1. Blog about a news event

2. Ask a question

3. Take a poll or survey

4. Have a contest

5. Have a quiz

6. Write about a controversial subject

7. Solicit comments by email

Blogging Tip courtesy of the HomeGain Blogging School Professor, Joseph Ferrara. To read the full blogging newsletter, sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.

We are all pretty much in agreement now that people are looking for homes on the internet. So my question is: What is the make up of a great Real Estate website?

I have some ideas and maybe others in this community can help me expand on those ideas. I am thinking of reworking my site “Homes in Columbus GA” and would love to hear your thoughts. Here are a few things that I have been thinking.

1. Search Capabilities. A great Realtor Website should first and foremost have great search capabilities as most potential clients want be able to search homes in your area. If you are worried about giving this information away – don’t be – because someone is going to provide the information and you want to be the one they turn to for info. a) Map Search
   b) Lots of ways to search: Subdivision, Areas, MLS #, City, etc.
   c) Pictures
   

2. Visual Appeal. A great site should also be pleasing to the eyes.  a) Colors should be pleasant and indicative of your company and personality
   b) Uncluttered - just like staging a house
   

3. Memorable. Check out my friend Cal Carter’s site for Gulf Shores Condos – Gotta love that Crab! Continue reading this post

Use “spider posts” for new developments. Write a body post mentioning all the new developments, with location, builder, price range, amenities, etc. – a real master reference work. Then pick each one out for “leg” posts and talk about them again—maybe include a new or special listing. It’s a good idea to write about new developments or buildings because they often make the local news, whether in newspapers, magazine or ads. Folks wanting to know more will Google the name and find your spider post. That’s the power of blog marketing.

Blogging Tip courtesy of the HomeGain Blogging School Professor, Joseph Ferrara. Sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.

If you continue to use your market keywords in your blog post titles and opening sentences, Google will bring visitors to your real estate blog. But don’t rely exclusively on the Google gods to bring you potential clients. Be proactive. Attract readers by leaving comments and joining online conversations.

Leave comments, with links to your blog, on:

• Other blogs, especially high profile ones
• Consumer forums
• Social networks, such as Twitter
• Mainstream media online news stories, especially your local paper
• Any websites that allow comments

The two keys to conversational marketing are (1) intelligent comments and (2) links to your blog. The comments will arouse interest “Who is this person leaving these brilliant comments?” and the link will take readers to your real estate blog.

Blogging Tip courtesy of the HomeGain Blogging School Professor, Joseph Ferrara. Sign up for AgentView and the HomeGain Blogging School.

Become a keyboard warrior.  If you want to win the online war against Trulia, Zillow and Yahoo, you need to know the 10 secrets that will put and keep your website or blog on top of the engines and generating leads. 

Learn advanced SEO, SEM, Landing page optimization and lead generation strategies employed by professional online marketers tailored to real estate in this easy to understand and implement techniques.

I will unveil one never before heard SEO secret exclusively to the HomeGain.

Your Keyword Cheat Sheet:

How many clicks will you get when your site hits the first page of Google?

Number 1 receives 42.1%

Number 2 receives 11.9%

Number 3 receives 8.5%

Number 4 receives 6.1%

Number 5 receives 4.9%

Number 6 receives 4.1%

Number 7 receives 3.4%

Number 8 receives 3.0%

Number 9 receives 2.8%

Number 10 receives 3.0%

So, this means you are shooting for the NUMERO UNO position!  Anything else is FAILURE.  Your mission is clear, so put on your camis and start fighting! Continue reading this post

Let’s face it. If you blog you are at the cutting edge, which means most folks aren’t doing it. And if most real estate agents aren’t doing it, chances are good most homebuyers and sellers are not aware of blogs either, unless they stumble upon them via an Internet search.

Therefore, it is important to market your real estate blog “offline” .

One way is to use traditional marketing techniques such as mailings. You probably mail postcards, holiday cards and calendars (these, by the way, should include links to your blog). Maybe you pay to send out pre-packaged newsletters. All well and good. Why not “tweak” the technique to showcase your blog content?