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Unlocking Google Base’s Potential for Realtors

By Shane Corliss

Services for Real Estate Pros with Jera Media-4MLS Mobile

July 31, 2008 08:52 AM

Unlocking Google Base’s Potential for Realtors.

I have spent many hours searching for real estate forums, blogs and link sites as we provide lead generating text and mult-media messaging for real estate agents and one of the most consistent areas of discussion are search engine ranking and optimization. As part of your web strategy these areas are important but will fall short in driving huge amounts of qualified traffic to your site in a timely manner and we all know that time is money. Here are some technologies we use to put our listings at the top of the list without paying a dime for Adwords or Paid Placement

Google Base:

Google Base has tremendous benefits for both large and small firms. If you perform a search for a house for sale the first information you see is the sponsored result..ie paid placement and then the Google Base Search. Because Google is a search engine their results are always first. Here is where the magic comes in. If you add location information Google will perform a search and present you with listing information, web site source (your website), property locations via Google Maps and other advanced search options. Free, targeted exposure.

Pros: Free..sort of..time is a price we all pay.

Free sign up – You also have to sign up for a free Google Account.
Google does not charge to upload property listings to their database.
Your properties will usually show up in about 24 Hours.
Instant qualified traffic to your listings.
Increases your search engine ranking.
You can add properties one at a time or in bulk.
Your properties will also show up in localized searches.

Cons:

A bit of a learning curve.
Time consuming to add listings one at a time.
Yet another site that requires that you maintain the content.
Bulk listings can be a challenge to set up unless you have a developer in your pocket.
XML Format – Good and Bad as Googles' engine can be very finicky.

For all of our clients we have created feeds that post directly to the Google Base application. The property details are pulled directly from a MySql database, converted to XML and tada!! They go live instantly. As I said the process can be a challenge as Google is very picky on the XML format used and if it does not like something in your listing the update will fail. Yet another reason a developer comes in handy. After all you are Realtors not computer nerds.

Shane Corliss,

Jera Media-4MLS Mobile

http://mls.jeramedia.com

Comments(6)

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Ginger Walker

Keller Williams Realty - Stafford, VA

Realtor e-PRO,CSP

Thank you for your post it is an interesting concept and one worth looking into

Jul 31, 2008 09:01 AM

Carol Swain

Keller Williams Real Estate - Langhorne, PA

Realtor, -www.swainsells.com- Bucks County, Pa

I have been posting my listings on Google Base as part of my property marketing for about a year now. It is a great tool!

Jul 31, 2008 09:05 AM

Shane Corliss

Jera Media-4MLS Mobile - Saint James, MO

Carol have you also tried Oodle? They have a similar API and is indexed by Google very quickly.

Jul 31, 2008 09:58 AM

Mark Brian

Silver Star Real Estate LLC - Anderson, SC

Anderson SC Realtor

I have been using Postlets, which says it automatically uploads to GoogleBase. But when i search, some listings are on GoogleBase, some aren't. Signed up for Googlebase, but didn't even attempt to enter a listing. The procedure is confusing to put it nicely. Any tips/hints regarding GoogleBase?

Jul 31, 2008 02:19 PM

Mark

The reason some of the listings do not show up is Google is they place a higher priority on listings that originate from Google native. Sounds a bit unfair but they own the search engine.

Another common issue with listings not showing up is incomplete data. Google loves data and more importantly the more relevant data the more often your listing will show up. Many of the sites that state they will post your ads directly to other sites usually have minimal error detection and are given a lower priority in search results.

The key with Google Base is creating an XML file that is automatically uploaded. What we did was take our website and grab the listings directly from our online database post the listings every 2 hours to Google.

For other clients we have written a program that performs about the same although we only post for them once a week as their data does not change that often.

How many properties do you have? If you are listing less than 5 new properties a week you could post them one at a time through Googles Interface.

Another option is to bite the bullet and hire an organization like ours to help. It should take about a day to set up and a day or so for testing. I would not pay an more than $600 and it should include having them upload all of your current listings and check-resolve any formatting errors.

Once the program is done you should be able to manage it on your own or they may offer keep it updated with the new data you provide. Your choice and at least you are the one in control.

Trust me it will be the best $ you can spend to ensure high placement on Google. Plus if Google finds errors in the feed they will stop indexing them after a while..yet another reason to get some help to put you on the right track.

***Warning as with all search engines it may take some time for your listings to start showing up in the searches but one other little known secret...Google will also visit your site more often because of all the listing data you supply them through GoogleBase.

Please do not misunderstand this is not a pitch for our services these are reccomendations that stem from years of experience.

Wow what a long winded answer..I tried not to get too nerdy..hope this helps.

Jul 31, 2008 03:49 PM

In addition to the long winded Googe response..FYI with a little bit of adaptation the program I mentioned above can be used to automatically to Oodle,Yahoo and several other classified sites. Huge exposure but like I said to pull it off I would reccomend getting a pro to set it up for you. If anyone would like more info you can always drop me a line 888-561-6863 xt 710

Heres To Your Contined Success

Shane

Jul 31, 2008 03:57 PM

Unlocking Google Base’s Potential for Realtors

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Shane Corliss

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