Baby Name Optimization

Why stop at optimizing your website/business? Today's web-savvy parents are naming their children with SEO principles in mind...

The tips below are excerpted from the (funny) article Baby Name Optimization by David Berkowitz.

Below are ten tips for baby name optimization. Note that while this is tongue-in-cheek, these best practices can be applied to your business. You'd want to research potential business and product names for what listings come up in major search engines, and you'd often be wise to apply many of the baby name optimization tactics that follow.

1) Write a press release the day your baby's born with the baby's name in the headline, and optimize the entire release. As soon as the little one takes its first breath, he or she can even appear in the body of Google's natural search results thanks to universal search.

2) Buy all potential domain name misspellings of your baby's name. If you're blessed with ample foresight or come from an ages-old tradition of arranged marriages, buy versions of the last name of any potential suitor you have in mind. Redirect the names to your baby's main dot-com domain.

3) Film the birth and syndicate it to dozens of video sites. One of those sites will have to be around by the time of your kid's communion or bar mitzvah, right? On your primary domain, optimize the video by tagging every second of it so those clips are accessible to search engine spiders.

4) Blog as if you're the baby. Then, when your kid is old enough to blog, you can hand it over to your child, or you can go on blogging as if you're his or her therapist.

5) Tag your baby.

6) Create a Wikipedia entry for your baby. If it's rejected, claim that one of the parents is Britney Spears, Angelina Jolie, Paris Hilton, David Arquette, Oprah, or all of the above.

7) Googlebomb your baby's domain around the phrase "world's cutest baby," "future Nobel laureate," or "Harvard class of 2025." It reminds me of an old joke, where a parent is asked how old her children are and responds, "The doctor is three and the lawyer is two." The scary thing: some parent is reading this column right now and starting such a Googlebomb.

8) Digg your baby.

9) Be sure to update meta tags every so often, as your kid's prom date would be horrified to see "spitting up" and "potty training" as some of his or her most relevant keywords.

10) Every few years, change your child's name to something new that has less search competition. Though beware... this will bring an entirely new meaning to the phrase "your baby's in the sandbox."

More On Developing Your Niche...

SRES (senior real estate specialist); ABR (accredited buyer representative); commercial properties; new construction; land development; luxury homes; vacation homes and condo/co-op markets....

All of these are common niches that an agent may decide to specialize in. I've written in the past about how to Use Niche Marketing to Increase Your ROI, but here are a few more things that you should do if you are going to focus on a niche market...


1. Acquire all possible accreditations relative to the niche

2. Become a member of, and active in, any groups, societies or organizations, both locally and nationally (internationally,) who cater to the specialty

3. Create professional-looking marketing pieces and an have an Internet presence that articulates your qualifications in the niche of choice

4. Know the folks in your marketplace who are involved in your niche. For example, if your specialty is SRES, you want to introduce yourself to senior centers, assisted living facilities, and attorneys that specialize in estate planning, as well as participate in senior activities, offer relative seminars, etc. Cultivate ongoing relationships in all areas.

5. Network with other real estate professionals within neighboring communities (not necessarily those served by you) who also pursue your niche. There is nothing more powerful than a committed mastermind group to move all members forward.

Based on an article from Broker Agent News

Your Real Estate Humor for the Week

Sometimes I just need to push away from the grind of the computer and laugh a little...I hope you enjoy these as much as I did. Happy Hump Day!



Some Realtor Humor

When they say ___ and what they really mean...

* SOPHISTICATED CITY LIVING - Next to a noisy bar.

* OLD WORLD CHARM - Has some woodwork, needs cleaning.

* CONTEMPORARY FEELING - Has no woodwork, needs cleaning.

* CLOSE TO LAKES - Impossible to park from April to October.

* WIDE OPEN FLOOR PLAN - Previous owner removed supporting walls.

* SECURITY SYSTEM - Neighbor has a dog.

* NEEDS TLC - Major structural damage.

* UPDATED KITCHEN - Sink no longer overflows.

* MOTIVATED SELLER - Has been on the market for 14 years.

* CONVENIENT - Located on freeway entrance ramp.

* MINT - Someone has spilled mouthwash on the carpet.

* NEUTRAL DECOR - No murals of nudes, or Elvis, but has brown walls.

* MOVE IN CONDITION - Front door missing.

* COZY - No room larger than 9 x 6.

* LOWER LEVEL FAMILY ROOM - Ping Pong table over sewer opening.

* LIGHT OPEN SPACES - Many holes in walls and ceiling.

* OUTSTANDING - Painted purple, sticks out like a sore thumb.

* A WEALTH OF PERIOD FEATURES - Yourself, dry rot, rising damp and an electrical circuit best operated in rubber gloves and wellies.

* BOX ROOM - Suitable for accommodating one or two large cardboard boxes ... folded.

* BY PRIVATE TREATY - If it went to auction it would never reach the reserve price.

* COMPACT - Tiny.

* COUNTRY GENTLEMAN'S RESIDENCE - No longer suitable for agricultural tenants.

* DECEPTIVE APPEARANCE - It looks terrible.

* DELIGHTFUL RURAL LOCATION - In flight path of nuclear bomber base.

* EASILY MAINTAINED - Requires at least two gardeners and live-in maid.

* EXTENSIVELY MODERNIZED - Former DIY owner had a breakdown under the strain.

* FOR THE GARDENING ENTHUSIAST - Grounds like a jungle.

* LOCAL AUTHORITY GRANTS AVAILABLE - About to be condemned.

* MUCH SOUGHT AFTER - It's been on the market at least twice before and still no one wants it.

* OWNER EAGER TO SELL - If it goes within a week the subsidence cracks won't be noticed.

* PARTIAL CENTRAL HEATING - The room above the boiler can get warm in summer.

* PERIOD RESIDENCE - Built in the last two years.

* QUIET, SECLUDED SETTING - On site of proposed dormitory town.

* RARE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY - No one else want's it.

* SELECT NEIGHBORHOOD - Beside sewage works.

* SOLD - Unless idiots like you offer a higher price.

* SUBJECT TO NEW INSTRUCTIONS - They have just discovered death watch beetle.

* UNSPOILED - Planning permission granted for field next door.

* UNUSUAL FEATURES - No roof.

* UNUSUAL LOCATION - In the path of a projected motorway.

* USEFUL OUTBUILDINGS - No inside toilet.

* WELL SITUATED - In full view of the neighbors.

* WITHIN EASY DISTANCE OF - Next door to a pub and opposite a sex shop local amenities.

The Keys to Using Internet Marketing to Help Make You Money

By Kim Morlan
Kim’s Tips and Tricks for Real Estate Marketing Online

For most real estate professionals the market has changed dramatically. Several years ago, a simple presence in the field was enough to be successful and earn a good living; but today a much better strategy needs to be utilized, just to stay on the playing field.

The most critical objective of a Real Estate website is to capture the contact information from a visitor so that a pipeline of prospects can be developed.

Additionally, web leads then need to be worked effectively and in a time-sensitive manner, to see a successful ROI.

Building a pipeline begins with attaining contact information (email, phone, what they are looking for/what they are selling). [If you have a traditional direct mail program in place, then a street address is vital as well. While direct mail can still be of value, e-mails can be powerful, better targeted and less expensive.]

For example, by grouping your prospect base into categories (like single family vs. condo buyers or buyers vs. sellers), you can send out e-mails that are tightly aligned with someone's interests. You will experience a much better response rate by segmenting in this manner.

Here are some ideas to boost the effectiveness of your Website and online lead generation efforts.

1. Take advantage of the opportunities of online marketing: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing.

• SEO, also know as Organic or Natural Search is the process by which a site is designed to get good placement in the search engine results, for the keywords that you are targeting.

Key ingredients of SEO include having interesting and unique content on your pages, search engine friendly website design and effective back-linking and reciprocal linking (getting other websites to link to you).

• Each major search engine has a paid component to its search results as well. This involves paying for site visitors on a per click basis (pay-per-click or PPC).

There are a series of variables that need to be considered when starting a campaign. These include keyword selection, geography (where do you want your listing to show up) and bid strategy (how aggressive do you want to be? What is your budget? etc.).

While a PPC program can be a good way to drive traffic to a site, the average agent doesn’t have the time to manage such a campaign on their own.

When free-time is limited, I suggest that the agent use our Buyerlink program instead of PPC, to drive targeted buyer traffic to their site by city of interest. Buyerlink is similar to search engine PPC, but it does the work of finding the buyers for you (through PPC, organic placement in the search engines, and web ads) and it allows you to simply sit back and let the buyer leads roll in.

2. Keep the content on your site fresh, accurate and specific to your targeted market and area. For example, it's a big turn-off to arrive at a site with inaccurate information, generic text, or links that don't work. Additionally, people want to work with someone that they see as an expert in what they need. Create a compelling reason for someone to search for properties on your site, rather that just going to realtor.com. [Check out the article Keep Web Visitors Coming Back For More for more information about creating good content]

3. Make it as easy for someone to contact you via e-mail as by telephone. Prompt follow-up is also critical. The statistics tell us that most web visitors expect a response within an hour from a web inquiry, and that they will end up working with the first realtor that they come in contact with, so make sure you get back to them before they have a chance to reach out to a competitor.

And as already mentioned, make sure you get complete information from each person, as you personally communicate with them, so that you can maintain multiple contact points.

4. Utilize a contact management program. There are a number of these programs on the market today that will allow you to keep in close contact with those who warrant it, schedule others for contact later on, and also segment the database for mailings (as described above).

5. Study your competitors’ sites and learn from their mistakes. Although most sites have similar attributes, others are unique with varying degrees of success. Look at other agents’ sites as if you were the client, and see what you like and don’t like.

Also, many Realtors have sites through the companies that they are representing (Prudential, Century 21, etc.) and think that this is enough of a web presence. The truth is that unless you have your own personal site, most people will never find you online [try trying to find yourself without searching for your name on your broker’s site, or Realtor.com]. A personal site allows greater flexibility, and will help to increase your online visibility and number of leads.

If you are just relying on a page on your broker’s site, you will get lost in the dust, and will miss out on leads. Having a site of your own is essential for both creating your own personal brand and funneling leads into your pipeline.

The conclusion: Lead generation is in your control. Hard work, strong organizational skills and a willingness to embrace e-mail/the Internet, are important ingredients to attaining impressive results in a tougher marketplace.

Using Niche Marketing to Increase Your ROI

Are you throwing your marketing dollars away by marketing to too broad a segment of the housing market? The key to successfully seeing a return on your marketing investment is to find a niche market that you know well, and making yourself the expert.


Attempting to market yourself to an entire geographic region is the fastest way to waste money in real estate because you will never sufficiently differentiate yourself to any one market to be top of mind when the consumer looks for an agent.

Niche marketing is the process of focusing on a defined segment of a much larger market.

Within Real Estate, there are thousands of different niche markets a real estate professional can identify and serve. Some examples of a niche market include marketing to a specific neighborhood, horse farm owners, first time home-buyers or beach front properties.

So, how do you develop your niche?

Step 1: Identify your niche.

- Write down all the possible niches you could serve based on your location, expertise and interests.

For instance, if you choose to focus on a neighborhood, write down the 20 or 30 neighborhoods (with approximately 500 homes each) closest to where you live and work.

- Consider your expertise.

Do you speak a second language? Do you understand a new home owner's issues? Are you also a mortgage broker? Do you love animals? Do you have a connection to senior citizens? What are your hobbies (music, cars, sports, traveling)?

Every one of these things can evolve into a powerful niche for you.

Local school parents could be another great niche. For example, lets assume you have three kids in the local schools. The needs and concerns of parents with kids in the same school may be a great niche. It narrows down your focus from the whole town, to 500-1,000 families. You can easily get involved with the school and your target consumers by starting a parents newsletter or being active in school functions. Over time, the community will begin relying on you for this information and understand you are a real estate agent with their best interests in mind. When these parents (consumers) consider buying or selling a home, or giving a referral, you will be at the top of their mind.


Step 2: Define your niche market as specifically as possible.

- Ideally you should be able to generate a list of addresses, resident names, phone numbers and emails for your niche market.

- In addition, you should write down as many of the niche market attributes as possible.

• What are the homes like? (new, old, expensive)
• What are the residents' concerns? (safety, a new park)
• Where do buyers come from for these homes?
• Where do the residents get their information? (TV, magazine, HOA newsletter, online)
• Where do they go to school? (private, parochial or public)
  

This detailed description of your niche will help you reach them in an efficient, effective manner. If you don't know them, how can you deliver value? Additionally, by working on this definition, you will know what areas to educate yourself on to be effective. Remember, your goal is to add value to everyone in this niche through every interaction you have with them.

Step 3: Develop A Marketing Plan.

Before taking action, develop a marketing plan to serve this niche. Initially, you may ask yourself, "what do I have to do to become valuable to this niche?"

Maybe you need to attend HOA meetings, learn about local politics or learn about the tax advantages of a second home. Whatever it is, become an expert.

Next, determine how best to reach this niche.

- Where does this niche get its information?
- Is it through meetings, via email, with a targeted website or postcards?

Third, develop the specific marketing materials that will appeal to this niche. You have to cut through the clutter, so be specific.

Talk directly to their needs and concerns. Don't go for typical real estate marketing collateral and content. Be creative, push the envelope, give them something to remember. If designed successfully, your read and response rates will be much higher than anything you have sent out previously.

Finally, continue to educate yourself about this niche. Write down your plan and stick to it. Be in it for the long term.

Taking the time to work through these steps will pay huge dividends. Your focus will help you clarify what steps you need to take, who you need to talk to, what you need to learn and how to improve your communication to this audience.

You will know that you are on the right track when consumers begin to react positively to your messages. They will thank you for the information, pass it along to friends and, best of all, they will be happy to refer you to others for their real estate needs.

source: Broker Agent News

Are You Wasting the Leads That You Get?

How long does it take you to follow-up with your website leads? If you wait longer than 24 hours, you could be throwing them away. Here are some recent stats that should give you pause:

- 73% of consumers who use the Internet to search for homes expect a call from an agent within four hours, according to the California Association of Realtors

- Of those, 23% expect a call within a half-hour

- Another 21% expect a call immediately

Internet buyers want and expect a responsive agent to call them as soon as they show interest in a property.

- In fact, the expectation for immediate response is so strong that the vast majority of Internet buyers work with the very first agent who calls them, our research has found. If you don't give them the fast response they expect, then they will give their business to whichever agent calls them first.


source: RISmedia

8 Ways To Instantly Drive Traffic Away From Your Website

I was just reading Z57's Marketing Insider post on How To Lose A Real Estate Website Visitor in 10 Easy Ways and it got me thinking about the elements of good website design, especially from a marketing point of view. This is a subject that I am constantly discussing with my clients, as there are some pretty horrible Real Estate websites out there.

I have previously written and posted articles (my own and from other marketing sites) about having an effective website, but here are some more things to think about as you work on improving your Real Estate site...


How to Drive Traffic Away From Your Website...


1. Give Web-visitors Too Many Options and Choices

Studies have concluded that the more choice that you give people, the less likely they are to make a decision. Some choice is good, but too much choice creates confusion.

A well designed website explains, directs, guides, and focuses visitor attention on the things that are of real benefit to your visitors and to your company.

Every business provides a variety of products, services, and information to their customers, but these things are not all of equal importance. Your website is a place to focus attention on your core marketing message, not a place to provide a shopping list of everything you are able to do and every product or service you may be able to offer.


2. Give Web Visitors Too Much Information & Text To Process

Good website design is about more than technology and aesthetics; it's about deciding what information needs to be presented and what information needs to be left out. If you are truly an expert in your field, you should know what information is important to your customers in order for them to make a decision. Too much information or text that is too wordy, is like too much choice--it confuses rather than clarifies. Focus on delivering meaningful content in an easy-to-scan format, or risk having your visitors hit the exit button.


3. Give Web Visitors Too Much Non-relevant Content

The only thing worse than overloading your website with more information than visitors can absorb is confusing them with useless and non-relevant content.

Non-relevant content is content that doesn't advance your major purpose: to deliver your marketing message in an informative, engaging, entertaining, and memorable manner. If it isn't relevant, dump it.


4. Give Web Visitors Too Many Irritating Distractions:

You cannot sell someone a product or service they do not want. A real prospect is one that needs the same information you want to provide; the art of sales is directing potential clients to relevant information, and presenting it in a way that visitors see your product or service as fulfilling their needs.


5. Give Web Visitors Too Many Red Flags

Website visitors are constantly looking for red flags that tell them that the site they are visiting should be skipped as soon as possible.

If you want to make sure visitors WON'T deal with you, make sure you don't provide any contact information. Not providing contact names, phone numbers, or a mailing address is a sure sign that you won't look after any problems that arise from a transaction.

Your website must be designed to build trust and foster a relationship, not scare people away.


6. Give Web Visitors Incomprehensible Page Layouts & Make Your Pages Stretch Into Infinity

Good design, proper page layout, easy and consistent navigation, and well organized information, helps visitors find what they're looking for and provides a pleasant, efficient and rewarding experience for the website visitor.

Website designs that rely on technology and gimmicks, rather than focused content, coherent organization, and articulate presentation, are designs designed to chase traffic away.


7. Drop the third-party ads.

On the surface, third-party advertisements and banners may seem like a good way to make some extra cash from your traffic, but these ads become so distracting, visitors either get fed-up or click on one of the links that takes them away from your site. Whatever few bucks you earn from these ads, you are loosing by chasing real customers away.


8. Give Web Visitors Too Many Reason To Click-out

If you really are determined to fail, make sure you provide website visitors with as many reasons as possible to leave your site: irrelevant links to your favorite sites, links to your broker because you're too cheap to put IDX on your own site, or any combination of the reasons mentioned above, all contribute to driving traffic away from your site.




Based on Jerry Bader's article 11 Ways To Drive Traffic Away From Your Website