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Top National Websites for November 2008

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Maine Home Connection

Competition among national real estate sites is very competitive, to say the least. Keeping track of the top 10 visited each month is an obsession, since it has such a direct bearing on advertising revenue. According to Hitwise, a national tracking service, the sites with the highest market shares in the month of November 2008 were:

1. Realtor.com
2. Yahoo Real Estate
3. Zillow.com
4. ZipRealty.com
5. Rent.com
6. RE/MAX.com
7. HomeGain.com
8. Service Magic.com
9. US Dept of Housing and Urban Development
10. RealtyTrac.com


The interesting thing about these results, however, is that most people who eventually are ready to buy a home do local searches. For example, someone searching in southern Maine will start with a key word search like "Portland Maine Real Estate". That is why we have devoted ourselves to search engine optimization (SEO) on a local and regional level. Any search of important key words will result in you finding our website MaineHomeConnection near the top of the organic search results.

When it comes to national real estate websites, one thing to keep in mind is that it is all about advertising. That is essentially their only revenue stream. Local real estate websites do not focus on advertising, but rather on providing information that people need and want when making home buying and selling decisions.

For example, we have devoted countless hours creating rich content that helps potential buyers understand the Maine real estate market. Although this may sound self-serving, special features such as Relocation Services, Community Profiles and Maine Waterfront Real Estate are customer centric first and foremost.

Comments (3)

Pacita Dimacali
Alain Pinel - Oakland, CA
Alameda/Contra Costa Counties CA

Good info...thanks for sharing.

I haven't devoted time to SEO, but will certainly spend time developing that.

 

Dec 11, 2008 05:36 AM
Anonymous
Not Yet Licensed

Keeping track of the top 10 visited each month is an obsession, since it has such a direct bearing on advertising revenue.

Interesting stats.  However, as I'm sure you know, hits are only hits.  Generating leads is a different ballgame.  Do you use any of the top 10 sites?

Respectfully,

Bruce

Dec 11, 2008 06:28 AM
#2
Laura & Michael Sosnowski
Maine Home Connection - Portland, ME
Maine's Premier Online Real Estate Resource

I find that the number of leads from these real estate portals is minimal at best.  We have an enhanced package with Realtor.com and do so grudgingly.  Even though we are RE/MAX agents, Leadstreet is a very underwhelming product.  We do not use Zillow or HomeGain - they are the competition!

Of course, there will always be the occassional lead from these portals, but concentrating on your own website is the best way to go.  Good Luck!

Dec 11, 2008 07:22 AM