Sean Dreznin, Commercial Investment Real Estate Agent

With the kickoff of the Fiesta Bowl this evening, not only will the hopes of Buckeye Nation resonate with the team, but the reputation of the Big Ten as well. Heading into the game the Big Ten is 1-5 in this seasons bowl games. Only Iowa defeating a wildly overmatched South Carolina team 31-10, is giving the shred of credibilty to the conference.

Now backpeddling just a bit... Should a game define a conference?

I think not, but I feel a defining win, check that, a win from OSU would go a long way to silencing some critics...

Ohio State 27

Texas 25

Let's say a last second FG for the win!

Go Buckeyes!

Page Ranking is Dead

(Picture from movie, "Boondock Saints")

Randy Eagar's company, WebsTarget, gets agents top rankings and is endorsed by Broker/Agent. Randy Eagar makes some terrific points in the above article and if you are not already doing some of the aforementioned content, then 2009 is the time to start.

Try making a short video explaining yourself, your company, your services, a listing, etc...

Use others videos with permission and credit being given...just make sure to watch them for safety reasons.

Our companies website never used to measure up with the national or global competitors and I am sure they still spend 10-50 times what we do, but the largest compliment I have ever received came in the form of mimicry or mirroring, which is an internet skill unto itself.

I had implemented a blog, through blogger.com, in 2005 into our website and begin putting up videos, through youtube, onto our site. Fast forward to early 2008 and a global company with a local branch begin doing those exact same things... to the tee (even using the same mediums as their providers and data storage... So it is true that, "Imitation is the best form of flattery"! which leads us to the SEO portion of this article...

Google is planning to unveil an updated algorithm.

This one is going to change things dramatically. It will place much more emphasis on the user’s experience within their website.How are they going to do this? In a word, analytics.

Many of you probably have a “tracking program” or an “analytics” program like Google Analytics or even VisiStat. These programs tell you a great deal about those who are visiting your website. By tracking bounce rates, Google can make certain assumptions about your searches. They can follow visitors experience with cookies to see how long users remain on the website compared to sites similar in nature.

But that’s not all.

Google will try to find out what type of content you provide your website visitors. Searching will be changing more so now than ever before. You need to innovate, improve bounce rates, implement video content and most of all, improve your website experience for visitors. The best way to do this is to spark more interest and be more creative to excite your viewers.

What is a Behavior Based Search?

With the new Google algorithm, everybody who does a search will end up with different search results based on their prior search history. Personalization is going to be “web-wide” using third party cookies and other factors.For example you may search for “Delta”. Some are looking for the airline company, some are looking for the faucet company, and some are looking for river locations. The idea is, personal search will know that and provide results accordingly.

Intent-based Search Google has been looking up your IP and revising results based on IP. They know where you’re located and can make assumptions about the intent of your search. As you get more into intent-based search, it’s going to change the way pages rank. “The page that ranks for a faucet company query is an entirely different type of search than the page that ranks for an airline company query.”

Where Does this Leave the SEO Crowd?

You might as well consider that Page Ranking is dead. In the future you’re going to have to look at your analytics program, measure traffic, bounce rates, action and much more.In the first six months of 2009, we’re going to see a lot more implementation of behavior and intent-based search leading to a mindset of “ranking is dead, and traffic will be all that matters.”

Universal Search

This will be the most significant factor of 2009. Google looks at soundtracks and convert them to text. They can jump into the middle of videos, scan sites to determine if you have video/images or not. There are a lot of variables in universal search, and some of these variables tell how engaging your site is.What will be scary to those casual users, is if you don’t have video and your competition does, you’re going to see a big shift in rankings. If the top ten sites don’t have video, they may lose their ranking over night.There is no question about it.

Getting placed at the top of the search engines will change from what we have known in the past.

The real question is: what are you doing to stay ahead of the competition?

Randy Eagar's company, WebsTarget, gets agents top rankings and is endorsed by Broker/Agent.

Randy Eagar makes some terrific points in the above article and if you are not already doing some of the aforementioned content, then 2009 is the time to start.

Try making a short video explaining yourself, your company, your services, a listing, etc... Use others videos with permission and credit being given...just make sure to watch them for safety reasons.

Our companies website never use to

EVALUATING MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

* Table selection is the most important decision you can make.

* It's okay to switch tables if you discover it's too hard to win at your table.

* If there are too many competitors (some irrational or inexperienced), even if you're the best it's a lot harder to win.

MARKETING AND BRANDING

* Act weak when strong, act strong when weak.

* Know when to bluff. Your "brand" is important.

* Help shape the stories that people are telling about you.

FINANCIALS

* Always be prepared for the worst possible scenario.

* The guy who wins the most hands is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run.

* The guy who never loses a hand is not the guy who makes the most money in the long run.

* Go for positive expected value, not what's least risky.

* Make sure your bankroll is large enough for the game you're playing and the risks you're taking.

* Play only with what you can afford to lose.

* Remember it's a long term game.

* You will win or lose individual sessions, but it's what happens in the long term that matters.

STRATEGY

* Don't play games that you don't understand, even if you see lots of other people making money from them.

* Figure out the game when the stakes aren't high.

* Don't cheat. Cheaters never win in the long run.

* Stick to your principles. You need to adjust your style of play throughout the night as the dynamics of the game change.

* Be flexible. Be patient and think long term. The players with the most stamina and focus usually win.

* Differentiate yourself. Do the opposite of what the rest of the table is doing.

* Hope is not a good plan.

* Don't let yourself go "on tilt". It's much more cost effective to take a break, walk around, or leave the game for the night.

CONTINUAL LEARNING

* Educate yourself. Read books and learn from others who have done it before.

* Learn by doing. Theory is nice, but nothing replaces actual experience.

* Learn by surrounding yourself with talented players. Just because you win a hand doesn't mean you're good and you don't have more learning to do. You might have just gotten lucky. Don't be afraid to ask for advice.

CULTURE

* You've gotta love the game. To become really good, you need to live it and sleep it.

* Don't be cocky. Don't be flashy. There's always someone better than you. Be nice and make friends. It's a small community.

* Share what you've learned with others.

* Look for opportunities beyond just the game you sat down to play. You never know who you're going to meet, including new friends for life or new business contacts.

* Have fun. The game is a lot more enjoyable when you're trying to do more than just make money.

Certainly a unique view of business. I have seen this idea quite a few times, but of the numerous versions this Zappo's version was my favorite by far. Thanks to Tony H, for the Poker Lessons.

John Chaliss was an inspiration to many, just by simply "doing and being".  A young man who's strength of spirit transcended his withered and tired body shows a softer side in this video.  His family is wonderful and extremely supportive and it is a blessing that we can get a glimpse of this young warriors life.  

Of the 300+ homes sold in November in Summit County, almost 1/3 - (91) - went for less then $30,000.

That helps explain why November sales figures were dismal in the Akron area compared with a year ago, according to the latest report from the Akron Area Board of Realtors.

Home sales for the month dropped 12.2 percent from the 345 homes sold in November 2007.

Sales were down from 419 homes in October. The dollar value of the properties that exchanged hands plunged by a larger percentage, 30.8 percent, to $32.2 million from nearly $46.6 million in November 2007.

The average price of a home sold last month was $106,413, which was 21.2 percent less than the $134,995 a year ago. In October, the average sales price was $127,596.

For the full article by Jim MacKinnon, Beacon Journal Business Writer, follow this link - http://www.ohio.com/news/36363219.html