Special offer

SEO and Pay for Placement

By
Real Estate Agent with Sibcy Cline Realtors®

  I recieved an interesting phone call that I thought I would share. Just someone else trying to get in the pockets of a REALTOR® that is trying to make a living. These people offered me the number one position on searches done on YAHOO. This placement was going to cost me 79.95 for the setup and 50.00 per month after that.

 Now this is not pay per click or a off beat or strange search engine but one of the most often used search engines.

 As I was drilling down to the facts with the sales rep I asked her what search words would I be buying? She told me that the phrase was "New Homes in Hamilton Ohio".

 Then I asked how many times was that search used last month? She proudly responed with the astonishing number of 26! Thats right two digits the first is a 2, the second is a 6.

I said to her that this program works out to 2.00 a view for first placement and does not even get them to my site.

She told me that's right! It's better than pay per click because I don't have to pay if people go to my site!

I think I may be better off handing out dollars on the street.

Whats your opinion?   

Susan Trombley
Trombley Real Estate - Wake Forest, NC
Broker/Realtor, Raleigh, Cary, Wake Forest, Youngs
run the other way and real fast. I am getting tired of my cell phone ringing for someone wanting me to buy some type of marketing idea that is great. If it is so great then why are they the ones making the phone calls?
Aug 01, 2007 11:56 AM
Steve Leung
Silicon Valley Real Estate - Cupertino, CA
With that solution, you could run afoul of search engines, which have systems which actively penalize sites that pay for bad links from certain sites (the actual list is secret of course).  With some careful blogging on your part, you could get the #1 placement for free on carefully chosen keywords.
Aug 01, 2007 12:06 PM
Suzanne Stephens
Stephens Design - Battle Ground, WA
Real Estate Website Design
What a rip-off! I'm so glad you were smart enough to see it for what it was, James. Gee, I wonder what that company would charge to get you on first page of Google where 85% of searchers are likely to be searching anyway?
Aug 01, 2007 12:07 PM
Carolyn A. Rzaca
ROYAL SHELL REAL ESTATE, INC. - Naples, FL
Broker Associate, GRI,SRS,TRC
What a scam!  I get very tired of phone calls and emails of people wanting me to purchase their products.  Just doing a little homework on your own can get you the #1 position.
Aug 01, 2007 12:31 PM
Susie Roscoe
Signature Realty Associates - Brandon, FL
Real Estate Specialist | Brandon, FL
I am so tired of people calling to "help" me - great example of why we should invest in blogging here not lining others pockets
Aug 01, 2007 01:26 PM
Gareth Bourriague
Benchmark Mortgage of Louisiana - Baton Rouge, LA
Benchmark Mortgage
You'd get better results by standing on a street corner giving away money to people who promise to visit your site!  Good heads up!
Aug 01, 2007 03:14 PM
Thesa Chambers
West + Main - Bend, OR
Principal Broker - Licensed in Oregon
I can tell you I actually did this for 6 months - I had the term "La Pine Homes for sale" average numbers were 12000 a month and I could not trace one piece of business to them.... my cost was $40 a month...
Aug 01, 2007 04:27 PM
James Gordon
Sibcy Cline Realtors® - Cincinnati, OH
REALTOR, PBD SFR SRS
Brandon--Bloggging will get you placement for a lower cost than 50 a month.
Aug 01, 2007 08:33 PM
James Gordon
Sibcy Cline Realtors® - Cincinnati, OH
REALTOR, PBD SFR SRS
Susan the other one I like is the grocery cart people. you can be the only agent that they sell space to. The only problem is that there are 3 companies selling space on the cart.
Aug 01, 2007 08:37 PM
James Gordon
Sibcy Cline Realtors® - Cincinnati, OH
REALTOR, PBD SFR SRS

Thesa I just checked a Google search and for "Liberty Township real estate". I have 2 of the first 10 positions on Google organically.

Aug 01, 2007 08:42 PM
Kaushik Sirkar
Call Realty, Inc. - Chandler, AZ
In general, not worth the money.  Take advantage of your AR blog and other internet resources that are free!
Aug 01, 2007 09:51 PM