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Get more real estate leads with killer call to actions on your blog and web
2008-06-07 07:53:00
A real estate blog or website without well crafted and placed calls to action will simply fail. A call to action is simply that single offer on your page that gets your visitors to convert from a casual reader into a contact by clicking on and filling out one of your lead generation forms. BONUS: RSS Pieces and 1ParkPlace have teamed up to provide you with complete sets of high quality, graphically relevant and SEOed call to action buttons you can use for free on your real estate blog or website. Each button is already SEOed with high quality, universal, real estate related "alt" and "title" descriptive text- all you do is copy and paste these buttons to your site and add the link to your lead gens! See our real estate button sets here. Sample:   What makes a good real estate call to action? 1. Invaluable Offer. The call to action HAS to offer some value to the visitor. That means that you must have lead generators connected to tools that truly have some fun...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Blog , Leads , Killer

High PR sites, EDUs, Directories, still a link builders best friend accordi
2008-06-04 05:06:00
So, I recently got called a black hatter for encouraging people to start their link building efforts out at directories, high PR sites and .edu sites instead of what many other industry pundits recommend.  Well, surprise, surprise... a whole panel of SEOs at one of the biggest SEM conferences out there (SMX) are on my side of the fence (could it be because I stay up to date on what SEO/SEM industry people say?).  So, imagine my shock when I found out my advice was well researched and not, indeed, black hat...  That was what sarcasm looks like on the web, for those of you playing along at home. Read also: Is Mary McKnight a Black Hat SEO? SMX is one of the biggest Search Engine Marketing conferences with events in many major cities across the world.  This event particular is SMX Advanced (Advanced means this info is from Big Boys for Big Boys) and is being held in Seattle as I type... OK, right now all the leading SEOs are out buying each other beer and laughing ...
More About: Builders , Sites , Link , Friend , Directories

How to make neighborhood maps for your real estate blog
2008-06-02 16:44:00
Alright, Ines has finally agreed to come back and post on RSS Pieces (we all recall the Great Trackback Debacle of 2008).  And this time, she is giving up the goods on how she creates those fabulous Maps on her category pages!  I get asked how she does them about 20 times every week... and the worst part is... I had no idea until now!  So, without further ado... See a map in action: Miami Beach Neighborhood Map How to make Ines' famous Miamism Maps So Mary likes my neighborhood maps and I have gotten bombarded by calls and e-mails asking me how to make them.  I don't know whether to thank Mary for the compliment or have her treat me to mojitos the next time she visits Miami.  (hmmm....not a bad idea) So a tutorial was in place - it really is pretty simple and I don't mind at all if you contact me if you still have questions.  Here are the step-by-step instructions: Go to Google Maps at http://maps.google.com/ and if you don't already have a Google...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Blog , Blog Marketing

June 2: Real Estate Blog Training Schedule
2008-06-01 23:40:00
LOGIN AS A PANELIST TO TALK Monday 2 PM EST: Blogging Training Join me for a 45 minute real estate blog training seminar.  Learn how to write focused scan-able and engaging content that both readers and search engines will come back for.  This course focuses on proven SEO copywriting techniques and provides a system for writing blog posts in 30 minutes or less. Register to Attend this Meeting Today: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webina r/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl Webinar ID: 888279978 GoToWebinar Conference Call Service: Panelist: (616) 883-8033, access code 666-545-884 Attendee: (616) 883-8055, access code 350-307-424 Webinar Password: Not required   Tuesday 2 PM EST: SEO Training Join me for a 45-minute SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Seminar.  Learn how to optimize your real estate blog for better placement in Google.  This seminar focuses on basic on-page and off-page optimization techniques tha...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , June , Schedule

Reputation Management: Using the best tools to build and monitor your onlin
2008-06-01 05:29:00
Real Estate Bloggers are online to do business. We build our identity and reputation through our blogs, our online profiles and all of the networks we belong and contribute to. Some of us enterprising (especially me because I do not have a filter between my brain and keyboard) bloggers realized a while ago we need to monitor ourselves, our companies, our brands and even other bloggers and started using Google Alerts which notified us when specific terms are mentioned. What is online reputation management? Online reputation management is a developing field that encompasses public relations and search engine optimization to ensure that positive information about you, your company and or brands filters to the top of the search engines while negative information is pushed backwards in search results. Why is reputation management important to real estate bloggers? What would happen to your business if one of your competitors started bashing you online and their posts started showing ...
More About: Tools , Management , Monitor , Build , Reputation

5 tools that will make your real estate blog posts better
2008-05-30 18:58:00
We all like things that make making posts easier and giving them a little more life. SO, here are my top 5 pics on how you can spice up your blog posts quickly, easily and without much tech savvy. 1. Slide.com Slide.com is a free online slide show creator that allows you to upload photos and automatically create cool slideshows with various transition effects. I created this slideshow in less than 3 minutes. Yes, I timed myself. It then allows you to share the slideshow, upload it to yoru MySpace account or use widget code to post it to your persoanl blog!   Check out how Laurie Manny used this tool on her new real estate blog: Spinnaker Bay Real Estate Side Show 2. CommunityWalk.com This tool makes it super simple to build interactive custom maps you can embed on your blog. Maps take about less than 6 minutes to build. Check out how Mary pope Handy placed similar community maps on her site. San Jose Real Estate Map Read more »
More About: Tools , Blog

How to determine how much search traffic your real estate blog should get f
2008-05-30 03:45:00
Alright, I get asked all the time, how much traffic you can expect from a search engine to your real estate blog for any one keyword. Why? It's pretty simple- you want to knwo what keywords to target and exactly how valuable they will be to you in terms of traffic and eventual conversion.  I write a lot about SEO, but what I don't write about a lot are the results people get by using simple search engine optimization techniques.  ROI on SEO is very easy to measure.  You measure it in terms of positioning in Google for your prime terms and on the increase in traffic.  And, by virtue of those two simple things you WILL see more leads and if you are a good Realtor you will be able to convert those leads into dollars. The key factor in determining how much traffic to expect for any given term is to first determine which terms you want to target! Read also: how to determine which keywords you should rank for in Google. Read also: Things Losers Say: SEO doesn't ma...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Traffic , Search , Blog

Real Estate Blogger of the Month | Dayton OH Realtor | Mark Ryan
2008-05-29 03:52:00
REBlogGirl: So, let's start this out with a little background on you and your blog. How long have you been in the real estate industry? About 6 years total... I started in the mortgage business and moved into real estate sales as I enjoyed working with home buyers much more than just refinance customers. About 5 years now as a Real tor and just got my brokers license last year. REBlogGirl: And when did you start blogging? Where are your various blogs? Now I have the www.DiggingUpDayton.com RSS pieces blog as my my main blog, the AR blog, and a few other niche blogs on wordpress and Realtor.com that I am toying with... REBlogGirl: We hear a lot about how important it is to stick to real estate topics when writing a blog. You do this very well and I can see from your search statistics you get plenty of short tail and real estate/mortgage related search traffic. How do you and Laura come up with all these great post ideas? (#1 in Google for Dayton housing market (http://www.g...
More About: Blogger , Estate , Real Estate

Week of May 27: Real Estate Blog Training Schedule
2008-05-27 01:07:00
LOGIN AS A PANELIST TO TALK Tuesday 1 PM: Blog ging Training Join me for a 45 minute real estate blog training seminar.  Learn how to write focused scan-able and engaging content that both readers and search engines will come back for.  This course focuses on proven SEO copywriting techniques and provides a system for writing blog posts in 30 minutes or less. Register to Attend this Meeting Today: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webina r/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl Webinar ID: 477916194 GoToWebinar Conference Call Service: United States Panelist: (641) 715-3399, access code 481-104-872 Attendee: (641) 715-3222, access code 428-989-624   Wednesday1 PM: Blogging Training Join me for a 45-minute SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Seminar.  Learn how to optimize your real estate blog for better placement in Google.  This seminar focuses on basic on-page and off-page optimization techniques that will help your blog place ...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Schedule

The Memorial Day 2008 Super Meme
2008-05-26 07:32:00
There are two me-s in meme because it's all about me. Meme 's are the perfect way to let other bloggers know about you, let your audience know about you and get to know and relate to other bloggers, expand your network and watch your sphere of influence expand outwards. If you ever posed the question to yourself, "how many degrees are between me and Kevin Bacon?" this is the way to find out. I am asking 8 questions because when tipped over the number 8 is the infinity symbol and that is totally geeky and 8 is my favorite number and it is 2008 . Oh, how the stars have aligned! Last year's meme: What you don't know about Mary McKnight could fill a book So, without further ado, get to know me and see who I know: 1. Who is your favorite musical artist? (post a youtube video) Stevie Nicks - we're talking full-on cocaine addicted Fleetwood Mac Mirage era, Stevie Nicks here!  And don't think I didn't look for one of the videos where Lndsay Buckingham kicked her on s...
More About: Super , Memorial Day , Memorial

Is Mary McKnight a Black Hat SEO?
2008-05-25 03:21:00
My rant on why everyone should have a basic understanding of what white, gray and black hat SEO can and should be used for. So, every once in a while I get a comment or a cluster of comments (suspiciously from the same IP yet registered to different emails and domains, hmmm... how diabolical of you) where I get told I don't know what I am talking about or I am a black hat SEO and give black hat (I guess this is the code for "bad") advice. Let's set the record straight here. I am an active member of a number of black hat forums. I practice and experiment with all forms of SEO which includes black hat techniques. Why? Because in order to speak with any authority on the overall subject of SEO, shouldn't I know how to practice and apply each discipline within the study? You don't go to medical school and say "I will read the books but not cut the cadaver" or "I know this is about the whole body but I'm not interested in learning about the anus - I ju...
More About: Black , Mary , Black Hat

Congratulations: You have won a real estate blog
2008-05-21 08:37:00
As promised, somebody (actually, two bodies) won real estate blogs!  Thanks to my lovely assistant, Brian Brady, AZ Realtor, Patrick Mahony won a brand spankin' new blog with the 1parkplace tool at Uncahined today. Patrick Mahony of Arizona Real Estate Television www.azre.tv Not to let online entries go unrecognized, we also selected another entrant for a blog!  So, Todd Endlich will also be getting a blog and lead generation solution! Todd Endlich of Redondo Beach, Keller Williams Realty www.gototodd.com Congratulations boys, you are now among the RSS fold!  A special Thank you needs to be given to Greg Swann, Kathleen Collins and Brian Brady for Organizing the Unchained event and really bringin us one hell of a conference.  Packed with information that had me (a real estate retard) taking notes, this event is sure to grow and challenge the big boys.  The cast of characters included David Gibbons (Zillow), Louis Cammarosano (Homegain), Glenn Kellman (RedFin), Laurie Manny (Long ...
More About: A Real Estate , Real Estate , Blog , Blog Marketing

Unchained: The technology and real estate business un-conference
2008-05-19 20:21:00
Yesterday morning, I had the pleasure of speaking at Unchained in the morning. Here are some hilights of my blogging and SEO session where I talk about blogging with purpose, building high quality backlinks, show attendees how analyze the SEO of their websites and discuss the value of map based searches for IDX and lead generation.
More About: Business , Technology , Estate , Real Estate , Real

2 Big Blogs Launch: Russell Shaw and 1parkplace
2008-05-16 04:55:00
OK, so I never make blog announcements but these two are extremely cool. We are welcoming the blogs for 1parkplace and Russell Shaw and announcing the approval of 1parkplace for offering it's IDX search and lead generation solution to the ARMLS. Real Estate Lead Generation Blog: Steve Hundley The first is that of Steve Hundley, CEO of 1parkplace.  For those of you that don't yet know just how much I love the 1parkplace IDX search and lead generation solution, just talk to our clients using it- Laurie is generating between 5-30 leads per day, Ines, Mariana, Teri and others are also raking in leads daily. Most of you may also know that we have had a very strong relationship with 1parkplace and exclusively offer their RSS feeds through our blogging platform.  Steve is a newbie blogger- so be gentle and give him encouragement.  He's a fast learner and is happy to share what he knows- so if you have questions- go to his blog and ask away.  Or, better yet- register for a webinar - hi...
More About: Blogs , Blog Marketing , Launch , Russell Shaw

Enter to win a free high end real estate blog from RSS Pieces and 1parkplac
2008-05-13 04:03:00
RSS Pieces and 1parkplace are offering a sneak peek at our latest collaborative product - a high-end customizable template blog called 1-2-3.  These feature rich blog teamplates can be customized and setup within hours so you can be live faster!  All you supply are your logo, area images and your lead generators like 1parkplace.  So, what is the sneak peak?  Just click on the image below and check out the fully functional template we are offering as the raffle prize at Unchained: This high-end custom blog design is being offered with the 1parkplace tools in available markets to anyone who enters the raffle.  This blog design represents the first version of our 1-2-3 product, where you choose the color, the slideshow images and your logo on one of our 10 template designs.  Other designs will be unveiled on July 1, 2008 and are available for $999 setup and $20/mo hosting. This above blog is being raffled off at the Unchained Event in Phoenix AZ on May 20th.   Simply fill out this ...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Free , Blog , Blog Marketing

Backlink Building Lab: Top 30 Free Backlinks for May 2008 for Real Estate B
2008-05-09 02:05:00
Yeah, yeah, yeah - backlinks are important- the more high quality backlinks you have- the more Google trusts you. So, here is a quick list of sites you can submit to, list yourself in or comment on that will help to boost your real estate blogs rankings in the SERPs and build trust with Google. Every month I will give you 30 more backlink ideas. All sites I will provide will be free and non reciprocal backlinks unless otherwise noted.  Why didnt I include any blogs?  Simple, it is looking more and more like Google is discounting blog with an unnatural amount of incoming links form other blogs, so were going to stay away from that unless they have a huge PR and they dont have the no-follow tag turned on. Read also: Ultimate guide to building backlinks Resource: List of Do Follow Blogs to Comment on Read more »
More About: Building , Estate , Real Estate , Backlinks , Free

Social Networking Tool of the Month: Social Poster
2008-05-08 01:10:00
Got a real estate blog post that rocks the Kasbah and you want to post it to all the top social networks and news aggregators?  Then you need to check out Social Poster .  All you do, is enter in your logins and passwords for your profile at the social sites you are a member of and then put your post url, title, descriptive text and tags in and viola- your post is populated across the wild wild web.  Now, should you post every article you pen to this tool?  NO! By posting every article you can get seen as a spammer and devalue your profile on the various networks, so when selecting posts to scatter to the web, choose only your best and ones that will be applicable to the national market not just your little corner of the world.  That way you will build the value of your profile by only sending high quality content and increase the likelihood that your posts will do well on those networks.  The key to getting lots of ‘Diggs’ or other types ...
More About: Social Networking , Networking , Tool

HomeGain Introduces Real Estate Agent Blogs, Max Goes Ape
2008-05-03 20:58:00
Real Estate Leads company, HomeGain, introduces the HomeGain Agent Blogs while company front man, Maxs life is spinning out of control.  Homegains agent blogs are an interesting breed.  I am inclined to agree with Greg Swans observation that blogs that focus on getting agents to connect with consumers through real estate focused content so they can generate more leads themselves is a wise move.  The product is a value add to HomeGains primary lead services. Read also:HomeGain.com adds a weblogging platform for its clients In the wake of this very public launch, Max, HomeGains front monkey started throwing around his celebrity status.  Little birds have seeded the idea that friends and family are planning an intervention to help the troubled star kick his all consuming banana pulp addiction. Read More: about the HomeGain Agent Blogs: press release and blog post.
More About: Real Estate , Real Estate Agent

Generate More Real Estate Leads from your Blog with RSS Pieces Custom Form
2008-05-02 18:31:00
RSS Pieces introduces a native form builder in our real estate blog platform. Every real estate and mortgage business has different outlooks on what type of information they want to collect from their website visitors, so, we built a fully customizable form builder right into the back end of our system so you can start generating more real estate leads with completely customizable data collection. This system is so simple, you can build a 20 field form in under 10 minutes.  All you need to know is how to click a mouse and the type of data you want to collect.  Just check out the tutorial at the bottom of this post.  This is a standard feature of every RSS Pieces blog. Who is using RSS Pieces Custom Form Builder to generate more real estate leads? Jeff Belonger, FHA Loan Officer Jeff is using the form builder to collect basic loan application information. His form which has over 20 fields took less than 10 minutes to build. John Carr, Toronto Real Estate Profession...
More About: Services , Real Estate , Blog , Leads

How to put your real estate blog on the First Page of Google and go from a
2008-05-01 03:12:00
Its a sensational title, isnt it? It is also now a fact, one Realtor, Cyndee Haydon of Clearwater Beach Real Estate , armed with only rudimentary white hat SEO information and an unparalleled dedication to success, took a brand new blog to the top of Google and a Page Rank 5 in less than 3 months. The good news is, her success can be replicated. In February, Cyndee moved a version of her WordPress blog to the RSS Pieces Real Estate Blog platform after the WordPress version fell out of the search engines for many prime terms due to some structual faults and an ill configured plugin. Clearwater Beach Real Estate Blog Statistics First Page Placement: Clearwater Real Estate Indexed Pages: 219 Google Links: 58 Yahoo Links: 1,600 .EDU Links: 79 .GOV Links: 1 The Timeline Feb 11, 2008 Purchases a keyword rich domain Feb 12, 2008 www.clearwaterrealestatetampahomes.com goes live February 13, 2008 Import content from WordPress Blog (Cyndee had almost 200 keyword rich real estate focused ...

April 29, 2008: A PageRank Update is Official
2008-04-29 19:34:00
  Sometime around 1AM, Louis Cammarosano of HomeGain emailed me about his website going to a PageRank7.  Shortly after that, my email box flooded with Google Alerts for a PR Update .  Then, the official call¦ How can you tell when Google updates the PageRank toolbar?  Typically, right before a PR update you will notice that Pr at various datacenters fluctuates wildly.  Meaning, some center might report a 0, while others show a much higher PR. Resource:  Check your PageRank at 72 Datacenters Read also: Search Engine Watch Threads Confirming PageRank Update and vbSEO Forum The Winner of Our PageRank Prediction is¦. The nearly dead on, crystal ball wielding loan officer from Dallas, TX, Tom Burris!  Tom has won a 1 month long backlink building campaign beginning May 1, 2008 .   Congrats Tom! Read also: Read also: What is PageRank and when does Google update it? Read also: Guess when the next Google PageRank update will be and win bi...
More About: Pagerank , April , Official

Why commenting for traffic and backlinks to your real estate blog is a wast
2008-04-24 05:21:00
So, I sat on a panel at RETech where we were asked, “How do you build traffic to your real estate website or blog?”  Great question, right?  As I strategically sat in the last seat on the panel, I got to listen as 4 of my peers told an audience of tech savvy Realtors that you build traffic by commenting on other blogs, putting blogrolls on your site and joining social networks. Hmmm… call me crazy, but doesn’t that just garner you a whole lot of other Realtors coming to your site?  Is that really all that useful to you?  Does most of your business come from other Realtor referrals?  Do you relish splitting a commission with another Realtor for a referral fee when you do most of the work?  I know the Realtors we work with very rarely take in referrals so that kind of traffic would be totally useless to them.  Needless to say, my answer to the panel question, as usual, bucked the system:   ”I must be simple, bu...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Traffic , Backlinks , Blog

Week of April 21: Real Estate Blog Training Schedule
2008-04-21 21:22:00
LOGIN AS A PANELIST TO TALK Tuesday 1 PM: SEO Training Join me for a 45-minute SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Seminar.  Learn how to optimize your real estate blog for better placement in Google.  This seminar focuses on basic on-page and off-page optimization techniques that will help your blog place for prime short tail keywords in 90 days or less. Register to Attend this Meeting Today: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webina r/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl Webinar ID: 800645241 GoToWebinar Conference Call Service: United States Panelist: (641) 715-3399, access code 320-710-364 Attendee: (641) 715-3222, access code 304-380-428 Webinar Password: Not required   Wednesday1 PM: Blogging Training Join me for a 45 minute real estate blog training seminar.  Learn how to write focused scan-able and engaging content that both readers and search engines will come back for.  T...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , April , Schedule

Guess when the next Google PageRank update will be and win big bad backlink
2008-04-19 17:08:00
Do you have an inside track at Google ?  Think you know when they will update PageRank?  Then, use your crystal ball and give us a hard date you think Google will next export PageRank to the toolbar and win a 1 month long professional backlink building campaign from our professional SEO staff.  What is PageRank PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual pages value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves ˜important weigh more heavily and help to make other pages ˜important. Read also: Read also: What is PageRank and when does Google update it? Read more »
More About: Pagerank , Google Pagerank , Update , Guess

Use Trust Distance to avoid the Sandbox, Boost Rankings and Basically Spank
2008-04-18 16:00:00
OK. So, on the Internet there are a seed set of sites that have Googles ultimate trust. While I cannot tell you what these sites are, you might be able to assume that sites like the New York Times, USA Today, LA Times, Yahoo, Wikipedia, etc could be among these seed set of sites. The number of these sites out there is probably very low in the low hundreds, but one single link from one of these sites or a link from a site that is less than 3 links away from one of these trusted sites can boost your real estate blog into an implied trust with Google and greatly improve your search engine positions. What is Trust Distance or Trust Rank? Of course, I gotta link out to SEOmoz for the definitive explanation: Whiteboard Friday-Using Trust Rank to Guide Your Link Building from Scott Willoughby on Vimeo. Resource: Whiteboard Friday-Using Trust Rank to Guide Your Link Building   TrustRank is a link analysis technique described in a paper by Yahoo! researchers for semi-autom...
More About: Boost , Avoid , Sandbox

Wake up, real estate bloggers, there is no money in the long tail of search
2008-04-16 17:36:00
I recently had the pleasure of sitting on the panel at RETech and a question about chasing the long tail of search traffic was asked.  It greatly surprised me because chasing the long tail of search traffic has been mostly discredited as a viable means of building transactional readership in the niche blogosphere for the past year.  Since it seems that the RE Net is slightly behind the eight ball here- lets see if I cant lay out the various arguments for why the long tail should not be targeted and instead should just be a bonus result of chasing the short tail. Read also: The myth of the long tail and the true value of blogging What is the long tail theory? Back in 2004 when Chris Anderson came up with the long tail.  He theorized that the future of business is to sell less of more. Collectively, things that are in rather low demand can amount to quite large volumes. So, in the case of Amazon, they would on any given day sell more of all other books combined than th...
More About: Estate , Money , Real Estate , Search , Blog Marketing

How to use Googles Zeitgeist to get more traffic to your mortgage blog or r
2008-04-14 18:05:00
What is Google Zeitgeist ? Google Zeitgeist Pulling together interesting search trends and patterns requires both computing power and human power too. Search statistics are automatically generated based on the billions of searches conducted on Google. With some help from humans, and a pigeon or two when they have time, these statistics and trends make their way from the depths of Google's hard drives to become the Google Zeitgeist findings. What can a mortgage blog use Google Zeitgeist for: As web developers, we use this information to identify topics that have many searches per day so we can craft sites for clients that will perform well in terms of advertising dollars. I can hear you asking "well, what does this have to do with me? I'm a real estate agent or mortgage broker and I have no intention of selling ads on my site." The answer is simple, Zeitgeist also provides year end data on most searched terms from the financial world. This can help you to identify what typ...
More About: Traffic , Blog , Mortgage , Googles

Week of April 14: Real Estate Blog Training Schedule
2008-04-13 17:34:00
LOGIN AS A PANELIST TO TALK Monday 1 PM: SEO Training Join me for a 45-minute SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Seminar.  Learn how to optimize your real estate blog for better placement in Google.  This seminar focuses on basic on-page and off-page optimization techniques that will help your blog place for prime short tail keywords in 90 days or less. Register to Attend this Meeting Today: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/en_US/webina r/island/joinAWebinar.tmpl Webinar ID: 614048179 GoToWebinar Conference Call Service: United States Panelist: (616) 883-8033, access code 282-710-506 Attendee: (616) 883-8055, access code 423-888-445 Webinar Password: Not required   Tuesday1 PM: Blogging Training Join me for a 45 minute real estate blog training seminar.  Learn how to write focused scan-able and engaging content that both readers and search engines will come back for.  This...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , April , Schedule

Should you use a ghost blogger to help build content for your real estate b
2008-04-12 22:28:00
Have you ever considered that your time might be better spent actually interfacing with buyers and sellers or writing offers and contracts than writing on your real estate blog?  Then, you might want to consider hiring a ghost blogger to post for you.  I've spoken blasphemy, right?  I have heard everything from "unethical" to it's "dishonest" to it's "downright brilliant."  I know this is a highly contentious topic in the industry, but the fact is, no matter what you think, it works.  I have 26 highly success agents with 26 highly successful blogs (blogs with Page 1 Google presence and multiple leads generated per day) that have never written a lick of content themselves.  Heck, I'm not even sure they know what their blog looks like.  Some use virtual assistants, some use other agents in their brokerages, some even went out and hired starving students or journalists.  The crux of the matter- they all know blogging works for natural search ...
More About: Blogger , Estate , Ghost , Real Estate , Content

How to use demographics to craft real estate blog posts that target your re
2008-04-10 18:41:00
OK, so you probably won't care a lick about the next couple of pieces I am writing.  But my sociology and marketing muscles need flexing, so here is a resource for those of you that want to understand the differences in home buyers/sellers from a demographics and psychographics standpoint and how you can use that data to craft real estate blog posts that resonate with your market. Have you ever considered if you would write differently if you knew your primary audience was male?  Have you thought if you would take a different approach to your blog if you knew most of your readership was between the ages of 35 and 49?  No?  Well you should.  Knowing the demographics of your primary audience is essential to sculpting content that converts visitors to leads.  For example, if your primary readership is male between the ages of 25 and 34, you might want to consider writing more aggressively, injecting more humor and using more video whereas if your primary ...
More About: Estate , Real Estate , Blog , Craft , Real