Real Estate Marketing 2.0

Keyword Strategies for Realtors | Advanced Traffic Strategies

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 02:06:49 -0500

A few months ago, I spoke to a room of people about web strategy for Realtors.

For some of you, it will be more of my same old shtick, but it is good basic stuff to review. If you're new to the whole internet marketing thing, then there is some real gold here that could change your business very dramatically if you implement it successfully. Our clients typically derive between %50 and %70 of their traffic from our Search Engine Tactics and I give it ALL away here, nothing is held back,. you just have to follow the road map and you'll see the same types of results, I have no doubt.

Someone was good enough to captured it on video and after reviewing it, I thought it would be good to share it here.

Learn more about how to find out what keywords to use by reading this post on Keyword Research

Seo Optimized Website Tools and Strategies

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:20:24 -0500

I'd like you to take a look at these tools and strategies carefully, we've taken a lot of time to create a custom system that embraces a lot of the principals I talk about here.

As a system capable of distributing your content over multiple domains, our system has proven itself effective for our marquii client, Rick Stonehouse.

As we roll it out now for more realtors, Karin Davidson, David Crawford, Toni Pohl, we are able to see the results that it's had on their business.

Consistently dominating the search engines due to our advanced strategy and built in functionality that enables you to claim top spots in the search engines while others simply don't give you access to the same tools.

Not all systems are created with the same focus, ours was made with search engine optimization in mind.

We are working towards offering a new real estate buying experience that embraces the life of the customer, not the deal.

Watch these screencasts to see how our system differs from others on the market.

Contact us early while we are still in pre release mode and help us to build a more versatile, powerful engine, we're looking for early adopters like you. Real Estate Marketing 2.0

Waterfalls of Traffic to your Website

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:49:24 -0500

How many traffic sources do you have driving traffic to your website? We like to set up as many as possible, then track the traffic for you and start to really focus on the ones that are working.

Our traffic building programs start at $197/M and go up to $997 per month depending on how aggressive you'd like to be about building your inbound links.

Your Search Ranking on Multiple Google Data Centers

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:27:47 -0500

This is a cool tool that let's you search your keyword relevance on not just "google" but each of their data centers.

This can give you a good idea of how you rank all over the world, as well as show you upcoming changes to your ranking (your page rank will migrate accross data centers).

Multiple Datacenter Keyword Position Check Tool © SEO Chat™ <form name="form" action="http://www.seochat.com/" method="get">

URL
Valid URL to check

Keyword
Enter keyword/phrase

Data Center
Select datacenter range.

Select Country/Language
Select Country/Language (optional).

Enter Captcha To Continue
To prevent spamming, please enter in the numbers and letters in the box below

Report Problem with Tool.

</form>

Traffic Secrets 2.0 - Now Launched

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:18:16 -0500

John Reese is one of those mastermind guys that knows how to move a ton of web traffic on the web. The free info alone on this program is well worth your time to check out.

This is the link to his traffic secrets 2.0 course, this is good stuff that adds to anyone's bag of marketing tricks.

http://StrataXL.com/likes/trafficsecrets

John Reese to Release Traffic Secrets 2.0

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:43:45 -0500

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm a web traffic nut. Well on July 15th, John Reese one of the internets best know marketers, will be releasing Traffic Secrets 2

I know I can't wait for it, I'll keep you guys posted when it goes live, I know you'll want to spend the money on this one, he's always got top notch information. See the screencast below for more info.

Some Videos on AgentXL

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:26:12 -0500

I thought that I'd post a few videos about the back end of AgentXL

If any of you want to beta test it, simply type in http://yourname.agentxl.com

Still a little rough without some setup, but you can see from the videos that it's quite comprehensive on the back end.

10 things you can do to improve your search ranking.

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 01:35:36 -0500

Looking for more traffic to your site?

These are 10 things you can do to make sure you're optimizing your site for the most traffic possible.

Domain age
Search engines always favor those sites which have been around on the internet for many years, so the domain age is a very important consideration.

Regular upgrade
Make sure that you update your website regularly, since the search engines always favor those sites which are always up-to-date.

Meta tags
Use Meta tags. They are the invisible tags and the search engines can identify them for categorization of content.

Heading tag
Always use a heading tag, and most importantly, make the heading tag a keyword which should be relevant to the base of the matter that you are writing.

Keywords
Use keywords in the articles and make them bold. But don’t overdo this; it is really a big put-off!

External links
Make sure that there are external links to almost all the pages of your website. If there are links to many pages of your website, then the search engines will feel that your site has a lot of good content to offer, and it will add value to your site. But if most of the external links head to your home page, then the conclusion will be that your site has nothing worthwhile to offer!

Multiple domains
You can have many domains if you have varied topics, and each of whom can warrant a website of its own. This is beneficial because the search engines generally target only one page per website, mostly the homepage, so if you have multiple domains, you can increase your exposure easily.

Keyword research
While starting a project, do a thorough research on the keyword. There are free versions of Word Tracker and Keyword Discovery, but they also have a paid version which is even better. So your budget permitting, opt for the paid one with many added features.

Scope for improvement
SEO is not an event which you can take up once and then forget. The algorithm of search engines change quite often, so what did well last year may not perform in the same manner this year. So you need to be committed to continuously strive for betterment. Be patient Results will not show overnight. If you are new to SEO, prepare yourself for at least a month’s outlook to see positive results.

SEO friendly URL
Make URL’s that are SEO-friendly. They should be short and any URL which has more than 3 hyphens is generally not taken to kindly by the users. Hyphens act as a purpose for giving a space in URL’s, but don’t use too many of them

Marketing with Social Networks - 10 tips

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:22:14 -0500

This applies both to general marketing and for search engine optimization. All of these sites let you link back to your site which adds to your page rank and Search Engine Results.

In no particular order, here are 10 tips on how to use Social Networking sites in your marketing.

Go where the people are
This seems obvious but should be stated. Use a social network that is busy. You want to go where other people are going to get the most effect from your efforts.

Optimize for best results
Do everything you can on your page to make it stand out and be memorable. You want to optimize it to the max so you will get the most benefit.

Add friends carefully
On most networks you can choose to screen any friends before they are added. You should choose this option and make sure that you are friends with people who represent your values and support your overall message. Take the time to check out each request and just don’t approve everyone who asks.

Add content with care
Make sure that anything you put on your page represents you. Make sure it is professional and will not tarnish your image in any way.

Be aware of your audience
Make sure you understand that you are dealing with the general public. That may include children. You should always take the high road and never put anything questionable on your page.

State your purpose
Make it clear why you are on the site. You need to make sure people know you are there for business and not for finding a relationship. This is important or else you will be bombarded with offers from the opposite sex to chat and get to know each other which can be a he time waster.

Use photos
Have your photo on there. It has been shown that pages with photos get more traffic and interest than those without photos.

Customize
Customize your page to fit you. Add in backgrounds and other fun stuff to show off your personality. Remember these sites are for networking and getting to know others. People want to meet a friendly and fun person so be that.

Fill out your profile
Make sure you completely fill out your profile. You do not want blank space on your page. Plus filling it in gives people information about you and helps them get to know you.

Add target content
Make sure that you still think about your target market. Make sure that you stay targeted. You can still pick up search engine rankings through this page so think smart. Link your site Do not forget to put up your link. You can easily get caught up in meeting people and fixing up your page that you forget to add in your link.

AgentXL Real Estate Software

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Thu, 15 May 2008 02:05:58 -0500

I did this almost as much to check out vidler and try recording directly from my webcam. It would make for a simple way to do video blogs. My webcam is pretty low end, so I'm sure the quality would come up with a better cam also, but I was happier with this than with the video record off either facebook or youtube so.. here it is, my elevator pitch :)

The link to the site is AgentXL.com

Here's Why Paying For Your Traffic Is A Smart Move

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:37:28 -0500

There are tons of success stories you'll hear about businesses making it good on the internet. The troubling thing is, there are maybe a tenfold or even a hundredfold the number of contradictory stories . More than a few have unsuccessfully launched a business that is internet based. In the end, like most business, it's only the truly committed that will succeed.

Is this through luck? That's even more unlikely. It takes good business sense and a lot of help and good team effort. Most importantly, it is an eagerness to succeed, the determination to learn and the willingness to invest in a lot of hard work and probably some money as well.

The Very Basics

Like Neo, traffic is “The One”. Without traffic, all your effort would just go to waste. Every business needs customers, without them you wouldn’t have anyone to sell your products to. In the internet world traffic is the walk in customer. The more traffic you have the more people would be able to sell your products to.

But like any business that’s in the corner building or in the mall, not everyone that goes in will buy, but the greater of number that do come in to browse your merchandise, the greater number of people that will buy your products. It is a simple and known fact.

But, how do you get traffic, traffic large enough that could make a small percentage of eventual buyers enough to make a good profit. Many big companies generate traffic of tens of thousands a day and a measly ten to fifteen percent actually buys, but that small percentage is enough to provide them with good business.

Many of these success stories get their traffic from paying others. Yes that’s right; you have to spend money to make money. Advertising is the key. The more people that knows that your site exists; the more people would of course go to your site, that’s common sense.

While there are many ways that can get you advertising for free, this do not generate the same high volume as those methods that are getting paid. These paid advertisements include advertising schemes by Google and Yahoo.

The Value of Searches

The search and will be the easiest and fastest medium in finding what a person needs in the internet. Search engines have been very popular because they provide a vital service to many people. They are free and easy to use. With this popularity, they get many visitors and clicks that they are the most common sites that people go to. It is easy to understand why so many companies would pay to advertise with these search engines.

Search engines provide information to the millions of users that they have each day. They provide links to many sites that a user may be looking for. If your sites link pop up in the high ranks of the search results page, you get a great chance that they will go to your site. While search engine optimization is a cheaper and low cost way to get your site a high rank, paying for advertisements will ensure that you will be on the top ranks.

When you pay for your advertisements, it is like paying for your traffic. This may sound like not such a good idea, but the payoffs would tell a different story. When you pay for your traffic, you are guaranteed of a consistent traffic flow to your site. You will never go with an empty sales day.

Paying for your Traffic

Usually, you will be charged with the number of hits a link gets when your ads is clicked, this is called pay per click. For some search engines, you will be charged with the number of times your ad shows up when a certain keyword or keyword phrase is searched. It is imperative that you have good keyword content in your ad. There are many tools that aid you in using the right keyword for the right moment.

All the money you spend in paying for your traffic will not be for naught. You will get an impressive boost in traffic which will also result to a great boost in your sales figures. Paying for your traffic would be a really good idea and you will get all the benefits it has to offer.

Pros and Cons of Flash-based Sites

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:32:49 -0500

Flash-based sites have been a craze since the past few years, and as Macromedia compiles more and more great features into Flash, we can only predict there will be more and more flash sites around the Internet. However, Flash based sites have been disputed to be bloated and unnecessary. Where exactly do we draw the line? Here's a simple breakdown.

The good:

Interactivity

Flash's Actionscript opens up a vast field of possibilities. Programmers and designers have used Flash to create interactve features ranging from very lively feedback forms to attractive Flash-based games. This whole new level of interactivity will always leave visitors coming back for more.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Better expression through animation

In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real "movie files" that are raster based and hence much larger in size.

The bad and the ugly:

The Flash player

People have to download the Flash player in advance before they can view Flash movies, so by using Flash your visitor range will decrease considerably because not everyone will be willing to download the Flash player just to view your site. You'll also have to put in additional work in redirecting the user to the Flash download page if he or she doesn't have the player installed.

Site optimization

If your content was presented in Flash, most search engines wouldn't be able to index your content. Hence, you will not be able to rank well in search engines and there will be less traffic heading to your site.

Loading time

Users have to wait longer than usual to load Flash content compared to regular text and images, and some visitors might just lose their patience and click the Back button. The longer your Flash takes to load, the more you risk losing visitors.

The best way to go is to use Flash only when you absolutely need the interactivity and motion that comes with it. Otherwise, use a mixture of Flash and HTML or use pure text if your site is purely to present simple textual and graphical information.

Don't use it for navigation unless you have something that will trigger a text version of your nav bar when the flash fails to load - even then, I'd recommend staying away from flash in your nav elements.

Multi Social Book Marking Site Tool

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Thu, 08 May 2008 04:17:38 -0500

Always a fan of getting more mileage out of your work, I liked this site that gives you a simple interface to bookmark a site or page onto MANY different social bookmarking sites.

http://www.socialmarker.com/

There's a nice feature that even lets you choose only the ones that don't have "no follow" tags.

I like to grab them all, but that's me.

check out the button's that you can use even to get more mileage from your posts.

Learn to use Streaming Video in your web marketing.

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Fri, 02 May 2008 00:57:45 -0500

We are often compelled to use the internet for two main reasons. These are, to either be entertained or to learn something from the information that is shared over the internet. It is often discussed that streaming video is very easy and convenient for individuals to upload on to their websites and be viewed by others, but many people may wonder exactly why streaming video is easy to upload. In order to understand precisely why streaming video is easy to upload, we need to look at the process that is performed when an individual is spending time trying to upload their video or video clips to their website. An individual needs to have the video on their own hard drive, first. Then they will be able to use a software program, of which there are many, to be able to help them upload the video.

In many instances, this entire process can be completed within a number of clicks of the mouse, but it does depend on the upload software that the individual is interested in using. Most times, the process is very easy and uncomplicated, and this is what allows individuals to be able to offer streaming videos to individuals that are trying to receive the files. We use websites in part to exchange different types of information, and some people are able to learn more easily with pictures or live action films as opposed to websites that do not offer the type of medium that most appeals to the individual. We are all different, and while some people can read quickly and learn from the written word, many more people are able to understand visual material at a quicker rate.

If the process were more complicated, then it is very likely that not as many people would offer this service to the visitors of their website. The video that is uploaded in order to be streamed is one in which the creator or host of the video does not need to go through a lot of work, but they do need to have the necessary software when it comes to the upload process. Downloading, or having films or video clips available for being downloaded, is sometimes more complicated for website owners, but they rarely need to purchase software in order to get the clips ready to be downloaded. By contrast, the uploaded video clip needs software but is often incredibly simple and easy.

Many people may not inherently understand this as they are going through and trying to decide which method they would like to use in order to have their videos made available to the audience of their website, and this is why it can be very vital for these people to have the information necessary about the upload process when it comes to videos and websites. Many more people can now be aware about why streaming video is easy to upload, especially when people are trying to find the most convenient and effective way for them to post a video on their website.

Learn Video Blogging

How to use Delicious to create back links to your site

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 14:50:59 -0500

A while ago I posted a video on here about how to Skyrocket your google ranking using social bookmarking sites.

Since thing I've had a lot of requests for more specifics on how to do this and specifically on del.icio.us which is the biggest of the social bookmarking sites.

So with no further ado, here you are... how to use Del.icio.us to drive traffic to your site. It should be noted that since it's got "no follow" tags it severely diminishes the value from a search engine point of view, but that said, I've seen dramatic results with the right keywords and just a few posts to delicious.

This was in reference to a post I did called: Skyrocket your google ranking.

Using Information Products in your Marketing

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 01:32:55 -0500

Information products are not just for the internet marketing geeks with the long sales letters.

You can also use information products in your business to build your brand, establish yourself as an expert and add value to your offering.

Creating a client zone that gives additional resources is an excellent way to add value to your clients and give them something more.

Here are a few other ideas for other information products that you can put together.

Information Product Ideas

New Google Map Integration for our listings manager

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:12:46 -0500

This has nothing to do with SEO (well actually that's not true ... look at the URL stucture here and you'll see it is actually pretty powerful from an SEO point of view) ... but that's not what I'm talking about.

Check out the new google map integration we've done with our listings manager... I'm tickled pink.

All the listings show up "on the map" and it works not only with our realtor accounts, but also on our livein websites.

http://liveonthedrive.com/real_estate/listings

http://liveinstrathcona.com/real_estate/listings

These are both examples of it on the community sites we build .. now for the realtors site

http://rickstonehouse.com/real_estate/listings

What do you think?

Feed back on the layout would be great

More Backlinks with Comment Kahuna

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 02:36:52 -0500

OK, I'm usually more of a "hand made" guy, but I have to admit that this is a nice piece of software that helps you build your backlinks in a very nice, quick ... on target way.

Check out this piece of software - best part is it's free... and I've paid money for scripts that didn't work as well as this does.

Check it out here : Comment Kahuna

Learn about Twitter and get Twittering

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 23:51:24 -0500

Heard of Twitter yet?

It's all the rage, think of it as blogging light.

I've made a screen cast about it, you can check it out here

Introduction to Twitter

Vancouver Get Together For Active Rain Bloggers

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:32:07 -0500

Please see our website for details, but we're getting together to do a presentation on Power Blogging and SEO on Wednesday in Vancouver.

If you're interested in coming out we'll be offering door prizes of some of our ebooks : Squidoo for Realtors, Facebook Advertising and Blogging For Beginners - Each between $29 and $47 values.

AgentXL Technology Get Together

What should Real Estate Agents Podcast About

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:02:40 -0500

Click the link to listen to me talk about:What Realtors can podcast about?

Podcasting is a great way to engage with your audience. Like any content, it's a great way to help your search engine ranking (although, google can only read, so remember to write good keyword descriptions about what your audio is all about.

Enjoy

AgentXL Sneak Preview of Google Map Integration

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 23:03:37 -0500

We're just tweaking our google map integration in our new real estate marketing site AgentXL.com

Have a look at this agentXL screen capture video and tell me what you think?

New Ipaper - Just another way to get your name out there.

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:15:42 -0500

So here's the SEO tip:

Make a document that relates to housing prices in your area. Or maybe it's about the contrast between mortgage rates and local land values.. whatever it is, use your keywords, have it be on subject.

You can do this with your word files, pdf's or other document formats and then put them on scribd.com

scribd.com is a new document sharing platform, you can also use it to embed documents on your website.

See here where I've embeded my bait site report inside the page

http://yourfarmer.com/bait-sites

It means even if you can't publish to the web, you can upload a word file or pdf (tip 2 - get openoffice free, (yes it reads microsuck files) and you can save a word file out as a pdf ... again for free www.openoffice.org )

The cool thing is that scribd is climbing quickly as a social network and PDF's are completely readable now.. so your documents will help your SEO and you can use traditional word and pdf files and display them on your site without a user having to download them.

Neat :)

I've set up a group, just to play around with - come join

http://www.scribd.com/groups/view/3732-real-estate-marketing-2-0

Would you like a free website?

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:47:22 -0500

I'm curious about your reaction to this?

If you could get the same sort of advanced functionality as a competitive service.

Integrated with MLS, client management, mass mail, blogging engines, community maps and other "advanced features"

Would you be likely to use platform that offered you this type of website for free... if it was advertising supported?

So let's say... instead of paying the $37 to $149 per month that you pay now for some hosted template system, would you be more likely to use it if there was a mortgage add attached to the sidebar, or sent at the bottom of each of your mass mails?

Or would you be more likely to simply want an "unbranded" version, and pay for it (let's choose a mean average price of about $89/m)

I'm very curious about what you think?

Obviously there wouldn't be any ads for competing realtors... I'm guessing the market would be in banks, moving companies and mortgage brokers... probably in a CPA type structure (cost per acquisition).

Your comments are appreciated.

Would you like to own the top page of google?

Riel Roussopoulos - SEO & Web Strategy Expert (StrataXL Software Inc.) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 18:43:16 -0600

How's this for a nice trick.

Look carefully at this screen grab.

For our client, Rick Stonehouse, we've successfully positioned him as the top realtor for Commercial Drive.

In fact, the search term Commercial Drive Top Realtor - brings back not just a #1 result.. but 9 out of the 10 first place results.

If it's not one of our "bait sites", it's one of the social media bookmarking sites that we've bookmarked him on. Either way, all roads lead to rome (OK, 9 out of 10 roads in this case lead to rome).

Need those results for your business? Be sure to Contact us about an SEO package for your site.