Selecting the right domain name for your real estate website is essential to catapulting your new site out of the Google Sandbox and into the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).  So, here is my Ultimate Guide to Real Estate Domain Selection. Hopefully this will take some of the mystery out of the process.

• 1. Always choose a .com extension. .com’s are the Cadillac’s of domain names. I know it can be hard to find an available .com name, but the time invested in researching is worth it. Most people assume a domain is a .com, so selecting anything other than a .com can actually prevent people from finding you even when they “know” the address.

NOTE: NEVER select a .info name!!! .info extensions are cheap for a reason. They are notorious for being used by spammers and search engines are savvy to that and do not rank them as highly.

• 1. Try to avoid including hyphens (-) in a domain name. Hyphens make your domain hard to remember for the average person and easy to mistype. Another very important reason why a site should not chose a hyphenated domain is that Technorati and some other social networks can have a difficult time indexing new hyphenated domains. Technorati is a great way to get your message out so you don’t want to alienate it with a bad domain.
  2. Keep domains short, easy to remember and easy to spell. Check out this old but good article on selecting memorable domains. This is especially important if you are selecting a domain with either your name or a farm area in it. If your name or farm area is difficult to spell, nix it from your domain! A domain name should be no longer than 25 characters not counting the www or .com.  Now, if you can keep the words simple and easy to remember, you can make it a bit longer, but try to keep it under 25 characters if possible.
  3. Include keywords in the domain. Search engines love keyword rich domains.   Keywords specific to real estate are: your farm area, home, homes, home sales, house, condo, real estate, realty, rent, rentals, estates, etc. You can buy your name as a domain, but using it for your primary site isn’t as useful from an SEO standpoint.   If you want a URL with your name in it use it as a redirect to a site with more SEO pizzazz so you can leapfrog out of the Google Sandbox and the domain itself is easier for the general public to remember.
  4. Beware of including poison words. According to Aaron Wall of SEObook, poison words are words that are known to decrease your pages rankings if a search engine finds them in the title, description or in the url. They don’t kill, they just bury pages in rankings. There is a huge list of poison words so I won’t post them here, but outside of the obvious curse, porn, medication and disaster words, terms like “blog,” “forum,” and “hurricane Katrina” are considered poison as well. There us a long list of poison and general words to avoid in domain names, use good judgment when selecting a domain and avoid anything too controversial.
  5. Always check to make sure you are not purchasing a domain that is blacklisted by Google. Use this blacklist checker tool before purchasing any domain. Needless to say, many times after a Realtor or company realizes their site has been banned, they let the domain lapse and it goes back on the market for an unsuspecting consumer to buy. To check to see if your new domain is banned for having sent spam, check with SpamHaus. If you are banned for spam, you will have trouble getting your email delivered to recipients, so all you have to do to get your domain reinstated by SpamHaus is call or email them and explain you get purchased the domain. Much simpler fix than the Google one.

So, what are my favorite tools for finding a domain?

GoDaddy

I have to say the Daddy of all registrars is my favorite. If the domain you search for is taken, it will make helpful suggestions of other names you might like instead and their prices are very inexpensive.

Just Dropped

Oh, I love this site. It will show you a list of websites that were previously owned (meaning they had some name value to someone) and are back on the market. You do have to be careful with these previously owned sites as they can be blacklisted, but overall I have had good luck with this site.

The dreaded “Goober Call”…just the thought of it makes me squirm like a child waiting in the dentist’s office. Some of you may be asking, “What the heck is a goober call?” We Realtors have ALL experienced the goober call on many occasions, some more often than others. A goober call, my fellow Realtors, is when a Seller calls and asks you things like, ”Hey, why isn’t my house selling?”, “How come I haven’t received any feedback on that last showing?”, or – god forbid – “Just what the heck are you doing for all those commission dollars I’m paying you?”

Actually, a goober call is almost every call the Seller makes to you. The reason I say that is because most of the time the call doesn’t start out as a goober call, but turns out like that. Don’t get me wrong; I don’t mean that I think the Seller is a goober, I just think that the conversation is a goober call, and honestly, the goober is usually the Realtor if they get that kind of call. Why am I dissing my peeps, my colleagues, my own Realtors? Simple: if you get a goober call, it’s usually your fault. These types of calls can be prevented with a little effort and strategic planning.

“Terry, how can we avoid goober calls?” I’m glad you asked! The first way to prevent goober calls is to ALWAYS do a listing presentation using proper presentation software (like PowerPoint). Yes, I said ALWAYS. A good listing presentation is invaluable to you as a Realtor. First, it should set out all the parameters with regards to marketing efforts, advertising, communication and feedback systems, and how your client will use your systems. You must explain your processes, commissions and any other ancillary services you may offer. The key is to never over-promise and under-deliver. If you say you’ll communicate feedback from every showing, you’d better darn well do it.

Another strategy I use in my business is to send the Sellers a `Stats Update’ letter every two weeks. This letter should explain to them what the current market conditions are, what comparable homes have recently sold or been listed, and how many web hits MLS and your website have generated. By giving the Seller this information BEFORE they ask for it or even want it you eliminate the goober call. On opposite weeks to the stats update letter, send a marketing update letter and include PDF`s of any ad or marketing piece. Let them know where and when their home will be exposed to the market. Also, send them all the listing and selling documents via email so they have the ability to answer their own questions before they call you, and the conversation turns into a goober call.

This approach has helped me greatly in my business. I’ve sold 100 homes every year for the past 12 years with NO buyers agent, only an admin person. And, I did it working only the odd weeknight, and hardly ever on weekends. That, my fellow Realtors, is what happens when you eliminate the goober call.

For this particular Blog entry I decided to write about the mastery of writing blogs. Not that I’m a master blogger by any stretch, but I think if you keep it simple and on message, you can achieve the intent of the blog and your audience will appreciate it as well. Many Realtors often tell me they don’t have the time to write a blog or they don’t see the point of it. While I understand their reservations,   the whole point of writing a blog is to engage your audience. If you can do that successfully it will invariably accomplish a few things. First and foremost it tells your audience (in this case a potential client or Lead) a bit about yourself and what you do. If the point is to sell more homes or garner more qualified Leads than you’ll need to find the right balance for content, frequency of blogging ,and the length of each blog. Remember that a blog can be as little or as much as you like.

Content: Keep it light, and write about things relevant to your audience so they can relate to the message you’re trying to convey. If it reads like a manual, it won’t captivate your audience, and consequently they won’t read or share your blog with others, so make it interesting and easy to read.

Frequency: Stick to a schedule if you can. Just as watching your favorite TV program is routine, so should your blogging. It is much easier to maintain an audience if they know when to expect a new post from you. I find if you plan out your topics in advance you will have much better success at consistency.

Length: Despite what you’ve heard, longer isn’t always better! Remember it’s not meant to be a Tolkien novel, and readers aren’t willing to dedicate a huge chunk of their precious time to read it. Stay on topic and you should be able to keep the number of words down to a compelling amount.

It’s your Blog so have fun with it and don’t get too bogged down on edits and rewrites but do make certain that grammar and spelling are correct.

Share your blog and invite others to offer their opinions, therefore engaging your audience.

So make a plan and commit to the execution of the plan and get Blogging!

Best of Luck!

Rob



Just like the ‘Got Milk?’ campaign that’s run for years, the question of ‘Got Content?’ is everywhere. And, it’s as good for your website’s health as milk is for your body.

Website content – not just well-composed web pages, but helpful articles, blog posts, photos, videos, and more – is a must for today’s businesses, and real estate’s no exception. Content marketing isn’t just a new buzz term, fad or idea, it’s a proven, viable tactic.

There are several reasons behind using a content marketing strategy: improved search engine rankings (SER’s), evergreen content, lead generation, consumer education, brand building and reinforcement – the list goes on. Largely, it’s about being (and staying) top-of-mind with consumers. If most resources and helpful articles they read have your name on them and establish you as a knowledgeable industry professional, it increases the chance that a prospect will call you rather than a competitor.

When it comes to a content strategy, you should ask yourself:

-       Why am I creating it?

-       What’s the desired outcome?

-       How will I use it?

Creating a successful content strategy isn’t rocket science, but sticking to an editorial schedule might be challenging, especially if sitting down to write doesn’t come naturally to you.

We here at RSP have already done a lot of it for you. While we can’t create your strategy or editorial calendar for you, we’ve included content like consumer tips and helpful articles to use on your website – all you have to do is include them in your menu. You can add to this library with content items of your own or someone else’s (just make sure you give them credit). And, with ready-to-go content at your fingertips, creating and sticking to an editorial calendar will be a snap.

But don’t stop there. Make your site even more robust by adding as much detail as possible to your listings, uploading other articles or photos, and adding video to your blogs or bio. There’s really no end to the possibilities, as long as you keep the content relevant and useful. And, don’t discount using social media to share your content and interact with people, especially now that social search is being included in results.

If you need help creating content or adding a little “oomph” to your RSP website, give us a call. We can help!

Lisa-May Huby, Director of Marketing

Now that spring has finally arrived it’s time to de-clutter and get organized. The summer months are just around the corner and we all know how fast they blow by simply because it’s typically the time of year many of us enjoy the most. You don’t want to spend your time sifting through piles of junk on a sweltering hot sunny day when you could be wading in the pool with a cool pint of refreshment.

Time is of the essence if you want to make the most of the warmer weather. I have a principal rule I follow when it comes to thinning out the closet. If I haven’t worn it in the past year I try and find it a new home. I admit I can be somewhat of a pack rat, but fears of becoming a hoarder and infinite threats from my “Better Half” have forced me to depart with stuff I would’ve hung onto for decades. And, let’s face it, once you make the commitment to get rid of it you never give it a second thought anyway.

The 80’s & 90’s were great decades, but do I really want to go grunge again, unless, of course, fashion really is cyclical. Mind you, I don’t really want to be single again – especially at my age – and the kids wouldn’t be seen in public with me, so grunge is probably not a great idea.

De-cluttering other parts of the house can be equally as painful, especially when it comes to “Man’s Domain”: the garage. I mean, who knows when you might need that piece of twine or a few hundred odd sized nuts and bolts? I’m telling you, there have been times that I’ve tossed something I thought I would never use again, only to need it for a small handyman’s job around the house a week later.

Spring cleaning is a very stressful time of year for me, but in the end it always feels great to get rid of the stuff taking up precious space, and I’m all but guaranteed I won’t be single for at least another year when it’s time to do it all over again. Now to find my flippers and jump in the pool. . .oh wait, I threw them out!

If you want to de-clutter your real estate business, try using an all-in-one web solution like RealtySites PLUS™. Our members have access to an assortment of tools to help keep them organized and effortlessly on top of their game.

Whether it’s online document storage, communicating automatically with your prospects and clients, or keeping track of your stats, RealtySites PLUS™ will keep you organized and clutter-free.

Rob Matton, Director of Sales

Did you know…The word exercise derives from a Latin root meaning “to maintain, to keep, to ward off”?

And, did you know the term “to exercise” means to practice, put into action, train, perform, use, improve?

Biologically, it was part of survival, in the form of hunting and gathering or raising livestock and growing food. Historically, it was built into daily life, as regular hours of physical work or soldiering. What is now considered a form of exercise – walking – was originally a form of transportation.

Scientists in the UK believe they have found a chemical in the body that may explain why people feel better after doing exercise. The chemical phenylethylamine is thought to help regulate peoples’ moods, and they’ve found the chemical is not as abundant in depressed people as in happy people.
Researchers have found that, after exercise, the levels of the chemical in the body rise by around 77%. It’s thought there are other factors involved as well,  but STILL! (Source: news.bbc.co.uk)

I know you know exercise is a natural part of life, although these days we have to consciously include it in our daily routine. Recently, I have come to realize that physical activity doesn’t have to be hard. I always felt that you had to be a fanatic
and therefore I could never really maintain any fitness program. I always fell off the wagon because I couldn’t keep up with it, or I got sick of the sport/routine, or I just wanted to visit someone, or hang out with my daughter. We have a lot of responsibilities and obligations in a day, and sometimes all I want to do is chill.  But you know what? Anything is better than nothing – even just 30 minutes a day can help improve your health and generate feelings of well-being.

Fitting 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine is easy, especially if you break it into 10-minute increments. Try dancing for 10 minutes, taking the stairs wherever you are, parking your car further away (even easier now with the nice weather), or even a 10-minute stretching break at work. I bet you can find some simple exercises on the internet to do at your desk. I used to use an exercise ball as a chair when I worked from home – it forces you to sit up straight, if nothing else!

Exercise does more for you than just help you lose weight or build muscle. Exercising causes the body to produce endorphins – chemicals that can help a person feel more peaceful and happy. It builds positive self-esteem, improves your confidence/mood, and gives you a more positive outlook on life.

I know that when I even do a little bit each day it makes me feel good, and helps me reduce stress. I also found out that regular exercise (even just a little!!!) can relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety, actually INCREASES energy, improves posture and balance (back to the exercise ball), improves circulation, strengthens your immune system, helps with heartburn and constipation, improves your love life, and helps prevent diseases like diabetes, heart disease, weight gain, osteoporosis and cancer.

PLUS, regular physical activity reduces the risk of premature death from heart disease, stroke and certain types of cancer, reduces the risk of developing high blood pressure, lowers total blood cholesterol and triglycerides and increases high density lipoproteins (HDL or the “good” cholesterol). And of course, it strengthens your heart, and gives you stronger muscles and bones.

Exercising is like a lot of things – it takes discipline to stick with it, but as you can see, it’s pretty easy to increase your activity level without doing a whole lot. It’s just as easy to improve your online marketing and web presence. In just a few minutes a day, whether it’s using social media, writing a blog post, or simply working on your website, you can greatly improve your search rankings and generate more leads.

Like Nike says: “JUST DO IT!”

Carolyn Bickerton, Account Manager

I may be working in the high-tech software world, but, like many of our clients, I’m not the sharpest tech knife in the drawer. In my professional life, technology has always played a major role, but thankfully I’ve been able to work with people much more talented than myself to make the magic happen.

I have to admit, I’ve not always been quick to adapt. My family and friends still tease me occasionally of the fact that when bank cards became the norm (many years ago now), I still stood in line at the bank because I liked dealing with an actual person rather than a machine.  The truth is, technology has made our lives easier, but it’s also taken the personal touch out of daily transactions with our customers and clients.

Call me a little old-fashioned, but what I enjoy the most about my job is the fact that I can build relationships and actually get to know a little bit about our clients. I think this is so crucial to business because if we know our clients personally we can better tailor our products to suit their needs.

These days, when you call a company – especially a software company – you’ll be hard pressed to actually speak to someone in person without having to jump through various automated-attendant hoops that are both frustrating and time-consuming. That’s why I’m so proud of the relationships we’ve built with our clients, and the customer service we provide. An actual person answers our phone (usually me), and as a result I get to know our clients just a little better.

RealtySites PLUS™ has improved immensely because of the dialogue we have with our amazing customers. Technology is only as good as the people that develop it, but if there’s a disconnect with the people you’re serving, it becomes obsolete in a hurry.

As our company continues to grow and improve I know we’ll continue to offer the best of both worlds: amazing technology and good, old-fashioned personal service.

Rob Matton, Director of Sales

A few different blog posts I’ve read recently point to the same problem: way too much online information. With search engines and people gobbling up free stuff like e-books, webinars, tipsheets, special reports, and other forms of e-info out there, it seems that we’re facing a crisis of information overload.

By now, we know that content satisfies search engine appetites and helps drive SER’s, and we’ve all hopped on the bandwagon. I find myself agreeing with the bloggers saying that the content bandwagon’s beginning to look more and more like one of those clown cars at the circus. Everyone’s got content to read, download, print, or view on-demand – the internet’s bursting at the seams with information.

If you’d rather stick pins in your eyes than watch yet another webinar or have bamboo shoots shoved under your fingernails before downloading and half-reading another e-book, maybe the problem isn’t really too much information, but rather too much of the WRONG information.

I get several emails every day urging me to sign up for webinar after webinar on seemingly every e-marketing tool and technique going. The reality is that there’s only so much time in the day, and I’ve probably actually attended only 2 out of the 20+ webinars I’ve signed up for in the last few months. Chances are good that I’ve missed a few usable morsels of information. For the most part, though, the unfortunate reality is: probably not. Most of the tips and tactics shared by these companies are things I’ve already learned on my own or picked up through research and reading, and practice in my own businesses.

So how do we, as busy professionals, separate the good stuff from the crap? What ‘free’ information warrants an investment of our time to read, view or engage in, and what doesn’t? Ultimately, it’s up to us and our experience level or interest with the subject matter. For example, I likely won’t attend a webinar on successful email campaigns, given my past experience and expertise on the subject, unless it appears that the session will impart something new. On the flipside, I read a lot of blogs and other information on social media and emerging practices because that’s one of my specialties.

However, if a software company that I just created an account with were encouraging me to participate in a webinar that would provide tips for using their software and improving my results with great insider tips and information, chances are I’d invest the time, whether live or on-demand.

There’s a lot of free information floating around in cyber space these days – it’s up to you to figure out what’s going to be worth your time. Even if you learn just one new thing, I’d say that’s time well spent.

Lisa-May Huby, Director of Marketing

In my last blog post I spoke about going on vacation with my family and the importance of nurturing relationships and creating memories. We have been home for a week now, and I’ve had time to reflect on some of the lasting impressions that were made on this trip.

One that comes to mind is when one of the kids dragged me off of my lounge chair and insisted that I help her make a sand castle. Considering that we lacked any sort of proper digging tools other than a plastic spoon, we decided it would be better to make an object out of the sand, and agreed on an alligator. Once the preliminary outline was etched into the sand, I began the task of carving out the outline of our soon-to-become masterpiece.

As I was digging my hands into the well-packed, dampened sand, I couldn’t help compare what I was doing on a sunny beach in Punta Cana to my work. It seems almost impossible to do something well, especially if you don’t have the proper tools.

Not to disappoint, I persevered with the same tenacity our team of professionals do at RealtySites PLUS™. I used that plastic spoon to carve out the intricate details to our giant sand sculpture and my bare hands to do the grunt work of digging and piling what seemed to be endless amounts of dampened sand. In the end, it occurred to me that I had the right tools after all.

At first glance a plastic spoon seems like the unlikely tool to create a great sand sculpture, but it worked. The same can be said of REALTORS®’ marketing strategies: a website doesn’t seem to be the first choice for many REALTORS®, because billboards and print ads seem flashier, and as a result many would think a more effective marketing tool. We know from recent statistics that the best way for REALTORS® to market themselves is with a strong internet presence and lead-generating website.

Just like the spoon I used to build a great sand sculpture, you can carve out more business than you ever thought possible with the right website and online tools to captivate consumers and cultivate leads (which of course result in closing more sales).

All it takes is a little time and effort, and before long you will amazed by what you’ve accomplished, just as I was with what I created using one little plastic spoon on the beaches of Punta Cana!

Rob Matton, Director of Sales

Note: This post was also published on www.lisamayhuby.com

As more and more businesses gravitate to the high reach-low investment medium of social media, I find there are far too many jumping in with both feet that really don’t have any business even dabbling their toes in it.

MLMers, real estate agents posting “another hot listing” or endless Facebook fan pages of nothing but listings, get-rich-quick gurus, and newbies that expect instant results after 2 Tweets about how great their product or service is: none of these have any place in social networking, and all will have a negative experience using it.

You want a good – no, great – experience? As in, a ‘pretty-darn-good-results-for-not-a-whole-lotta-time-invested’ type experience? Follow these tips:

1. Stop whatever social media stuff it is you’re doing RIGHT NOW. Just stop everything. Halt. Arrêt. Now, think of what you want to get out of your efforts. Better yet, write it down. The list should be point-form, one goal per line, a singular idea. If you’ve got the word “and” in one of the goals, that’s two ideas. Separate them. Next, review your list and remove the unicorns and rainbows. That includes any idea that makes you gaze wistfully into the distance, like the ‘generate X leads’ goals, ‘get X followers’, connections goals, and so on. Hopefully what you’re left with is real, measurable, and attainable.
2. Social networking is about just that – networking. And it works great when it complements your other marketing efforts. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until people finally get it: social media is a tool. A tactic. Something you use in conjunction with something else. Your teeth are tools with which you chew food and begin the digestive process. Social media is the tool with which you share bite-sized bits of information to help begin the lead generation process.
3. Stop being part of the “hey, look at me!” crowd, mindlessly echoing others’ thoughts and ideas to try and position yourself as an ‘expert’, and really engage with people. Stand out. Be selective with whom you engage. Don’t choose only the people that might be able to promote whatever it is you’re selling. Go on, be different from the millions of online minions fighting for attention.
4. Be consistent with your engagement. Whether it’s once a day or once a week, be consistent and reliable.
5. Evolve. Figure out how to move social media to the next level. As Lisa Barone of Outspoken Media says, “We have to grow up because not only does the same old crap not work anymore, but now it (and you) is just annoying.” (Incidentally, it’s just a coincidence that my post has 5 tips and hers has 5 tips. Really. Besides, they’re different tips.)

I always advise clients that you’ll discover what works best for you, and that’s absolutely true if you put some thought and planning behind it. Social media doesn’t and probably never will work for everyone in every business. If you’ve taken the plunge and are trying to use it for your business, help make it a more enjoyable (and hopefully profitable) experience for everyone.

It’s your web, keep it beautiful.

Lisa-May Huby, Director of Marketing