. What makes high quality content? Users have to have a reason to really like it. That may be because the message it portrays is ease of use, better quality, more relevant, more complete, more fun, more unique – more SOMETHING.

The SEO Dilemma: What is going on with the search engines?

Every website is trying to provide information to people – for different reasons to be sure. Observant website owners know that people want quality information from their sites – not just optimized, keyword laden verbage – and they give it to them.

For many of us, the buzzword SEO (Search Engine Optimization) conjures up this frenzied image of millions of websites competing for page rank and keyword position, which ultimately leads to web traffic and income of some kind. There are books, articles, and companies dedicated to helping you make your site “search engine friendly”. Everyone seems to have advice for how to succeed in this race. Too much focus, however, on high rankings and search position has created huge numbers of unfriendly sites, making it tedious and painfully time-consuming to find even 1 or 2 truly useful sites. Even the most targeted search usually turns up tens of thousands of results. Do these search engine companies really think that’s what we want?

How many searches have you done where the top results are unmaintained sites as evidenced by many broken links, nonworking contact forms and such? Search results are often flooded with misleading descriptions that go nowhere but an ad page or directory listing. (I don’t have anything against directories, just the misleading ads/descriptions that keep taking me there. If it’s a directory TELL me it’s a directory.) Or, worse still, the link takes me to a page full of unorganized links where it’s all but impossible to find anything.

So, how have these dead or ineffective sites floated to the top of the search engine results? A good questions to be sure and I certainly don’t know the answer. They have apparently figured out the SEO formula, but I hate to play that game because I know I’m providing my visitors with quality information. But what good is my high quality site if no one can find it? I believe these search engines want to display the highest quality and most relevant sites, but until they figure out how to evaluate them more effectively, we all have to compromise our standards to please them. A dilemma to be sure!

The Future of Content: What will your site need to stay competitive?

It’s obvious the search engines like Google, Yahoo, and MSN are working to solve this dilemma, but there’s still a ways to go. In the meantime, content will continue to evolve, with new types of content introduced every day. Some of the most popular sites on the web are adding interactive content to get and keep people’s attention.

To remain competitive every site will likely be required to do something unique – offer something different, make it look better, make it better organized, make it more fun – something. If you’re not creating or overhauling your site into a totally web 2.0 site, I believe interactive content is a great way to start. Interactive content is easy to add to your site and can give your visitors the tools they need to prequalify themselves, answer their obvious questions, understand what to expect when they use your service and more.

In the future, it will be even more important that your website be able to quickly establish you or your company as an authority in your field. Interactive tools let people experience your authority through site and touch, not just reading your PhD-sounding articles.

In Conclusion

Hopefully, you are now more aware of the actual types of content you’ve been using and you’ll continue to develop a sense of how these different types of content can be used for different purposes. We’ve discussed the dilemma the search engines have caused site builders. Hopefully in the near future, we can build sites that meet the needs of our visitors and know that if we provide a quality site the search engines will reward us.

For now, we all have to play the search engine game, but let’s give our visitors a reason to stay and return by giving them good quality content. Provide this type of content and your visitors will return again and again, if only to use your useful, interactive tools. In the meantime, your brand and service is being seen over and over (and proudly shared). They’ll be back when they’re ready for your product or service.

It can be hard to decide the best kind of content for your site, but be assured there’s high quality, interactive content out there for everyone who’s looking. Start exploring and good luck!

With many top quality developments now being completed, there has never been a better range of property for sale in North Cyprus, or a better time to invest.

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #1: Do Your Research Online

When considering buying any property in North Cyprus, always research your options online first. Most orth Cyprus property developments have websites complete with glossy site maps and impressive floor plans, which only tell half the story. For the full picture, join a North Cyprus property online forum, where real buyers compare experiences of purchasing at specific developments. You can post questions, or just browse the post titles to see which North Cyprus developers keep their promises, and which don’t! Best of all are the independent North Cyprus web sites that offer independent reviews of developments alongside comments from their forum members.

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #2: Pick Your Area

North Cyprus is a beautiful country with several distinct areas, each with their own particular appeal. If you are buying a home for yourself, decide what you want most; walking distance to a sandy beach, or a mountainside location with views over the sea. The same applies to considering possible rental markets or investment potential; golf tourists will wish to be close to the new course at Esentepe, while couples with young children will prefer to rent a holiday home right next to a beach. Make a short list of one or two areas that interest you, then check your online forums for local insights, such as good schools, top restaurants or problems with water supplies!

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #3: Visit North Cyprus

At this stage, don’t take an inspection trip organized by a developer; you need to be free to follow your instincts. Armed with your short list of areas, spend the first two days simply driving around and getting the feel of the places you are interested in. Drop into the local café for coffee, and chat to the locals. See for yourself which developments are actually busy with residents or workmen, and those that are standing empty or half-finished.

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #4: Estate Agent Days

Visit local estate agents and get details of properties in your chosen areas. Only accept details on properties within your price range and arrange viewings for any properties that tick all the boxes. Follow the estate agent in your own car to any property viewings, so if you don’t like them, you can swiftly move on.

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #5: Understanding TRNC Deeds

You must ensure your property comes with a Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) freehold deed. Due to the division of Cyprus in 1974, these come in four formats;

1. Pre 1974 Turkish Freehold Title, for land or property owned by a Turkish Cypriot before 1974.
2. Pre 1974 Foreign Freehold Title, for land or property owned by a foreign national before 1974. These titles are internationally recognized.
3. TRNC Exchange Title, for land or property given to a Turkish Cypriot in exchange for land and property they owned in south Cyprus before 1974, and have relinquished their rights to.
4. TRNC TMD Title, for land given to Turkish Cypriots for military or government service, or to settlers.

All four titles are acceptable, with the first type commanding around a 30% premium.

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #6: Save Money with ‘Nearly New’

If you want to buy a North Cyprus property you can move straight into, consider resales at recently completed developments. Your property should be already sorted with all utilities, minor snagging issues ironed out, and yet the property should still be in excellent condition. Unlike new build properties, where your money may be tied up for two years with no return, a resale property can be enjoyed or rented out as soon as you get the keys!

North Cyprus Property Top Tip #7: Get Professional Advice

Buying any property is a major financial commitment, so don’t be pressured into signing any agreement. Always employ your own, independent solicitor to advise you and act on your behalf, never one suggested by a property developer. With a complex buying process, new tax laws and various permits to be gained, a good North Cyprus solicitor is well worth the modest fees they charge. Again, online forums are good sources of feedback on reliable firms – and those to avoid.