First Time Blogging

By
Real Estate Agent with Rose and Womble Realty

Hi, I'm Jim Willis, A Realtor in the Va Beach area of Va and this my 1st time blogging and i don't know what I'm doing. I've been reading some blogs today for the first time, mostly in activerain and it looks fascinating.

 I've been getting a good percentage of my business from ppc with Google and Yahoo and it has served me well for a pretty long time, but the last few months there has been almost nothing; a few hits, not many clients. I wonder if anyone else is experiencing this. I seem to think it's more than a downturn in the marketplace; part of it could be the increase of agents getting involved in ppc could have deluted the results.

Any thoughts, ideas--help, plus any help with blogging, also.

Thanks jim willis in Va Beach 

 

Comments (10)

Andrew Re
REdefine Home Services, Inc - Austin, TX
Certified Residential Appraiser

Welcome Jim,

No, it's the same in good ol' California... I think as people realize that the economy is going to stay strong...even after the adjustable rate mess... We will start to see a recovery... Business is already picking up in the more affluent and high net worth markets

I'm interested in your ppc stats.. so, you were seeing a pretty good return?

 

Oct 15, 2007 11:42 AM
Daniel Sundberg
Crystal Springs Real Estate - Kentwood, MI

Welcome to AR Jim.  Its a pleasure to have you with us.

As far as PPC campaigns, my opinion on them is that they are great for short and intermediate runs, not necessarily as long term advertising.

There are a couple of things you will want to work at.

1.  Organic SEO - Let the search engines find you without paying them.

2.  Check to see how often your ad pops up on a PPC campaign.  If someone is paying more than you per click, they will get precedent over you.

 

Happy Hunting! 

Oct 15, 2007 11:52 AM
n d
Naoma Doriguzzi - Virginia Beach, VA
Jim - Welcome to Active Rain!  It is always good to see some real estate professionals from Va Beach!  Let me know if you need anything!  Active Rain is a wonderful tool for your business!
Oct 15, 2007 12:01 PM
Kim Wilbourn
Kim Wilbourn Realty - Scottsboro, AL
Your Local Alabama REALTOR
Glad to have you with Active Rain. I am fairly new to this also, and I am still learning, but there is alot of great posts on here that can help.
Oct 15, 2007 12:05 PM
Jim Willis
Rose and Womble Realty - Virginia Beach, VA
Knows Virginia Beach Area Real Estate

Hi "Tex',

Thanks for the blog; my 1st one.

I started with ppc about 3 years ago. with looksmart when they were pretty strong, then "graduated" to Google and Yahoo. For a long time I was getting a great response ie a lot of hits, some with questions about a property or properties, and a few that became successful clients. It was a numbers game like any other advertising, but successful. I'm not sure what happened in the last few months---I'm looking for some thoughts on this as it's really a quick and strange phenomina (sp).  

Thanks again,

 

Jim from Va Beach 

 

 

Oct 15, 2007 12:10 PM
Jim Willis
Rose and Womble Realty - Virginia Beach, VA
Knows Virginia Beach Area Real Estate

Hi also to Daniel, Naoma, and Kim also for the blog--

 

Much appreciated. i look forward to being a part of this new world of blogging.

 

Jim from Va Beach 

Oct 15, 2007 12:16 PM
Keith Elliott Jr
KEIRE Realty Group - Manassas, VA
Principal Broker/Owner

Hi Jim,

Welcome to Active Rain! The opportunities to learn and network are incredible here. Best of luck to ya!

-Keith

Oct 15, 2007 12:43 PM
John Novak
Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace - Las Vegas, NV
Henderson, Las Vegas and Summerlin Real Estate
Welcome to ActiveRain, Jim! Writing good, consistent (3-5 times per week) posts per week will give the search engines plenty of new material to find. Many Rainers can tell you that sometimes it literally only takes hours for a new post here to find it's way onto page one of Google. That authority with the search engines combined with your PPC knowledge should be a great combination to drive more traffic to your sites and generate some great leads.
Oct 15, 2007 04:28 PM
Brad Andersohn
Retired Executive Director of Education at eXp - Boulder Creek, CA
ActiveBrad - 707.646.1876
Hi Jim 

I see this is your first post on Active Rain.  Congratulations!!  I just wanted to welcome you to a fantastic Real Estate Industry Network! 

Welcome aboard, I hope you'll continue to blog, and invite others.  Wishing you all the success the industry has to offer.

Enjoy!!

Below are some useful sites and groups you may want to visit right away: You can also use the “search” feature to find almost anything on Active Rain.

READ ME FIRST
Welcome Active Rain New Members

READ ME SECOND
New Members - Getting Started and Active Rain Bloggers - Startup Kit

READ ME THIRD
Before You Write Your First POST!!!  and  "5 Principles to Creating an Effective Post"

Looking for Information or Help with Something?
Your Active Rain Community Resource Guide

The closest thing you will find to an “Owner’s Manual” on Active rain.
Blogging 101 – From the Best Resources on Active rain and
Active Rain Owner's Manual

Do You Want To Be The Featured Agent In Your Area?
Points Breakdown

Need Photos or Graphics to Enhance your Posts?
FREE Photos and Graphics for your Blog

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GROUPS:

Active Rain New Members Group - A MUST JOIN IF YOU ARE NEW!
It's A to Z for New Members!

Want Free Exposure with your Listings?
Post Your Listings on Active Rain

You can join any groups you have an interest in, or would like to learn more about.  Maybe Target Marketing, Real Estate Technology, or you can search All Groups, there are hundreds to choose from.

I hope you'll find these to be useful tools in helping you get started here on Active Rain.  You will meet many wonderful people here!! Again, welcome to Active Rain, the best place for your Blog!

Good Luck to you and your business!
Oct 15, 2007 04:57 PM