Hi Mike,

I'm also glad that you have concluded that having a web presence (even if you resign to having an electronic brochure) is important. I wish you would not give up on being able to rank for keywords that draw traffic. There are plenty of kewords out there that get traffic and are easy to win, they are just not the keywords you would typically think of like ones that end in homes for sale in real estate. Just research how Amazon.com gets most of it's traffic.

Consider the long tail of search. It has a tremendous amount of potential and if you use an IDX that optimizes for many long tail key phrases, the traffic can actually exceed what you might win from the top, competitive keywords. Two comments above mentioned that SEO is dead and maybe even dangerous...those statements make no sense. Placement for keywords is not accidental nor is up to chance, it is the result of a strategic planning and programming. But perhaps they were confusing a practice like reciprocal linking with true search engine optimization...best of luck to you.

Wow. This thread shows how much misinformation is out there and a need for education. (Go Allen!)

My AgentAdvantage site costs around $90 per month (I have a few of the options).

This site produced 40 direct sales last year and ranks very high for many local search terms. I do SEO and promote the site myself.

The key is promoting the site. Is the site PROMINENTLY displayed on your business card. Is it PROMINENTLY displayed in your ads. Do you have it linked to your city's local online business directories. Maybe pay per click will help people to find it.

If you put up a fantastic billboard in the middle of a desert, nobody will see it. Your job is to find a way to get people to drive by it and take a look. So start building the roads that will lead to your web site and it will be a success.

To restate Gary Keller, I am not in the real estate business. I am in the business of lead generating.

Randy Worcester
http://clarksvillehomepros.com

Wow so true Randy! I had a discussion with car dealer employee yesterday that really brings it home: he was all in my face because his boss who has been a client in the past told him he was hiring me to make their website get traffic again. All Jason was concerned about was that he would have to do more work and the inventory would not be loaded automatically from a database without having to type, a database that is loaded to an iframe invisible to search engines on their website with no email address, no cantact page..LOL

Jasone wanted to know why, since I had 15 years experience in his business, that after ten years I had almost no auto clients at all: the answer was very simple: in the auto industry, there are behemouth perveyors of misinformation who are embedded in the industry with huge budgets (Reynolds and Reynolds comes to mind, Cobalt...) whom are impossible to compete against in spite of the inferioir quality of their products and services simply because the auto dealers do not know who to believe. Real Estate is very similar. However, Realtors are independent, accessable and easier to make a deal with, which is why I have many, many Real Estate clients: on the other hand, the auto business is full of uneducated greedy buyers of sweet lies, of which there are many to choose from; too many decision makers; too much turnover; added to the above LMAO

Israel Rothman, http://socialmediasystems.com

Good post, Randy. You're right on target, and your results are "proof of the pudding." Amazing that ANY agent could fail to see the necessity of a site/blog in today's market, when 85%+ of today's consumers go first to the Web to choose an agent to sell their home or to buy a home (NAR study 2 years ago).

Again, congratulations on your Web success, my friend!

Allen F. Hainge

Founder, The CyberStars(r)

Update to my previous post... I changed my eb site to Realprosystems and its a major improvement. Check it out wwwPrestigefloridahomes.com and it is only $49 per month. There is a set up fee though but the site is professionally done for realtors! I like it alot and I only have the basic one. I will upgrade when I make some more sales. I already got a contract from my site!! I get people inquiring on my listings (not too many right now since I just switched brokers) from places like hotpads and zillow and I never posted on there. The web site syndicates my listings daily. Its awsome!! I just listed an REO in an excellent community, I can't wait for the bank to give me a price so I can upload it to my site and watch the web stats go up!!

k

Hi Eric,

Thanks for mentioning Real Pro Systems. I'm glad you hear you are happy with the system. Tell others to mention your name... that you referred them and we give them a discount and you some cash. :)

Charlee

Eric,

My team has been using the Real Pro Gold website for about four years. We are extremely pleased with the site and the support that we get from the Real Pro staff. The staff is very knowledgeable, friendly, and I always get my questions and concerns answered promptly.

Lately, I have been putting together a FSBO program based on the information and stealth website provided by Real Pro. I am confident that this will increase our team's sales.

Does anyone have any info on z57 as a real estate web site? They are offer all the bells & whistles including drip mail, and IDX. Any feedback would be great.

Thanks

@Evelyn You might search RealTown's archives - some people here have shared painful experiences with Z57 and other template website providers.

1. How website savvy are you?
2. What is your objective for wanting a website?
3. Do you understand the importance of keyword research, content creation & distribution?
4. Do you know if people are using search engines to find the service you provide? Believe it or not, not all local markets have much search volume.
5. Do you know what the competition is for your keywords?
6. Do you know why "regurgitated" information put on many different websites will not benefit you with search engines?
7. Do you know why "template" websites are nothing but an online brochure...and very restrictive?

Before you spend money, you might confirm answers to these few questions. Search RealTown. You will find good information from people who are NOT trying to grab your money.

Mike

Sarasota Foreclosures - Sarasota Real Estate