I'm writing this blog since we are no longer doing real estate websites and providing idx solutions. Instead, we are recommending Real Estate Webmasters.
Why Real Estate Webmasters?
They have built very solid sites and I'm impressed with the product to the fact I would send any business their way just because I believe they have a good product and the CEO Morgan Carey is a stand up individual.
Why are we done with real estate web design and development?
3plains is sticking to the hunting and fishing web design in which we love. That's it. We will continue to host the few websites in which we have current agreements with.
It's tough to stay competitive in online real estate industry without being in it full time. Technology and events change quickly and your company needs to be flexible and knowledgeable to adapt to the situation.
In fact, here is a example of changing quickly -- This post pretty much explains whats going on and Morgan Carey CEO of the Real Estate Webmasters sums it up. I'm seeing people attack Real Estate Webmasters customers because their well built websites.
What is 3plains up to now?
In the short term, we are hitting the field for turkey hunting, prairie dog shooting and walleye fishing in the midwestern states. In the long term, we are in the outdoor segment full time and I will be blogging on the hunting and fishing segment on a new website coming in the summer of 2009.
We have some great outdoor products and websites coming out in 2009. Keep up to date on our travels at the 3plains Official Photo Gallery.
Our Western-Wisconsin.com website has received a nice update last week. Several search options exist such as: search by community, city, particular lake, riverfront/view, and advanced search options.
Western Wisconsin City by City real estate listings (example Hudson, WI)
City Listings Divided between: Single Family, Condos, Commercial, Townhouses, Multi-Family, Lots & land.
A few ways this new format will help the user vs. whoring the site for the search engines:
This new format will greatly help out search users get the listings they actually want to see when searching lake by lake or river by river.
If users don't know what lake or river they want to real estate on, they can browse listings/pages by Home, Condo, Commercial in the riverfront/lakeshore real estate sections.
City by City listings. Then divided up into single family, condos, commercial, multi-family and land.
How will the search engine users benefit?
Actual listings on what they are searching for with their targeted searches.
No garbage, just the listings.
How well will we rank with this new development? Most likely not well. We just don't have enough under the hood for this new website and with additional business blogging, linking and good internet marketing we can rank well in time.
Watch a video on Ron Paul's statements on the "Mother of all Bailouts" on the Housing Bill, Bernanke & the Fed printing more fiat Money only weakening of the US dollar and our purchasing power.
Add another 800 BILLION to our national debt...
I read a quote on the internet that I thought fit pretty well; "Adjusting interest rates is just like applying a band aid to the economy. Leave them alone and let the economy adjust to the interest rates."
I'll agree with that. Bernanke & the fed need to have limited power. The problem is, Bernanke will keep pumping out money till the presses break down and our dollar is weaker than ever. Let the market correct itself. We are heading for disaster and yes, if you are saving your money, the fed pumping out more money does not help you.
If you had $10,000 saved in 2001, you have $6,666 dollars today because of the Fed (give or take 5%).
So my question to everyone is, what are you doing with your dollars to protect yourself against our failing dollar?
The IAB has announced that Internet Advertising Revenues are up over 18% year over year, or $5.8 Billion for the first quarter of 2008. That's off the pace of the $5.9 Billion record set in Q4 '07.
Source: PwC/IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report (www.iab.net)
This is good news for Interactive agencies and Internet Marketers. Internet advertising is still one of the most cost effective means of advertising. In my opinion, you should be allocating more of your expense budget towards PPC, SEO, SEM, or another form of web marketing/advertising.
I think the video just about sums up internet real estate websites... Give me the cold hard facts! Show me listings on your website!
I like the fact that a lot of the sites I design, I push the fact of free listings where consumers don't have to register on your website to look at listings. I feel consumers should be able to browse your community pages and use your search mechanism without having that infamous "register form" where you need that touch from the consumer.
" It's been almost 45 hours since I sent this request in. So far, nothing at all. Not even an email. Question 1: Is it possible that as a lead, this agent isn't taking my request as seriously as if she viewed me as a real person needing info on a home she's selling? Question 2: Is it possible, as I have stated in the past, that technology like lead gen does more to hurt agents who might be relationship driven than help?"
It was quite intersting to see that he got nothing back from the agent who works leads off of the website where he filled out his request. Why have a web form if you don't intend to get back to them? Maybe the agent is in the burning leads mode?
I am sure you have used website searches that use the select box "Control Function" for communities and cities (view photo). Call me crazy, but that really annoys me.
Scrolling Control Box Search (i.e. Hold down the CTRL key to select multiple areas)
Have you ever used that "Control Key Box", had selected about 15-20 things only to hit the wrong key or make a mistake with the mouse and your 5 minutes of carefully selecting cities gone? It's happened to me and I find it a major annoyance.
I absolutely can't stand that Control Box, so I came up with a scroller with checkboxes, modeled off of another web industry.
Scrolling CheckBox Search
Now, try this Twin Cities MLS IDX search with the checkboxes (photo to the right).
The checkboxes stay checked as you scroll. Granted you can have larger scroller like this from the Real Estate Webmasters: Saint Paul MLS IDX but if you are looking to save real estate and have a new search scroller to replace the dreaded control key, I think this is the ticket.
Try it out, see what you think. I'm just glad I don't have to hold down the control key anymore.
It is amazing to me how internet/seo companies (including myself) optimize for keywords, phrases, and particular high volume search engine patterns. But in the end, odd keyword combinations convert to a better percentage of sales.
Let's take an example search of "Single Family homes for sale in Eden Prairie Minnesota". As all logic would have it, you should be optimizing for "Eden Prairie real estate", "Eden Prairie Homes for Sale", or some popular term with the Term Eden Prairie, MN, Home, Condo, Townhome, etc...
SEO's that are more procedural vs. new idea's are going to eventually make their clients less and less money. Will they be high up the the search engine result pages for high terms like "Eden Prairie Real Estate"? Yes. But will that make sales? Yes it will, but not to the degree of a outside the box SEO. SEO's that think outside the box and try new things will be more successful as the Internet grows and morphs.
SEO's will be in higher demand for the future, but the acronym or title may change. Good SEO's need to be savvy business people and the nerdy/link building SEO's with no business skills may get shuffled to the bottom. Like any business, the cream floats to the top and that includes Realtors and Internet websites. Do the work and it will pay off.
I was talking to a real estate software/marketer the other day and he was stating that his customers are closing at a low end of 4% and at a high end of 8% of internet leads as of Jan 2008.
What are others currently seeing as far as conversion ratios? How many people are filling out forms and how many of these potential deals are getting closed?
I have found that our well designed sites have been doing much better and the better designed/more active internet agents are seeing the higher ratios.
I run a lot of other websites in the hunting/outdoor world and the websites that are on the 2nd page of google/msn/yahoo are seeing better conversion ratios than the higher placed websites (1st page) with a poorer web design. In the outdoor/hunting industry (service industry), I find that customers equate a better web design with a better product and therefore fill out more inquiry forms. I don't think that is any new news there.
How does that equate to the real estate industry? I would tend to say there are similar and relatable trends. Take a look at your website navigation, design, content and your overall message.
The more time you as a business owner/agent/broker spend on your website content, design, navigation, forms, the more sales you are going to make with the consumer.
Your website is a living breathing thing... treat it like that.
3plains LLC has launched a new website for Barker and Hedges, Minneapolis Realtors.
The website includes a custom design, community pages, new search technology and a custom IDX (From Northstar MLS).
Custom Design
We took Matt Barker's idea of the 35W, 35E and 494 Interstate idea to let consumers know that they are on a Minneapolis/St. Paul/Twin Cities related website. I think the custom design turned out pretty nice.
Twin Cities Market & Idea
The Twin Cities Real Estate market is large. We sectioned it off into 3 different sections to help consumers that wanted homes in Minneapolis neighborhoods, St. Paul neighborhoods or surrounding suburbs in the Twin Cities.
Automatic Feed: 3plains has designed a automated feed to update Barker Hedges Minneapolis website daily.
Custom Home Search: We designed our home search tool to make it easier for customer to use. We get a lot of complaints of control buttons, or ignoring scrolling iframes, etc. Along with the city scroller, we added a property scroller, checkboxes and even a quick search off to the right of every page.
An Internet Marketing Company's Outlook on the 2008 Real Estate Outlook
Relating to the 2008 real estate outlook, it's hard to ignore the real estate/housing news on CNN Money and other news stations. Listening to friends, family, business acquaintances tell me the real estate market is hurting. Yeah, tell me something I don't know and isn't already obvious.
How to deal with this and work this market is the challenging part as savvy real estate agents and Internet marketers.
The great thing about tough markets in any industry is it weeds out short term business people and shoddy businesses. Any business person who is in it for the long haul has seen this come and go.
I have a friend who has built custom homes in Rochester Minnesota with his father since the 1980's tell me this was coming. As early as 1998 when general contractors, home builders and sub-contractors setup shop and have already gone out of business as early as 2004, shows the market turning. Things such as expanding to quickly, hiring to many employees, not enough work, etc... yes, we have all heard it before.
I think 2008 will only be worse than 2007, but that only leaves room for improvement for savvy real estate agents, home builders, and Internet marketers to claim their stake.
In 2008 if you want to be a Bull you have the ability. If you want to be a Bear... well, then read the news. There is plenty of it to keep you occupied. Fortunately, I am going to use it for my fireplace kindling so I can keep my toes toasty by fire as I sit on my laptop and watch my agents propel in their prospective markets.
Good business people will make it in any market, any business, good or bad. You have the ability to be a Bull or a Bear.
A blog on real estate internet marketing, web development, design issues, real estate internet technology, IDX solutions and other real estate information.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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we are hitting the field for turkey hunting, prairie dog shooting and walleye fishing in the midwestern states. In the long term, we are in the outdoor segment full time and I will be blogging on the hunting and fishing segment on a new website coming in the summer of 2009.
SEO's that are more procedural vs. new idea's are going to eventually make their clients less and less money. Will they be high up the the search engine result pages for high terms like "Eden Prairie Real Estate"? Yes. But will that make sales? Yes it will, but not to the degree of a outside the box SEO. SEO's that think outside the box and try new things will be more successful as the Internet grows and morphs.
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