3plains Real Estate Internet Marketing Blog

National Debt... Add Another 800 Billion

2008-08-01T04:17:17Z

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?

Oil ETFs?
Gold?
Silver?
Platinum?
Swiss Franc?
Japanese Yen?
Commodities?
Bonds?
US Stock Market?
Foreign Markets?
Real Estate?
Other?

Internet Ad Revenues 2nd Highest Quarter

2008-07-18T17:17:12Z

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 Am Not A Lead

2008-02-01T22:35:37Z

I realize this video is old news, but it is quite funny and deserves a quick post.

The guys from 1000 Watt Consulting obviously aren't rookies here. Just read their bios: http://www.1000wattconsulting.com/about.php

Here is the video and my comments are below it:

I am not a lead

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.

2 weeks later, Marc posts another blog: http://www.1000wattblog.com/2008/01/i-am-a-lead.html

Marc goes on in this post to say:

" 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?

Scrolling Checkbox Search vs. The Dreaded CTRL Key Search

2008-01-26T15:00:54Z

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.

Long Tail SEO and Conversions

2008-01-26T02:57:51Z

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.

Example used in blog: www.barkerhedges.com/eden-prairie-real-estate.cfm

Good Analysis tools: www.hittail.com or www.google.com/analytics/

Internet Leads & Close Ratios

2008-01-18T22:47:56Z

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.

Minneapolis Realtors - New Website Launch in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Market

2008-01-14T19:50:26Z

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.

We created 3 main pages as landing pages:

We took these 3 main pages and built the design and content around this concept. Users has been happy with the turnout.

Community Pages

Here are some sample community pages from Barker Hedges new website:

Lake Minnetonka - Lake Profile Page
Calhoun Isle - Neighborhood Profile Page
Eden Prairie - City Profile Page

Broken Out Community, City, Lake and Neighborhood Pages

I broke out Single Family, Condos/Lofts, Multi-Family, Land/Lots and Commercial Property in each community profile page by property type. Examples...

Community Profiles Property Type Price Brackets

Helps quick searching by city. View example below.

Eden Prairie Single Family over 1 Million

Custom Northstar MLS IDX Solution

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.

View the site at: www.barkerhedges.com

Real Estate: Bullish vs. Bearish

2008-01-04T03:26:53Z

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.

Real Estate Websites... Content, Content, Content

2008-01-04T02:44:16Z

If your looking to propel your real estate website to the next level, think about more than just slapping up a site with a contact form, about us page, framed up search page and basic homepage.

With some thought and great content, you can get users to think you are really a more fabulous agent than you really are. It's amazing how a killer website can make you look like the best real estate agent in the world, when in fact, you might be a so/so agent.

I'm not dogging ok agents, I'm just saying that, that sometimes a great website can propel you to a lead that you never thought possible.

Search engines read content. If you never put content out on your website, you never have a chance for search engines to pick up your website on the internet.

The 1st step is getting users to your site... the 2nd is selling to the users once they are there. The 3rd and final part... the close. Yes... even on a website, you need to always be closing.

Former Pillsbury House on Lake Minnetonka for Sale

2008-01-04T02:27:29Z

I am sure most of you Minnesotan's or others have heard of Pillsbury. The former Pillsbury house (current owner James Jundt and now called Southways Estate) on Lake Minnetonka is for sale and available for only the 2nd time since 1918. The Jundts have set the price at $53.5 Million. Take a look -->

MLS 3441533: Price: $53,500,000, City: Orono, Minnesota, 9 Bedrooms, 16 Bathrooms, 32,000 sq feet, 13 acres, 1,700 feet of Lake Minnetonka shoreline, and has two swimming pools, one in and one out, built in 1918. Available for only the 2nd time since home has been built - A Lake Minnetonka must see. Check out the photos below or check out the Southways Estate virtual tour.

A exerpt from MSNBC.COM: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22530777/

The former John S. Pillsbury Sr. house on the tip of Bracketts Point in Orono on Lake Minnetonka is for sale, only the second time the expansive lakefront house has been on the market since 1918. Is anybody worried about who might buy it -- namely, some big developer who will tear down the estate the Pillsbury family called Southways and build other housing there?

James Jundt, a former hedge fund manager, and his wife, Joann, have put it up for sale for $53.5 million. They bought it when Pillsbury's widow, Eleanor Pillsbury, whose friends called her Juty, died in 1991. They have staged any number of events there, including a Republican fundraiser for congressional candidate Michelle Bachmann that lured President Bush in 2006. The Jundts say they are moving to Arizona.

The Pillsburys also entertained in style there for many charities and at least once for the present King Harald of Norway when was still the crown prince.

Also check out more Lake Minnetonka Homes for Sale

Application Development Technologies in Real Estate Websites

2007-12-20T05:24:17Z

Over the years I have heard certain real estate web application languages name dropped as being "better". I have heard ColdFusion is inferior vs. PHP or .NET is more powerful than PHP.

I'll tell you right now, web application technology has very little impact on you as a consumer or real estate agent.

I had a person NOT do business with me since his nephew was a PHP developer and didn't like ColdFusion. Unfortunately this person is not only ignorant, but decided to listened to a developer obviously was vastly opinionated when it came to the topic of application web technologies.

I am not saying that ColdFusion is better than PHP or .NET, I am simply saying that they are all quality development tools and for real estate professionals, you shouldn't care. They simply do one job, get your product or service out on the internet for potential buyers or sellers. It's that simple. Why should you care if its in one language or another.

The real estate development company you buy the product from - that is the product. I develop in ColdFusion because it is flat out easy for me to develop for my customers and it makes sense. That is by far the most important thing to remember.

People buy my 3plains product because they trust me, I'm black and white in business and I won't give you any fluff or beat around the bush.

I'm all about your bottom line, which makes my bottom line. Development technologies should do the same.

Real Estate Websites: Get In The Game

2007-12-20T04:57:33Z

When shopping around for a website have you ever got that quote that made you silent on the end of the phone? Yes, you probably have.

Well if you have, you should probably understand web development companies want the best for you, so we are quoting the best price for the grand daddy package or maybe a mid-range price.

However, there are several starter packages that web development companies can offer that allow you to grow up as a web business so you can invest more money as you grow.

I have always found it a shame to turn down customers because they are just starting out with a limited budget. Hey, I was there, and we have all been there if we are agents or small business owners.

Don't sit on the sidelines because websites are too expensive. There are plenty of options if you find the right web development company. Find one that will alow you to develop as a company and that will work with you.

Another key component of getting a site up is having a usable website, relavent content, and something worthwhile. A website doesn't need to be launched with 100% of the functions all working... yes, you may lose a customer or two, but really, you could sit and perfect things forever. Get your website up and work the details out later.

The key is, you just need to get in the game and get a site up and going or you will never generate one lead.

My Dad always says: "100% of nothing is still nothing".

Poor Real Estate Website User Experience

2007-09-06T00:26:10Z

77% of real estate shoppers are starting their home search on the internet. Inventories of homes growing; Buyers are looking at more homes; Sellers are getting a little itchy to sell their home. Why are all these factors important to us as real estate professionals?

It's our job as real estate professionals and savvy real estate marketers to give our customers or potential home buyers a good internet experience and to get them in touch with quality agents.

As a real estate internet marketing company, our job is to CAPTURE that potential customer and turn it into a quality lead for our agents. How do we do this? A few suggestions:

Make sure there is a contact link or a quick form on every page on your real estate website
Put the form in the body of the content. Make sure the user is clear on what they are doing and what they will get out of the form.
Give the user hope they will get a call shortly: Under 24 hours, shortly, connect now, talk to a agent now... however you want to word it.
Click to call technology. Ex. View this listing and click where it says: View Home This technology will take a potential user that would like to see a home showing and call the real estate listing agent immediately after the shopper hits submit or a call back. As a agent, whatever you prefer.

As real estate professionals in a increasingly competitive market, it is our job to crank up our internet technology and create better websites for ourselves, our market, our brokerage, and most importantly our customers.

We need to start capturing potential home buyers and home sellers through form capturing and through good website design. More leads = more sales = more agent/broker income.

Sioux Falls Rapattoni IDX Solution

2007-09-05T23:42:01Z

Looking for a Sioux Falls/Sioux Empire Rapattoni custom IDX solution? 3plains has developed a custom IDX solution for the real estate company in Sioux Falls, SD.

Rapattoni IDX Solution Features:

Homes displayed on local community pages (ex. Brandon SD Real Estate)
Advanced search page
New google mapping technology coming soon
Separation (if needed) of commercial, residential, land/lot & multi-family

The custom IDX solution runs on a reliable program and will update real estate listings and download photos nightly.

This real estate IDX solution will help keep users on your website, increase leads and help you close sales. Contact 3plains for questions on a Rapattoni IDX soultion, Sioux Falls area agent/broker website, or a IDX solution in your region.