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The Most Insightful Piece of Information on ActiveRain

By
Real Estate Technology with ActiveRain

When we started working on the new activity feed for the home page, one of the scariest questions for our team was, "What if the content that shows up on the home page is just a bunch of crap?"

And out of all of the content that we were going to place on the home page, the one that worried me the most was the High Traffic Blog Post category.

One of the ways a blog post can now qualify for the home page is by being designated as "high traffic", which means that we can track a specific number of views to that particular blog post.  This metric is completely out of our hands... it can come from Google serving up the post in the search results, social sharing, placing it in a newsletter, and a variety of other ways that have little to do with our community.

But what I was most afraid of is now, in my own opinion, one of the most insightful and valuable pieces of information on the entire website!

This new feed answers a question that we get all the time but have never been to answer very well:

"What kind of blog posts are getting noticed?"

If you've every wondered what to blog about, or questioned the sanity of spending time every week blogging about neighborhoods, local businesses, business knowledge, etc, simply open your eyes to what is now appearing in this feed!

Hats off to Kent TempleNicole Doty - Gilbert Real Estate Expert, Michelle Carr-Crowe-Selling Silicon Valley Homes in Top Schools San Jose, Cupertino, Saratoga, Palo Alto-Just Call 408-252-8900 (we've got to work on your name, Michelle!), and Grant Howard. You guys are proving that blogging is a great way to buld your brand and build your business!

I hope that everyone starts watching the home page and asking, "How in the world did that qualify as a high traffic post?", followed shortly by, "I should be doing that, too."  Go get 'em, bloggers!

Show All Comments Sort:
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

Margaret Goss yes, that was a ridiculous post to include...goes to show that they may need some human screening.

I think Craig Daniels had a great idea on how to do things, and perhaps this is the implementation of it, but its execution is not working.  Craig's original idea leveraged thumbs up/reblogs and comments and these things show quality content.

Right now, this is just a lot of stuff...most of it not good nor interesting.  (Don't get me wrong...there is some good stuff, but it's few and far between and those and I'm losing the good content. It's almost like a twitter stream.

Feb 11, 2015 03:53 AM
Debbie Gartner
The Flooring Girl - White Plains, NY
The Flooring Girl & Blog Stylist -Dynamo Marketers

BTW, Kris Neese I have been seeing many of the same faces/repeats on the home page.  In fact one person has 4 posts there.

Feb 11, 2015 07:11 AM
Tammie White, Broker
Franklin Homes Realty LLC - Franklin, TN
Franklin TN Homes for Sale

I'm coming late to this party but there are posts on the home page that aren't even accurate. The featured posts should be on the home page and the high traffic posts should be relegated to a hard to find page that AR members can go to if they choose.

Feb 11, 2015 10:06 AM
Tom White
Franklin Homes Realty LLC (615) 495-0752 or www.FranklinHomesRealty.com - Franklin, TN
Franklin Homes Realty LLC, Franklin TN

It seems that AR is putting a lot more emphasis on the new "Home Page" over the Featured page. Why not have the new Home Page buried in the drop down page instead of the Features? I was under the impression that content was extremely important on ActiveRain. Please put Features where "Home" now resides, Kris Neese !

Feb 11, 2015 10:06 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

I'm always up for new ways to get leads and make new connections and networking events in general. Good stuff!

Feb 11, 2015 11:51 AM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

Tom, I see your point and I think it's because the homepage in the new format can track activity more easily.

Feb 11, 2015 11:52 AM
Marla Yost
The Yost Team- Keller Williams Realty - Arlington, TX
The Yost Team

Interesting reading.Enjoyed reading everyones comments

Feb 11, 2015 11:59 AM
Joan Whitebook
BHG The Masiello Group - Nashua, NH
Consumer Focused Real Estate Services

I guess time will tell whether these changes are going to be good or not.

Feb 11, 2015 12:29 PM
Laura Cerrano
Feng Shui Manhattan Long Island - Locust Valley, NY
Certified Feng Shui Expert, Speaker & Researcher

When a person writes something like this so how much they care and I will get it in my head most days that I'll get there too. However, sometimes you just don't know until you start writing. The miracle continues.

Feb 11, 2015 12:42 PM
Kat Palmiotti
eXp Commercial, Referral Divison - Kalispell, MT
Helping your Montana dreams take root

I do think it's interesting to see what kind of posts get high traffic.  I totally agree with some of the other commenters above, though, that this new "home page" should be available somewhere else, maybe via a drop down menu same as we have now for "following" etc, but the featured posts should remain on the home page.  The featured are usually posts that talk about real estate issues at a high level, which make them great for learning and commenting.

Feb 11, 2015 09:39 PM
Alan Grizzle
Chestatee Real Estate - Dahlonega, GA
Full Time Realtor, Lifelong Resident of Dahlonega

Maybe this will help us all post more useful information.

Feb 11, 2015 10:39 PM
Teri Pacitto
Compass - Westlake Village, CA
Real Estate, Your Style...Your Home...My Specialty

I agree and yes, I have to get going...blogging that is!

Feb 11, 2015 10:40 PM
Kris Neese
ActiveRain - Bellevue, WA
Mr. Behind the Scenes at ActiveRain

Tom White, we've made it so the Featured posts are always one click away (image below).  That same page is where you can see content from people you are Following, topics that interest you, and other selections.

What I love about the new home page is the discoverability. It's a bit more like a field of wildflowers than a manicured lawn. Every person's tastes are different, so I like that this new page serves up an interesting variety of content.

Feb 11, 2015 11:25 PM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

I totally agree with Debbie Gartner - too much dull stuff.

Feb 12, 2015 12:52 AM
Gene Riemenschneider
Home Point Real Estate - Brentwood, CA
Turning Houses into Homes

One thing I like about the new AR is we can have a Title and then and SEO title.  So we can write the eye catching title and still write for SEO.

Feb 12, 2015 01:51 AM
Jerry Lucas
ABC Legal Docs LLC - Colorado Springs, CO
Notary Training, Consulting. Colorado Springs, CO

I will give the new home page a chance.  Maybe I will get some new ideas and meet some new people.  I can look at the Featured posts if I choose.

Feb 12, 2015 02:19 AM
Marte Cliff
Marte Cliff Copywriting - Priest River, ID
Your real estate writer

So now the new home page is a reflection of how well bloggers are pushing their posts out to social media - combined with how many friends/followers that particular blogger has on other platforms. 

I'm usually short on time, so generally just go see what the people I'm following have written. 

Feb 12, 2015 04:00 AM
Georgie Hunter R(S) 58089
Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers - Haiku, HI
Maui Real Estate sales and lifestyle info

I have some homework to do, studying the new layout of the home page and so much more. Thanks for the head's up.

Feb 12, 2015 08:00 AM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

I'm not going to click on a local post unless I know the agent does fab market reports (5 total only IMHO on AR).

Feb 13, 2015 08:38 AM
Jan Green - Scottsdale, AZ
Value Added Service, 602-620-2699 - Scottsdale, AZ
HomeSmart Elite Group, REALTOR®, EcoBroker, GREEN

The changes have been interesting.  I love that the questions are included in the "home page" so that others can learn along the way.  Great encouragement for me to get busy!

Feb 16, 2015 01:54 AM