Find local places to connect online with buyers.

A lot of us spend our time blogging and advertising on national sites like activerain. We love the exposure and trafiic we can get from a big powerful community like this. However a lot of that traffic may not be helpful to our cause.  Do you really care what people in Memphis think about your profile when you are located in Louisville?

We need to reach our target market better. Commenting and guest posting on local blogs in your area can get you just as much if not more traffic than posting on a national site like this. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain, and I try to visit and participate each and every day. But I also spend time contributing to local websites.

How I find local sites in Louisville.

I search. I search for local dating sites that also have networking opportunities. I search for local Blogs, no matter what the subject matter, if it is focused on your town than it is on target. I even look for and post on other local realtors blogs.

I recently started a section of my website aimed at helping other local realtors get involved online. You can find it here - just click on "Resources" and than "Great Real Estate Sites".

The fact is that most of the agents in your market are not using the internet very effectively. You can and will drown them out online if you contribute more than they do. The few agents that do contribute and play the game will rise to the top, and you can actually help each other get there. By commenting on a fellow agents blog, you are giving both of you a boost in the search engines. Real human visitors to the site can see your comments, and if you follow the "say something nice rule" it helps both of you. The agents site that you are posting on looks alive and vibrant, and you seem to be helpful, knowledgeable, and active in your community.

What do you think? Are you active locally? What kind of sites do you participate on? Let me know in the comments!

I grew up playing video games. Not surprising since most of my generation did. But I think I was more obsessed than most. :-)

Ever since childhood I have loved winning. Accumulating points is very gratifying to me, it makes me feel like I am accomplishing something even when I am not. Unfortunately I don't get times these days to play much, but I have taken these tendencies and applied them to my professional career. The points I earn now are dollars!

Enough about me.

What I want to talk to you about today, could very well shape the future of real estate search on the net. I have realized that it truly is all about the dang points. Lets look at the success of Facebook. The very existence of this service proves to me that most of the population at least somewhat retains a high school mentality towards popularity. I frequently see what appears to be a compulsive need to have more friends than the next guy. The race is on to be the most popular person in the world, and it has caught on globally.

Friends are like points. Followers....Points. We need to take advantage of this seemingly ubiquitus human urge and use it to put money in our bank.

I have three favorites in my browser besides Twitter and Facebook. ActiveRain, Squidoo, and Trulia. All three of these sites fit my current definition of Web 2.0.  They offer social interaction through comments and blogging, feature a ratings system where users can "like" posts, and reward users with the holy grail of social media: points. Of the three Squidoo does this the best. For any of you that haven't tried Squidoo, please do, it's oodles of fun and another great place to get links to your site, not to mention increasing your exposure online.

You can register here: http://www.squidoo.com/
and see my profile here: http://www.squidoo.com/lensmasters/Michael_Lewis_White

The Future of IDX search.

Every so often innovation comes along and changes the game. I think bringing a points system to MLS search could be just that. As far as I can tell, it's not being done (please correct me in the comments if I'm wrong), at least it's definitely not in my area.  Lots of local agents offer registration on their sites, which allows users to save searches and listings, and allows agents a form of lead capture. But nobody is giving away points. 

What if a user got ten points for visiting your site for the first time? They could be informed of it with a friendly little floating box that welcomes them to the site. Include a link to a registration form where they can "sign in to claim their points". Further use of the site, "liking" listings, site visits, tweeting, commenting - all get them more points.

Once interaction on that level is started, it gives rise to other possibilities. Sellers that were active on the site, could see their listings rise in the search results. Not many idx systems allow for a "most popular" sorting method. We all have featured listings, but what about listings that other users liked and rated? (I am not a lawyer, the legality of this would have to be determined)

But the points are worthless right?

This is where this idea gets interesting. You could give the points real value. In some states brokers are allowed to give cash rewards for purchasing homes. (like I said I am not a lawyer, consult your legal counsel) Those rewards could be given based on the points the user earned on the system. Obviously the maximum dollar amount would have to be predetermined or on a sliding scale based on the home's value. This tactic is extremely valuable since the points could only be redeemed by purchasing one of your "featured listings". Imagine the amount of sway this could hold in a buyer's mind. They will try extremely hard to find a house that they "can use their points on". Bam, you sold your listing.

In the absence o f a monetary award, other incentive programs could certainly be offered. Maybe the buyer with the most points earned for the month gets a gift certificate to a local restaurant. Or the seller with the most points gets their listing on the front page for a day. A creative agent might offer a free market valuation study for a seller or pesonal consultation for a buyer. That sounds like a giveaway I can offer right away. :-)

This is going to take time.

I have a strong background in programming web systems, and I can tell you that this isn't going to happen overnight. If I started coding this tomorrow it would be months before it was operational enough to start testing. However I am putting this idea into my pipeline, and I will start working on it soon. I believe this has never been done before in this industry, hopefully this article has started some big brains out there ticking.  Possibly such a system is already in the works, and if anyone out there has a product that can do this, let me know. I welcome any and all discussion, questions, or offers of help in regards to this concept. Thank you all, and have a great day out there.

Note: This is a re-blog from my website. The original article and canonical url can be found here: http://www.houseinlouisville.com/blog/its-all-about-the-points/

image by bennylin0724 on flickr

Is your website a dead end?

Everybody in the internet marketing game should know by now that links constitute votes to your site. Every time you get a link it boosts your rank in Google, and the anchor text that drives that link tells the big G what your pages are all about. So most of us are in the business of building links to our site. But what about outbound links? Those hurt me right?

I say wrong! Search engines want to send their searchers to relevant pages with lots of options. If a typical surfer types "Houses in Louisville", they expect to find pages that can show them what they are looking for. Obviously this would be houses in Louisville, if you guessed that already give yourself a pat on the back. ;)

The Search Engines don't trust you

Why should they? Are you a non-profit seeking only to enrich your community? Chances are that you are trying to make a buck, and you want to promote your site above all the rest, mainly to line your pockets with dough. I wouldn't trust you either. :)

If your site just links to itself, and doesn't link out much to other resources, the search engine has to place an inordinate amount of trust on your site in order to send it's precious searchers there. Your site looks like a dead end.

Lets think like searchers. If I come to a site that doesn't have what I need, but has a link out to it, I click the link and continue on my merry way. But if I simply can't find anything there, I click the dreaded back button, signalling to the SE that this site was worthless to me.

From the SE's point of view, if they send a searcher to a page that has lots of on-topic, quality sites linked, there is less chance of them screwing up in the eyes of their searcher. Chances are if the SE's robots found lots of good stuff out past your site, then their beloved searcher will too. Recently I have begun to implement this strategy, still a WIP at the time of this post. Check mine out here: Resources for buying a house in Louisville.

What do you think?

Is it too risky to drive people away from your site? Or are you interested in becoming the first stop in a buyer or seller's search? Please share your thoughts. And if this article inspired you to start your own resources section, give it the big ole thumbs up!

Are you Blogging just to Blog?

I am. I realized this while I was working on my website last night. I have been posting blogs all over the internet, not just here on activerain. Most of it is quality content, and quite useful to anyone in the real estate game. After all, I know that I need to publish content if I want to get exposure to my site. So I have been spewing forth a tidal wave of blog posts designed to get traffic back to my site House in Louisville, and I expect that many of you are doing the same.

But I have fallen into a very common trap in the blogosphere, and I have been writing about twhat I know best: Internet Marketing. This post is a perfect example. :)

Don't get me wrong, its a good idea to write about what you know. If I started publishing beauty tips my reader would run for the hills, because I have absolutely zero to contribute on that subject. So I haven't been wasting my time completely, I have been giving back to the online community of realtors. But are they the people I want to reach?

Reach your true audience.

Your message needs to reach the right people. Last night I found a realtor in Colorado that had posted over a hundred videos on Youtube. Every one of them was directed at real estate proffesionals . In this guy's defense, he was talking about what he knows and cares about, and trying to boost his exposure and site rankings. And it worked. He got a visitor - me. I'm guessing that a visit from another realtor 100's of miles away is not the type of traffic he is after.

To reach your target market properly, you have to post content that matters to them. Home buyers don't care about the things that most of us blog about. They care about their neighborhoods, local jobs, events, and schools. I'm glad that I realized this so soon.

Where does that content belong?

On your website. Your local one that you own. Sure you can blog about the newly created resource section on your site, and other realtors would probably be interested in seeing what you had done. However, the traffic from buyers is what this will bring, and that is what we are all after.I hope this comes as some good insight to you, and helps you drive meaningful traffic to your site. Thanks for reading.

Stealing them.

How do you steal links? When the owner has abandoned them.

Case in Point: http://www.stephaniejacques.com

Stephanie is a member here on ActiveRain. Apparently she has let her website domain registration lapse. And that is oh so unfortunate because there are more than 200 active links pointing to it.

If I was in the Keene, NH market I would definitely snatch that sweet baby up. (Don't worry Stephanie your links are safe from me, I'm in Louisville) In fact I sent her an email before I posted this, so that she could have time to rectify the situation before one of you hungry wolves out there grabs it. (See, I am a sweetie after all)

As an everyday linkbuilder, I know the value and importance of quality links. House in Louisville -I get em whenever and wherever I can.

So how much are those 200 links really worth?

I build links fast, much faster than most. To me those links are worth 20 to 30 days of my life. Add to that the fact that some of the links are 3 years old (which is a good thing), and I would value those links to be worth even more than that. So if my time is worth $100.00 an hour, and I can build 1 quality link per hour, you are looking at $20,000.000 worth of links that can be bought right now for $9.99 at Godaddy.com.

These aren't some junk links either, they are links that she worked hard for, and probably represent the sum total of a couple years at least of link building. With the turnover in our industry, how many such opportunities are to be had in your local area?

How would I use those links if they were in my market? I would place a landing page on the domain that informs them of the new ownership, and offers them my services.

Protect your Links.