Dirk's Blog

Genuine Link Building for Real Estate Agents - $99 per Month!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:51:09 -0600

Genuine Link Building for Real Estate Agents - $99 per Month!

More details here:
$99 Per Month for Links

DomainDrivers is announcing a real breakthrough in link building services for real estate agents, with an affordable, sensible, genuine link package.

This package is built for the times. Many of these new link opportunities did not exist, even 12 months ago.

For $99 per month, we will earn at least 25 links per month pointing back to your website(s), from the following sources:

- General web directories (150 links)
- Free real estate directories (50 links)
- Blog directories (50 links)
- Social network sites (50 links)

~~~ No link reciprocation or link exchange directory is required. ~~~

That's 300 one-way links, over twelve months. Please realize that 300 links is a substantial link foundation, for any site.

What's more, this is a month-to-month plan. No long term contracts. You can cancel this service at any time, depending upon your own current needs and goals.

These are foundation links, placed on valid online directories. Every agent website should have these links pointing back to their site or blog, to enhance their online presence and provide a large base of link popularity.

To get these links yourself would take dozens of hours of hunting for their sources, mind-numbing data management work, and cumbersome submission processes. You'd be reinventing the wheel, not selling real estate. We already know were to find these links, and how to get them. We have the methods in place to do it efficiently.

Plus These BONUS Premiums!

All active clients in our link building programs get FREE, full-featured use of our Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate and our Social Network Manager productivity tools, a $25 per month value, at no extra charge.

Just complete the simple "get started" form below, here:
$99 Per Month for Links

We'll follow up to answer your questions and/or arrange payment, and then coordinate with you to collect the data we need about your business and website. We can get started earning your links. Today!

Thanks from the DomainDrivers Team!

30 Second SEO/Link Building Tip #5 - Go Back to Basics!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 10:32:42 -0600

30 Second SEO/Link Building Tip #5 - Go Back to Basics!

As a ten year veteran of the SEO wars, I have never seen a time when there was so much "noise" in the SEO business. Especially in real estate. You'll hear about a new strategy or approach everywhere you turn.

I am not a "my way or the highway" SEO theorist. I've seen several of these new approaches work. But I also apply a "what does it take to get there?" analysis.

There is a huge difference in time and effort between many of these new approaches. Some of them are extraordinarily complex. Many of them demand that you become the "author" that you never wanted to be. Maybe you just don't have the time or inclination to sort it all out.

We think that some of you would prefer something much more straightforward.

If you are a real estate agent, your core task at hand is to generate leads and sell real estate. Getting to that point for the least cost in time and money simply makes sense.

For those of you looking for a back-to-basics approach to improving your search rankings for the search terms that matter to your business, we can help, or you can help yourself. Simply addressing the SEO basics that have worked well for ten years can result in more site traffic, leads, and closings.

Here it is. At the most basic, just do these two very simple things:

- Create well-built "landing pages" pages on your site that focus on the specific search terms that matter to your market.

- Get links to your site or specific pages, with link text that correlates to those pages.

It's really that simple. It's been that way for ten years. It works.

If you want to focus on selling real estate, and you want to outsource these tasks, for very reasonable cost, just call or write to me to find out how.
Real Estate A la Carte SEO packages.

If you want to do some of it yourself, we can offer this help:

Search Engine Optimization Basics For Real Estate-Related Websites
http://www.domaindrivers.com/seobasics-realestate-main.htm

Also, you can create your own optimized landing pages easily with our new landing page tool, here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/pagegumbo/pagegumbo.asp

Social Networking for Links That WILL Make a Difference

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 08:31:12 -0600

Social Networking for Links That WILL Make a Difference

Social networking is the buzz right now, but for those of us who also focus on the search engine optimization aspects of our online activities, let's look at it through that lens for a moment.

Most of us already know that links that point back to your own website have a huge influence on search rankings. What's more, when those links have 'anchor text" that is focused on specific search terms that matter to you, it helps even more.

For instance, is you are ian agent in Rockville IL, and you link back to your site with links that use "Rockville IL real estate" as the link anchor text, you'll REALLY start to help yourself.

Now, take that one step further...link back to a page on your website that is structured to be about "Rockville IL real estate", with that term in the page title, headline, and body content. You have now fully correlated your link popularity and link anchors with your page content. That's when the real traction takes place.

Now, do that as much as you can, as many places as you can (legitimately), on the Web.

Social Network sites allow you to do EXACTLY that. The best part is that YOU have COMPLETE CONTROL of the process. It's an SEO bonanza, and it costs very little to do it.

Here's How:

1) Edit your "profile" on your social network home pages, and be sure to include links to your target pages (i.e. the "Rockville IL real estate" page, in our hypothetical example).

2) Keep track of your profile page URLs, and link to them from YOUR OWN website. This will assure that the search engines can find your profile pages, and index them.

It's that simple. Do that on as many SocNet sites as you can.

If you REALLY want to make this whole task easy, use the new DomainDrivers Social Network Manager!

http://www.domaindrivers.com/SocialNetworkManager.asp

The Social Network Manager makes all of your social networking tasks much easier.
Quick access to dozens of *categorized* Social Networking sites, including real estate sites.
Easily track and access your account names, home pages, and content pages.
Easily create lists of social networking sites:
- Active Lists of sites where you have active accounts.
- Favorites Lists of sites that you want to visit often or monitor.
- Personal site lists - Add your own list of local interest or special-interest sites.
- Never Visit lists to keep unwanted sites "out of sight".
Easily build "Find Me Here" HTML lists of your active home pages. This makes is very easy to place these links on your own Websites, so your site visitors can find you easily on your favorite social networking sites.
Easily build Link Indexing lists of your social network content pages that you want to get indexed in search engines. Quickly place these HTML-formatted links on your own sites, to assure that they get spidered by search robots.
Create reusableContent Blocks for easy "cut and paste" of repetitive content, such as property listings, press releases, etc. .
More features coming soon, including:
- Blog directories
- Real estate directories
- General Web directories

Get started today, with a FREE Full FUnction trial!
http://www.domaindrivers.com/SocialNetworkManager.asp

Social Networking Manager Tool! - A real breakthrough!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 18:35:34 -0600

Announcing the DomainDrivers Social Network Manager tool!

The Social Network Manager makes all of your social networking tasks much easier.

Quick access to dozens of *categorized* Social Networking sites, including real estate sites. Currently the list is 74 sites, and growing.
Easily track and access your account names, home pages, and content pages.
Easily create lists of social networking sites:

- Active Lists of sites where you have active accounts.
- Favorites Lists of sites that you want to visit often or monitor.
- Personal site lists - Add your own list of local interest or special-interest sites.
- Never Visit lists to keep unwanted sites "out of sight".
Easily build "Find Me Here" HTML lists of your active home pages. This makes is very easy to place these links on your own Websites, so your site visitors can find you easily on your favorite social networking sites.
Easily build Link Indexing lists of your social network content pages that you want to get indexed in search engines. Quickly place these HTML-formatted links on your own sites, to assure that they get spidered by search robots.
Create reusable Content Blocks for easy "cut and paste" of repetitive content, such as property listings, press releases, etc.
More features coming soon, including:
- Blog directories
- Real estate directories
- General Web directories

Get started today, with a FREE Full FUnction trial!
http://www.domaindrivers.com/SocialNetworkManager.asp

30 Second SEO / Link Building Tip #3 - Your blogroll is CURRENCY!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 19:24:49 -0600

30 Second SEO / Link Building Tip #3 - Your blogroll IS currency

I was recently engaged in a discussion with a well-know real estate blogging advisor. I mentioned that blogroll link exchange in real estate is the single largest potential link source that I have ever seen in ten years of doing SEO work. After all, with thousands of real estate blogs, the numbers are staggering. And that is just the tip of this iceberg.

My comments were not taken kindly, to say the least. This individual told me, in no uncertain terms, that link exchange with blogrolls is an inappropriate use of the format. He explained that blogroll links are intended to cite worthy content, and that exchanging links, if it became rampant, would somehow ruin a good thing.

What was conveniently minimized in his rebuttal was the fact that this blogger actively engages in blogroll link exchange. He even admitted to it. So I was confused. It is apparently good for him to do it, but not for others.

Which brings us to this: What is worthy content? Do you have to be a blogging guru to be worthy of a blogroll citation? I think not. How about the blog of a trusted colleague across town, instead? Surely their content is worthy of citation. As is your own. So...cite each others blogs, in your blogrolls. You will both benefit from the links.

Many of these gurus are busy as beavers convincing you to link to THEIR "worthy" content. But what do YOU get in return? These days, it's often nothing. For most of them, their own blogrolls are already filled to capacity from linking to and from their well-established circle of friends.

From what I have seen so far, most of these blogging gurus refuse to explain to their readers the REAL value of a blogroll. Maybe because it's not in their own best interest to do that. Instead, they want you to link to "worthy content". Like theirs. That is the "proper" use a of blogroll, in their eyes.

Folks, your blogroll is YOUR property. Links are the currency of the Web. A blogroll is your own link CURRENCY. My advice it to use it to YOUR own advantage, not on behalf of a pack of gurus who already have hundreds of links and great search engine rankings.

Spend your blogroll currency wisely, with other bloggers, be they other agents, or local community bloggers, but get something tangible in return. That is this: Get a link back, from another valid website.

YOUR content is worthy of citation, right? So is the content of your colleagues, be they in your own town, or anywhere in the world. Put your blogroll currency to use. Start today.

There are thousands of agents in your same boat. They have worthy blogs, but are in need of links. The gurus have already done this. If it's good for them...

Tip #1 - Blogrolling for Links
http://blog.domaindrivers.com/2009/01/13/tip-1-blogrolling-for-links/

More tips:
http://blog.domaindrivers.com/category/blog-comment-assistant-user-advice/

Blog Comment Assistant info:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

30 Second SEO and Linkbuilding Tip #2 - local links

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 09:24:18 -0600

*****************************************************
The 30 Second SEO and Linkbuilding Tip #2
*****************************************************

How to get more "local" links for your site

Are you participating in local online portals forums, discussion boards, and blogs? How about local groups in MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others?

If not, maybe you should start. It gets your name "out there" in the community, among people that you might already know, or do not yet know. If you find sites or groups that you like, tell your friends about them, to make the group stronger.

Networking is online these days. You'll meet real people in your community. And it is a very rich source of links. Two huge benefits, from one task.

Find these sites by searching your "community name blog", "community name discussion board", "community name portal", etc. Search for your local community within MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others.

good luck...

Please forward this tip to your colleagues and friends in real estate who might be interested? Thanks...Dirk

*****************************************************
More link building tips at the
http://blog.domaindrivers.com/category/30-second-seo-tips/

Join the Link Building for Real Estate ActiveRain Group!

*****************************************************

The 30 Second SEO and Linkbuilding Tip #1

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 08:17:05 -0600

Thanks to all,

I am starting a new series, called "The 30 Second SEO and Linkbuilding Tip". I will bring my ten years of SEO experience to the table, with a focus on real estate issues.

*****************************************************
The 30 Second SEO and Linkbuilding Tip #1
*****************************************************

Local charities are a GREAT source or relevant, viable, and locally focused links for a real estate agent. You do good, for doing good. :)

Here's how to get them...

1) Get involved with the charities. Make a direct contact with the director, AND the webmaster.

2) Contribute, either cash or services. Get your site listed on their "Friends of" page. Get mentioned in their email newsletter, as a sponsor.

3) Become a "featured sponsor" for an upcoming event, or due to a major contribution. Ask graciously that they mention that fact on their website, preferably from their home page.

4) Post comments to their blog, if they have one. (Ues the Blog Comment Assitant to do this easily, with multiple charities)

5) If they do not have a blog, offer that they can use yours as an announcement resource. Then they will need to link to your site.

6) Tell your own contact list about your involvement with the charity. Ask for participation.

That's it. The number of local charities is usually large. If they are active at all, you will get noticed, and appreciated for it.

*****************************************************
More link building tips at the
Link Building for Real Estate - NEW GROUP
*****************************************************

The TOP 46 Real Estate Marketing & SEO Advice blogs!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:52:26 -0600

To get access to the 46 top Real Estate Marketing & SEO Advice blogs, just use our new Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate. It is ready to use, on a fully-functional, ten day, FREE TRIAL basis.

http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

Or maybe you want to review the blogs in your own state, or maybe just real estate investment blogs. Want to limit it to see just the ones with active blogrolls? You can do that, too. Build a list of your favorites, to visit often. There are many tool features.

Our real estate blog database is already the largest in the industry (by several hundred sites), and growing fast. Right now it includes over 850 blogs. We'll list over one thousand real estate blogs, soon!

Our Blog Comment Assistant is very unique. It allows you to navigate the fast growing world of real estate blogs in a structured, organized manner. By using the tool, and the categorized database of real estate blogs that we maintain for our users, you can easily create "queues" of blogs that you'd like to review, and then possibly comment to the posts.

For more information on the tool features and benefits:

http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

To start your fully-functional, ten day FREE trial, please go here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogApp/BlogApp-NewAccountFS.asp

Thanks

Dirk

SEO "landing pages" that work - REAL WORLD EXAMPLE

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:27:17 -0600

Peter Greiner, in Shaker Heights OH, has graciously allowed me to use his optimized landing pages as examples of well structured landing pages for both SEO pruposes, and real visitors.

Here's what kinds of pages our FREE-to-use PageGumbo landing page tool, when used correctly, will yield:

http://www.petergreiner.com/Chagrin_Falls_Ohio/page_2066649.html
http://www.petergreiner.com/Cleveland_Heights_Ohio/page_2066647.html
http://www.petergreiner.com/Pepper_Pike_Ohio/page_2066653.html
http://www.petergreiner.com/Shaker_Heights_Ohio/page_2049427.html
http://www.petergreiner.com/Solon_Ohio/page_2066654.html

It is important to notice that the long tail terms "MLS" and "Realtor" show up on this page, as well as local subdivision/neighborhood names, zip codes, and more.

For REAL visitors who land there from a search that they conducted, these pages explain the communities in detail. That is usually called "good content" in SEO circles. It delivers information that the searcher wanted.

These pages could also be slightly edited and used as "Article submission" pages, to article directories, as community info articles.

Anyone can create their own optimized pages easily with our new landing page tool, here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/pagegumbo/pagegumbo-test.asp
http://www.domaindrivers.com/pagegumbo/pagegumbo.asp

The first link is an "example" page, and the second is a live tool that you can use at anytime. The tool forces agents to put more of the secondary real-estate related keywords on their pages.

Of course, good landing pages are the start. You need to get links to those pages, to really have influence on the search engines.

Peter is doing just that, with our link reciprocation package, and it is working. He started out nowhere inthe rankings, but he is now climbing the rankings, with with some terms on the first page of Google.

Please see our link packages here:

Real Estate A la Carte SEO packages.

Thanks.

Are your blog comments getting indexed?

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:27:31 -0600

Posting approriate, genuine, informative comments to other blogs is a good way to get links, especially if the blog is "DoFollow".

But are your comment links getting indexed by the search engines? If not, then there's no link juice, even if it is a "dofollow" link.

The Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate can help with that, in a big way. While you are using the tool to visit and post to blogs, you have the option of tracking your comment URLs.

If you track them, we'll automatically add them to crawled pages on our own website, as HTML links. This will help assure that the page where your comment resides gets indexed.

It's a built in feature of the tool. You don't need to do anything else, except track the URLs, as you post. We do the rest.

Please give the Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate a review, if you would.
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

To start a fully-functional, ten day FREE trial, please go here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogApp/BlogApp-NewAccountFS.asp

Links to instructions are included throughout the tool. We'll even proivide a phone consultation "walk-through" for anyone who wants a "guided tour".

Thanks!

Best regards,

Dirk Johnson
Partner - Operations
DomainDrivers LLC
djohnson@domaindrivers.com
703-406-4698
www.domaindrivers.com

Social Network sites for links?

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:33:58 -0600

I'd like to hear from anyone who is using their SocNet memberships to actively post relevent, andchor text rich links back to their own sites, on their profile or on their "member" blogs.

Which sites?

MySpace
Facebook
LinkedIn

Hoe about

Trulia
Zillow, etc?

We'll be building a SocNet Manager tool that will help organize this, make in manageable, expand the reach by finding new sites to put them, and then track the profle or post URLs, so you can easily put them on your own site, and get them indexed.

Why the YAHOO directory matters to SEO

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:23:38 -0600

Why the YAHOO directory matters to SEO:

In general, I am "neutral" on paid directory submissions, like Business.com and some others. Usually, there are better ways to get links, for less money.

However, while the cost is high ($299), the YAHOO directory provides an advantage that others do not.

When you submit to YAHOO, your link propagates to abotu 50 of their sub-domains. (real estate.yahoo.com, uk.yahoo.com, etc.).

Apparently, Google sees them as separate links, and they collectively add to your link popularity. And the PR of the links is usually good.

So, if you are looking for a quick way to pad your link popularity, submit your site to the YAHOO directory.

https://ecom.yahoo.com/dir/reference/cost

DO you have to do it every year..maybe not. In a year, you should have built your link popularity to the point that you do not need these folks at YAHOO.

It's a good boost, at the outset...

BTW - please stop by our NEW ACTIVERAIN GROUP:

Link Building for Real Estate, - Very informative information about links building, from me and our members. 'cause I've been doing it for almost ten years....:)

Link Building for Real Estate - NEW GROUP

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:20:54 -0600

Hi to all of my Active Rain friends over the years. We've had some lively discussions on the SEO forums. The subject of link building is certainly one that creates opinions!

I've created a new ActiveRain group. Please join this new group, as we explore and discuss the subject of Link Building for Real Estate,

I think that this is the first ActiveRain group dedicated specifically to the task of disseminating information that will help you increase your link popularity.

The group is here to discuss the various ways that agents can get links to their websites. I bring nearly ten years of experience to the task here.

I've analyzed, in detail, the link profiles of hundreds of top-ranking real estate agent sites. I am ready to put that knowledge on the table for all to see. I also want your input. What works for you?

Here's the featured post for the group....Link Building Campaigns - A Very Different Business Perspective

In that post alone you will find an analysis of over a dozen link building methods that agents can use.

I've also put my own "top ten" posts about linking into this group. There is plenty to review and ponder, already, but I certainly invite all of you to add your own posts.

Forget about "fantasy" links that are "imagined" to be there for all to get, but that don't materialize! This is real world linking advice. Where do links to agent sites come from? How do YOU get them for your site? Find out here....Link Building for Real Estate,

Again, please join, and let's have some great discussion!

The Blog Explosion is a Link Opportunity Explosion!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:36:46 -0600

As experienced link builders, we're now seeing blog comment links and, especially, blogroll links, quickly becoming THE single largest potential source of accessible links for an average real estate agent. The number of real estate blogs is exploding, with new blogs being added daily. The number of link opportunities from blogroll links will soon be in the multi-thousands.

However, managing the process of getting links in this way takes the right toolset. So we built the Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate to do exactly what is described above. That is, to genuinely participate with other bloggers, establish a valid relationship with other blog owners, and get links.

Please give it a review, if you would.
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

To start a fully-functional, ten day FREE trial, please go here: http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogApp/BlogApp-NewAccountFS.asp
Links to instructions are included throughout the tool.

Thanks!

Link Building Campaigns - A Very Different Business Perspective

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:43:40 -0600

This is a long post, but I hope it goes a long way toward shedding some light on the whole link building discussion in a way that is rarely, if ever, put forward publicly by anyone in the SEO business.

Frankly, I tire quickly of the common link building advise that completely ignores the "what does it really take to do it" question. Some link building advice is so costly, difficult to manage, or unproductive that advising agents who need links to do it borders on the ridiculous.

I think it makes more sense to stop and consider this from a rational business perspective...

Let's think about some of the most common link building methods for agents (in no particular order):

Content Citations
Blog Commenting
Blogroll Links
Social Network Links
Link Directory Reciprocation
Free Directories
Paid Directories
Portals (Trulia, Zillow, etc.)
Press Releases
Content Citations
Article Submission Portals
Local Community & Local Vendors

That just about covers it. If anyone has another method, please post it...

All of the above methods of getting links have a cost of acquisition, a "accessibility" value, a "method of acquisition" (or methodology) profile, a timeframe, and a quantity availability of some sort, if we consider that really only the first link from a domain is the one that counts to a search engine.

There are also duration and quality attributes, but, given that if the above links come for valid, viable, genuine websites, we'll ignore that nest of questions for now.

So, any agent embarking on a link building program, consciously or not, will immediately encounter the accessibility issue, the methodology issue, and the full cost of acquisition issue (either sweat equity or direct cost). We all know that links do not materialize out of thin air.

Content Citations
Accessibility: Low - you have to find other sites willing to site your content, AND make them aware of it
Cost per link: Potentially Very high - You have to have enough content that is worthy of citation, then promote it
Methodology: Complex and not suited to all people, countless hours writing and promoting
Quantity potential: Very high, in the right circumstances.
Timeframe: Very hard to determine, each situation is different.

Blog Commenting
Accessibility: Very high - blogs are everywhere
Cost per link: Low
Methodology: Moderate to Easy
Quantity potential: High
Timeframe: Immediate

(most blog comment links are "nofollow", but they do build awareness)

Blogroll Links from Gratuitous Citations (i.e non-reciprocated)
Accessibility: Low
Cost per link: High, due to the requirement to qualify
Methodology: Moderately complex
Quantity potential: High
Timeframe: May take months

Blogroll Links - Reciprocated exchanges
Accessibility: Moderate
Cost per link: Medium
Methodology: Moderately complex
Quantity potential: High
Timeframe: Within a week or two to start getting them, gracious protocol required for success
SEE ALSO: Blogrolling for Links - The real blogging pros are doing it NOW

Social Network Links
Accessibility: High
Cost: Low
Methodology: Moderately complex to get enough that matter
Quantity potential: about 50, max
Timeframe: Immediate

Link Directory Reciprocation
Accessibility: High
Cost: Moderate
Methodology: Moderately complex
Quantity potential: High
Timeframe: Within a week to start getting them, gracious protocol required for success

Free General Web Directories
Accessibility: High
Cost: Low
Methodology: Easy
Quantity potential: There are about 200 active, viable free web directories. Not 2000 as some people claim
Timeframe: Immediate

Free Real Estate Directories
Accessibility: High
Cost: Low
Methodology: Easy
Quantity potential: There are about 50 active ones, at most
Timeframe: Immediate

Paid Directories
Accessibility: High
Cost: Moderate to High
Methodology: Easy
Quantity potential: About 100, max, YAHOO actually yields about 50 indexable links, as you get listed in their sub-directroy sites
Timeframe: Immediate

Portals (Trulia, Zillow, etc.)
Accessibility: High
Cost: Low
Methodology: Easy, establish a profile
Quantity potential: About 20 max
Timeframe: Immediate

Press Releases
Accessibility: High
Cost: Moderate
Methodology: Easy, hire a vendor
Quantity potential: Moderate
Timeframe: Immediate
(link duration is a major issue with press releases)

Article Submission Portals
Accessibility: Moderate
Cost: Moderate - requires content that qualifies
Methodology: Moderately complex
Quantity potential: Limited - the number of valid article repositories is small
Timeframe: Immediate, after content creation

Local Community Sites & Local Vendors
Accessibility: Low
Cost: High, You have to find them yourself
Methodology: Moderately complex
Quantity potential: Very limited
Timeframe: Hard to determine

That's about it.

Anyone embarking on a link building campaign would do well to review that list and figure out just exactly how they are going to attack the problem of a lack of link popularity. I see to many examples of site owners taking the advice of a well-linked advisor with hundreds fo content citations, and imagining that they, too can achieve the same result. They can, but within what timeframe and cost?

We're in the process of building tools that will help, such as our Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate, (live, beta free trial) here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

and our upcoming Social Network Manager

Stop imagining links that don't really exist or are actually very inaccessible, and start getting real links, on a real budget!

Successful Blogrolling and & SEO

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:13:33 -0600

Successful Blogrolling and & SEO

In compiling our database of over 1000 real estate blogs, we looked at which blogs had blogrolls with links to external sites. From that data, we also extracted which real estate blogs has been successful in getting THEIR OWN link placed on those other blogrolls.

The results were stunning. Sites that successfully had their link placed on other blogrolls were usually tearing up the rankings for their primary keywords!

Blogroll link exchange absolutely does work. Of course, you have to do it graciously, and genuinely. You can't just jump out and ask for a link, like with regular link exchange.

First, get involved with the blog that you wan to exchange with. Post genuine comments regularly. Link to their blog, from your blogroll. Make a post on your own blog about their blog, summarizing why you like their blog! Let them know you did it.

When the time is right, you might ask, graciously, for a link back.

This all about gracious and genuine participation, not about spamming for links. But, we have proof that it works.

Use our new Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate to find and participate with real estate blogs with active blogrolls. Please give it a review, if you would.

http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant.html

To start a fully-functional, ten day FREE trial, please go here: http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogApp/BlogApp-NewAccountFS.asp
Links to instructions are included throughout the tool.

Thanks!

22 top Real Estate Marketing & SEO Advice blogs!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:24:14 -0600

To get access to the 22 top Real Estate Marketing & SEO Advice blogs, just use the new Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate. It is ready to use, on a fully-functional, ten day, FREE TRIAL basis.

Our real estate blog database is already the largest in the industry (by several hundred sites), and growing fast. Right now it includes over 700 blogs. We'll list over one thousand real estate blogs, soon!

For more information on the tool features and benefits:

http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogCommentAssistant.html

To start your fully-functional, ten day FREE trial, please go here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogApp/BlogApp-NewAccountFS.asp

Thanks

Dirk

Real Estate SEO packages - A la Carte!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:40:32 -0600

Real Estate SEO packages - A la Carte!

For more than eight years, we've been helped hundreds of real estate agents with their search engine optimization SEO positioning. We use proven methods for overall site optimization, landing page optimization, and link building. We know exactly what it takes to compete in real estate markets.

We also know than many USA and Canada metro areas are STILL void of any significant SEO competiton. The time to act is now!

Save $$$$. Buy only the SEO related services that YOU need and can afford now. Choose from these three essential SEO-related services, with full details on our link:

Competitive Analysis & Consultation Service

Link Building Service

Optimized Landing Page Service

http://www.domaindrivers.com/real-estate-SEO-a-la-carte.html

Thanks!

Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate - FREE TRIAL!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:40:18 -0600

Here at DomainDrivers, we are proud to announce that our new Blog Comment Assistant for Real Estate is ready to use, on a fully-functional, ten day, FREE TRIAL basis.

Our Blog Comment Assistant is very unique. It allows you to navigate the fast growing world of real estate blogs in a structured, organized manner. By using the tool, and the categorized database of nearly 1000 real estate blogs that we maintain for our users, you can easily create "queues" of blogs that you'd like to review, and then possibly comment to the posts.

It is all under your control. For example, you may queue blogs that have active blogrolls, known "dofollow" blogs, blogs from your own state, blogs that are focused on industry specialties, or blogs that focus on real estate marketing issues. There are many choices. You may also choose from our list of "featured blogs", which will change regularly.

In addition, with the tool, you may maintain a Favorites list of blogs, a Personal list of blogs that are not in our database, and a "Never Visit" list, to avoid queuing blogs that do not interest you. You can also limit your queues to sites that you have not yet visited, allowing your to easily find new and interesting blog opportunities, as we add them to our database. .

The tool includes many time and keystroke saving features, such as the "comment starter" and "signature set" widgets that allow you to pre-configure a variety of comment starters and signature sets to be used with your comment posting.

Users may also rank each blog as they visit them. The collective rankings will help all users find the most informative, useful blogs. You may also track your posts, by URL, for later referral, to see if your comment was accepted, or is still posted.

Blogs have become an important component of social networking, and also a proven source of links back to your website. Our research shows that many top ranking real estate agent sites now get a large number of their links from blog comments, and even more importantly, from blogroll link exchange arrangements. Bloggers tend to support each other.

The Blog Comment Assistant can easily point you toward sites that have blogrolls, where the owners actively exchange links with other real estate bloggers. We leave it up to the user to arrange the exchange with other selected blog owners, in a gracious manner.

To start your fully-functional, ten day FREE trial, please go here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BlogApp/BlogApp-NewAccountFS.asp

Links to instructions are included throughout the tool.

Like many Web marketing tools that can be mis-used, (like email newsletter services) we'd like to point out, forcefully, that this tool is NOT intended for indiscriminate blog comment spamming. We have put forward a complete explanation of comment spam in our Blog Commenting Protocol guide, here:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/Blogging-Protocol.html

In addition, our Terms of Service prohibit indiscriminate blog comment spam:
http://www.domaindrivers.com/BlogCommentAssistant/BCA_TOS.html

For users who wish to participate in a genuine way in the growing world of real estate blogs, and reap the benefits that accrue to those who do it, the DomainDrivers Blog Comment Assistant is the right tool, at the right time, It makes navigating the growing world of real estate blogs easy, manageable, and organized.

We have not yet finalized the pricing, but we assure you that it will be a very affordable productivity tool, at less than a dollar a day.

Best regards,

Best regards,

Dirk Johnson
Partner - Operations
DomainDrivers LLC
djohnson@domaindrivers.com
703-406-4698
www.domaindrivers.com

Hosting with Built in Blog? Need help

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:08:47 -0500

We have a client who is looking for hosting with a built in blog tool, with the blog on the root domain, not a subdomain.

Preferably, low cost. and with FTP capability.

Is the Web raising your own boat?

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 11:31:20 -0500

Using the WWW effectively as a marketing tool for a real estate agency business has now been proven to be quite beneficial, if you talk to agents who have done it. The profile of a "top performer" in this business is changing dramatically in terms of how they are getting there. Many are using the Web.

The WWW does not raise all ships, by any means, It can really only raise those who take it seriously, educate themselves, and take action.

The level of denial of the importance of the Web in this industry is palpable. Remarkably, it does not even require all that much effort or cost. Yet, tens of thousands of agents are simply not yet serious about the Web. I guess the fact that it's not "traditional" or "accepted" by old timers, or the fact that it does require some new skills and knowledge, are the hang ups.

No doubt, agents and brokers cannot be forced to deal with the WWW. They can dismiss people like me as self-promoters, since our role in this industry is to help agents do well in search rankings. But doing that does not matter. It is the marketplace itself that WILL force them to live with the consequences of their own decisions.

Some agents and brokers will benefit from the WWW, but, by no means, will the emergence of the Web as the primary marketing outlet raise all ships. Quite the contrary. It appears that the Web will raise a few ships quite high, and make life harder for the rest.

Who that will be will be up to the agents and brokers themselves.

Do Web-savvy agents jump ship?

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:39:09 -0500

Can anyone confirm that more and more Web-savvy agents are jumping ship to brokers that offer them the kind of deal that they want? That is, smaller splits, no desk fees or other office fees, work-from-home freedom, etc.

I have seen it happen, and I am hearing that it is becoming more common. After all, these agents generate their own lead stream. They do not need a broker to provide it.

On a similar thread, the rest of you might want to read this post:
Do you need a Mentor Evaluation?

It asks if your own broker is up to speed with using the Web effectively, and if not, where does that leave you?

"Great content" automatically gets links - NOT!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:16:30 -0500

In a lot of SEO forums, especially the real estate forums like this one, and others, you will find a contingent of people that insist that "great content" alone will result in huge numbers of links to your website.

Well, OK. Sure. I have seen it happen. I can point to a few specific sites where it works like crazy.

However, I think I can point to a lot more sites that have "great content" and nobody cares. It generates few, if any, links on it's own merit. I have evaluated many of these sites, at the site owner's request, when they wanted to know why they were not getting the rankings they had been led to believe were coming their way. Invariably, the lack of link popularity is holding them back, and at times the "great content" they are promoting has no keyword focus that would help the agent in their local market.

Let's expose some gaping holes in the "great content" theory? Not many people are willing to challenge this supposed "sacred cow" of SEO. But if you want rankings, then a willingness to look at this a bit differently might be to your advantage. I also realize that there will be dogged proponents of this that will tell me that I am way off-base, and that anyone who strays from the "great content" approach stands to be penalized forever in Google, or some other nonsense.

First, to understand this, you need to stop looking at your own content with fascination. Once you get away from the "my own content is surely worthy of citation" approach, you can finally begin to see into the real world of linking, not the world of imagined links.

To make my point, I need to ask, how often do YOU surf the Web, looking for fabulous content that is worthy of citation on your own website, unilaterally, with nothing in return, and then you actually take the time to place that link on your own site? Once in a while? Never? Well guess, what? Neither is anyone else. Everyone wants links, but few people are actually placing links for nothing in return.

Which easily explains why those of you who do have "great content" but no significant link popularity to show for it have a hard time getting rankings. We can imagine links all day long, but getting REAL links is a lot more complex.

Now, of the instances where agent sites have both "great content", as well as a lot of links, in a quantity that will make a difference in a competitive market, you need to look at WHAT ELSE is being done to get those links.

For one, you will likely see A LOT of time put toward the content creation. An occasional interesting post or two, on your own site, might get a few links, if you promote it, but large numbers of links come from a large base of content. And generally, for an agent, that content is going to be "real estate industry" content, discussing issues that relate to the agent community as a whole. Controversy helps. That gets other agents exercised about verbally sparring with you, or citing your article in their own blogs.

It is generally NOT content about your own local community, using keywords that will help your own rankings. Very few other site owners really care that much about what is happening in your own market. At least not enough to cite it. Sure, you might get the chamber or the local newspaper to cite it, which is good, but that's two links. Now, granted, a link from the local paper is a good link to get, and you should get them, but for SEO purposes, you can "tap out" the local market for links rather quickly.

Next, the most successful agents who use "great content" to attract gratuitous, un-reciprocated links spend A LOT of time promoting it, in places like ActiveRain, etc. Some of them seem to spend all day in here, only after they are done writing and editing it in the first place. It must leave little time to sell real estate.

Bottom line, if you are not taking that approach toward building your link popularity with "great content", then it is almost guaranteed that you will get very few links from your effort, regardless of how great your content might be. Great content is one way to approach SEO work. It can work, when a very concerted effort is put in place.

I'd say that, based on my own experience, it is probably the LEAST EFFICIENT means of generating top search rankings. In other words, there are other ways to get achieve that end without the need to win a Pulitzer Prize in the process. For far less valuable and precious time required.

Again, there are many paths to good rankings. What many people refuse to do is examine the cost, in both time and money, as well as the expected timeline, and expectation of success, in a competitive environment.

Real estate is no different that any other industry!

Dirk Johnson (DomainDrivers.com) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:25:26 -0500

I have been hearing a good bit of lament that the WWW has forced a lot of change in the real estate business. It demands a new set of skills that were just not necessary, even as recently as the boom years of 2000-2005. In many ways, it has.

I'd like to add a bit of perspective to that. Real estate is actually late to the party. The boom years actually masked the effect of the WWW. Had we not had the boom, this issue would have come to the forefront much sooner.

I come from a background in ecommerce. The direct mail business was the first one to feel the shock of the WWW on their business. Selling products online had huge advantages over the traditional catalog business model, in both cost of marketing, and in order processing efficiency.

Very quickly, "Web only" merchants popped up, seemingly overnight. They ate into the market share of the direct mail giants incrementally. They were peeling off the *best* customers. People with money were the first to have home computers, etc, or had them at work.

The big direct mailers often ignored this trend. I am very familiar with the hobby industry. I can tell you that many of the old school merchants, who relied on catalog based sales, found themselves with a shrinking sales base, combined with significantly increased cost, in the form of postage, printing, etc. Many simply did not survive, or they were significantly hobbled by an unwillingness to get on board the WWW trend.

The online only merchants simply continued to refine their online marketing skills, making it even more difficult to catch up. Amazon is the mega-example. Ebay is another.

The early adopters who built ecommerce-only businesses were pioneers. Quite often they were mavericks, who could see the future. They realized that the WWW would support a complete business model, and it was not just an afterthought to a traditional business.

Folks, this same thing is coming to pass in real estate. Going forward, it WILL take a new set of skills to compete effectively on the WWW. Acknowledging that fact will go a long way toward positioning yourself for the future.

I am aware of many agents that do ALL of their marketing on the WWW, and they are surviving this current market. Some are even thriving.

Like in ecommerce, those who are successful using the WWW to build their business are generally doing it at the expense of their competitors who choose to ignore the WWW.

Please see my related post here: The main difference between sites with good rankings and those without. It comes down to the site owner's attitude.

To that end, here's a multi-page document that was specifically written for real estate professionals, using real estate examples:
Search Engine Optimization Basics For Real Estate-Related Websites
http://www.domaindrivers.com/seobasics-realestate-main.htm

I hope it helps.

Dirk