Here is a list of 8 ways you can launch your real estate internet marketing career and start gettting leads and selling homes through your personal web sites..
1.) Buy a domain with top "city" real estate, homes, or houses type keywords. Buy a domain name with phrases that are most commonly search. GoDaddy.com has domain for $8.95 (search "godaddy promo code" for 10% discounts). Get a hosting account. It's $3.95 per month! If you can't afford it, you can't afford to be a Realtor.
2.) Spend hours and hours reading about SEO (search engine optimization)! Stay up till 4 am if you have too. You can always find the time, just don't sleep as much ;). Don't ever pay a cent to telemarketers who call you promising #1 Google results. It's a scam! If they are in fact excellent internet marketers (as they all suggest), wouldn't you of found them on the Internet....think about it??? And trust me, when your site(s) start ranking, the dirtbags will start calling like crazy! I do not mean to imply all SEO companies are dirtbags, there are some fantastic companies out their doing fanstatic things. Seek them out if you wish to outsource your SEO. Ironically, they are not hard to find! Be prepared to spend big bucks for top SEO companies or spend big hours learning to do-it-yourself. Nothing is free in this world and good things never come cheap. Don't be a sucker Realtor!
3.) Join, read, and participate on forums such as RealEstateWebmasters.com, AgentsOnline.net, and (of course) ActiveRain.com-check.
4.) Learn HTML and Buy HTML Editing Software. I use Dreamweaver and I swear by it. I started out using MS Frontpage and it sucks more than Richard Simmons! FP adds a bunch of unnecessary code to your pages. Macromedia's Dreamweaver is very-user friendly and provides three ways to view your pages while editing: WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get), HTML view, or split screen (where you see both WYSIWYG and the HTML at the same time)....absolutely amazing for learning HTML as your build pages!!! You don't have to know HTML thoroughly if you're using HTML editing software, but at least develop a working knowledge of tags and editing pages by cutting and pasting code. HTML is, by far, one of the easiest codes to learn. After about 15 minutes of reading you will know basic page structure. Don't be cheap: Pony up the $$$$ for good software! It will save you hundreds of hours annually.
5.) Start building your site and adding pages. Write lots of unique content for "city" real estate, homes, realtors, etc. keywords and keyword phrases. Never, ever copy content from any site. Write it yourself or pay a ghostwriter from sites such as elance.com. Don't be a hack!
6.) At this point, hopefully you have completed a few profitable transactions from your internet leads and have a little cash. Reinvest your money in custom IDX solutions (see wiki - Internet Data Exchange). Most buyers get online to search homes for sale. They want listings, not a Realtor.
7.) Develop a solid follow up system for your prospects who call and email you - From my experience, people who pick up the phone and call you are the most motivated. Find out how they need help and take care of them! I've sold homes within a week to internet leads, but most people are 6 to 12 months away from making a decision (including choosing a Realtor). They get online to gather information such as home prices, real estate market reports, market values in areas of interest, schools, neighborhoods, etc. Provide it to them and provide it FAST! Keep your name playing in your prospect's head with your follow up phone calls and emails. Every buyer and seller has a different situation and timeframe. Find out their needs and fulfill them!
8.) Get as many incoming links as possible pointing back to your web site. Not only to your homepage, but deep within your site structure. Be careful of reciprocal links. Don't ever link to an Advanced Access or Z57-type sites. They suck and your link is worthless if it's not on the homepage. Obtain links only from web sites relevant to real estate. An incoming link from a basketweaving site will carry little weight. To put it as simply as possible: The more connected you are throughout to the World Wide Web, the more Google love you will receive! Google Love = Traffic = Homes Sold = Food on the table and shoes for the kiddos!
This is not an extensive list of what you need to success online, but as the blog tile suggests it will help launch your real estate internet marketing career. As with anything you want to master in life: READ, READ, READ! Never stop being a student!
Good Luck To You All!!!
Comments(4)