thanks for this information, I am going to check it out.

Krista you are welcome! Good luck with it :)

Bill, thank you for the info, I did go to Topix and read a little, I may sign up

Jean your welcome...I would take advantage of the Topix site as it is really easy to add your local Real Estate expertise.

WOW - This is news! : -)

Sandra I am really excited about the Topix news site as well!

Bill... You're doing a heck of a job bumping the big guys out of the top google spot in Hopkinton,  You must be the one of the largest agents in town!

Dan - you have a great sense of humor my friend :) The page rank of my website has increased and I am now on page one for Hopkinton MA as well as every other town in Metrowest MA that I cover. Not too shabby :) I am really excited about the Topix site and being able to add some local Real Estate knowledge.

BTW - Raveis has changed the language of their listing for Hopkinton - did you notice? It is the only town that was changed.

Bill,  Thanks for another site.  Heading over there to check it out now.  Actually, I've heard of it before, but...  Thanks again.

Marc - I think you will really enjoy the topix site. It is as easy to post to as Active Rain - actually even easier. It could potentially really help your readership and I know it will help with SEO. 

Bill, this is so intriguing. I've been wanting to write more for localism. Maybe this will give me a great focus. I applied,,, if I need to send refs, I'll submit your name :-)  Thanks for sharing!

Bill~It's so good to be back and to see you still sharing the wonderful ideas and links that you have.  Thank you for bringing Topix to our attention and I hope your week is wonderful. 

Mara - I would apply and start using this site as a mechanism to bring more traffic to your blog as well as improving your search engine positioning. The material that you would send to Localism is perfect for the topix site.

Julie - It is good to have you back my friend. I hope you are feeling better!

Bill, Thank you for the information. I will check it out. It sounds interesting.

Gita - Good luck with it. The Topix site is something that could really improve your business if you do a good job with your localism posts.

Bill.....another great site and tip. Reggie and I will be enlisting your help very soon with a new top secret project we have created for MTO. Hope you are down! We need YOU!

Bill - One more thing to do! Thank you for shaing this. I am interested in learning more about it so heading there now!

Sounds interesting...I will take a peek.  I am going to have to consider giving up sleep so I can keep up with all this new internet "stuff" I am finding!

Nicole....Thanks for you comments on Topix. Let me know what you are up too :)

Robin - Best of luck with it! I hope topix brings yo some new contacts.

Lesley - This is a good one! Does not take much time at all. It will be just like adding to another group at Active Rain.

Great, more bad advice. You said an increase in readership and SEO. Could you explain how that page increases SEO for anybodys site. Increase in readership, maybe a couple a year. I would think the smart real estate agent would spend time developing their own web site instead of one on this site, which you don't own, and never will.  Why wouldn't you have your own site? Why do you continue to make these people more money. Can't wait to hear about the SEO. Looks like you put a lot of time and effort into your work. Keep it up. This is better than no site at all I guess. Thanks for your time.

Paul - You obviously don't have an understanding of SEO. You are adding your own site(blog) to another site that has a lot of traffic. The site does not have "no follow" linkage. SO each post you are making is directly linked back to YOUR site. This is similiar to syndicating your site only better.

Btw - I put no effort at all into creating this site. All I did was add my own blog to the site. If you can't see the benefit then keep on doing what your doing. Anybody that knows anything about SEO, page rank, ect would know that having an inbound link from a site like this would be a benefit.

Bill, I signed up.  We'll see what happens.  Thanks for the great tip!   ~Debbie

Bill, I checked out the site and it looks neat!  I might sign up!

Hi Bill - another of your cool tips!  Thanks for sharing this one!

Ann

Debbie, Rick, and Ann - Give it a shot it may bring some new business your way. I do see topix coming up quite a bit in online searches.

Bill - thanks for the motivation. I applied and got approved. Now I'm stuck as I can't seem to get past the "editor" tab to actually post something. I may call you. I'm soooo slow to catch on to the mechanics, but love all these ideas!

Mara are you using firefox or IE as your browser? I had the same problem while using firefox. I did with IE and it worked fine.

Bill, I am now a Topix editor for my home town of El Cajon.  Just got my notification.  But it's late and no time to edit tonight.  Thanks again for the tip! 

Debbie that is great! Hopefully the topix site brigns you a few leads and some readers to your blog.

Bill, yet another good tip from you. I'll have to check this out for my area! ;-)  Thanks!

Teri good luck with it. Topix is one of the better sites I have come across.

Bill, amazing how you come up with all of these interesting places. I may need to hire someone to do all this fun socializing and SEO while I actually sell houses. We are getting in deeper and deeper, my friend.

Thank you for sharing this and I will certainly look into it.

Thanks Gena. The topix site was coming up for searches under my town. I checked it out and it looks like it has real potential. Hope it works for you :)

Very interesting. All the posts from my town are from the local paper, head lines mostly. Think I might take a hint from Bill and see where the site ranks for my town.

Debbie it is the same thing in my home town. The value in this is that if there are people reading it YOU become the recognized local expert. The other benefit is that it brings traffic to your blog and the best I can tell it does not have "no follow" protocal for the information you are adding.

Thank you for the information. Will definately look into it. Regards, C.

Bill, once again, you have given me a site to master for the week!  You are my hero!

Tina in Virginia

Thanks!  I'm glad Marti highlighted you!

C Tan - Your welcome. Hope you like it.

Tina - The topix site looks like it has real promise. Good luck with it.

Eleanor - Your welcome...good luck adding your mortgage information.

Hi Bill,

I like Topix but I haven't used it in a while. So far the leads from that avenue haven't been the best for me. My two cents.

Hi Tracy - I would suspect you would need to keep the content fresh on Topix in order for it to have any value. I would give it another try.

Thanks Bill.  I had never heard of Topix before.  You have shed the light into the cave I have been living in!

Michelle - Your welcome. The Topix site has potential. It is really simple to add your material :)

Bikll - Thanks for the awesome idea - I'm on it!

Garreth - Good luck with using Topix as a site to increase your business.

Bill, thanks for sharing another great site, that I will check out. You are a wealth of information and appreciate you sharing with us here.

Missy your welcome. I am having a lot of fun with the Topix site. It is very easy to post your material. Having another good link never hurts either :)

Cool tips.  Thanks again!

Bill, thank you for your great advice!  I just filled out the application and am anxiously awaiting their e-mail confirming my log-in. 

I have followed a lot of your great advice.  I sincerely appreciate your guidance!

Bill,

I find more useful stuff on Active Rain than anywhere else!  Thanks for a useful post!

Mike in Tucson

Nyles - Your welcome - good luck with Topix.

Mirela - Good luck with Topix. I am sure you will add some valueable information for the area you cover.

Mike - You are right...Active Rain in a fountain of knowledge.

Thanks, Bill. I'm not using either of those (firefox or IR), but that gave me another idea to try... if I don't make any progress , can I contact you? I often have confusion about the obvious!

Mara of course you can :)

Bill - You are the master. Thanks for the great resources you continue to provide.

Bill, thanks much for this tool tip on topix today.  I'm thoroughly enjoying the creative opportunities we have now on the Internet, including my own Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate blog.

Tom You are welcome my friend. I am enjoying having another place on the internet to post some local material.

Chuck - Good luck with it and much success with your new blog.

Bill just checked out the Topix site...really interesting. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks Mike the Topix News site is an excellent way to increase your web presence.