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Websites? Just Break it Down Barney Style

I WANT A NEW WEBSITE. The one I have now is just a temporary fix while doing research. SEO, Meta Tags, Google Analytics, Hubspot, Google Juice, DMOZ Directory, RSS Feed, IDX, ECT. ECT. ECT! I’ve tried hard to cram all this knowledge into my head while still taking care of my clients.

Now to find which Website Company to use. Which is the best way to go? The one when you pull it up it immediately starts showing your featured listings? The one that has a lot of verbiage to click on to get to the featured listings? The one that cost $30 per month? The one that cost $250 per month?

Let me know what has or has not worked for you.

And please, Just Break it Down Barney Style.

Posted by Denise Gray Realtor® Wichita Kansas Homes on 01/15/2009 04:02 PM

Comments (34)

Websites in the Online Marketing Channel

Post is included in group: Website Ideas, Content and Help for newbies.
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34 Comments on Websites? Just Break it Down Barney Style

JAN

How about us? How about a Community Blog instead of an "I am a Realtor Too" invisible website?

How about starting at as little as $199?

Have you noticed lately that the new way to advertise local business is to target your market exactly with cable TV slots that may cost as little as $5.00 each because they only need to plug an easy to remember website address? Home shopping network has used this concept over and over again: they now offer an 800 number and an online option. More and more, our TV is online and is our computer! Radio also is very inexpensive and it is easier to remember a web address when you are driving than it is to write down a number...and we all still use news-talk on our commute..hmmm.. why isn't your website a community blog with advertising and lead capture? Do you know that we offer a complete from scratch service that adds a web-ready video to an HD formatted one, from scratch, for as little as $500 soup to nuts? When was the last time you did something out-of-the box, share a little will ya?! You could have a video that greets your visiotrs like ours at http://socialmediasystems.com - and it doubled average time on the site and reduced bounce rate from over seventy to below 60! It converts, does your static video-free site convert?

Israel you have my attention. I like your ideas for marketing a product but would like to see website you have built for other Realtors.

This website:

http://rismedia.com/ and this new version about to go live: http://beta.rismedia.com/

Here is one a few years old:

http://peninsulahomeresource.com/

Notice the ranking:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=olympic+peninsula+homes&spell=1

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=belfair+washington+real+estate&btnG=Search

Here is a community blog:

http://chesapeakebaycommunity.info/

I am the man. Just ask Google:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=social+media+website+design&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=

You can also choose any template for Wordpress: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/

We can also buld a custom front page if you like fairly innexpensively: see our site: socialmediasystems.com, or just type internet advertising consultant into Google!

Good idea! I am looking, too. Have you visited Go Daddy? They have some free stuff that looks very interesting!

It's a Good Life!

Fran

Frances I did check out Go Daddy. My problem is they don't let you test drive. You have to pay to play.

JAN

If you want a static DIY website that nobody will ever see, will never generate any leads, and will be a complete waste of time, let me suggest Godaddy.

Hi Denise!

I'm a Realtor, not a site vendor, and I've done a lot of the searching you've been doing. DIY takes a LOT of time and know how. We're going to be going that route, rolling out over the next several months, but we've got folks on our team that come from a technology and database background. The web site, lead generation, client database, and client services must all be tied together. It can all be quite overwhelming.

In my previous research I was really impressed with the folks at www.Z57.com. In particular I talked to Scott at 800-899-8148 x.7332. Make an appointment with them and they'll walk you though their world in about an hour on the phone. Just have the Web up when you talk to them. Let him know we recommended them.

Good luck and please let us know if you ever need anything down in The Big Easy!

Troy Jowers and Jane Hoogerwerf
The Hoogerwerf-Jowers Team at
Prudential Gardner, Realtors
New Orleans, LA
www.come2nola.com

Troy and Jane thanks for your input. I'll give them a call tomorrow and see what they have to offer.

Even Z57, now a competitor, knows who the real expert is: from their website:

http://www.z57.com/shared/images/znews/2005-06/integrated_marketing.shtml

A template site will not rank, period, aks them to show you one that does!

I too, like Troy use Z-57 and have really been happy with them. User friendly and they are there if you have any questions.

Good Luck

Patty & Terry Ledford

ERA-The Real Estate Connection

652 E. Main Street

Blue Ridge Ga 30513

www.LedfordProperties.com

JAN

Denise, My website is through Homes.com (Agent Advantage). There is a lot that you can do with your website and I really like the contact managment/automatic e-mail follow up system that you can purchase with your website. I am also pleased with their customer service.

JAN

I'll check it out Vicki. Thanks

JAN

Denise - so did you decide which route you are planning on taking? I hope that it works out whereever you decide to go with it!

Naoma, I have been researching and playing on different sites trying to come to a decision.

So far I have decided to put the developement Trinity Point on Point 2 Agent. My Brokers web site front page has a link to the Trinity Point domain name. Now I just have to move the domain name from the temporary site I set up.

For my personal site I am torn between Point 2 Agent and Z57.

Point 2 Agent web site is easy to set up and has some nice features.

I spent over an hour on the phone this afternoon with the Z57 going over what they have to offer and was truly impressed. They have all the bells and whistle and seemed to be easy to navigate.

Biggest issue would be pricing. Z57 is double the monthly fee over Point 2 Agent but has more to offer. Guess I am stuck if the bells and whistles are worth the cost.

It's like 4 wheel drive is nice on a truck but do I do a lot of off street driving to justify the cost.

Denise,

They all sound great. However, with websites what you do not see is what makes the difference. Look, when you call them, what they ask you? Go to the so-and-so website. Now look here, look here, try this and do that. And you are impressed. But you forgot that they told you to goto the site.

In real life you are faced with two challenges: nobody would tell customer "go here", so getting them to your site is number one, and when they come, converting them is number two.

The rest is pretty much useless.

And the funny thing is that the choice is usually whether you pay $29 or $59 for something that is not going to really work. It is like buying a car and saving on wheels. Do I need to buy one wheel, or still 2 wheels? This is not the reality of life. You are not going to drive without 4.

I have technology people who started working on mine. If not, I think I would talk to Israel.

JAN

Very interesting. She actually told me she would call me, and did not. I guess "Barny style" means not too much truth please. Funny thing is that we are not any more expensive than anybody else, our standard solution is only $479.00 including hosting for a year.

I can only speculate that we do not even get to talk to her because we do not tell pretty lies like the others.

The fact is that these template solutions do not work, "I am a Realtor too!" does not work, and that our system, coupled with ihomefinder.com IDX and back end is probably the best thing out there, although it requires participation on the part of the client to make it happen properly.

Israel Rothman, SocialMediaSystems.com

Denise, why will you not call me. Israel: 805-827-2450 You may hear some things that you will not hear anywhere else. You can pick from any wordpress theme, there are literally millions. Coupled with a good IDX solution like Wolfenet or Ihomefinder you have all the robust backend features and Mapping technology. Funny industry: you can make more money selling a useless solution to the people who turnover each year than telling the truth LOL. "Sure no probelm, we will put tags on your site and you will get traffic.." they say. But that is not true. The proof is in the pudding. My past client list includes Vistaprint, Prudential California Realty, RISMedia, and thousands of others. Their in-house solutions are strangely similar to what I told them to do years ago. But I will not tell flowerly lies. I will tell you the truth. Not much appitite for that these days LOL. The fact is I do not think I want to sell you the least expensive DYI solution, you are sarting to sound like the customer from hell LOL. There is such a thing you know, I have met many of them in the 8 years during which I have been doing this. When I started I became a controversial celebrety because I had the outragious gall to start a business based on intentional search engine recognition, now called SEO, SER, SMO, SMM

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=real+estate+social+media+marketing&btnG=Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=real+estate+social+media+website+design&btnG=Search

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=real+estate+social+media&btnG=Search

It is not these slick competitors that rank here, in spite of their size, because they make more money mass producing solutions that will never rank anywhere. What use is a nice website that nobody who does not know you can find? The proof is still in the pudding. Some things change, some do not.

Israel just like our clients we all decide who we think we can work best with to achieve our goal. While you may have by far the most superior product to ever hit the market I don't think we could work together very well.

To what I'm sure is my determent and my inevitable down fall in the Real Estate World I'll have to decline.

You may very well be correct, Denise, as the post I wrote at the exact same time you wrote this one points out. Funny though, a phone call is free. C'est la vi!

JAN

Denise, we have a number1expert site and love it! It looks good (we think so anyway, you be the judge - Pensacola Homes) but more importantly, it works!

In my opinion, the most important parts of any website are exposure and lead generation-the best looking site in the world is nothing if no one sees it and/or no leads come from it. Number1 helps with driving leads to our site by syndicating our listings to over 25 websites. We use a seperate service that puts our listings on over 25 other sites that also point to our site. We also blog and advertise the site on all of our marketing etc. On average, we get about 200 unique visitors per day and 15 legitimate buyer leads- about 20% of those leave phone numbers as well! You need a website that attracts buyer and sellers and captures them once they get there with great content. The ultimate goal is to get contact information that will turn visitors into clients, right?

The next thing to look at is how easy the site is to use and modify. They set up the site for you with all the basic info. Our site is far from the standard number1 template, but making changes has been easy and hassle free. We are able to make changes (as well as monitor results etc) to most of the basic content through a set of simple programs that any novice can use. For the rest, we tell the folks at Number1 what we want and they do all the work for us. This is especially important for the less computer savvy who don't know and/or don't have the time to make their own site and maintain it. In my opinion, desigining your own website is like a homeowner selling a home FSBO. It can be done, but there are benefits to hiring a professional to do the job well.

Lastly, once you get the leads flowing in, how do you keep up with them? You'll need drip campaigns and follow up systems to cultivate the leads who are not ready to buy or sell just yet. There are a lot of options for this and it doesn't have to be something that your website service handles for you...but it makes life much easier if it is all integrated! Number1Expert handles this for us as well. They provide the campaigns to use, we just edit them, set preferences etc and let the systems take over.

There are a lot of other things to consider, but these are what we consider to be the most important. They are all things you should take into consideration when making your choice. Number1Expert is a premium site which also translates into premium pricing- there are also sales requirements to qualify for a site. I want to say you have to sell $3million a year to qualify, but I'm not 100% on that? If you qualify and want the best, you should definitely check them out. Many of the top agents accross the country trust Number1 with their website services. And no, we have no affiliation with Number1, we're just happy customers! If you're interested, I'll give you the contact info for my rep.

Good luck with your decision and I hope this helps!

Sandy, thank you for you suggestion. I will take a look at what they have.

JAN

Hey Denise,

I have worked with many CBUnited agents, Stanberry Agents, and Real Estate companies down here in Texas.

Let me tell you up front that I am a web designer. Let me also say that while I would love your business... that is not why I am posting.

My parents are both in real estate (Dad is a broker 25+ years, mom is an agent 25+ years). I know the industry very well and have seen it grow into technology. Right now the average agent has a couple of sites. The site provided for them by their company, a realtor.com page, MLX page, and maybe their personal site.

The average agent also has a template site as their personal site. Israel was very... persistent... with his approach but he was also right about a few things. Template sites will never function as well as a custom built site that focuses on your distinct SEO (search engine optimization) from the ground up.

Template sites use repetitive content, bad HTML (that is quickly replicated and easy to roll out or manipulate) and generally offers features that every other agent will get with their package. I will soon be posting a blog entry that will go very in depth as to why template sites are no good for an agent that wants to set themselves apart. Google and Yahoo can index repetitive content associated with template sites and keep those sites off the radar compared to more customized and unique sites that are indicative of industry professionals.

See for yourself though. Act like a consumer and type in keywords for your area. "Blank Real Estate, Blank Real Estate Agent" and see how many template sites come up. If you find any on the first 3 pages I will be shocked... and considering the average user doesn't go past page 1 that can be a big problem.

I encourage you to find a company similar to my own. We start from the ground up building a custom design for your site; including a little flash here and there. We analyze your market for keyword competition and keyword traffic... trying to find the best way to attack the market in your area. Then we will decide on content that is enriched with the keywords we agree will work best for you.

You can see a couple of examples of our work here: Trident Realty Group & Austin Music Realty

Please feel free to ask me any questions you wish to by email. I never mind giving some free advice.

Denise, I thought the template site would hurt me too...but I don't think it does. We rank on the 2nd page of google for most of the major real estate terms in our area. When I asked the folks at Number1 if the template site hurt my SEO, this is what their senior search engine analyst said-

NUMBER1EXPERT membership websites aren’t run of the mill templated websites. NUMBER1EXPERT membership websites are built from the ground up with Expert Search Engine Optimization built in. We continually do research to find new proven Search Engine Optimization techniques. When we find them we add them to all NUMBER1EXPERT membership websites.

There is nothing wrong with dynamic content, that is a myth. In fact, a search engine can’t tell the difference between dynamic content and other content because dynamic content is generated before the webpage is sent to the search engine or web browser. The dictionary, trivia and real estate tips sections of NUMBER1EXPERT membership websites are the same on all NUMBER1EXPERT websites but search engines don’t penalize this as duplicate content, as we site the original author of the content which is www.NUMBER1EXPERT.com.

NUMBER1EXPERT membership websites are designed for our members to add significant unique content to offer site visitors expert local real estate information and to provide unique content to search engines. Content that is good for the site visitor is also good for search engines. Your NUMBER1EXPERT membership website www.TSBRealEstate.com has a lot of unique content that you have added

I am not a web designer so I am not 100% sure which is right, Shawn (above) or the folks at Number1, I just wanted to share the info I was given.

Sandy on any given issue there is bound to be conflicting points of view. I tend to believe both sides are usually correct they just look at it from different perspectives to achieve the same end results.

This theroy has been tested over and over again ever day that I've been married for the last OMG 31 years.

JAN

Hello,

When condsider a solution for your website situation, I would recommend that you look for a service that works with you on planning the best solution for you. There are tons of option on the internet and trying to figure out the best one can be difficult. You need a service that will explain your options and work with you. Let them handle the technical still as long as they include your desires with the site. No matter if it is a small monthly fee or a larger one. Find the service that fits your needs and then let them work with you. Give us a call if you are now sure what direction you should head. We pride ourselves in helping clients use the best service for their needs. Looking forward to hearing from you.

David Troutman - Senior Design and Marketing Consultant

I have had a website for about a year now. Paid to have SEO work done on it that costs a truck load. Have gotten one lead. It is a yawn. My advice is make it plain and simple because if there is too much crap on the front page, the readers will run. Spend the money on good SEO. Good luck

Gina, I like the look of your web site. Do you feel like the SEO has failed or the lay out?

David, thanks for the information. I'll take time to check out your past client's sites.

FEB

Denise, it seems as though you have a lot of technical people entering the field of Real Estate, and now they are trying to earn your business, even if they say they aren't. It's really funny how the industry is changing, and amazing how many different opinions on what is best for you on creating a new website. I do not envy you at all, and wish you all the best in getting what you are looking for. It's not an easy decision the make, and I wish I could help you out.

Denise, Barney os for kids, real life is not at all simple. just as I need a Realtor to buy and sell housing safely, I suggest you get some help from a professional that you can trust. Good luck LOL!

Troy your right there are a lot of ideas out there.

Israel thanks for your continuing support and good wishes.

Ya know, a phone call is free. I cannot tell you that I can make the extremely complicated ridiculously simple, because that is the best definition of genius I have ever heard, and I cannot call myself a genius, that is for someone else to do.

I can, however, tell you that there a few common sense principles that make this all easier to understand:

There is not shortcut, no easy way
There is no reason to have a website that does not do it's job (generating leads you would not have had otherwise)
Search marketing is competitive, you will not win by doing what a million others, or even 1000 others are doing
The best tricks are not taught in any online marketing course, they are guarded until they do not work anymore - I recently had the experience of being dumped by my investors because they thought they had all they needed form me, only to find out that what I had (the ability to respond to changes on the search engines) could not be reproduced, causing the failure of the company: see The Coracle Story
There is a ton of mis-information out there, because you want it to be simple, and it isn't: but as long as someone wants to hear the lies, somebody will tell them profitably year after year in an industry with this much yearly turnover - many icons in the business have never been good for their clients.
When you deal with lead generators, you give them the money to buy your market and sell it back to you, and they know that they are in that business.
When you own your own independent website solution, it has a value of it's own, independent of the underlying business - this is what we provide.
There are so many ex-employees and ex-partners competing for the business that I invented, that nobody knows who to believe anymore.
I am not popular because of my propensity for the truth, which I will always tell you for free whether you want to hear it or not LOL
Success is about providing a real service (service to others): syndicate real content that originates from you if want to be found. This always was, and always will be the secret: syndication (RSS - Really Simple Syndication)

Israel Rothman, http://socialmediasystems.com, or just type 'internet advertising consultant' into Google Search, you will find me ;-)

Nobody is more qualified to assist you with your Internet advertising needs, videos, social media marketing, and website design and publishing than us: the proof is ‘in the pudding' just ask Google:

real estate social media Google Search

real estate social media marketing Google Search

real estate social media website design Google Search

realtor smo Google Search

realtor sem Google Search

real estate website marketing system Google Search

internet advertising consultantGoogle Search

real estate social media advertisingGoogle Search

We are the best in the world at what we do, and we can do the same for you.

JUN

Number1Expert agents average between 30 and 40 leads per month with a minimum of ten listings... twenty and thirty listings get between 50 and 60 leads monthly. It is a listings driven program where your listings get Premium Placement in over 35 listing partner sites like HarmonHomes.com and Homes.com. It is all inclusive with lead capture features and e-mail drip campaign systems to convert those leads. We offer free online presentations. Our start-up fee has been hugely reduced, so now is the time to join! It is a templated site. Don't ask why it works better - it just does. Denise, it IS one of the most expensive sites on the market - $299 monthly - which pays for the marketing we provide. We don't just throw your listings to the wolves to place anywhere. We use those marketing dollars to get you placement. To drive traffic to your site. If this is something that is within your marketing budget, call 800-762-2836. Good luck!

I agree with Bernadette. Actually, we get 50+ leads per week, not per month, from our Number1 site. It's worth every penny IMO.

DEC

Try using SimplrManage, if something unique is what you're looking for!

www.simplrmanage.com

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