Home > Blogs > Carolyn Gjerde-Tu-Davis > Davis CA Real Estate Blog

Real estate is about service and sweat, not SEO?

By Carolyn Gjerde-Tu-Davis

Real Estate Agent with Lyon Real Estate

October 17, 2008 09:22 AM

The above quote, Real Estate is about service and sweat, not SEO came from an anonymous commenter on Joe Lane's featured post on TheSarasotaMLS.com is history I'm not going to rehash the whole controversy, you can read about it here: The Sarasota MLS Gone or here: Sarasota Associaton of Realtors - The real cybersquaters or even sing the SAR Pokie.

Sarasota Real Estate

Unfortunately, there seems to be a segment of agents who simply do not understand what it takes to build a presence on the internet. They think, pick a good name for your website and the leads will come. It is not that simple. What people like SAR Donicus should understand is that the work just starts when someone comes to the website. There are many people out there that will tell you they get a lot of traffic on their website yet have nothing to show for it.

I've heard that NAR analysts believe that close to 100% of all buyers will start their search for homes on the internet within the next several years. While many of those same buyers will find an agent through a referral or an open house or sign, etc. some will chose their agent via a website. Building a strong internet presence will continue to be more important over time.

The punitive situation that Marc Rasmussen is facing over his Sarasota Real Estate site will affect his ability to do business. So what if Marc has chosen to focus his business around the internet and not more "traditional" marketing of door knocking, cold calls, etc. Maybe he does do those things as well, I don't know Marc personally but I know that his site and the success of his site were partially responsible for my decision to focus on building larger web presence. TheSarasotaMLS.com was one of the sites I looked up to for guidance in how to build the right kind of website. Instead of bashing him, the Sarasota Association should be looking to see how Marc's site could help their members sell more homes.

To help support Marc put a button on your site: No SARjacking

Updated to include additional posts/resources:

There are more posts out there, anyone google Sarasota Association of REALTORS lateley?

Re-Blog

Comments(10)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

Stephen Kappre

KW Hometown - Mantua, NJ

Helping You Home

I am just dipping my toe into the pool of knowledge regarding SEO and lead generation from websites. I currently get none (Ok about 1 a year realistically :-/ ) Thanks for the post. I'm going to read on and keep an eye on your blog :-)

Oct 17, 2008 09:30 AM

Chuck Carstensen

RE/MAX Results - Elk River, MN

Minnesota/Wisconsin Real Estate Expert

Thats funny someone would say that. I am not an SEO expert but I am cool with some SEO goodness.

Oct 17, 2008 09:39 AM

Judy Orr

HomeSmart - Scottsdale, AZ

Scottsdale AZ and surrounding towns

I agree that more and more buyers will use the Internet and I personally feel that 82% or 84% is a low figure. Because of my website last year was a record year for me when many agents were suffering. Because of my website I didn't have to do any other kind of marketing. I get both buyers and sellers from my sites.

Did it happen overnight? It took a good 3 years to start reaping the benefits of organic search engine placement. I never really got into PPC so I guess you could say I did it the long, hard and patient way. But it sure paid off!

Oct 17, 2008 10:28 AM

Gita Bantwal

RE/MAX Centre Realtors - Warwick, PA

REALTOR,ABR,CRS,SRES,GRI - Bucks County & Philadel

Most buyers start their search on the internet. Even when they start working with an agent, they continue to look on the internet. I agree a web presence is a must.

Oct 17, 2008 11:44 PM

Carolyn Gjerde-Tu-Davis

Lyon Real Estate - Davis, CA

Ca Real Estate

I think most agents "get" that a strong internet presence helps and that the only real way to build that presence is through a lot of work, either your own or if you pay someone else. Buyers and sellers will continue to want more and more from what they find on the internet. SEO is an important aspect of being "found" on the web.

Oct 18, 2008 02:56 AM

Michael Sahlman

www.HomesForVIPs.com - Keller Williams Realty - Miami Beach, FL

e-PRO - Miami Beach Florida Luxury Homes

Hi Carolyn, the work definitely just begins when someone visits your site. It is amazing how many people do not realize how much work is involved, including many agents. It is not easy, but then again that is why they pay is the big bucks! Take care.

Oct 19, 2008 11:59 AM

Aloysius Donohue

Keller Williams Realty - Ridgewood, NJ

Ridgewood Real Estate

Carolyn,

I just read the original post. Is SAR Donicus a real person and really the CEO of that MLS? His response almost seems like a prank because it is so misguided and so adversarial. It doesn't seem real. Why would working on SEO be any less honorable or important than sending post cards that just go in the trash. I got angry reading it and then I thought it must be a joke. Is it?

Oct 19, 2008 02:13 PM

Aloysius, since SAR Donicus wrote anonymously we can't tell who it really is. At first he/she comes off as someone that is not very Internet literate, yet how would he/she have found AR and why would he/she care about Marc's site? I have a feeling it might be a bitter agent with a website that can't catch up to Marc and maybe someone who made a complaint against him.

What I find interesting is that once that post got Featured with many comments (and many against SAR Donicus) he/she no longer wanted to comment. I refused to spar with him/her any further so there was one more ignorant comment and nothing since.

Oct 19, 2008 03:26 PM

Al, unfortunatly since SAR Donicus replied anonymously there is no way of knowing if this was a serious comment. His comments were made before Joe Lane's post was featured. I do believe the real SAR CEO did comment later as the same comments were made on Morgan Carey's blog at real estate webmasters & he believes her comments were real.

One of SAR CEO's points was that Marc's site had an unfair advantage in the search engines because it contained the name sarasota mls. While his URL might have given him a very slight advantage, it was not his web address but the money and time he put into the site that got him the rankings. That also seems to be one of SAR Donicus' complaints, that Marc Rasmussen has been in the top spot for long enough.

I don't think the Sarasota Association of Realtors really understands what they are facing. Eric Blackwell's bloodhound post is already ranking #3 in Google for Sarasota Association of Realtors. Give the search engines a little more time and a lot of these other blogs will start ranking on the first page as well.

Oct 19, 2008 03:29 PM

Russel Ray, San Diego Business & Marketing Consultant & Photographer

Russel Ray - San Diego State University, CA

Actually, sometimes, if you pick a good name for your website, the leads will, indeed, come.

I believe that even more important than just having a web site is building a web site that properly supports one's business. That's a little more difficult to do. That's what makes Active Rain so powerful because if you actively participate here on a persistent and consistent basis (you don't even have to do 10 blogs a week and 10 comments a day), the search engines will pick you up much faster than if you did the exact same blogs on your own individual web site.

Learn how to use Active Rain to support your efforts. I have more information in lots of my blog entries for those interested.

Oct 27, 2008 10:33 PM

Real estate is about service and sweat, not SEO?

Comments(10)

Carolyn Gjerde-Tu-Davis

Real Estate Resources

Recent Posts

Additional Information

Real Estate Information