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If you could ask any question of an online marketing expert...

By Joel McDonald

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Joel McDonald -- www.AutomatedHomefinder.com

August 13, 2009 05:37 AM

Next week, I've got the privilege of meeting one-on-one for several hours with a very savvy internet marketer. In addition to getting boatloads of high-quality website traffic in his extremely competitive niche, he is also a high-level internet consultant who operates on a retainer basis. The area he shares his expertise on include:

getting more website traffic by dominating niches
determining the actual value of a lead
converting visitors into good leads
prospecting "best practices" to turn leads into sales

I've got a list of things I'm going to discuss with him, but I want to squeeze every ounce of knowledge I can out of the time I have with him. So I was wondering: If you could ask any question of a knowledgeable internet marketing expert about how to get more business from your online marketing efforts -- what single question would you ask?

PS - I plan on sharing the answers I get, so the more questions, the better! Thanks for your participation.

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Roland Woodworth

Blue Cord Realty - Clarksville, TN

Benchmark Realty

Joel: What a great list of questions.. I look forward to your feedback

Aug 13, 2009 03:46 PM

Larry Bettag

Cherry Creek Mortgage Illinois Residential Mortgage License LMB #0005759 Cherry Creek Mortgage NMLS #: 3001 - Saint Charles, IL

Vice-President of National Production

How do I interface all of the on line applications such as twitter, facebook, AR, etc? In other words, how can I get my post here to show up on the other mediums?

Aug 13, 2009 03:48 PM

Lynda Eisenmann

Preferred Home Brokers - Brea, CA

Broker Associate ,CRS,GRI,SRES, Brea,CA, Orange Co

Hey Joel,

Thanks for the heads up on this opportunity, what a great idea.

I'd like to know what to expect, what will be different on the web one year from now, two years from now....translated, what do I need to be doing today?

Aug 13, 2009 03:54 PM

Carol Pease

JP & Associates Realtors - Bastrop, TX

CRS, Broker-Associate 512-721-6320

Joel:

I would like to know what is the least expensive way to generate quality online leads? How can one do it quickly?

Aug 13, 2009 04:23 PM

Sharon Alters

Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty - 904-673-2308 - Fleming Island, FL

Realtor - Homes for Sale Fleming Island FL

I'm with Lynda - my broker told me in 2006 to join Active Rain - I did in 2007 but didn't become active until 2008. What should I be doing now to stay ahead of the curve? What will I wish I had done today a year from now? two years from now?

Is it too late to dominate a niche? What's the sure fire way to dominate a niche in real estate?

Sharon

Aug 13, 2009 04:36 PM

Christine Donovan

Donovan Blatt Realty - Costa Mesa, CA

Broker/Attorney 714-319-9751 DRE01267479 - Costa M

Templated website or custom? What are the benefits?

Also, the best way to convert leads to clients? Systems, calls to action, etc.

Aug 13, 2009 04:46 PM

Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED

RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

Is this like the wishes from the Genie in the bottle? I'll wish for more wishes!

Can you ask the one thing as being "what other things do I need to know?"

Aug 13, 2009 05:58 PM

Christianne O'Malley

Dickson Realty - Reno, NV

Exceptional Service - Delivering Results in Reno!

Wow! There are some fantastic questions here. I can't wait to get the responses! When will you be posting?!?!? I'm dying over here! :-)

Aug 13, 2009 06:04 PM

Fernando Herboso - Associate Broker MD, & VA

Maxus Realty Group of Samson Properties - Clarksburg, MD

301-246-0001 Serving Maryland, DC and Northern VA

One more question from me. .

IDX

When do you ask and require to sign up if any at all. .

at the beginning? there are thousand alternatives c ya

at the middle? teaser but don't take advantage

Free? . .no sign up. . only call me if you have any questions about any listings. .look around free

What is better?

Aug 13, 2009 10:22 PM

Joe Pryor

The Virtual Real Estate Team - Oklahoma City, OK

REALTOR® - Oklahoma Investment Properties

My first question would be to myself and it echoes an old song by The Who. "Who are you"? I think that online marketing flows from that sense of transparency. After that my question to them would be, how do I develop and online marketing plan that integrates into my overall business plan, including my expense sheet.

Aug 14, 2009 12:56 AM

Home Loan Search.Online

Home Loan Search Online - Newnan, GA

How can I connect all of my social media sites together without having to manually submit data to each one of them?

Aug 14, 2009 02:02 AM

Stephanie Edwards-Musa

thredUP.com - The Woodlands, TX

knitwit at thred UP

Hi Joel, this is a great and thanks for sharing all of this with us.

How about this. With niche marketing - how important is trademark protection on marketing and tag lines? I'm not talking about copyright on blogs or photos...but the actual protection on trademark and logos?

Aug 14, 2009 02:05 AM

Joel McDonald

Joel McDonald -- www.AutomatedHomefinder.com - Castle Pines North, CO

Thanks for the questions everyone! I'm compiling them and will be sure to ask those that are appropriate.

FYI - this guy isn't in the real estate niche, but consults on SEO and conversion issues.

I'll report back soon!

Aug 14, 2009 03:30 AM

Damon Gettier

Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS- Roanoke Va Short Sale Expert - Roanoke, VA

Broker/Owner ABRM, GRI, CDPE

What key information should we be providing consumers to make our sites/blogs places for them to book mark and come back to. With that information, how often should it be updated?

Aug 14, 2009 11:26 AM

"The Lovely Wife" The One And Only TLW.

President-Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. - Kissimmee, FL

Joel...

I have no burning questions. I just popped in to thank you for the wish. Much appreciated :)

TLW...ROAR!

Aug 14, 2009 11:59 AM

Nancy Flanagan

Wainwright Real Estate---Virginia Beach, Va - Virginia Beach, VA

Hi Joel.....Thankyou for opening up the platform on this subject. I have only one burning SEO question to ask.

I have RSS feeds on my website, do web bots and meta crawlers utilize the taglines and keywords from these feeds and if so, is this beneficial to my website?

Thanks again and I look forward to your post!

~Nancy in Va. Beach

Aug 14, 2009 01:34 PM

Dave Keys

MOVE UP in Google Search Learn How Here - Brea, CA

Chief Search Strategist Real Estate SEO Expert

If you want free info that's good along the lines of internet marketing, check out the video on John Chow dot Com I'm not affiliated with him in any way but his biz model makes good sense. I especially liked his perspective on finding a good email manager and sticking with it. He once lost about 75% of his subscribers when he had to switch - Can-Spam rules required a re-opt in and most didn't.

The video is long and sometimes difficult to catch every word, but worth the watch.

I'm not affiliated with him or anything like that. I just thought the video was good.

Dave Keys

Aug 14, 2009 05:13 PM

Kathy Torline

ERA Herman Group Real Estate - Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog 719-287-1049

My question would be all about conversion; most of the time it's the most important thing in getting leads.

Aug 14, 2009 11:46 PM

Sandy McKee

Sunstreet Mortgage - Tucson, AZ

You have some good questions to ask and I look forward to the answers. Thanks, Sandy

Aug 15, 2009 02:28 AM

Susie Blackmon

Ocala, FL

Ocala, Horses, Western Wear, Horse Farms, Marketing

Given our market, etc., what should be done in the interim when the foreclosure/ss market is one I do not care to pursue, especially considering I don't consider my particular area to be my ultimate source. Since you and I have spoken several times, I think you might understand what I am wondering....

Aug 18, 2009 10:41 AM