API Network - Clever Internet Ideas

Editors, Images and Pain Mitigation

2008-04-14T10:56:30Z

With the advancement of content management systems like Joomla, Wordpress and even ActiveRain, the adding and maintenance of posts becomes a snap because the need for HTML skills are replaced with WYSIWYG editors.

Some thoughts on this:

1. No standards exist to make editors all behave the same way
2. Some editors don't work all that well
3. Manipulating images can make people cranky

On Standards

What I've found is that some believe their lack of computer/web experience is the root of their frustration, not realizing that even web savvy users, if forced to use the same tools, feel the same pain. This is why many hard core web authors prefer to compose in text and insert their own HTML along the way.

However, in the open source world, there are a few very popular editors such as TinyMCE, which is what AR
uses here. You can see that some aspects of the editor are identical to what's used in Joomla and Wordpress:

Because it's open source, developers can choose to add or remove certain features based on needs. (Notice how in Joomla, there's an extra tab called Advanced which AR has removed)

On Editors that Suck

If you've spent anytime with the editor in version 2.3.x of Wordpress you have undoubtedly uttered "this thing sucks" more than once. If you're running any version previous to 2.5 a nice surprise is waiting for you when you upgrade as the editor has been much improved. That alone is worth the upgrade effort. Here's what the new editor looks like:

Images

When writing a blog or updating any type of web page, inserting an image is one of the parts that people often
fumble over. Like it or not, cropping and resizing images is part of what all web authors/editors have to deal with on a regular basis.   Thumbnailing (making images smaller) can be made simple with a few tips/tools.

There's nothing wrong with using MS-Paint, but that can't be your only tool. One reason: Paint can't resize images. One way to manually thumbnail an image is to use Picasa with Paint.   You adjust the size of the thumbnail image, then copy/paste into Paint where you can crop and save.   Here are the steps to do that.

One of my fave image tools is something called Picture Resizer which allows you to quickly thumbnail an image by dragging the target image on top of the program.   What I like about it -- there is no user interface to learn.   You name the program according to what size thumbnail you want to create... that's it.

So in this case, the r200.exe will generate 200 pixel wide images. If you want 150 wide images, then you would need only to rename the program to r150.exe.

If you appreciate simplicity, you'll love Picture Resizer 2.0. (oh, and it's free too)

http://rw-designer.com/picture-resize

My other favorite is Thumbnailer from a company called Smaller Animals.

I use this when I'm watermarking a group of images but is also excellent when you're doing edge fades. Thumbnailer is only $25 and their customer support is quite awesome.

What Is Needed To Build a Good Website Proposal?

2008-04-08T07:03:24Z

Someone recently asked what does it take to write a good website proposal? They didn't tell what the site was, what it would do, if it already existed, ... all they had was a maximum budget.

Here was my answer:

The construction cost of a website is based on what it does and how much function/content is required to achieve that end. So to state a maximum budget without knowing what you're building is like saying you will not pay more than x for painting an unknown house.

A good proposal accurately represents end user expectations and unless the development is simple, the statement of work must include the customer as one of the active members of the development team.

Most poorly implemented websites result from designers not know how and/or customers not knowing what.

Customers are usually not so good at explaining their vision, often because they don't have one, and technical people sometimes are too eager based on what they think will suffice, or worse, what they did last time.

A good proposal includes:

- an explanation of the process that will be used (see design process below)

- at least one customer stakeholder being part of the group

- a list of tangible deliverables (what does the customer get?)

- a delivery timeline that ties to a payment schedule

- the conditions (e.g., same stakeholder must remain in the project for the duration)

- the exclusions (e.g., the price does not include lunch or beer)

Here's an example of a design process that we have used in the past to help educate clients. And here's another doc that has been useful when customers want a proposal when no blueprint exists.

In the end, a good proposal contains only enough information so to produce a win-win result and for that, there is no boilerplate.

One size does not fit all.

Buying Search Terms Outside the Norm

2008-03-27T13:28:41Z

Recently we updated a2WiFi.com because we were holding the Best Of Awards and decided to expand the Google ads from one to four. What's interesting about this? Well, not sure if it's really interesting at all... but we used to get nothing but WiFi related ads. How to install one, where to buy WiFi gear, other hotspot directories...

Now just about every ad is about home values, apartment hunting and foreclosure listings.

Our keyword density hasn't changed... we still put at least one WiFi or wireless internet into each post. Guess this must be a sign of the times... that internet savvy agents are purchasing search terms outside the norm.

By the way, if you're from the Ann Arbor area, there are three bars in contention for the best WiFi place to have a beer while you check the MLX. If you are into such activity, you're invited to cast your vote.

Slash Your Cell Phone Expense!

2008-03-01T21:24:01Z

If you're like everyone else I know, you spend lots of time on your cell phone. You have a "package" from your cell provider that gives you x number of minutes. If you go over that limit, expect one large scary bill. They will not warn you. No simple email "heads-up" to let you know that your current consumption is on track to exceed your limit. Of course not. That would be like the video store calling you to remind you. No way. Not going to happen.

So here's an idea that's rock solid technology, both in performance and price... and a way to reduce your monthly
consumption of your precious cell minutes.

If you use a laptop and you are frequently in a WiFi zone, such as a coffee shop, then here's what you do:

First, before you begin, this is what you need:

- A WiFi ready laptop (all of them have this now!)

- A $15 headset that plugs into your laptop (speakers and a microphone)

Some laptops have these built-in, but go ahead and blow the $15 or $20 on a headset from BestBuy or wherever... the call quality is so good it will amaze you.

With your laptop and headset.... here we go...

1. Create an account on CALLCENTRIC.COM

This is what's called a SIP provider which is like a phone company but for your computer.   Think of them as
AT&T except that you like doing busines with them. :)

It costs nothing to create an account at CallCentric. (If you're doing this for the first time and have no idea what this is about, then recruit a friend with a laptop to do this with you as like Alexander Bell, you'll need two people to create that "holy cow Watson, this is sweet!")

After you create an account, you'll have a user name and a new phone number.   To the left is what mine looks like.

This is your SIP phone number.   Most will not know what that means, so enjoy feeling technically superior!   (it doesn't matter if they know, you're doing this to reduce your cell phone bill)

Important: You're not changing your phone number. This is for your outgoing calls only... A way to reduce your airtime minutes.

Next... (this is simple and free too)

2. Download a copy of XLite from CounterPath

XLite is a software program that's free to download that will give you what's known as a "soft" phone.   Soft means it's just a program on your laptop.   It looks like a phone, it acts like one, but you can't clip it to your belt, put it in your purse or leave it in the men's room.

(They have Windows and Mac versions)

The image to the left is what my phone looks like. It installs quickly and the configuration part is pretty simple. (even works in Vista!)

3. Configure your XLite Phone

XLite, your soft phone, is not related to CallCentric, so if you have problems, you can't call them.   Forget contacting CounterPath because why would they help you fix your free download?   So, pay attention and you won't have to call either of them.

Once XLite is running, you need to connect your soft phone to your SIP provider (CallCentric).

It's really easy, so hang with me here.

When your phone loads, click the SIP Account Settings. Looks like this:

Now just fill in five fields. It's the stuff you created over all CallCentric. Really simple. Here's what my settings look like.

Once you save this, your XLite phone should think for a few seconds, then show you a READY screen that looks like this... (except with your new SIP phone number)

Now what can you do?

- Call any other CallCentric user anywhere in the world, for free
- Call any landline or mobile phone in the US for a flat fee of $20/month
- Pay as you go for about 2 cents per minute to anywhere in the US

As long as you're in a decent WiFi cafe you will have call quality that EXCEEDS what you're used to on your cell phone. I've tested this over and over again and even with the $15 headsets, it's simply amazing quality.

If you have any problems with this, and getting that first install is sometimes a challenge, drop me a note or call. We plan to write a short how-to on this and any feedback helps both of us.

http://apin.com 734-253-2305 (office num)

PS. yes, this is a Skype type of service... but MUCH better, both quality and cost

Don't Pay $100+ Hour for Tech Support

2008-02-17T09:02:52Z

A small agent office (5 people) wanted to upgrade their network and PCs.   They've never had anything installed properly -- much like how we've all done... Run to Best Buy, purchase something, use CD install wizard, plug things in, then make a mental plan to circle back and clean up the wires, document it all... later.

I went in to assess the situation.   It was medium bad, but I had seen worse. (Sidebar: I had seen *much* worse in data centers where I had spent many years as an IT manager at auto manufacturing plants)

Here's a good indicator of their current status. They had wires hanging from the ceiling, those same wires suspended the network hub, the thing that supplied connectivity to the rest of the office.   Hey, it doesn't weigh all that much, so technically, that's not all that terrible.   But usually when you see this, there's lots of other issues that aren't as easily photographed.

They had plenty of issues:

- Critical data stored on PCs with no backup
- Open access on their WiFi and no firewall
- Shared drives with no security
- No central storage -- at all

But the most alarming part: They had no document management system.

They would scan official client papers, convert them to PDFs and email them via public email accounts (like gmail, hotmail, yahoo...)   They never considered the very scary downside that if their network was hacked OR if a client received one of their emails, it was potentially wide open to reception by anyone sitting next to said client at any WiFi coffee shop.   This is major liability, not just an efficiency issue.

Back to not paying $100/hour for tech support...

So what it would take to fix all these things was pretty simple. We drafted an action list of what needed to be done.

Now all we needed was a techno-person to follow orders and get busy.   I estimated it would take 20-30 hours to fully revamp their office.   This is Ann Arbor where there is no shortage of technical people looking for contract gigs.

I ran an ad in CraigsList and within three days I had 18 good responses.    That's more than I had expected, however, my assumption was correct: There are lots of locals willing to do this work for ~ $20/hour.

The challenge: If you're doing this on your own, now you have the chore of going through the 18 to find the one or two that will deliver effective services for that rate.   If you're paying someone by the hour, (which is what most computer support people want), then you need to make sure

a.) you know what needs to be done and have listed it in clear techno term

and

b.) they know what they're doing.

I've heard plenty of stories of techies working for hours, then throwing up their hands, but still feeling fine handing you an invoice for time that produced no results.

So here's my suggestion:

First, realize you will always need a technical person to support your office.

Second, find someone local that has a small computer practice and offer to promote their business to your clients.     If you've not tried Craigslist, give it a shot. (Here's the ad I ran that yielded the 18 responses)

Third, in exchange for reliable, reasonable-priced services, offer to create a relationship with said techno person to promote them to your clients.   (if of course, they turn out to be a dependable hidden gem)

At least in our economy here, there are hundreds of very qualified IT people looking for opportunities, some that are being forced into entrepreneurship because of layoffs or buyout packages.

For years I've been saying that one day soon, Michigan will become competive with outsourcing to places like India.   I'm making it official, at least in Michigan, that day has arrived.

Self-Nagging Tip To Finish That Next Blog

2008-02-09T16:11:11Z

When I'm writing something, I don't always finish it in one sitting. A new proposal or a whitepaper can take hours, as can a good blog.   Creating posts/stories or documenting successful business practices is something best done, a little bit every day.

This is about how I remind myself to keep at it.

What I do is put a text document into the startup folder of my laptop.   (The document is whatever I'm currently writing) Each time I fire up my PC, the text document pops up making it pretty much impossible to ignore. Even if I don't have time to add or edit, it's still a great way to keep the mental juices flowing.

If you want to nag yourself with your next blog-in-progress, here's what you do (assuming of course, you're running Windows)

1. Create a text file on your desktop (right-click, New/Text Doc) Name it something like, "MyNextPost"   Put a sentence in there and save it.

2. Go to your Start button and right click, then Open

3. Double-click Programs folder

4. Double-click Startup folder

5. Drag your MyNextPost document into the Startup folder (my current writing project is called eBook.txt)

If you decide you no longer want to be nagged by your text document each time you restart, just delete it from the Startup folder.

Having Firefox Check Spelling in Titles

2008-02-09T15:41:05Z

I know this is a boring post, but I said I would put this up here in my last, so here ya go.

Firefox will spell check in textarea fields (the place where you type your posts) but, by default, does not check in text input fields, such as where you enter the title.

To get FF to check spelling up there, here's all you have to do:

1. Type about:config into the browser (the place where you would normally put http://google.com)

2. You will get a long list of the settings in Firefox. To find the one that needs to be modified, put layout.spellcheckDefault into the filter window. (or scroll down to the Ls which is way down there)

3. Now double-click the one item that should be visible and change the 1 to 2. Click OK and now you can start putting fancy/lengthy words into your title with confidence :)

And now, should your keyboard malfunction when entering the Title of your next blog... Firefox will let you know about it!

How To Compose A Blog!

2008-02-09T09:21:39Z

Have I lost my mind posting something with that title? I hope not.

Here's what I've noticed...

Some write blogs directly inside of the blogging application. e.g., They open the edit window right here in AR and start typing. Don't do that!! This is not the best approach. Here's why:

You should compose your posts offline and you should use Notepad or any other generic text editor to create your copy.

OFFLINE COMPOSING

Offline means you're not connected to the internet. This means you can write on your laptop anywhere, no WiFi needed. That's even another benefit!

Why compose this way?

Because often the first thought that flows from your head to your fingers *may* not be your best version.
When you compose offline, you have time to proof and edit (and edit again) before going live.   Also, when you write offline, you can hit SAVE, keeping a local copy safely tucked away on your frequently backed-up hard drive. :)

The risk of composing online: The most common is typos and grammar bloopers.   More deadly is the browser crash potential.   If you browser dies while you're in mid-post on AR ... poof! your work is gone!

THE TEXT EDITOR PART

There are generally two components to a finished post.   Copy and layout.   These should not be done at the same time. Write the words, edit them, check the grammar, spell-check it... if you're not a good proofer, then have someone else give it a quick once-over.

When your copy has "been approved" THEN do your layout work which generally is cropping images.

With your approved copy and images, THEN head to ActiveRain and copy paste in your text.    If you are using Firefox, you will have one last crack at typos as Firefox will underline those words that it doesn't recognize.

A tiny warning: Firefox does not check spelling in the title because the spell checker is enabled only for textarea fields, not text input fields. That's easy to change which I'll explain in my next post!

(By the way, the reason for using a text editor is that is doesn't format the text. However, if you want bold, red fonts, then using Word or any other word processor is fine. Personally, I'm a text guy because I'm a big believer in keeping the copy and format efforts separate.)

Make your Contact Us Drop Dead Simple to Find/Use

2008-01-28T06:28:42Z

A few posts ago I wrote something about a thing called DEEF box from cqSight which is some technology that allows websites to improve how they can connect with visitors.   Below is a story from a real person who was moving to a new city.   We asked her to tell us what it was like trying to make contact, in this case with an agent, with only help from Google.

Here's her story:

After weeks of long-distance interviews and dialogue, I get the call: You're hired. Ann Arbor, Michigan, location of incredible resources: the University of Michigan. The original Border's book store. Google AdWords, even. Zingerman's, here I come. A small city with great amenities and services, river, parks, bike trails. Restaurants, music, art—a great place to live... at least that's what I've been told.

I'm ready to find my new home, ASAP. With the internet I can find an agent quickly--this might even be fun. I'll leave my contact info, wait a bit for someone to call me. I'll go with the first friendly voice who answers my
questions and sounds like they care.

Naturally, Google brings up a slew of them. Too many in fact. The first one has a home page shows a toll-free number and tabs for "Contact Us" link and "My Home Finder."

That doesn't really help me.

I don't know anything about Ann Arbor neighborhoods— so forget talking to a receptionist or wading through listings by price range. I want to connect with an agent who is ready to get me the details on locations in the areas that fit me.   I've got enough to do now, I want to find an agent that's going be my expert, representing me. I like doing things online and I want an agent who thinks like I do.

So...Contact Us it is but finding it isn't always so quick and easy. Ah, there it is, click ... whoa! the company's mailing address?? more phone numbers and department heads!?   Do they really think I'm going to walk a letter over to the post office to find an agent??

My next move: The BACK button.

Next site. Phone number, more search for homes forms and no visible Contact Us. What's the deal here?   Why don't they make it SIMPLE for me to give my name and email address?

Next. Next. Finally, I find one with a Contact Us form, even better, a Find an Agent tab. But Find an Agent just produces a list of names—with icons after each for their web sites and phone numbers.   Why do I care
about their names and phone numbers?   I just want to give someone my email address and have them call me!!

I could just start with the first and start dialing until someone answers their phone... No! That's not what I want! Maybe nice for the first few agents on the list I guess, but I don't want to search by phone and just because your name starts with A doesn't mean you're the best!

Finally I find a few with Contact Us forms but some with up to eight REQUIRED fields?? Why??? You just need my email, possibly my name. If you're worried about me being a spam robot, then ask me to add 2+4. I'm pretty sure spam robots can't do math.   Sure, I can take the time to to enter all eight fields, but hey, this is a first date. We're not going steady yet!

I am irritated. Forget this. I pour a glass of wine, go to iTunes and use up the rest of that Xmas gift card.   Maybe I'll try again tomorrow, but end up writing a friend in Ann Arbor to ask about some FSBOs in her neighborhood.

Of the 36 sites that I visited, the BACK button was used frequenlty; I left my email address on maybe 3 of them. The rest were too busy, too clumsy to navigate or the contact us form either required too much effort to find it or had too many fields to complete.

Next time you look at your website, maybe think, "how easy is it for someone to contact me?"

Curious to know which company was the best/worst? We posted some details on APIN.COM

Write Less, Sell More

2008-01-17T09:27:29Z

We all use email for a living now.   It's convenient. It creates a trail of history.   It can even be oh so efficient because you can CC the world keeping everyone in the loop.

Just keep this in mind: Sometimes less is more.   In business email, here are some rules I have developed over the many failed projects that crumbled, in part, due to botched electronic communication.

1. Don't CC someone unless they need to know.   (and if you do need to let someone know and your email is monster long with old threads, tell them what part they need to read or send them a separate note with only the important stuff included)

2. NEVER BCC someone as a way of letting them in on a secret. They hit REPLY ALL and you're screwed.

3. Zero emotion unless it's a smiley face letting them know the closing is scheduled and will be problem-free. (even that's a risky one)

4. Keep sentences short. Read your note, then see how many words you can remove and still keep the same message.

5. Don't use LOL or LMAO abbreviations -- even if your 20-something buyer/seller does.

6. Include your contact info in every communication. Never make a customer search for how to call you.

7. Never SEND an email if you're angry. Writing it is fine, just don't send it until you've chilled. (also, if you do compose while you're agitated, DO NOT put the customer email address in there. USE YOUR address in the event of premature e-sendulation.

8. If you're sending important stuff and you're not a good writer, Have someone proof it. Presentation matters.

9. Don't spend time formatting the message. Use words to express what's needed, not 20 point red bold face fonts. If you need action, then end with ACTION NEEDED FROM YOU... (putting ACTION NEEDED in the subject is also a good idea)

10. Avoid slang especially when dealing with those who don't have English as their native language. If you need to drive home this point, go here and put in your favorite expression and see how it comes back. Now you know where "I think something got lost in the translation" originated.

"I think we are kicking a dead horse here" translates to "Task the fact that we give a horse that dies here to an effect."

...and of course the obvious. Writing an email in ALL UPPER CASE means you are either really upset or a techno idiot, both impressions are good to avoid. :)

The Power of the Blog

2007-12-28T20:42:52Z

More common than not, I get people that just don't get the power of the blog. What's the point? Why bother? I don't really know what to write...

Here's a really good example of when it just works.

Some local guy chases down a bad guy. Catches bad guy, then gets fired for it. The newspaper that ran the story didn't intend for it to become a firestorm of posts, but what a great example of how it works...

Yes, I actually did the trolling thing and tossed in some comments just to get some feedback. Minutes later, I was called a TWAT! How cool is that?!!

I know that here in AR, the point is not supposed to be to TRY to get on home page to be "featured" and get hundreds of post points, but often it takes a real event with real people and really "honest" bloggers. This, I'm guessing, it why reality TV is causing so much pain for the "real" Hollywood writers.

Anyway, here's the story: (paraphrased/improvised so I can claim it as my own!)

John, local seafood worker at Texas-based Whole Foods in Ann Arbor is on break. He's outside the store and hears a cry for help; his manager is chasing some guy who just ripped off a backpack full of products. John gives chase and apprehends said (alleged) bad guy off of company premises. John grabs his jacket, and places him under citizens' arrest which is legal in Michigan. Manager finally arrives on scene and tells John to "release" so bad guy sprints to freedom. Police arrive, bad guy ... he's gone. John... they fire him for touching the customer. (with customers like this, how long can you stay in business?)

Bottom line: Lots of them, but three is enough to give you my drift:

1. Blogging works, often when you don't plan for it

2. Chasing bad guys, may not always be good for career advancement

3. Ann Arbor News should try WordPress and a faster server

I could go on and on, but that would keep you from reading this gem.

(I was poster kazmo... and yes, I pulled traffic back to ActiveRain! :)

Real Estate Economy In Eastern Europe

2007-12-03T10:26:18Z

Just got back from a trip to Hungary and Romania. Spent one entire day talking about real estate, housing construction, the economy and the environment. I'll post a few of these, starting with something we can all relate to...

I don't know too many happy about current gas prices.

What softens the blow over there (just a bit) is that it's some other currency per liter.    Hey, only 218.9 HUFs/L... but dang, pull out the conversion table and it starts to make sense why cars like the ones to the left are so common.

It's really clear that the good old USD is sucking wind.   $1 USD = 170 HUF and 1 liter is ~ 1/4 gallon...so that means 1 gallon of gas there is 218*4 or 872 HUFs which puts us at ~ $5.13 per gallon.

I'm no automotive marketing wiz, but seems little tiny cars like this (very inexpensive, two=seater, internal combustion, 60+ miles per gallon and pretty stylish) would sell here.   Yes yes, you can't pull the boat, can't take the kids to soccer, no place for golf clubs.   And of course, if you happen to collide with a Hummer, they might assume you were just a speed bump.

I know there are MANY planned communities that could peacefully co-exist with these high efficiency darn cute mini-cars. But... I don't expect to see any rolling off Ford assembly lines, at least not until we hit $5.14/gallon.

Footnote:

We almost had these ... In 2002 Ford Motor Co introduced a tiny car line called THINK but in July of 2004, they decided it was best to send the entire inventory to the crusher (yes, actually smash them into small cubes of metal and plastic) rather than sell them all to eager buyers. (Because of Greenpeace protests Ford did "re-think" their decision because crushing those cars was also likely to crush some shareholder value.)

Don't Scold Your Visitors With Ugly 404 Pages

2007-11-20T12:48:57Z

404, that's geek-speak for "page not found"

Popele don't always type thigsn as they intend. When this happens on your website, don't punish them with some ugly default 404 error message or even worse, some big bold, "You are an error!"

I did a search for "real estate agents michigan" and intentionally did a typo into the first site on the list. This was my greeting. This was my first impression of their site...

That was it. No search box, no, "hey, as long as you're here, how about this?"

Visitors do not always get to your pages via a click. In fact, the best traffic is when people take the time to type your domain into their browser.   Granted, if they typo your domain name, you can't catch that -- oh wait, sometimes you can. If you have a name that easily misspelled you should consider purchasing the typo variants of it.   (ActiveRain should have purchased this one ... ActivRain.com)

People think at 800 words a minute, talk about 500 words a minute but most of us type at under 50 a minute.   It's amazing when we don't make typos.

While we're on the topic, what are the five types of typos?    Well, here they are in case you're curious:

1. Misspelling (Googul.com)
2. Transposition (Googel.com)
3. Omission (Gogle.com)
4. Double Strike (Gooogle.com)
5. Wrong Key (Googke.com)

Here's a well crafted 404 page that makes you feel like you didn't screw-up: http://ShipMyCar.com

I'd give you an example of a bad one, but I think you already know what those look like. Anyway, you get the idea. So take the 20 minutes and craft up a clever 404 page so *when* they do make a boo-boo, your response will give them something to smile about, and best possible scenario, pass-around to their friends.

Put down the mouse, step away from the keyboard

2007-11-12T02:52:37Z

All of my posts suck ... Except this one

Ok, that was an exaggeration, or maybe not.   It's part true, part attempted attention-getter.

This isn't about any clever technical ideas about how meta tags and keywords in your website can help you sell more homes.

Tips like that and so much of what I've written -- it's all just tactical fluff/info overload.   Yes, it's all real advice; it really might help, but the point is that all this reading and writing is a subtraction from the time and energy of other things that make you successful.

And come on, how much information do we really need to share/can we absorb?

Tactics are important and lots of what's on ActiveRain is a real treasure. But be careful where you spend your time and energy because those are non-renewable. An hour of reading blogs or an hour spent writing one is time invested; usually with a scant ROI.

Go workout. Call a friend. Schedule lunch with a client. Join some local non-profit group to connect with your local community, and maybe apply some of the tactical fluff ... then come back and tell us about it.

Optimize your ad dollars: Know your web traffic

2007-11-11T09:27:30Z

Recently we were asked to help a real estate firm with multiple domain names improve the performance of their traffic.   They were spending plenty on PPC (pay-per-click) ads, and people were clicking because Google continued to max-out their ad budget daily, but lead quantity was flat or even falling.

Step 1 is always asking this: "How do you analyze your traffic now?"

The three most common answers:

1. Anaylze traffic? What's that?
2. We look at our web logs
3. We use a service

It's amazing how many companies have large ad budgets but then never implement any kind of tracking program to keep an eye on what works. Here's a good example.   The above company had purchased a domain, then connected it to a PPC campaign and watched how their visitor count jumped.   What they didn't know was they had a bounce rate of about 95% -- a term that describes what you do when you hit a page you don't want.

If you are spending *any* money on web traffic, here are my top things that you should be doing to maximize the performance of your ad dollars:

1. Review your traffic at least once a month. If you start a campaign, it's critical to have a baseline of performance.

2. Don't stare at meaningless numbers like total visits or top referrers.   Your mantra should be "We want leads, not just clicks"

3. Know your bounce rate on all your entrance points (web logs generally can't tell you that)

4. Know which links perform and which ones to move/change

5. Know and track ATOS (average time on site)   How long someone stays matters!

6. If you have multiple domains, make it easy to view trends all on one report.

Solutions

If you're using web log reports from things like Webalizer, that's better than nothing, but it's not a useful tool for optimizing your site(s). Here's a snip from a Webalizer report that they were attempting to use to monitor ad campaign effectiveness...

While better than nothing, this would be just one rung above. (because tracking totals does nothing to tell you what visitors are doing on your site) Also, look at Sites vs Visits on the 30th. 2658 visits coming from 1722 sites? Not even sure how you would do that!

Google Analytics is hard to argue. Their interface is simple, the technology for getting data involves inserting some simple code into your web pages. What they also do beyond a Webalizer approach is tell you how your links are performing.

To the left is a sample I ran from one of my sites yesterday as an example. Based on this one day of traffic, "About You" and "What Do You Get" should be moved, or removed entirely. The idea behind analysis is to "check and adjust" based on trends.

The only downside of free services like Google: You're on your own. If something doesn't work or if you don't understand, there is no Google help desk that's going to answer the phone. However, if you have a basic understanding of this topic, you'll likely have no problem getting the hang of it.

(the tiny bar charts under each link show relative click rates... e.g., Screenshots is twice as popular as Features)

If you haven't tried Google Analytics, try em!

Paid Services

If you run lots of sites, spend lots on ad campaigns and care about performance, a product like clicktracks.com is good idea. It can automate much of the reporting and help you understand visitor behavior to truly measure that which is necessary to convert clicks into leads. I read their whitepaper on Seven Web Analytics Sins, and How to Avoid Them and their opening quote was my favorite part:

"People commonly use statistics like a drunk uses a lamp post; for support rather than illumination.”
- Mark Twain

Highly Useful Lookups: MelissaData

2007-11-06T21:12:02Z

I was needing to get a quick check between two zips and didn't feel like maps.google, mapquest or any other highly graphical solution -- I just wanted number of miles. .., and it's always a treat to come across a website the delivers way more than you expect.

The treat: MelissaData by Raymond F. Melissa

How far is it between two zip codes?

Monthly home sales by zip?

What schools are there in zip 48103?

They've got address and street data, radius searches, stats and averages, demographics and you can even pull all this
into your own site and keep your own branding so visitors are impressed all while keeping your name on their brain.

Very reasonable rates too. A few searches are free, but access is starts at only $100 for a year, or just wait 24 hours when your limit resets.

Check em out. Would like to know what you think about this from a real estate perspective.

MelissaData Lookups

Want feedback from web visitors? Of course! Deef Box Reviewed

2007-11-01T13:33:11Z

How many visitors came to your website yesterday, looked around, then left without telling you about it?

The answer: Most of them

Why did they do that?   Most of them likely didn't care enough to tell you why.   You may have been an errant click from some other site or heck, you could have been visited by your competitor just to deplete your Google ad budget for the day. (No, people don't really do that! :)

But there is *some* percentage that left your site because there was no simple way to contact you.

Ever been to those sites where they want you to fill out some monster form to ask one tiny question? Don't ya hate that?!   Or even worse, you fill out said monster, then it displays the same screen with little red Xs pointing out your mistakes... what is this, school again?

So, enter stage left: DEEF BOX.

Some folks from Naperville, IL came up with a clever idea which they describe like this:

CQsight! Is built on the idea of helping businesses by collecting the user intent by using our patent pending product deef. CQsight also provides qualitative analysis on the data collected by deef.

What's a deef?   It's a made-up word that's patent pending, so don't get any ideas!

This is a deef box:

You sprinkle those on your website using a few snips of code that looks like this:

What's good about this: It's simple to configure, simple to install. The objective, get people to give you feedback about what they did or didn't do on your site.

e.g.,   I wanted to search for a house but your website required a login ID...

Are you going to snag any new buyers or listings with this?   Maybe, because if enough people tell you the same thing, you'll likely correct it ... and it all goes well, they'll include their email address so you can add them to your database of possibilities.

If you want to see a Deef Box in action, I tested this with Joomla (an open source CMS) and it works just fine... head over to SouthAshley if you want to take a peek ... or get your own at CQsight

PS. This product is still in beta so it's not quite ready for prime time... but what they have now is darn close.

Thinking of starting your own? RealtyBlogs Reviewed

2007-10-31T06:40:32Z

I noticed a RealtyBlogs ad here on AR and couldn't help want to go take a peek.   Here's my quick review of what they're offering:

For $99 setup fee and $20 per month they will install a Wordpress blog for you the domain name of your choice.   The $99 setup doesn't sound like a bad deal because no matter how you slice it, it takes at least an hour to
get WP installed, categories configured... new template installed.

Their monthly fee of $20 could be reasonable as it includes hosting and support but they also imply it's not just Wordpress that you're getting:

"The RealtyBlogs solution is built upon the coding structure and system of the highly acclaimed and used WordPress semantic publishing platform. This solution is perfectly integrated with the Content Management System that WordPress provides"

If it's "built upon" WordPress, then you're getting something in addition to WordPress, which they don't make clear.   But, if it's WordPress, what else would you need?   To make a post in a plain-jane off-the-shelf WordPress
site you're looking at

1. Login
2. Click Write a Post
3. Enter a Title and the Post (these words you’re reading now)
4. Select a Category
5. Click Publish
6. Click Sign Out

I timed it... it took six clicks and about one minute.

So that leaves me curious. How can this be made any easier? In fact, if they've created another way to do this, then it's potentially a negative if having full control over your domain is important. (If they've built another way to do this, then moving somewhere else means a new learning curve)

On $20 per Month

RealtyBlogs is part of Dreamhost which seems to be a reliable hosting company as they've been around for a long time.   If you purchase just a straight hosting package from them, it's ~$10/month with no setup fee.   That's reasonable, but not in the ultra cheap category which is all you need to run WordPress, (e.g., cheapo starter account) Here are some other hosting options that are WP-friendly.

Summary

RealtyBlogs is offering to install WordPress for $99 and host it for $20. They should make it more clear what that includes and how their "solution" changes the WordPress experience.

The only site they show in their portfolio (Showcase) is one from Cynthia Vassaur but it appears she's using WordPress as her base website, not something I recommend. A blog should be something outside your base website. Two major reasons for this:

1. You don't want the public posting comments on what should be your presentation to potential clients.

2. I've seen some use WordPress as their base site, and then have no comments -- which makes it look like nobody cares enough to post.

RealtyBlogs might be a good deal but only if you can get help when you need it. $20/month is a tiny amount IF they will answer the phone when you call, return emails and help you when something does go wrong. I was going to call them to ask about their support policy, but they didn't publish a phone number (or even a city/state from which they operate) something they should add to heighten their sense of customer service.

One more thing: They offer to purchase the domain name for you. Don't do that. Buy your own domains, keep them all at one registrar. e.g., GoDaddy.com Trust me, it will save you time/headaches down the road.

Simple and powerful method to generate leads

2007-10-23T11:52:31Z

A few days after one my posts I made about using a "directory tree" to generate traffic, someone emailed me and asked for a real example, something we had done. (A directory tree is just at database that stores things by categories)

I asked them to give me a few weeks to demonstrate a fresh version of this.

Here's my fresh version:

I found a topic that interested me.   It had to do with family heritage, in particular how someone in my family had died at Iwo Jima. I contacted the owner of a website that had created some inertia, but had a website that needed some help.

I offered to have the old site revamped, replacing his HTML pages with a content management system (Joomla).

To determine the size of his site, we asked Google to count his pages, which came to about 60.   Using a thumbnail guide of ~ 4 minutes per page, we figured we could convert the entire site in about a day. (The only tricky part was getting the 5500 names into the directory tree.)

We outsourced the bulk of the conversion to some students and had our guys do the data import.   Entire time: 8 hours of student labor plus 2 hours of engineering time.   Cost for the directory tree was $120. Total one-time cost to build this: ~ $270    (You can spend that much on one ad in the Sunday paper)

Granted, you're likely not going to pick a topic like this, but there are hundreds of similar opportunities in and around your local community. Find *anything* you care about, then offer to help them. In most cases, they'll be glad to co-fund the effort so your out-of-pocket expense is tiny.

So the simple and powerful method to generate leads:

Help people add value to what they do and it always comes back to you.

Here's what I built with an explanation of why I did it

What's your domain name worth?

2007-10-10T13:12:31Z

Whatever someone will pay for it.

I'm on an email list that tells me when live auctions are going to be held. One coming up is Friday, Oct.12 at 2:00pm where massachusettsrealestate.com is looking for something in the six figure neighborhood. (download the entire list if you're curious) That's pretty darn impressive, or at least it will be if they can find a buyer at that price.

Compete shows a tiny amount of traffic, but the search rating for "massachusetts" ... way up there!

Here's the top three MA searches:

44738     mass lottery
29762     boston ma
25347     massachusetts real estate

25,347 is huge ... but what a shame, the above domain is nowhere to be found on page 1 results. (my guess is that they could use some search engine help)

If it does sell for $100K, I'll bet the typos will be scarfed up in a hurry! :)

Anyway, just something to keep in mind when you're adding content to ActiveRain. What would your domain name go for on the auction block?

Does Zillow Suck Or Is It Me?

2007-10-10T07:34:22Z

I'm working on a project for an agent to pull some data to help automate/enhance their CMA process. I wanted to learn what I could so I posted on a few real estate forums and was told to try Zillow.

In case you don't know, Zillow.com is an online real estate service company which launched in February 2006. It was founded by a pair of former Microsoft executives (same guys that did Expedia) Zillow was created to provide home value estimates.

So, I go to have a look, and while the site is Expedia-class in the design, I can't seem to get any data from their 70 MILLION + inventory of homes. I tried searching for homes in a number of posh neighborhoods and this is the most common result:

I'm guessing Zillow is for people that don't know any better. Am I missing something?

(This is more what I was looking for, but for Michigan)

A One Day Blog University - Oct 27th

2007-10-07T08:07:50Z

A friend of mine (Derek from Ingenex) is having a blog camp this month at MoLo / Morris Lawrence building @ Washtenaw Community College — very cool venue.

ArbCamp is a one-day gathering for people to share and learn in an open environment. The very broad organizing theme is social networks and social media. ArbCamp will be a time to see what other people and companies are working on, to meet some new folks, and to listen, demo, scheme, etc.

More info

High Speed Neighborhood Tour

2007-10-07T07:17:46Z

Video home tours can be excellent, but at least for me, they move too slowly. The 5 second pan across each room... come on, move it! This is the internet, high speed at that!

Here's an idea, maybe would be something that would add value to real estate websites so that buyers could tour the neighborhood/ community, not just the inside of potential homes.

Using "What it's like going to work, at rush hour" ... here's the concept. (intended to be funny, so turn on speakers when viewing)

Wordpress and ActiveRain?

2007-10-06T09:25:16Z

You've been making posts for months here, and all that content is something you own. It's likely safe here, meaning that tomorrow and the next day, ActiveRain.com will continue to exist.   But what if?   What if something changed and your data was no longer available to you and your readers?

What you could do is import your posts into Wordpress, which by the way, is the most popular open source blog software out there. What makes WP different from ActiveRain, Typepad and many others is that it's open source.   This means that you can download the software and install it on your website.

WP is simple to install and it's every bit as easy as is ActiveRain to operate. Like all new things, it just takes time to learn.

Wordpress can be installed in five minutes. That's not the hard part.   You can find a excellent templates (how the site looks) in another 10 minutes.   That's also not the hard part.

The biggest "ugh" about starting a new web-anything is the learning curve and in this case, getting your data from ActiveRain copied into a new Wordpress site.

I installed a copy of WP on SouthAshley and then did a copy/paste from a few of my posts here.   It takes about 30 seconds per post but you'll need some extra time for images.   (If you uploaded images to ActiveRain, you'll need to get those to your own website, then update the image link in your post)

Why would you want to do this?   If your blogging here has created a following, you might want to lead them to your own website where you can blog with a very specific purpose... and all your posts here are safe for all time... just in case.

One final tip: Unless you're a person that likes to tinker with technology, hire someone to install Wordpress and import your data. Also, in the event you need to have something tweaked in Wordpress, it will be good to have someone who knows their way around.    (As a rule of thumb, a basic WP install should cost about $50 and hosting for this, maybe $5 per month.    Custom graphics/templates can get expensive, so stick with the free open source stuff until you get the lay of the land)

Getting Buff and Grabbing Some High Quality Free Traffic

2007-10-03T10:20:41Z

Here's my idea for the day... it came to me yesterday visiting a new gym here in town.

They have a new business and they're going to be eager to market their "under new management" campaign. I asked the owner what domain name they had and it wasn't yet decided.

That's opportunity.

Here's what a clever agent could EASILY do with an opportunity like this:

Strike up a relationship with the owner and offer to collaborte on a website that promotes businesses within the radius of influence they desire to reach.

Your pitch:

Let's build a business directory that promotes your fitness facility AND the local community.   For each member that joins your gym, in addition to buffness, they will have the option of being promoted on the website. The idea is that people will visit the site and tell others about it because it promotes what they do.   The site can still have links about the gym, but that's not as important as links about people and businesses -- because those are the ones that will sustain your business.

Help them (the gym owner) with some simple signage in their place of business so members know about this and what benefits exist.   Now all it takes is building the site and adding descriptions of every business.   (Hire a gabby high school student to go collect the information and do the data entry)

Total cost to build the site: ~$ 250.   Data entry... I would guess 15 hours of whatever you pay for reliable students.

For printing, I would go with RushFlyers. They'll send you 5000 double sided full color, full bleed 4x6 post cards for $95.

So total cost: ~ $500

And for this, you have something that has a long shelf life, is almost self-sustaining, tiny maintanance cost and has real value to everyone concerned.

Here's what a concept layout might look like:

They get the header and top left. (that's the highest click area of any website) You take top right corner. (that's the next best) Everywhere else is dedicated to promoting the community that the fitness facility MUST embrace to be successful.

Don't want to spend $500 on your own for this? Then find five other businesses and have them each kick in $100 and share your corner with them. If it goes really well, you could end up with enough traffic to sell space on the site, making it even more attractive for everyone concerned.

PS. I grabbed the above image from MOSETS.COM -- those guys have the best business directory, period.