2935 Maricopa Ave #133
Lake Havasu City, AZ 86406
Direct: (928) 453-9403
Fax: (928) 505-6373
When There Isn’t Enough of You to Go Around!
Being a Virtual Assistant for real estate professionals is a great job! We provide website, marketing, search engine optimization, online listing service, Blogs, ghostwriting, contact management and a lot more.
Studies have found that web-based tools drive business growth. Even through the economic turmoil lately, small businesses are starting to see a turnaround and looking forward to a stronger period of growth in 2010. Traditional marketing methods are still commonplace. But, businesspeople who are expecting to grow their business in the next year are focusing more of their attention to online marketing. What are the best web-based tools to use? Email marketing, social media/networking and search engine marketing.
Email Marketing – This includes newsletters, ezines and contact management. It is important to use email to try to tap those potential clients. But, it’s equally important not to lose sight of those past clients who have brought you to the point you are today. Contact management is key for this. Providing up-to-the-minute information about the local real estate market through newsletters and ezines gives past, present and future clients a glimpse of your knowledge and experience.
Social Media/Networking – Gone are the days where the only people you meet and interact with are the people in your local community. Social media has redefined “networking” on a global scale. Networking with others on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc. allows you to reach out with other colleagues as well as current and potential clients. This is especially important when you consider that the three major search engines (Yahoo!, Google and Bing) have determined that social media is so important, they need to crawl Twitter to keep up-to-date on the latest news. Social media is not a fad…it’s here to stay.
Search Engine Marketing – With more and more buyers turning to the internet to find their next home, you want your website to be the one they see. Marketing your site to the search engines will help you rise in the searches for your relevant keywords and help drive traffic to your site and you.
In today’s economic climate, it’s important to use web-based tools to drive your business growth. If you need help with your email, search engine or social media marketing, please contact me today. We make it our business to make your business shine.
In a continuing effort to keep my real estate clients and others “in the know” with the latest and greatest, I have stumbled upon a fantastic tool that Google has created to help make your website and blog even more visually appealing and engage your reader. Have you ever wondered how you could use Google Maps on your website or blog? Google has made it easy as pie to add a street map, satellite map or even a street view map of single and multiple addresses to your website or blog. You can even create a widget that allows people to get detailed directions right to your office.
Specify which type of map you want: Street Map or Satellite Map. If you want the street view map, you can click on the Pegman icon above the map scale and drag it over to the address you want the street view of.
Click on the “link” tab in the upper right corner of the map.
If you would like to customize the size, you can click the “Customize and preview embedded map” link located directly below the html code.
Copy/paste html code into blog or website.
To create a map with multiple locations (great for pointing out sites of local community interest):
Login to your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one for free.
Type in the end address (either your office address or the address of the open house) in the Gadget Settings area.
Customize display settings if necessary.
Click “Preview Changes” button to make sure it looks alright.
Click “Get the Code” button to get the html code for your blog or website.
Copy/paste html code into your blog or website.
Any of these maps can be used in a variety of ways for so many different things on your website. Use the multiple location map to show where ALL your listings are located, create a walking tour of local attractions or even list the best dining/shopping, etc. in the area so that you REALLY look like a local expert. The directions widget will help anyone be able to find your office or open house without any trouble at all. Let me know if there is anything I can help you with. Google Maps can be of great use on your website or blog.
Can you hear it? “Bing!” That’s the sound of the lightbulb going off over Microsoft’s head. Microsoft has recognized the power of social networking. This computer software giant just announced that it will start adding status updates from both Facebook and Twitter in real-time to its own search site Bing. Google has already responded by announcing that they, too, have signed a deal with Twitter to index updates in real time on their search site.
Twitter has begun to gain a valuable reputation for its use of real-time information. Many times, news breaks first on Twitter before it even hits the major news sources, which is well ahead of search engines chiming in. Yahoo! has seen the value in Twitter updates. It created TweetNews, which ranks its news stories based on real-time posts on Twitter.
It’s nice to see that the search engines are beginning to understand the importance of social networking. I’m still baffled by those in the real estate industry that don’t see what a valuable tool this is. Don’t be left behind. Let this be your “lightbulb moment”. Get onboard the Twitter train today.
RealBird offers real results for real estate listings. Really! This wonderful program allows Realtors® to create a listing post complete with slideshow, maps and Realtor® contact info and photo so you can post it to your blogs, website and other social networks on the internet, including Active Rain. RealBird allows you to market up to 3 listings for free. If you wish to use this great service to market more than 3 listings at a time, you need to upgrade to a RealBird PRO account for either $11.95/month or $99/year. You can even add a link to your website, blog URL and feed, Active Rain, Twitter, Facebook and MyBlogLog accounts on every listing. After you have created your listing, you will be able to generate the html code to add it directly to your Active Rain account or easily share the listing on Craigslist, Kijiji.com, Backpage, Ping.fm or your social networks, such as LinkedIn, Google, Digg, StumpleUpon and more. Have you given RealBird a chance? If not, you really need to try it out. We recently created RealBird listings for a client of ours and, by the time we were done posting the 5th listing, her first listing on RealBird had already received over 60 views and she even got a lead from the Active Rain post the very next morning. That’s why I say that RealBird offers real results for real estate listings…really!
Since search engines are the driving force behind 84% of internet traffic, getting your site seen by the search engines is important. You want to make sure you show up on at least the top two pages of searches for your keywords and, preferably, the first page. Google has the lion’s share of all searches (55-65%), while Yahoo and Bing get around 10-15% each.
But, how are search engines reading your sites? There are two ways: spiders (automatically “crawl” websites on the internet) and directories (human-edited). The search engine spiders automatically go through website pages and determine your “expertise” based on the text both on the page and in the meta tags. Adding your keywords a few times sprinkled throughout the text on your page will increase your chances of a higher ranking. However, don’t think that just jamming your page with keywords will guarantee you a spot at the top. You need to focus on a couple of keywords and sprinkle them as often as is naturally possible throughout the page. Anything extra or forced will make your site appear “spammy” and get penalized as such. Also, you don’t want to lose the attention of your website visitor by making the text hard to read.
There are many human-edited directories on the internet, but they are becoming more and more scarce. If you think about the fact that these directories actually have people that go through every site on the internet to make sure it is valid, you can see why more and more are going the automated route. DMOZ and Yahoo are just a couple of the free ones left. But, it can take months to get your site edited and added to their directory. And Yahoo Directory has started charging a fee for a business site to be included in their directory.
Once you have your pages streamlined to a few natural uses of the keywords you want to focus on and have added these keywords into your meta tags, you are going to want to submit your site to directories to be considered for inclusion. There are tons of directories out there that still do this for free. You just have to be patient with their turnaround time. The three most important directories to submit your site to are:
This should get you pointed in the right direction to start your search engine optimization. If you have any questions, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help you out.
Is there a place for Google Place Pages? Google recently unveiled its Google Place Pages in Google Maps. This feature is accessible via the “More Info” tab on any listing. The whole point of Google Place Pages is to get as much information about one place (business, city, points of interest, landmarks, etc.) in one central place. Instead of having to hunt down information through several websites, you would be able to not only get information about the particular business/point of interest you are looking for, but you will also have access to photos, maps, directions, a street view and even available transportation. The upside of using Google Place Pages is that it is a handy way to keep all information about a particular business or tourist spot in one location. This keeps people focused on one spot instead of clicking from place to place on the internet in search of exactly what they’re looking for.
Unfortunately, there appear to be a few downsides as well. Many people have raised the concern that Place Pages will become so attractive to web surfers that they will replace visiting the businesses’ actual websites, which may hurt them instead of help them. Also, the pages allow for visitors to add their own content to the page. So, if someone decides to trash your business for any reason, it is there for the public to see. Sponsored links show up on these pages, too. Some people have voiced their concerns that this may mean that an ad for a competitor will pop up on their own Place Page.
Bottom line, search engines are constantly coming up with ways to keep you on their site rather than going somewhere else. Having all this information in one place is nice, but how will it impact small businesses? We won’t know until this feature has been out longer. What do you think? Is there a place for Google Place Pages? Let me know. I want to hear what side of the coin you land on.
You have heard the saying ”it takes a village“, right? Well, in real estate, it takes a more than a village to get the job done! Have you ever thought of how many people are involved in a real estate transaction all the way from county records to closing an escrow? I would not be surprised to find that over a thousand hands are involved in every transaction.
Today, it is more important than ever to surround yourself with good support systems and village people (team members). As in any village, there are some things you cannot control, some things that you can influence and some that are very much within your power to control.
The support systems you use for contact management, website management and marketing (offline and online) are vital to the survival of your business. With today’s technology, you can build a support system that will allow you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself. Technology has given you many choices, but managing all of the options can sometimes be a daunting experience.
There is another saying: “you are as successful as the 5 people closest to you.” So, be sure to surround yourself with people in your village that support you and your vision. Choose the people who support your mindset, business principles and lifestyle.
I know Hot Flashes are free because I have so many of them. Not only do I have them, but I forward them on to my real estate friends, free of charge! Ask any lady, who has had the wonderful hot flash experience and she will tell you that you never know, when the next one is coming. I am proud to say that my hot flashes follow that policy as well.
Now, I really don’t know what the purpose of a mid-life hot flash is nor do I know why they happen, but I do know how to have fun with them. Hot Flashes are my “when life serves you lemons…make lemonade!”
A few months ago, I was looking for an inspiration to deliver something of value, something “above and beyond” and what did I get? Another hot flash! Thus the inspiration for my HOT FLASHES. Hot is for “hot off the press” and Flash is for “newsflash”.
Whenever I come across some valuable tidbit, a time-sensitive offering or something newsworthy, I send a HOT FLASH to all of my real estate friends. Now, just like real hot flashes, you never know when the next one is coming. Sometimes, they come in rapid-fire succession and sometimes, they are a little more spaced over time. But one thing is for sure, you know another one is coming soon.
If you want a HOT FLASH of your very own, just say “sign me up” in the comment section and I will share my next HOT FLASH with you.
This one is a big hit with me. Since discovering this handy-dandy search tool, I use it all the time.
LeapFish.com allows you to search the three biggest search engines with just one search inquiry. In addition, with a click of a button, you will also receive results for News, Yahoo Answers, videos, images, shopping and blogs.
Simply type in your search inquiry, press enter and viola! There are the search results. Google is the default, but just click on Yahoo or MSN and the results are there for those search engines as well. Now, just select one of the widgets under the search engine selection to view the matching search results for blogs, news, answers or videos and photos.
“LeapFish is more than just a simple aggregator that displays websites from other search engines. LeapFish is a multimedia search engine that combines and renders the best of the web in the form of sites, videos, news, images, blogs and more from the most popular and widely accepted destinations including Google, Yahoo, Youtube, CNET, Yelp and a growing list of over 200 other authorities in a single search interface. We believes it’s time for a multimedia search.”
“Similar to technologies found at major portals such as DogPile.com, LeapFish utilizes proprietary hyper-threading technology to communicate with all major online portals and their API’s simultaneously to deliver the various search results from across the web to users in a single search query.”
Another feature which makes LeapFish “leap” in front of the rest is its very reasonable advertising program.
No Pay-Per-Click.
One time fee secures a permanent position.
Fee is based on the keyword and desired position.
Keep it forever or sell it when the value goes up.
Want to add some residual income to your piggyy bank? Check out the LeapFish Affilate Program.
Why should you write posts to your blog? To get buyers and sellers to come to you. This blog is rather like “preaching to the choir” since many people reading this post either already have a blog or typically read blogs. Most Active Rain members understand how important the Internet is and how much it influences their business now and will in the future. However, the majority of real estate agents do not have websites nor do they blog or participate in social media. The public has made the move to the cyber world. But, the majority of real estate agents have not. It is so important that the real estate agent of today move their marketing efforts forward and take advantage of the opportunities the Internet provides them.
Whether a buyer or a seller, approximately 84% of Internet users begin their real estates search online, according to the California Association of Realtors®. Prospective sellers are checking out their neighborhoods to research what they think the market value will be and what is happening with their future competition. Buyers are checking out areas and neighborhoods, not so much by price but by pictures. Many are using the street and/or satellite view maps so that they can “see” the property before they see the house. Internet users who are relocating are checking out schools, neighborhoods and crime reporting sites before (physically) search for a home in their new city. Are you beginning to see why blogging to buyers and sellers can be such a benefit to your business?
Internet buyers spend more time on the net doing their own research and less time physically looking for a home. Prospective sellers look at various agents website to see what type of Internet marketing they do. Buyers typically access eight real estate portals and websites before selecting their agent. Sellers typically access six real estate agent websites before deciding on who to call. With all this time on the internet, you really need to make sure to start blogging for buyers and sellers.
One aspect of real estate which has not changed is the number of FSBO homes sold. Yes, buyers are still looking for a good professional to help them buy their home. Sellers are still looking for someone else to negotiate the contract, meet state requirements and manage the paperwork. Buyers and sellers are looking to the Internet to find you. It is up to you to be sure they do.
To make yourself known to the Internet user, make it all about them. Today, good marketing means good service. The Internet allows you to provide Internet users with quality information and helpful tools. Good marketing means sharing knowledge. The Internet allows you to share your expertise to a vast audience in your weekly blog. Good marketing means “getting out there and meeting people” . The Internet allows you to meet thousands of people a day via social networks while building a relationship of trust with them even before you meet in person.
The Internet is the greatest tool ever created take advantage of it – make yourself known by blogging to buyers and sellers.
Studies have found that web-based tools drive business growth. Even through the economic turmoil lately, small businesses are starting to see a turnaround and looking forward to a stronger period of growth in 2010. Traditional marketing methods are still commonplace. But, businesspeople who are expecting to grow their business in the next year are focusing more of their attention to online marketing. What are the best web-based tools to use? Email marketing, social media/networking and search engine marketing. 
Can you hear it? “Bing!” That’s the sound of the lightbulb going off over Microsoft’s head. Microsoft has recognized the power of social networking. This computer software giant just announced that it will start adding status updates from both 
Since search engines are the driving force behind 84% of internet traffic, getting your site seen by the search engines is important. You want to make sure you show up on at least the top two pages of searches for your keywords and, preferably, 
