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Follow Me on Twitter: My Google Rank Drops. Why?

For years now, we've been reading and seeing how to get our Websites ranking higher on a natural search results page on Google.

Two years ago, Twitter comes along and now the spirit of true, Herd Mentality, thousands of REALTORS have moooooved on over to copying what the other REALTORS are doing -- hoping and praying the technique will generate more leads and sales commissions.

We copy the same links; Follow Me on Twitter. And we make the mistake of putting too many Follow Me links on our home page despite the fact you've probably spent years trying to get people to COME to your website... you tell them to GO AWAY.

Weeks later, your visibility goes down and you are left wondering what the heck just happened?

Too many redirects from your home page is not only stupid, it's the fastest way to see your page one #1 Google rank drop to #2. Then, it drops to #3. And the slide just keeps on a-sliding down... down... down.

Moo-Cows on Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

A former SEO client of mine has a website ranking page one #1 for seven years. Then a year ago, they added the Twitter Follow Me bug. And the Linked In Bug. And one from Christies Great Estates.

You spend thousand of dollars on a new site and SEO work. Then you spend MORE money with your offline marketing efforts telling next time home buyers to GO TO www.SantaFeProperties.com.

Then when you get people coming to your website, your home page tells them to GO AWAY. Find us on Twitter. Find us on LinkedIn. Find us on Facebook.

That might sound silly, but this is exactly what your website says to visitors you've tried to come to your website for months or even years of working to improve your Google ranking. Now that they find you, you tell them to find you someplace else.

Trust me, this can be leading up to; Lead sabotage. And thousands of REALTORS and brokers are just watching their leads drop, and they think by placing the Follow Me links on their website will increases leads... it can create the opposite effect.

People will click on things and links because you give them reason to do so. They are not immune to Herd Mentality either.

After a few clicks, is it any surprise why your visitor is now looking at properties from Amazing Realty instead of yours? For too many REALTOR websites, it's clear to me that too many of you are suffering from Mad Cow Disease, just like Denny Crane from Boston Legal.

It doesn't have to be that way. You can use Twitter and other links to your advantage, but you need to use them wisely and correctly.

There are SMARTER ways to use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Below are Bartman's Top Ten SAFE Ways to Use Social Media effectively to keep people coming BACK to your website from other channels out there.

Bartman's Top Ten

1.) Don't put offsite links on your home page.

If you have page one # 1 ranking on Google now, be careful how many links to offsite websites you ADD to your home page.

2.) Rule of thumb: Place your Follow Me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn on your Contact Me pages and other pages inside. This is especially important if you are just now building links to your home page.

3.) One Way Link Bulding.

ActiveRain.com, Curbed.com and many other Real Estate blogs can be used to build one way, incoming links to your properties. Don't just link all links to your home page. This is not a smart idea. Build links to point to your properties and about the life style and communities you know about.

4.) 1888FreePressRelease.com.

A great place to post your FREE press releases with links pointing BACK to your website.

5.) PRWeb.com.

The BEST place to post your Press Releases. $100 - $200 cost each, but you get to go BACK and edit the links to make them SEO friendly and point them to your website pages.

6.) Get links from Title, Mortgage companies even Landscapers and custom home builders.

They might have a crappy looking website, but ask them for a one way link from their site to yours. NEVER give a link back to them as this will give you what is called Google PR Hemorrhage. Never give reciprocal links BACK to any website until AFTER one year AFTER you've held a page one position on Google.

7.) Social Media Pay per Post, Pay per Blog.

There is one firm out there that seems to have done it right. SocialSpark.com is the one to see. You can buy ads on this system to be inserted into popular blogs out there. This is a great way to build awareness of your website for geo-centric, local searches.

8.) StumbleUpon.com

It's a web site that says what id does and does what it says. It emails hundreds of thousands of people every week with suggested Websites they should visit. Visitors to the site indicate a few sites and topics they like. And weekly, StumbleUpon will deliver the user a cornucopia of Websites and some of them... NEED to be your real estate website.

9.) Sell LifeStyle. Don't sell just homes.

This is the big trap of conventional thinking. But next time home buyers today can get their house with or without a REALTOR. So when they come to your website, dazzle them with Life Style. We're just now completing a website for Jane Paulus of Edina Realty now. The website is here: www.TwinCitiesHomefinders.com -- See the emphasis on Live -- Work Play and the rich page content of living in Minneapolis. Google loves this stuff and so will your next time home buyers.

10.) Get your Banner Ads on the iPhone, BlackBerry and Mobile Devices.

Just because you're page one on Google doesn't mean you can't get more leads. Google now offers a Paid Search program that allows you to snag 50,000 banners for $18 bucks or thereabouts. Create Google Visual Ads that are shown on mobile devices. It's cheap and it's effective.

Lots more good stuff to come later. I'm trying to get our company moved to Colorado Springs, but if anyone needs more help on these items above, call me or email me.

I'm always glad to be of service.

Bart Wilson | As seen in Business Week

I help build successful REALTORS. One agent at a time.

Posted by Bartley Wilson on 11/12/2009 11:08 AM

Comments (67)

Follow Me on Twitter: My Google Rank Drops. Why? in the ActiveRain Channel

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67 Comments on Follow Me on Twitter: My Google Rank Drops. Why?

NOV

2009

SUPERB Tips!

This is probably the most important info I've read on ActiveRain to date!

Bart - Sounds like some great tips. I'll have to save and work on these later. Thanks.

Great tips. Will reread many times. This is really good information.'

Thanks for your post

Tony

Thanks everybody. Like I said, always GLAD to be of service.

-- bartman :)

I don't have any Twitter or Facebook links on my website, which is good. I do, however, have them on my blog, but only once in a while.

So helpful! Very good information; clears up a lot of questions I had in regards to moving our site to #1. I am saving this now to review again another time!

Bart, this is pretty phenominal - thanks for the great tips and sites:) I particularily like the PR advise:)

People have always asked me why I don't have those links on my blog or website. My goal is to drive them to those things from those other sources. Twitter doesn't have content...my website and blog do.

Totally agree.

Thanks everybody. Share this with others. Click the REBLOG button on the top of my story.

-- Bart

Bart - Thanks for the excellent advice. I am going to follow many of your key ideas.

Sounds right to me. Get them where you want them then send them packing. I'm too busy to follow people around. I want my info in one place and I want it now. I'm sure most folks feel the same way.

Very good advice Bartman

Bart - I think I am confusing my audience just like you said. I have links to follow me to many different sites, which is probably making any potential leads turn circles. I guess I should go through and weed out these things, and have everything pointing to one main site I want people to visit. Great info.

NOV

2009

Bookmarked. VERY cool post!

As a client of Bart's, I have seen his techniques work wonders for my sites. This guy definitely knows what he's talking about! Thanks Bart!

Very informative, I will look into these sites and suggestions.

Thanks so much for sharing these things with us.

Bart;

Thanks for sharing all your research and experiences with us. I am always looking for ways to give my website some razzle dazzle. I've bookmarked this page for future reference.

Bart, thanks, these are some good tips. I could see how someone could easily overlook these basics.

AAGGHH! Here I thought I was helping by FINALLY getting follow mes onto my blog. Now it turns out I'm just destroying my blog juice. What to do, what to do. Thank you for the tips. It's so hard to know what truly works best.

I'm so glad you wrote about this, before I developed Mad Cow, cuz Denny Crane got really weird!

This is really, REALLY good info for those of us still trying to learn the techo language and understanding how SEO really works. Thanks for the post

Wow, Bart, you are good. Real good. I'm definitely bookmarking this post!

Here you think you are doing what you should be doing and WOW, reading this makes you go 'DUH???'. Thanks for the tips on follow me's.

Bartman You really are a PR

Page Ranking Genius

Thank you for the TIPS

David Pylyp

Living in Toronto

Thanks! for sharing!

Very good points Bart. If your website or blog is in place with the intent to capture leads why would you want to send them somewhere else? I like the idea of placing your social network handles on your contact pages. We put ours on the about us page. I often see many put these big icons (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) in prominent places on their sites but their Twitter account hasn't been updated in months. If you are going to send your leads away from your site, the places you are sending them should at least be updated and relevant to what you specialize in.

lol.... Your Google pagerank drops because you're focused on pagerank which doesn't matter as Google has told us numerous times. Focus on content. If you don't believe pagerank doesn't matter - Google it and focus on statements from Matt Cutts. Susan Moskwa, Google Webmaster Trends Analyst: "We’ve been telling people for a long time that they shouldn’t focus on PageRank so much; many site owners seem to think it’s the most important metric for them to track, which is simply not true. We removed it because we felt it was silly to tell people not to think about it, but then to show them the data, implying that they should look at it." Not only has Google recently released information that they have made hundreds of recent tweaks to the search algorithm - on October 24, 2009 they added social search to the search page to index real time discussions from social media. Hopefully you were discussing your local real estate market....I was.

Very good stuff Bart, thanks so much for the helpful tips ~ Brad

Good post overall .However I DISAGREE with the following .

6.) Get links from Title, Mortgage companies even Landscapers and custom home builders. They might have a crappy looking website, but ask them for a one way link from their site to yours. NEVER give a link back to them as this will give you what is called Google PR Hemorrhage.

Never give reciprocal links BACK to any website until AFTER one year AFTER you've held a page one position on Google.

Good luck getting a page one ranking without getting lots and lots of links .Why would anyone give you a one way link ?

Content is not king !

Many people who do there own seo have achieved google page one after basic seo on there site and just getting tons of reciprocal links .Its a seo no brainer really .

Of course you could pay for links... but that can easily get you noticed by google in a negative way real quick !

Jim Straughan Sales Representative

Realty Executives Elite Ltd.Brokerage

519 649 6900 voice 519 641 4355

http://www.straughan.ca

London Komoka & Middlesex Real Estate

Bart -

Super info. I am bookmarking this one for reference. Thanks!

Welcome to SEO 3.0 Greg, who cares how many hits I get on my web site, I am busy building an online relationship with prospects and being the online Mayor of my area by blogging. My actual realtor web site is 3rd on my list of priorities. My branding is getting out there, people recognize me and tell me that they have read my stuff often and the best part...my phone is ringing and I dont have to spend thousands on a Web Master.

Blog #1

Lead Capture Page #2

www.scottleaf.com #3

But I am going to check out Stumbleupon, I found a guy locally here who kept posting blurbs from my stuff on his pages. I got to try using this.

Oh thank you for this....I have had my website up for a year and have done all I'm capable of doing without help, so I'm starting to look into SEO help. But you've given me a few other things to look into also....I'm not a Twitter person, and don't send my clients anywhere once they hit my site, but definately need to do more to get the links TO my site.

Bart, Thank you so very much! I'm really just learning how this all works and your post is most informative. I'll be booking marking this and using it as a guide while moving forward. Thanks again!

Bart -

These are all excellent tips. Thank you for posting them. The logic that you apply to the social networking "follow me links" also applies to why I don't like to syndicate my listings to other sites who grab all of the juice and try to sell me back my own leads. If someones wants more informaiton on a listing, they can find it on the MLS or on my website. Nowhere else. bacae. Why promote Realtor.com, when they don't promote me???

your generosity is exceeded only by your knowledge.

Bart:

This is great information. I will bookmark it for future use.

Tere

Great information, and I am definitely going to bookmark to read when I have more time to focus. Thanks for posting and sharing.

Bart, thank you very much for the advice. But, I have a question: How do you convince related sites to let you link from them without you recriprocating? I thought that was the goal--as long as you weren't linking to/from competitors.

Great tips and advise. Noted and Bookmarked.

This is such great information. I will have to bookmark this one.

As most of the commentors above, I'm going to 'gush' about what great information and excellent advice you have provided for us. I'm sure that much of your content is a revelation for most of us. It's obvious you're an expert/authority on the subjects you present, and you present them well. Your arguments are logical & simple, which makes them credible and easy to follow. I will keep this post as reference material and my next action, after I close on this comment, will be to click on your "Subscribe to Blog" button. Well done. Thanks.

Very good post. This is not a well understood topic. I am still trying to get a feel for many of these thing.

Bart,

Thanks for the great tips. I have forwarded this blog onto my team for their review and implementation. Great wisdom.

Nice post Bart. I've been told by SEO's that to many out going links is like a bucket full of water with holes in it. Put too many holes in the bucket and you will run out of water.

Thanks so much for straightenning us all up. I know I needed it. I am new at this and am still trying to get palcement on Google.

I think you've added some good ideas here, but perhaps some that reasonable people could disagree over. Yet, it's worthy of my bookmark.

Excellent information, thank you!

Bart, I had to stop dead in my tracks and agree with you. What did I just do on several websites I recently developed? I did the client's bidding and put all their social network links up on their front page, not stopping to remember that I was breaking a cardinal rule about ratios of outbound links vs. internal links on a website, especially on the home page! I'm guilty of creating too many holes in the bucket for some of my clients. Now I need to ease them into the idea that you just espoused. Perhaps everyone would be well advised to consider creating a social network or web profile on their website to let the public know they're savvy on SN without giving away the farm just as the crops are yielding a harvest.

I'm hitting the re-blog button now.

Bart - Caught this on a re-blog and had to come over to say that I enjoyed the post and the information. Good job and thank you for writing about this.

I think you are confusing your position in the serps with page rank. While having links out to other sites is going to "leak" page rank as others mentioned this is probably not a huge issue. I know most Realtors don't have a clue about "no follow" but this is the way around the issue if you really believe there is one.

I would not agree with you that PR web is a great way to increase your ranking in the serps. While it will be an inbound link to your site, the link value will be minimal unless it is some exceptional story that other people are going to link to. For the average Realtor that is not going to happen. There are far greater places to spend a $100 to $200 on increasing your position in the serps.

Otherwise I think you have offered some great tips.

I am not sure this has happend to me at all, I am all over page one but mt twittering appears on page 2! Hmmm...

I'm really curious about you moving to Colorado Springs. It's a great town. I live and work in Denver but my wifes family is down there, so I'm very familiar with the area. I'm actually heading down their tomorrow with the wife for a big family gathering. What brought you to Colorado?

You pointed out some great information that I have seen on other sites and places. Don't know if I've seen all of them like this in one place. Great post.

OMG this really makes sense. Thank you. I got a ton of ideas out of this and ... well... THANK YOU.

I've never understood why so many people have all those links on their websites- I don't have any outgoing links on my site at all.

NOV

2009

I have been working on my SEO for a couple of years now nd do OK - problem is I run hot and cold. I hired a young lady, more than half my age to keep everything going in a consistent direction and she is doing awesome...some really good tips here I think I am going to reblog this and send it tor her to make sure we are incorporating s much of this info as possible.

John

must have content, thanks so much for posting this.

OK - I keep hearing about Stumbleupon, but how do you use it?

Good suggestions about having specific pages rather than the home page. I also like the idea of having all social media links on the contact page.

Bart,

Facinating, I see what I am doing wrong now Thank you!

NOV

2009

I am amazed how many people contact me wanting to do recriprocal links. Usually they have nothing to do with real estate but they like my PR4 or at least I think that has to be it.

Honestly, I learned a long time ago not to do recriprocal linking. When I see these I think they don't have a clue.

Bart - great post, I'm not sure why this one wasn't featured, it should have been. We have our follow us links on our Contact Us page for the very reason you stated. I like your tips about SEO as well and am following up by reading some of the links. Thank you! -Monica

NOV

2009

Great tips! I'm saving this blog to go over again and again.

Always wondered why we did all those links to other sites. Was it to show were cool enough to play there? Thanks for the great idea.

NOV

2009

Thanks a bunch. Very useful!

Is her site built with wordpress? twincitieshomefinders.com

DEC

2009

I a SEO class i had the one way was very important...it must be true i have heard this before...

but how do i get a title, mortgage to put a one way to me if i dont allow them to link from me?

I also sent you a email with a question...please help me with that thanks

JAN

2010

It did not even occur to me that putting those links on a website would drive someone away...thanks for the info and saving me from making a mistake.

Thanks. It's an incredibly stupid move to make when you spend seven years beating the drums and posting in EVERY real estate guide for years -- to GO ANd VISIT our website, now in true mooooooo like fashion, we once again see our own colleagues subscribing to the same herd mentality.

I get beaten up every time I point this out, but the example is my former SEO client, Santa Fe Properties. They were page one #1 for years. Then they stopped making extensible and contextual navigation menus, and they post follow us on Twitter, links to Christies Great Estates, etc.

It's a classic example of how to shoot yourself in the foot. The site right now, Thursday January 7th 2010 @ 4:40 pm STILL ranks page one #2 and #3.

I'm sorry if this statement makes anyone mad over there. But my job is to help the masses of REALTORS making mistakes and I can only teach by showing Success and Failure.

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Bartley Wilson

Monument, CO

More about me…

VPiX® Corp.

Address: 590 Highway 105, Suite #276, Monument, CO, 80102

Office Phone: (866) 902-3600

Cell Phone: (505) 204-8097

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I learned a valuable lesson many years ago: You can make money or you can make excuses. But you can't do both.

We're a team of REALTORs that discovered how to enjoy life at the top of the Real Estate Food Chain. We can teach you what we know.

From real SEO that works, off the shelf and custom RETS IDX systems and websites that draw thousands of incoming links. Call us. We're REALTORS and we can help you. Get a Free Web CMA when you call.

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