Another Way to Spend Your Advertising Budget

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Fairstone Properties

Google Business Search for Real Estate

How would you like to have your very own search engine (backed by google.com) on you website.  Lets make it better.  What if you could also have the following?

  • Place your logo next to the search to fully brand the search.
  • Ad-words are turned off so you don't lose traffic to catchy advertisers.
  • Search results can be delivered through an XML feed for complete merge with your design.
  • Place a specific page above the organic search results for maximum exposure.
  • Labels to guide users to search a generic term for channeling website visitors.
  • Search multiple domains to bridge the gap of content between your blog and website

Why add search to your website?  If you add the search function it helps to:

  • Increase conversion rates by helping visitors find the products they want, and guiding them to the products you want to sell.
  • Improve usability and reduce support inquiries by allowing users to help themselves.
  • If your website already has a search engine, upgrade to a hosted service that leverages the speed and relevancy of Google search technology.

Check out how easy it is:

No hardware or software installations are required to use Custom Search Business Edition. To add a search engine to your website, complete the short setup wizard and then copy and paste a snippet of code into your site. Once your search engine is added to your website, there's nothing more you have to do to manage it; it'll be as reliable as Google.com. And you can always enhance and modify your search engine by visiting your search engine's control panel.

Watch a video demonstration of the Custom Search Business Edition


 

Fine, sounds great.  How much:
Google price for the useful technology is $100 per year for websites with less than 5,000 pages. Websites between 5,000 and 50,000 the cost will be $500 per year.

Comments (13)

Joe Manausa - Tallahassee, FL
Joe Manausa Real Estate - Tallahassee, FL
Tallahassee Real Estate
Great tip Beau, thanks for sharing it. I wonder how much it helps retain visitors?
Aug 18, 2007 12:34 AM
Gary White~Grand Rapids Home Selling Pro Call: 616-821-9375
Flexit Realty "Flexible Home Selling Solutions" - Grand Rapids, MI
Real Estate Services You can Trust!
This a great way to increase traffic and make your website more user friendly at the same time.  Very nice Beau.
Aug 19, 2007 12:32 AM
Seth Callen
Farmers Insurance - Lawton, OK
Great tip.  Thanks
Aug 19, 2007 02:13 AM
Roland Woodworth
Blue Cord Realty - Clarksville, TN
Blue Cord Realty
Sounds interesting.... worth looking into...thanks
Jan 25, 2008 12:36 PM
Tina M. Atilho
William Raveis Real Estate - Milford, CT
Thanks for the great tip.  Def. worth looking into.  Thanks a bunch
May 07, 2008 08:49 AM
Ross Quintana
Real E Smarter - Spokane, WA
Real E Smarter Real Estate Coach - 509-362-1966

Spokane Washington Real Estate Expert looks good but I like free. I hope someone will make a free version.

Jul 22, 2008 02:26 PM
Sonny Kwan
Quantum Group Commercial - Residential - Lease Seattle, WA - Mercer Island, WA
206-819-8228

Thanks for the great tip, I will look into it and watch that video

Jan 05, 2009 04:20 AM
Troy Erickson AZ Realtor (602) 295-6807
HomeSmart - Chandler, AZ
Your Chandler, Ahwatukee, and East Valley Realtor

It looks like it could be a cool idea, but I wonder if it will really be used by your site visitors as a search engine.  Too bad it's not free, like almost everything else Google offers. 

Jan 12, 2009 07:37 AM
Raj Khurana
RE/MAX R.E. (Mountain View) - Calgary, AB
Realtor - Link to Calgary Homes

We are so much used to free stuff.. especially in this market. Wish it was free.

Feb 25, 2009 02:51 PM
Suma Kakani
Northern IL Realtor - Keller Williams Success Realty - Prairie View, IL

Sounds great. I'll have to check it out and see. Thanks a lot for sharing

Apr 29, 2009 12:39 PM
C. Lloyd McKenzie
Living Albuquerque - Albuquerque, NM
Living Albuquerque

Beau,

 

Thanks for the tip. I will definitely check it out.  

Feb 27, 2010 03:53 PM
Doug, Marjorie & Kevin McKay
RE/MAX REAL ESTATE MOUNTAIN VIEW - Chestermere, AB
Calgary & Chestermere - 403-207-1776

This is worth a look...Really $100 to get help from google is not that much...

Sep 18, 2010 05:22 AM
Michael Koshet
Help Me Rent Magazine, Inc. - Los Angeles, CA

definitely to look into, thanks for sharing. anybody used it yet?

Apr 15, 2011 12:07 PM