marketing: Make Big Money With PPC, Maybe
- 09/18/15 04:23 AM
In late January, a certain post got a lot of circulation in the real estate community on Google+. It was by a Realtor, for Realtors, about pay-per-click (PPC). I don't know how many people read it, but certainly hundreds, if not thousands of people liked it and shared it, doing only God-knows how much damage. The article was basically offering tips to Realtors on how to use pay-per-click, but it was just full of bad information. When I read the article, I thought to myself- this is a nice effort and this guy took time to share this information...but it isn't right. In … (46 comments)
marketing: I Was Drunk The Day My Mom Got Out of Prison
- 12/07/13 04:35 AM
Last night, I was sharing a Guiness with one of my co-workers at a pub in Downtown Phoenix, when David Allen Coe came over the jukebox with the song "You Never Even Called Me By My Name." Andrew is just a couple of years younger than me, but had never heard the song himself, so I explained. I only had one beer, but I've only slept about 12 hours in three days, so I think I slurred when I told him: "See kid. This is the ultimate country song. He talks about trucks, and trains, and mama, and prison, and gettin' … (143 comments)
marketing: Yoast is Wrong; Moz is Wrong: SEO Myths Dispelled
- 09/26/13 06:32 AM
I was inspired to write this post after I read something on Google+ yesterday about SEO. It really got me thinking about the economics of SEO and more importantly, the value of publicly available SEO advice. About 9 months ago I think- I was talking to my friend Kathleen Daniels- a fellow member of ActiveRain- and I expressed my frustration about a friend who I was giving free SEO advice to. I was ticked-off because he was taking my suggestions cafeteria style: liking and implementing some and ignoring others. Kathleen said something that day that made perfect sense: "Michael, if you … (65 comments)
marketing: Are Widgets Draining Your Google Juice?
- 07/21/13 07:54 AM
First, I realize that this article is controversial. There are many people that will disagree with what I'm about to write. Maybe even the majority of people that read this article will disagree with what I have to say- but when it comes to SEO (search engine optimization), if you are doing what the majority of people are doing (for SEO purposes), you're already doing it wrong. In the social media circles, and on several real estate blogs, I often read about the conspiracy that free real estate widgets will drain your website's power and pass it on to the widget … (59 comments)
marketing: Real Estate SEO or RE SEO? They Are Both Important!
- 06/28/13 08:12 AM
When it comes to SEO- in this example, SEO for "real estate"- are you fully taking advantage of real estate related synonyms and acronyms in your search engine optimization efforts? There's a joke that SEO people tell: An SEO expert walks into a bar / pub / tavern / public house / restaurant / dive / club. That's it. That's the whole joke. Do you get it? It's All About The Synonyms and Acronyms If you search Google for "AZ SEO expert," you will find me on page one of Google, position #1. It's not a big deal. If you don't … (42 comments)
marketing: Great (Inexpensive) Closing Gifts for Realtors
- 04/10/13 06:51 AM
Okay, in truth, I started doing this years ago at a time that I was very broke. I wanted to give everyone I knew a super-terrific Christmas present, but I had a very limited budget-- so I decided to give everyone something homemade. I learned how to can stuff. I just finished canning a large batch of my *world famous* Bloody Mary mix this past weekend and-- realizing I haven't posted a blog in the 'Rain for a while, I thought to myself... "hmmmm, this would make an excellent closing gift." And writer's block has been temporarily defeated! Homemade Gifts for … (12 comments)
marketing: Forget SEO: Convert Visitors into Real Estate Buyers
- 12/10/12 09:49 AM
All of the real estate SEO in the world will not help you if your website does not convert visitors into clients. So, instead of focusing on SEO for Realtors (my usual stuff), I am going to write about website "conversions" and turning those visitors to your website into genuine clients. Actually, I'm not going to write about it, because I made a video. But here's the summary: I helped an ActiveRainer, Terri Poehler, rise dramatically in her Google rankings over the past couple of months. However, Terri's telephone wasn't ringing. Nobody was calling her for "Coral Springs Real Estate Agent" … (17 comments)
marketing: Peralta Hills Real Estate Marketing: An Experiment
- 11/08/12 01:18 AM
This post actually has nothing to do with Peralta Hills real estate listings, but I wanted to use the geographic area as an example because it works perfectly for this real estate marketing tip. (By the way, if you are a Realtor who sells in the Peralta Hills area, I own PeraltaHills.com and I am interested in working something out that would benefit us both. Please contact me if you work in that area of Orange County or would like to.) For this tip, it helps if you know a little bit about HTML. Just the basics- nothing too fancy. However, … (12 comments)
marketing: Real Estate SEO: Fast and Furious to Page One
- 11/01/12 05:11 AM
Real estate SEO is not the primary type of SEO work that I do. In fact, when it comes to internet marketing for Realtors, I've done it mostly for friends and I've done it mostly by writing articles on ActiveRain. This is a little ironic, because the people I do SEO for most of the time are attorneys. And, believe it or not, attorneys do not like for me to use their name. They put nothing in writing; and they hate giving testimonials. How will they sue me next year if they write something good about me? So I grow … (33 comments)
marketing: If You're A Stay At Home Mom, You're A Leech!
- 09/13/12 11:08 AM
So you clicked on my post, huh? Just goes to show that a snappy title gets 'em every time. But I saw some marketing in Phoenix today that I thought was really slick. Baiting people works for signage- because I flipped a u-turn to take this photograph- and it works for blog posts, because you are reading this right now. Aren't you? This is obviously a political sign. Full disclosure: I didn't know who Kyrsten Sinema before today and I am not endorsing or condeming her. But her enemy's campaign manager is a genius. And the sign just doesn't give … (42 comments)
marketing: Real Estate SEO and Pinterest: Like Birds of a Feather
- 09/04/12 03:24 AM
A few months ago, the First Lady opened a Pinterest account and interest in the website has picked up more than ever. Pinterest is a unique social networking site, or more precisely, an image sharing site-- and it is the special uniqueness of the website that has made it a popular tool in the SEO game. To understand how Pinterest could help your SEO efforts, one would have to understand the basics of Pinterest, SEO and how they collectively gel to yield the desired results. First, you should know that Google and other major search engines have started to display … (63 comments)
marketing: Online Reputation Management: An ActiveRain Case Study
- 08/08/12 01:30 AM
Yesterday, I wrote that linking to your site and keyword stuffing fall short in Google, when comparing those SEO...um..."techniques" to simply being a good internet citizen. (Netizen) My article pointed out that the most important thing for SEO is to be an honest person, write honest content, and let Google know exactly who you are, using your Google+ profile. Well, today, I can actually prove what I wrote yesterday is true and valid. (So if you were one of the 600 people that read the post, but did not comment because you thought it was ridiculous, here is your second chance!) … (21 comments)
marketing: Sometimes the Best SEO is "No SEO": 6 Tips You Can Use Right Now
- 08/07/12 08:09 AM
I've written before about the importance of Google+ and tying your Google profile with ActiveRain, your own website, and really-- anywhere that you blog. I recently realized something about optimizing websites for Google and the affects were so amazing, that I hesistate to even share... But I will. It turns out, I'm not as good with SEO as I thought. Oh don't get me wrong- I'm good. :-) But a lot of what I've done has to do with the way I've built trust with Google over time. If you Hire an SEO person, Make Sure He or She has … (40 comments)
marketing: Wordpress and Active Rain SEO, Part II
- 07/05/12 10:45 AM
Hello everyone. In my last post about Wordpress SEO, I promised a second video. It took me a lot longer to do than I thought, because I am in the middle of a big project and lost an employee. I got a little behind. Here we go though, with part II. This video is 14 minutes long. I tend to ramble on and I am sorry for that. I just purchased a new video editor recently and I just don't have time to learn it. I know: excuses, excuses. Anyway, I hope you find this video useful. If you do, … (9 comments)
marketing: Wordpress White Hat SEO... Inspired by Black Hat
- 06/18/12 08:28 AM
Good afternoon ActiveRain. Today I was thinking about how, back in the olden days (like 2000), black hat "SEO" people would try to trick Google by putting hidden text on a page. The text was usually white on a white background, but blue on blue works too! So the user would arrive on a page that had a very nice user interface "above the fold". Below the fold (you'd have to scroll down) A the bottom of the page the black-hatter would have 10 pages worth of content in white text, which the user never sees, but Google could find. … (8 comments)
marketing: Get Your Pretty Face To Appear In Google Search Results
- 06/07/12 03:00 AM
Well, the mortgage market being what it is in Phoenix, I have found that I am more valuable to the world putting my SEO stuff to work. My thing has always been mortgages and real estate SEO. But with the real estate market being what it is in Arizona, I have put originating Arizona VA loans on the back burner. I now do SEO full time-- more than full time-- for a couple of professional firms. [EDIT: Sunday, June 10, 2012: If you search for this post in Google now, you can see it in action.]
So I'm going to be … (93 comments)
marketing: Attention Husbands of Women Drivers!
- 07/21/11 07:41 AM
I found this commercial today and thought it was just hilarious. It's an ad for Goodyear tires and gives the viewer the impression that, when a woman is behind the wheel, she goes through something similar to an acid trip. It's all so confusing for ladies! There are signs, and bright lights, and Hitchcockian music that plays in their pretty little heads. Never fear, Men of America. Goodyear is here to help. Enjoy the laugh. … (6 comments)
marketing: Become a Famous Expert and Crush Your Competition
- 10/14/07 05:32 AM
This is probably the best marketing tip I will ever post. In fact, I even hesitate to post it, because it's just so darn good...I wouldn't want my competition using it. Fortunately, this takes a lot of hard work and time, and I figure only one or two people who read this will actually do it. Write a Book About Real Estate and advertise yourself as "the author of Winning Big with Arizona Real Estate." Of course, insert your own state in the title. Or make up a better title. You get the point! It's really not as hard as it … (88 comments)
The SEO Guru offers white-hat SEO services and consultation from his home base in Phoenix, Arizona; but is a virtual consultant, via Skype, worldwide.
About Michael George
Michael George earned two bachelors degrees at Oakland University, in Rochester Hills, MI. One in Political Science and one in Management Information Systems. Michael George consults with professionals on their search engine marketing (SEM) efforts.
In late January, a certain post got a lot of circulation in the real estate community on Google+. It was by a Realtor, for Realtors, about pay-per-click (PPC). I don't know how many people read it, but certainly hundreds, if not thousands of people liked it and shared it, doing only God-knows how much damage.
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