What kind of information would you put on your website

Homes for sale, listings by neighborhood or area of town, ability to search by price, zip code, MLS number, address, maps, new listings as well as demographics, schools and Information that someone relocating to my area would be looking for. Put on your site what you would be looking for if you were moving to a new area that you were not familiar with.

The main reason a visitor comes to a realtor website to search for and/or view homes for sale.

Think in terms of the consumer who is going to be coming to your web site. What do they want? Most buyers want access to listing information and the ability to search for listings by price and area. Also, information about the community - school districts, local events, cultural amenities, shopping, restaurants, etc. Consider using videos to show a community tour and/or interviews. One of the most important things, Lorraine, is to keep changing and updating your web site content to keep it current and relevant and to give the consumer a reason to come back.

Hi Lorraine, Content is truly king on the web, so if you're looking to draw search engine traffic, put loads of content on your site. Research keywords and phrases that people use to search for real estate in your area and theme pages of your site according to those searches including your page titles, H1 tags, meta descriptions and so forth. You may want to cosider targeting a few niches like condo properties or golf properties (if that's big in your area). Niches are a bit easier to win traffic for...

Real estate websites that I see rank well for targeted keywords always have lots of relevant content about the community, school districts, parks, etc., and of course real estate. Try to use an IDX and website platform that is search engine freindly. I recently spoke to a woman whose site should be ranking very well for lots of keywords, but all of the effort she had put into creating excellent content did not do her much good because the pages we're not optimized for the search engines.

GREAT responses! Let me piggyback on Anita's dead-on comment about content (as king) and search engines.

Lorraine, before you jump in buying or creating or updating a website, think carefully about what a VISITOR (that is, a potential customer) wants.

Further, it's NOT just what a customer wants BUT it's what a customer NEEDS when visiting your website or seeing your name (& keywords) when searching.

Sure, a visitor wants to search MLS, discover your town, neighborhoods, schools, business, parks, etc.

HOWEVER, a visitor also NEEDS to know you are an AUTHORITY!

This is the importance of CONTENT. You "optimize" your content (that is, blog posts, articles, videos, podcasts, photos, text) & cast a WIDE net. That is, you do NOT simply publish to your website. Depending on the competitiveness of your keywords, you need keyword links.

Take a look at one of my new sites at Sarasota Homes For Sale | Sarasota Foreclosures for a real-world look at what visitors want.

It's a new site so I apologize in advance for no discussion of blog posts. Check back soon and you will see participation.

Good luck!

Wow, Aletha, I'm sorry to hear of this HORRIBLE experience.

PLEASE sit down immediately with an attorney. Most attorneys offer a free consultation.

OR call your state attorney general's office.

Either way, do NOT allow some THUG to try to roll you, which exactly is what this THUG is trying to do.

Depending on your situation (contract, etc) new federal law offers tenants rights in foreclosure situations (see below from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/article-30064.html)

"These rules (referring to eviction) changed dramatically on May 20, 2009, when President Obama signed the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009. This legislation provided that leases would survive a foreclosure -- meaning the tenant could stay at least until the end of the lease, and that month-to-month tenants would be entitled to 90 days' notice before having to move out (this notice period is longer than any state's non-foreclosure notice period, a real boon to tenants).

An exception was carved out for the buyer who intends to live on the property -- this buyer may terminate a lease with 90 days' notice. Importantly, the law provides that any state legislation that is more generous to tenants will not be preempted by the federal law. These protections apply to Section 8 tenants, too."

Aletha, I'm sorry you've been forced to face this THUG. GREAT job in calling the police. Now, get legal advice and stand up to this thug using your LEGAL rights.

I hope this helps you.

Good luck!