By virtue of you reading this post, I know you are aware of the importance of the Internet.  But are you aware of how important it is to constantly update your site and graphics? Graphics you say? Yes - people will see the same old tired graphics and will assume your content is no better.

The idea is not only to have a website - but to have it work for you. Now is the time to work with your Real Estate Virtual Assistant to devise a game plan on updating and maintaining that copy that's never been changed since you began the site, and fixing those old outdated links.  I can't begin to tell you how many real estate websites I've seen that have bad links.  I think it stands out even more for real estate sites because these types of sites almost always have local attractions, or local information.  At the time you put them in, they were working, but guess what? Your clients are clicking on them now, only to get an error message. If you got their curiosity up about that attraction, or that location, it's entirely likely they'll leave your site completely to go looking for a good link.

I've seen several sites with more bad links on these types of pages, than good. I've seen several sites that are still full of the generic content provided as part of the hosting service.  Search engines are searching for updated sites.  When no changes are made, your site is dropped - imagine if they kept every site ever built. It would be impossible to wade through them all.

This article isn't about scolding those who haven't had time to do anything about updating their websites. It's simply a caution that now, and the first part of January is an excellent time to review your site, identify bad links, and get new custom content written.

The good news? The good news is that once you've developed a plan of action and hired one or two professional virtual assistants for their special areas of expertise, you can relax and let us do the work. You don't have to do it all yourself.  That's what Real Estate Virtual Assistants are here for - to make you look good and to help you grow your business so we grow ours. You work by referrals - we do too.

To summarize, the things you should be thinking about:

• A marketing plan for the new year
• Going through your website and updating broken links at the very least.
• Adding a special page or two on a specific location or landmark
• Updating your Home page to add copy with the most popular keywords and pertinent information and graphics
• Thinking about "branding" yourself to make you stand out from the rest - make YOUR website the one stop shop for your area.

Good luck with everything, and let me know if I can assist you.  As I stated in a previous post, Virtual Assistants are specialists - you can get your letterhead, postcards and business cards updated by one REVA, developing a branding strategy -  and have your website updated by another. My specialty is updating and maintaining websites - I know several excellent PREVAs with other specific areas of expertise. In fact, since I don't accept competing clients for any given selling area, I can recommend other qualified Virtual Assistants with website experience if I already have a client in your area. That's what's great about a network - we know and recommend each other and you don't have to do the "shopping" - we know who will do the right job for you!

Just make yourself a list  - call it a New Year's Resolution if you will - and give yourself a fresh start - a whole new look for a whole new year! You'll stand heads above the rest!