Gainesville Florida Real Estate Webmaster Blog

If you are not using web marketing, you are WASTING your advertising dollars!

2010-05-11T08:22:27Z

First of all, if you don't have a website, get one!

(If you have one already, skip the next paragraph.)

What are you waiting for? All your marketing dollars are not being used to their fullest without a website for your potential customers to visit and contact you. If you're an agent, your broker site is not good enough. You need a personal site so you know that when you give out the address, you will be the person they contact. We know that over 80% of real estate buyers use the internet to research their purchase before talking to an agent, by not having a website you may be limiting yourself to only 20% of the market!

If you are buying print advertising, but not web advertising you need to get your priorities straight!

Web advertising is cheaper, easier to track your return on investment, and it's where your customers are. As mentioned previously, over 80% of real estate buyers go to the web before talking to an agent. If you own a website but you are not taking advantage of web advertising you are not reaping the full benefit of having a website. (note: I am not saying to stop all print advertising, only that web advertisement should be part of your budget)

Fish where the fish are.

As a web markeintg specialist I can tell you where real estate buyers are looking. They're looking at REALTOR.com, your local Newspapaper's Real Estate website, google, yahoo, bing, and some are on trulia, that is primarily where you need to advertise.

Banner Ads 101

I recently spoke to an agent who asked me why they weren't getting any results form their website marketing. They had set their own banner ad up on their local paper's real estate section. It had no animation and mainly featured their website address in large bold letters. They had almost no clicks in the past 3 months.

Don't rely on cheap static banner ads. I once saw a 400% increase in clicks on banner ads simply by replacing them with animated versions.
You need a credibility statement. Just putting your face and real estate title isn't going to make you appeal anymore than the 500 other agents on the same website. "Over 25 Years Experience" or "Specializing in Condo Real Estate" are good examples. If you can just make yourself slightly more appealing than the next guy, it makes a difference.
Finally, you need a call to action. Tell the viewer what they'll get if they "CLICK HERE NOW". "To talk to a local expert today, CLICK HERE" or "Get a free Market Analysis CLICK HERE" are some examples.

Other places to advertise.

Google, Yahoo, and Bing all have pay-per-click advertising that is very economical. You are only charged when someone actually clicks to visit your website, and you can set your own budget. However you do have to create your own ad text, and select your target keyword phrases which can be tricky and make all the difference in the effectiveness of your campaign.

Smart Media Can Help

We are real estate marketing veterans. We can simplify the process for you, eliminate the learning curve, and give you peace of mind that everything was done right. We can also review your traffic reports to make sure your marketing dollars are being spent in the correct location.

If you are adventerous or a little more on the techy-side and want to create your own web marketing campaign, please consider Smart Media for your animated banner design.

Visit our website for more information about Smart Media: www.SmartMediaRealEstate.com

Thank you!

More SEO Myth Debunking

2009-12-02T00:43:31Z

I'm still seeing some rather obsurd SEO advice on the web. Here are two direct quotes from a fairly well respected web design blog, and they are fairly common beliefs about SEO that are just wrong.

“You’ll already get a slight increase in rankings from a validated site, without even taking content into consideration.”

If you watch this video you’ll see that around 1:30 Google’s spokesperson very clearly says there is no boost whatsoever for having a validated website:

Your Tube Interview with Matt Cutts

“Flash websites are pretty much ignored by Google.”

According to an article about flash on google’s blog they do read flash content.And are actively working with Adboe to improve flash content indexing.

A better statement would have been “Poorly designed flash sites are invisible to Google” if you convert text to shapes in flash, then yes, your site will become invisible to Google.

Another common misconception about SEO is that the most important factors are on-sight optimization, and that simply is not true. On-site optimization only helps Google know what your website is about. If you want to rank higher, more important factors are the quantity of in-bound links and the nature of the websites that are linking to you.

I hope this helps you real estate webmaster out there in your endeavors. Thank you.

Using Bulk Email to Stay In-touch with Your Contacts

2009-07-23T03:31:17Z

Sending out an email newsletter on a monthly basis is a great way to keep your name in the back of the minds of your clients. It can also be a great way to keep people coming back to your website.

Add a newsletter sign-up form to increase the effectiveness of your personal website.

When you go to networking events, enter all the emails from the businesscards you pick up. Those prospects may not be in the market right now, but 6 months from now they may be, and your email newsletter might pop-up in their inbox at just the right time!

The best thing about email newletters is they're cheap!

If you would like to know more about setting up an email newsletter call Smart Media today! 352-240-9109x355

Twitter, Facebook, Blogging... What's the point???

2009-07-07T02:42:05Z

Being in web marketing, I get asked this question a lot. The simplest answer is it's all about customer service. Talk to your customers using the medium they prefer.

Social Websites Are All About Communication

I know many people that would rather chat on Facebook than email! It's becoming a very common method of communication. By having a presence on Facebook (for example) you also increase the likelyhood of being the chosen Real Estate Agent over other hopefulls for someone who prefers using Facebook to communicate.

Other Benefits

Having a presence on social websites gives the appearance to your clients that you are technologically savvy. A percieved advantage is as good as a real one if it helps you get more customers, so even if you are not using these technologies effectively, the fact you are using them can be benificial. Put it on your business cards and marketing materials.

Rapid Communication

A common complaint you may hear about social websites is they are a waste of time, but they can actually be used to save time in some ways. They allow you to communicate with a large group of people with a single mouse click, they only thing you have to do is come up with an effective message to send out. :)

Closing Thoughts...

I hope this post will help some people who have been pessemistic about Social Media look at it in a different light, and maybe even unlock some of the potential power within. Thank you.

Video Slide Show

2008-02-28T06:28:30Z

Hey check it out. Here is a video slide show I made that will be played through a projector at our trade booth for an upcoming home show here in town. I'm still perfecting my video skills, it's a new thing I've decided to learn. I'm not sure I've got the whole web optimization aspect of it completely down. The non-optimized version isn't pixelated at all, but the YouTube version is. Perhaps there are some web video veterans out there who can give me some tips.

Open Source Software - PART 2

2008-02-25T23:57:10Z

I previously posted about Open Source Software, well I've found an even better resource. This one outlines all major business softwares and gives the best fee alternatives. I've used some of them, and they are quite good.

In my opinion, no one should waste any money on Microsoft Office suite, Open office works just as good.

Check it out, there is tons of other great software on here. If you have used any of it, please comment with your quality review.

Stop putting 2.0 behind everything!

2008-02-25T07:11:33Z

Everyone is being totally cliche, the term "Web 2.0" has been around since like 1999! Stop saying Web 2.0, and Real Estate 2.0!

We need to come up with some new buzzwords to describe the "new" internet, and internet real estate marketing. And don't say Web 3.0! I don't know what those buzzwords would be, but hey I'm just calling for change, not proposing any salutions here. I leave it up to the AR Collective to help with that one.

Open Source Software - Great For Graphics (AND FREE TOO)

2008-01-07T07:20:42Z

I usually try to mention an Open Source alternative whenever I reccomend someone buy some software. Though OS software isn't usually as high quality as the professional stuff, it usually works great for people who are not professionals. There is usually tons literature out there on OS Software, and great support forums where you can get any questions answered within hours or even minutes.

Oh... did I mention is 100% FREE?

Here is a great website that categorizes most mainstream opensource softwares available, and gives you a short description of what they do.

www.osliving.com

Just a little tip to young graphic designers, I once used OS software to make enough money doing freelance to buy the Adobe Suite. :) If you can't afford to buy the Adobe software, you can get by with this stuff until you can save up enough money to buy it.

The Blogging Golden Rule

2008-01-03T00:38:46Z

There is one thing all blog readers expect to get from reading every blog post, they expect to receive some form of information or advice for free. If you are writing sales pitches or just talking about how great your product is, you are failing as a blog writer!

I am seeing this kind of behavior a lot on AR, and on outside blogs.

It's ok to talk about your product or do a shameless plug once in a while, but that should be secondary to some form of useful information that can actually benefit your target audience. Blogging is not a TAKE TAKE TAKE scenario, it's GIVE SHARE TAKE.

So here is my proposed Gold Rule for Blogging:

Post unto others as you would have them post unto you.

If you just read some killer advice or tips on a blog, would you mind seeing a shameless plug at the bottom? You'd probably even be a lot more willing to consider their product if they had just revealed a way to save you time or money.

Thanks for reading my post, happy blogging!

What Does NOT Help You Rank Higher on Search Engines

2007-12-28T01:44:56Z

Search engines are not mystical beings that are moved by the correct sequence of cerimonial rituals. Search engines are simply trying to bring the best results to their users for their searches. If you just use some basic logic as to how a search engine might determine the best results you can rule out a lot of common myths that people claim help you rank higher, here are a few that I've been seeing lately:

Resubmitting your web site to the search engines regularly. This helps nothing, search engines are smart enough to know how often you update your web site, resubmitting doesn't make them check more often. Resubmitting is a waste of time, submit your site once, and don't worry about it after that.

Making your web site XHTML compliant. (sorry if this one is over most people's heads, but at least you'll know about it if someone tries to sell it to you) Seeing that 99% of the internet is not XHTML compliant, search engines would have a real problem if they decided these web sites were somehow not important. Search engines are trying to get you the best information for your searches, how cleanly your code is written is not a factor.

Trading links with other people. This is probably one of the most widely practiced method of search engine optimization that doesn't help you at all. Search engines are smart enough to know that your are trading links, and they know why you are doing it. It's ok to swap links for the traffic it might bring to your site, but it's not going to help you rank higher in search engines.

Just think about it logically. If you were a search engine, and you wanted to give people the best results for their searches, what would you look at to generate your results? I bet you wouldn't care how many times they resubmitted their site that week. :)

Ergonomic Blogging - Avoiding Carpal Tunnel and Other Computer Related Health Issues

2007-12-26T08:09:00Z

If you're like me, you spend more time on the computer than sleeping. This can be very unhealthy if you don't train yourself to use good ergonomics, here are some tips to help you make sure you'll be blogging until you reach a ripe old age!

Sit up straight. If you have one of those office chairs that let you lean back, lock it in the upright position while typing large amounts of text to help you remember to keep those vertebra lined up.

Keep your wrists straight while typing and clicking. Raise your chair or push the keyboard back and rest your arms on the table top. Keeping your wrists straight minimizes the rubbing of your tendons against the wall of the Carpal tunnel, thus helping to prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrom.

Look away from the screen periodically to relieve eye strain. Give your eyes a breather from time to time.

Stay hydrated. Keep a glass or bottle of water at your desk and sip it all day. This is healthy and if you practice it regularly you'll lose a few pounds of water weight because your body doesn't feel like it needs to store up as much water.

I plan to continue spending 10 to 12 hours on the computer every day for a large chunk of my life, I don't want to suffer any adverse effects from it. So join in with me and lets make a New Years Resolution to practice healthy blogging!

Choosing the Right Font

2007-12-26T00:18:37Z

Believe it or not, there is a philosophy and a method behind which fonts should be used depending on the situation.

Fonts are divided into two basic categories, Serif and Sanserif.

Serifs are the little tails that extend from the ends and various parts of some fonts. The most commonly used serif font is Times.

Sanserif fonts do not have these tails, this would include fonts like Arial and Helvetica.

When should I use a font with serifs?

The purpose of these serifs is to create subliminal lines for the eye to follow and keep its place. Serif fonts are meant to be read in large blocks of text at smaller sizes, which is why they are a popular choice of newspapers and magazines.

When should I use sanserif fonts?

Sanserif fonts are intended for headlines, and small pieces of text, not large blocks of text. If you are creating a larger publication such as a newsletter, it is highly reccomended that you do not use a sanserif font for the body text. On the flip side, most of the time it is better to not use serif fonts for headers or logos. Text in logos and headers is meant to grad your attention and pull you into to read the body text. Serif fonts, thought easier to read up close, lose their definition at greater distances and are not as attention grabbing.

There are exceptions, there do exist very bold serif fonts designed to work well at greater distances. These are referred to as slab-serif fonts.

Cheat Sheet:

Some general font usage tips:

Never stretch a font! A skilled typesetter will never stretch a font, it destroys everything that the font was designed to accomplish visually and it is a dead giveaway that the layout was not professionally done. If you need to make text fit in a space, try changing the letter or word spacing, using a hyphen, or changing the font size. Never resort to stretching text!

Always select a bold font for your logo. If the logo is not readable at great distances, it is a failure. Look at all major national company's logos, pretty much all of them have a bold font, there is a reason for that.

As always, please feel free to ask any questions about specific situations, I love to answer them. Thank you!

How To Create A Fancy Email Using HTML

2007-12-20T02:18:28Z

This will require all the knowledge covered in my former blog post, How To Update Your Web Site.

Creating a fancy HTML email is very similar to creating a web page, but there are a few details that are different to make it work as an email.

Step 1

Make your email as a web page using your HTML Editing Software. Go crazy! Make it look totally sweet!

Step 2

Make sure all image links are absolute and not relative. This means they point to the full address of your image, and not the short relative version.

Example:
relative = "/images/picname.jpg"
This is not what you want.
absolute = "http://www.yourwebsite.com/images/picname.jpg"
This is what you want.

If you're Mr./Ms. Talented, and you use CSS to format your web page, it all needs to be inline. You can't have it in the head or as an external file. I recommend using minimal CSS formatting for an email because some web email clients will ignore it.

Step 3

Upload it all to your web site using your FTP program, and view it live on the web in your web browser.

Step 4

There are two ways to send it that most people are capable of. One is you can open the page on the web in Internet Explorer under the Page menu click "Send Page By Email". Another is to open the web page file you have on your computer using Word, copy all the content, and paste it into an email in Outlook. There is special software out there for sending bulk email but these two methods are usually suitable for the average Joe.

Note: There are so many ways of checking email, and so many outdated computers or computer illiterate users, there will be some people that are not able read this email. If you are sending vital information you need everyone on your email list to be able to read, do not send a fancy HTML email, send a plain text email.
Tip: Send a test run to an email on your Outlook, and to a web email like hotmail or gmail. To see how it will look on most people's computers.

ALL DONE! Now you look a big time professional company sending fancy bulk emails to its clients!

The Techy Skill Meter(TM) - New Blog Feature

2007-12-20T00:05:15Z

I am implementing a new feature into my blogs, The Techy Skill Meter(TM), patent pending, so don't rip it off.

It's purpose is for your amusement, and to help you quickly gage whether you should attempt this tech tip on your own or seek the aid of you high school age child. Bottom line, it save you time!I don't want to force a techy newby to read an entire blog post that will only be way over their head, and a waste of valuable time.

Here is a an example:

Following this graphic I will usually post a brief outline of the basic knowledge required to accomplish whatever my blog post is about.

Just another reason why you should subscribe to my blog right now. :)

Thank you!

How To Update Your Web Site - Beginner's Guide

2007-12-19T06:18:28Z

If you have a web site, and you wish to make minor updates to it without subcontracting the work out, here is an easy guide to help you accomplish that.

What you need:

Your web site's FTP login info. You can get this from your web host, or anyone who works on your web site.
An FTP program. There are numerous free ones on the net, FileZilla is a popular free one. Dreamweaver and Frontpage have one built in.
Web site editing software. Dreamweaver and Frontpage (which is discontinued and now Microsoft is pushing Expression as their new web design software) are the popular choices, if you are looking for a free alternative NVU is the best one I have found for free.

Step 1

Log into your web site using your FTP program. If you are unsure how to do this, consult the program's help file. Download the entire web site to your computer.

Step 2

Make any changes you wish using your web site editing software, and save them.

Tip: Always test your web sites by opening them in a web browser to make sure they look ok. I recommend looking at them in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. (If you don't have Firefox you can download it for free)

Step 3

When you are happy with your web site updates, upload them back to your web server using your FTP program. They will save over the current files, and you can now view your updated live web site!

YOU'RE DONE! SO EASY!

For extreme beginners I recommend only attempting minor text updates.

Adding images:
If you're feeling bold and want to try adding images to your web site, save the image you wish to add into your web site's images folder. Do not resize the image in your web editing software, (unless you are trying to determine what size you want the image to be). You must resize the image to the final size it will be in the web site using image editing software. The preferred choice for image editing software is Photoshop, but the free alternative is GIMP. When working on the web always set the DPI to 72, and the color mode to RGB on your images. Most digital photos are set to this by default but you should double check. If you are unsure how to check these, consult your image editing software's help file. Make sure to upload both the image file(s) you added, and the web page file using your FTP program.

If it will save you money, it's worth a shot. The worst that could happen is you have to call your webmaster and pay him/her to update the site for you as usual. :-P

Good luck!

Effective Branding

2007-12-18T01:23:24Z

In all of marketing wether it be the internet, signage or print publications, you need to create a brand and keep it consistent. Make a logo, pick a color, use it everywhere you advertise. This creates brand recognition.

What is brand recognition?

When someone sees your logo and knows exactly what it is instantaneously without reading the text or thinking about it. Just by seeing the color and distinctive shape they know it is you. Hopefully they have good feelings associated with this recognition, but that is not what we are discussing now.

The #1 way to ruin brand recogniton, by not having a consistent logo.

Common misuses of logos:

Multiple logos for the same company:
I run into this all the time. Companies have 5 or 6 logos (usually because they've updated their logo several times over the years but various departments still think it's ok to use old logos). This causes confusion on the subliminal level when people encounter multiple logos for the same company, and subtracts from that instant recognition you are trying to build. It sort of causes a company identity crisis.

Stretching Logos
A common mistake by amature graphic artists. They think it has a better aesthetic appeal when they stretch a logo to fill a space. This is 100% false, not only does it look like crap when you do that, it ruins brand recognition. It destroys that distinctive shape you want the customer to instantaneously recognize on sight.

Changing the Logo's Color
This also ruins brand recognition. If your logo's color completely clashes with your design, and you absolutely cannot change your design to match the logo then make your logo be white or black to minimize confusion. You should really create designs that work with your logo, you may be tired of seeing that color over and over again, day in and day out, but the customer isn't. When was the last time you thought, "Gee, I wish McDonald's would change their colors, I'm tired of looking at red and yellow.". Never! When you see the red and yellow sign you just think, "oh there's McDonald's".

Alright, now go out there and create some brand recognition!

Please share any stories you may have about this. :) I love to hear them.

Link Bait - The Art of Getting Inbound Links for SEO

2007-12-17T06:44:10Z

In my past blog post "What is a Good Link?" we discussed that the best link to your web sites when it comes to SEO is a Natural Link (See cited post for more info on natural links). One individual asked how you can get a natural link, among other methods I mentioned "Link Bait".

Link Bait is particularly interesting web content that is designed to make webmasters want to put links on their web site to yours.

There is a brilliantly creative example of Link Bait floating around the net right now! Here it is:

http://www.elfyourself.com/

Career Builder did one a while back also:

http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/

Career Builder's is a better example of Link Bait to increase your search ranking, because their's is actually on their web site whereas Elf Yourself is a separate web site. I think OfficeMax is using their example more to increase their branding than anything else, but you get the idea.

Google Update, Good News for the Little Guy

2007-12-17T05:00:38Z

You may have noticed an increase in your page rank if you don't spend large quantities of money on web advertising, but you do have a fairly decent amount of natural links to your site. This is due to the latest google update which removes the value from paid advertisements when calculating where your web sites rank in the search results. The big guys with multi-million dollar advertising budgets, who buy banner ads all over the web, may find themselves getting knocked down several slots in the search results.

How has this update affected you?

How are you going to capitalize on this update?

Email Etiquette

2007-12-14T04:55:04Z

This is crucial. I've seen poor email etiquette lead to fights! In and out of the work place. Even if your email is completely written in a neutral tone, it can be interpreted as angry.

Here are some tips to keep your emails professional and polite.

Use punctuation, always.
Never type in all caps (an occasional word in all caps for emphasis may be ok, use discretion).
Never use more than one exclamation point.
In a work related email never use abbreviations, especially "LOL".
Never use Comic Sands, Papyrus, or any other hard to read or artsy fonts.
Always say "Thank you" at the end of each email.
Say "Please".
Do not use cutesy colors or backgrounds, keep it simple, sticking to black text on a white background is probably your safest bet.
Use a signature, but keep it plain. Keep it to just your name, contact info, and a link to your web site. A small logo or photo of yourself may be alright (if it's a nice photo).

Emails are not for your artistic expression, they are a form of communication. If you feel the desire for an artistic outlet, take up scrapbooking or something.

If anyone has anything to add or you would like to share an example of bad email etiquette resulting in disaster, please share.

Thank you.

Common Anti-Flash Web Design Myths

2007-12-13T04:47:28Z

I want to take a moment to debunk a lot of common myths about Flash web design. Flash is an awesome medium for a web designer to utilize to set himself apart from the next guy (or gal). In the same respect, Flash is an awesome way for Realtors and Real Estate Companies to set themselves apart from their competition. But a lot of Web Designers actually discourage their clients from using Flash on their web sites. "Why is this?" you might ask. Well I think the main motivation behind this is that the Web Designers are either too lazy to learn the medium, or they have fallen victim to the disinformation propagated by the "lazy" crowd.

Some Common Flash Discouraging Myths:

Flash Will Hurt Your Search Engine Ranking
Flash will not hurt your search engine ranking anymore than images will hurt it. As long as you keep your important content as HTML text, flash will not hurt your search engine ranking at all. I promise!

Flash Loads Slow
Flash only loads slow if you if you load it up with giant photos, music, and video. Don't get me wrong, Flash is an excellent medium to display video (see YouTube.com). Just make sure you keep the video as an option, possibly on a secondary page, so that so that users with slower connections don't have to wait forever for your front page to load.

If a User Doesn't Have the Plug-in, or They Have a Flash Blocker They Won't See Your Web Site
A good Web Designer knows how to set up alternate content that automatically displays in the case that someone is blocking flash content or doesn't have the plug-in. But this will only be about 1 to 3% of your traffic according to my testing, so it's really a non-issue. But for those 1 to 3%'ers, I always set up alternate content in the form of static images or HTML text that replaces my Flash animations should a user visit my web site that cannot or has chosen to not view Flash.

There is a right way and a wrong way to do everything. Just because someone doesn't know the right way to use Flash, doesn't mean it is inherently evil.

Thank you for your time.

What is a good link?

2007-12-13T00:19:55Z

The best links are natural links from a web site that has a high google page rank value.

What does that mean?

Natural Link = A link someone gives to you because your site is the authority or at least worth looking at in regards to whatever the topic at hand is. The best natural links are text, in the middle of a paragraph, with link text that is a good key-word phrase someone might use to find your site in Google.

Example:

If you're looking for the best Gainesville, Florida Real Estate Company, visit the Bosshardt Realty web site. They are localy owned and operated. They have been in business for over 20 years.

This is an ideal natural link. Notice I didn't make the link be "click here" or "www.xyz.com".

As I mentioned above, you want links from web sites with high google "Page Rank" you can tell a site's page reank by downloading the google bar for your web browser. Anything above 4 is good.

So your formula is:

Natural Link + Good Keyword Link Text + Site With Similar Content to Yours + High Page Rank = Very Helpful to Your Search Engine Ranking

Good luck!

Has Your Real Estate Web Site Dropped in the Google Rankings?

2007-12-12T06:15:03Z

If it has, you probably pay to advertise on at least a few web sites. According to a recent interview with Google's spokesman Matt Cutts, Google has dramatically decreased the value of "paid-for links". Gone are the days when you could just throw tons of cash at your web site and shoot up in the rankings on Google.

Didn't pay for links you say? Still dropped in the rankings you say?

This is most likely a trickle down effect of web sites that do link to you and formerly ranked higher due to paid-for links.

Good luck trying to get people to link to your web site for free. :)