Active Rain Grows like crabgrass on the internet. It is a unique and powerful tool that I ,and you, have discovered that will eventually move those who use it correctly way beyond some of their competitors. Here is why I think so.
Up until two years ago , I owned a web design and internet marketing business. I outsourced most of the internet marketing tasks to people who knew what they were doing. I was told it would take time, read in books and articles that it would take time, and looking back, it did take time. I am now getting regular calls off the internet from a business I sold almost two years ago!
Most people will tell you that sure, you will start showing up on Google, and Yahoo, and MSN within days, hours or even minutes (Active Rain, Twitter , and Facebook) but only for specific keywords, and phrases. Are those the keywords and phrases the general public is using to find whatever it is you are offering? Most likely, those generic keywords will put you on page 1,067 of of Google. If you Google yourself, your name, your realty company and location, etc., you are likely to show up as top dog. Is that what the average John or Jane Doe is searching for. No, they are looking for "a four bedroom single family home in Burke,VA under 500,000."
Over time, if you keep writing useful blogs for the consumer (something I need to concentrate on), targeted at a specific audience or geographic location, like Kings Park West in Fairfax, VA, and using keywords specific to that targeting like "Condos under $250,000 near George Mason University," you should see a great improvement in your index ranking over time. And as I just stated, my regular calls from my former side business tell me that I need to get more local, more interesting, and more targeted in what I am writing and who I am writing it for. Not only do I need to do this on Active Rain but I need to add a fresh page of original content per week on my my web site. The more useful content on that site, the more traffic it will attract....over time.
I regularly hear agents say, "this internet thing is overblown. I am going to stick to door knocking and cold calling." You probably should , at least until your internet leads start growing. And finally, getting leads off the Internet is only a part of ones business. You should always, network and market yourself a bit in the old school way. Referrals will always be important.
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