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I Know You're There...I Can Hear You Breathing!

Real Estate Agent with John R. Wood Properties

January 17, 2008 05:08 AM

Remember that movie "Sixteen Candles"? Samantha's grandfather answered her phone late one night...when the caller didn't say anything, he said, "I know you're there...I can hear you breathing". That's the feeling I sometimes get when I see specific hits on my website.

Due to the fabulous technology brought to me by Google Analytics, it is now possible to review not only the terms people use to find my website, but those stats also tell me how many pages they looked at...what town they are in, what pages they reviewed, etc. The only thing it doesn't tell me is "who" they are....which at times can be so intriguing...which leads me to my joke of the day...How do you keep a geek like me in suspense...just let me look at my web statistics...AGHHHHHH!!!

Now some of you might be thinking...oh come on, Shannon, it can't be that suspenseful. You need to get a life! Oh, not so quick, my skeptical friend. Here are some examples of what keeps me questioning who's lurking behind that computer screen!

Who are my London friends? I don't personally know anyone who lives in London (I don't think), but for months, people from that area have searched my website, shannon.com using these keywords:

Shannon Lefevre's real estate
Shannon.com
Shannon Lefevre
Shannon Le Fevre
Shannon Lefevre's fabulous listings

If these were normal Naples, Florida search terms...I probably wouldn't notice, but I can't help but wonder who they are since it's apparent they know me...but I don't know them...BOOO!

I think it's interesting to see several page views from one location. I wonder...are you that bored....are you that interested in Naples, or are you another Realtor getting website ideas??? Who knows...sigh...!

Just yesterday, somebody from Littleton, Colorado searched 98 pages on my site... staring at that silly site for almost an hour, a but..no phone call from anybody in Littleton. Oh, COME ON!!! Seriously...98 pages, you don't even want to pick up the phone and say hello? Bummer!

Then there's the other stark reality about people USING me and my site to get what they want and then calling "their" Realtor when it's time to get down to business. I know...hard to believe, but it is true. I have other local Realtors call from time to time wanting to show "one of my listings," only to find out that it isn't one of mine but one that showed up through the IDX system on my site...HEY! THAT'S MY SITE YOUR PEOPLE ARE USING! I want half! Just teasing! Always a bridesmaid, that's not true, so although this seems like a sad story, it isn't. I still get credit for the page views, and I have had a few deals with people who initially used someone else but didn't perform.

Then there are the people who do call...ask questions...tell me where they're from, and later magically...I spot them on the stats...TOO COOL!

Anonymity isn't all bad. I don't think I'd want to know "everybody" who stumbles on my site. Those who found me by searching wacky terms like:

Real Home Girl
sexy feet
foot fetish
bare breasts

A. I don't even want to know how my site came up for any of those search terms but I do know the people searching those terms were miserably disappointed after clicking on my site.

B. Fortunately, all of those search terms were used months and months ago so I'm hoping the search engines have indexed my pages appropriately by now! :)

What is also great about web stats is that it allows you to have something interesting to discuss with clients and potential customers. Over the holidays, I was at a party standing next to another Realtor when someone asked, "Hey, what's going on with the real estate market"? Perfect opportunity to shine. I respectfully gave the floor to the other Realtor, who almost challengingly gave it back to me...(thinking quietly to myself...Uhm...your loss...) I said, oh well, some great things are going on right now...and gave a full report of the trends according to my web stats and then market stats and concluded with..."do you have anything to add"? to the other Realtor....uh no. Cool!

So what are the top search terms on my website this month so far:

In closing, just like Howard said on "Sixteen Candles,"...I know you're out there...I can't hear you breathing, which is a good thing...but I do see you looking...which is a great thing!

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Nick Ruta

Whitehall, PA

Keep in mind that your site could simply have web bots and / or web spiders surfing around your pages hunting for info and content. I wouldn't put it past such things today. I don't know for certain if Analytics can detirmine whether or not your hits are from bots, but I bet a great deal of it comes from such things.

For example, one day I noticed on our company website that every single agent page got 1 hit....every one! Am I to believe that one person looked at every single agent? Nah...I think our site got crawled, as such an occurance never happened again.

Jan 17, 2008 07:50 AM

Shannon Lefevre

John R. Wood Properties - Naples, FL

Shannon Lefevre, PA Your Naples Smart Girl

RICHARD: I agree! :)

KATHY: I can ONLY imagine! :)

COLLETTE: It never ceases to amaze me! :)

CHUCK: Oh good...well I'm glad to see the trend end that's for sure!

WAYNE: Glad to know that wasn't you typing in foot keywords! :)

KATHY: Isn't that silly...people are so funny!

NICK: Actually you can kind of tell when they are web spiders. They typically check out every page on your site and I have well over 400 so I don't think that particular person was a bot. Not to mention I can see where they began and how long they were on each page. Thanks for commenting.

Jan 17, 2008 08:00 AM

Paul Slaybaugh

Homesmart - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale, AZ Real Estate

Hey, where'd my link go? What a gyp! ;)

Jan 17, 2008 08:11 AM

Shannon Lefevre

John R. Wood Properties - Naples, FL

Shannon Lefevre, PA Your Naples Smart Girl

PAUL, my funny friend you had your shot and lets face it...your real friends now you bookmarked the site the first time you went to visit it! :)

Jan 17, 2008 08:18 AM

Brian Block

RE/MAX Allegiance, Managing Broker/Branch Vice President - McLean, VA

Northern Virginia & D.C. Real Estate

Shannon, it's always interesting to me to view my statistics and see how people found me and my blog, as you so well described here in your post. You would have burst out laughing last week at the Inman conference when one of the blogger panelists mentioned that she wrote a blog post about the airport metal detectors going off because of the underwire of her bra. She got tons and tons of hits to her blog for people searching for "blog and boobs"!!! There was another post she mentioned as well, but I know your blog is a family-friendly one, so I will restrain myself. Ask Patricia Kennedy or Tom Plant about it (or send me a private e-mail).

Jan 17, 2008 08:53 AM

Lane Bailey

Century 21 Results Realty - Suwanee, GA

Realtor & Car Guy

I get some funny ones, too. I assume the ones from India, China and Niger are scammers. I have done a good job filtering out the bots. But, I get a lot of Canadians as well as a lot of southern Californians. Most of my hits are local, though.

Jan 17, 2008 08:55 AM

Donna Paul

Keller Williams Realty Gold Coast - Dix Hills, NY

Long Island Home Specialist,All About Real Estate

I love the comment from Mary..... Thanks for given me this insight.... I haveto check it out on my website too..

Jan 17, 2008 10:29 AM

Kelly Sibilsky

Licensed Through Referral Connection, LTD. - Lake Zurich, IL

I love knowing that people are out there, looking, reading and learning. It proves you are making an impression on others...that's for sure! :)

Jan 17, 2008 10:33 AM

Ann Marie Clements

Remax Realty Group - Gaithersburg, MD

Montgomery County & Frederick County

Shannon...this is a really thought provoking and funny post...I would bet that the some of the lurkers were Realtors checking out your site...I check mine once in a while and I have someone from New York that has been checking me out for years - though I don't remember any buyers from New York...I often wonder what they think of all my picture and hairdo changes :)

Jan 17, 2008 11:01 AM

Danial Dansereau

Watson Realty Corp. - Fernandina Beach, FL

Fernandina Beach Realtor®

Yes Shannon, I have checked out your site and I was very impressed. The layout, coloring and graphics fit you very well. Also, I surely wouldn't have subscribed to your blog without looking at it. I thank you for the information that you have posted and look forward to reading more of your posts.

Jan 17, 2008 11:24 AM

Elaine Hanson

Coldwell Banker Realty - Malibu | Topanga - Malibu, CA

REALTOR - Topanga, CA Real Estate Agent

I've got to check out your site - I'll be there soon, but then you'll know when I've been there, won't you.

Jan 17, 2008 11:44 AM

Robert L. Brown

www.mrbrownsellsgr.com - Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids Real Estate Bellabay Realty, West Mic

Sounds a tad creepy. Please be careful. There are way too many people with time on their hands doing the wrong thing.

Jan 17, 2008 11:56 AM

Obeoman Glade Jones

www.obeo.com - Salt Lake City, UT

Well....

They don't call it the World Wild Web for nothin'...bloggers are out there, aren't they?

Steve

http://obeoman.blogspot.com

Jan 17, 2008 12:09 PM

Bob & Carolin Benjamin

Benjamin Realty LLC - Gold Canyon, AZ

East Phoenix Arizona Homes

Agree it is creepy that some of those search terms found you. Well at least they found you - right.

Jan 17, 2008 04:46 PM

Jason Crouch

Austin Texas Homes, LLC - Austin, TX

Broker - Austin Texas Real Estate (512-796-7653)

Shannon - I have had some weird terms on my reports before, too, and I often wonder how in the heck they manage to find my site. This was a well-deserved featured post!

Jan 17, 2008 06:12 PM

Paul Slaybaugh

Homesmart - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale, AZ Real Estate

Alright, Crouch, you can't drop that line without fessing up. Where are you being found?

Jan 17, 2008 06:19 PM

Mike Russell

Mike Russell Real Estate Group - Overland Park, KS

Overland Park Kansas Real Estate

I love analytics. I showed another agent in my office, you would have thought I showed him the Holy Grail. What did he want? "SEX"

Jan 18, 2008 01:59 AM

Christy Powers

Keller Williams Coastal Area Partners - Pooler, GA

Pooler, Savannah Real Estate Agent

I can't imagine having those search terms.....lol. That's too funny. I think I need to check mine. That is too funny. I can imagine someone going through 98 pages looking for that....thinking this real estate thing has to be front.....

Jan 18, 2008 12:52 PM

Katerina Gasset

The Gasset Group & Get It Done For Me Virtual Services - Provo, UT

Amplify Your Real Estate & Life Dreams!

Shannon- I like your humor that you can put on the webstats. I get strange things too. But even worse and on the serious side, on my google alerts I discovered 2 people who stole my name, my own name, to use as bait to get their rankings up higher on google! My name has nothing to do with their sites. Isn't that something? Katerina

Jan 20, 2008 04:25 PM

Ginger Wilcox

Sindeo - San Francisco, CA

This is really funny! I get some really strange ones too. It goes to show how important key words can be- i get "Marin Pot". GREAT! It would be interesting to know who spent that entire hour on your site.

Jan 21, 2008 07:44 AM

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