Activerain Blog Ranking as it Relates to Your Local Business

I read a great featured post by Craig Rutman about peer ranking among Active Rain Bloggers. activerain-where-do-you-rank-amongst-your-peers- I got to thinking about it and wondered how my Activerain ranking in Austin, Texas affected my business and any relationship I might have with the top 10 bloggers in my town. It turns out than I am currently ranked #7 in Austin, which is pretty good considering how many GREAT AR members live in Austin. Below is a listing of the top 10 Activerain agents in Austin and what I may or may not know about them. We are a diverse and knowledgeable group and though coming from different backgrounds all seem to have good standards of performance and professionalism!

#1 Jason Crouch Okay...I cannot add a lot to what everyone already knows except that since I joined Active rain a year ago, we have become very good friends. I can tell you that he is as good a guy as he seems and also has a heck of a great sense of humor. Beside running his own brokerage and actively listing and selling real estate, he is also a social networking and blogging consultant! We work completely different areas and because of my confidence in him, I have sent him several referrals and will continue to do so!

#2 Donna Harris Donna moved to Austin recently from Dallas where she was the top ranked Active rain agent in the area. Since arriving, she has hit the ground running! Living in one of our fastest growing areas, Lake Travis, she has really gotten to know Austin and is even teaching Social networking classes at one of the Title companies!

#3 Gail Tassey I met Gail once at an Activerain gathering and her company Sky Realty is does well in their part of Austin. She writes local interest posts and is an established blogger.

#4 Betina Foreman I have become friends with Betina since joining Activerain. She is a hardworking agent who specializes in several specific areas and neighborhoods including Lake Travis and Shady Hollow and is a professional in the truest sense of the word!

#5 Tim Moncrief I met Tim a number of years ago when he was a new home salesman and we did a couple of very good transactions together. Tim now lives in Riverplace and he and his team have done an excellent job of branding themselves as the listing leaders in that neighborhood as well as Steiner Ranch.

#6 Alex & Cadey Charfen I believe this couple moved here recently form Florida. They have established a professional group dedicated to helping agents in short sale and foreclosure properties nationwide.

#7 Russell Lewis Yours truly!

#8 Ki Gray I have never met Ki but his company and web site do a good amount of business. He posts on a regular basis and has a nice variety of eloquent and well written articles!

#9 Jeff Kessler Jeff is another agent whom I've not had the pleasure of meeting but when I first arrived, I often read his posts about the Austin area and found them to be very informative!

#10 Robin Scott I've met Robin and she posts great articles about Austin and also some good material from a personal view. She specializes in the Milwood neighborhoods and works for Amelia Bullock, one of the most established companies in town

After looking over the field different agents it became readily apparent to me that Austin, Texas is a very large city and that I rarely come in to contact with the agents. All of us work in completely different parts of town, neighborhoods, price ranges, niches and areas of expertise. For these reason, we really do not compete at all. Couple this with the wide variety of personalities and working styles and I realized that I would rarely if ever compete with these folk. I think that ranking can be an important part of what a potential client may view at first. However as they look at each profile and blog will readily be able to assess the agent who might best help them with their particular real estate needs! Using Activerain as a resource, I have actually referred business in Austin to other agents because REALISTICALLY, no agent can cover all of Austin or be all things to all people. I've spent 19 years building my business, knowledge and skills in my particular neighborhoods and areas of expertise and I stick to it. Anyone who grabs any business at all is not helping the client!

Wherever you live, I would urge you to look at the Active Rain agents in your area and get to know them. I think you will be pleasantly surprised that you have a lot in common and might be able to share expertise and referrals. I've done this when looking for agents in other parts of the country and it works locally too! That's how it stacks up in Austin (for now anyway) so take some time and check out your city!