Internet Marketing Tips For Realtors
WordCamp 2012 arrived in Phoenix this past weekend and as we have a number of realtors in our SEO Community, I thought it would be a great opportunity to sit in on the Internet Marketing Tips For Realtors presentation.
The presenter, Jay Thompson, is known as the Phoenix Real Estate Guy and is the broker for Thompson’s Realty.
Here is a recap of Jay’s presentation “Top 10 WordPress Best Practices for Real Estate Websites”
# 10 – Define Your Goal
Be clear on defining your Real Estate Internet Marketing and SEO goals for your site:
- X number of search registrations per month
- X number of newsletter subscriptions per month
- X% increase in y over z over time
Avoid goals such as:
- More visitors
- Bigger commission checks
#9 – Forget the Design – For Now
- Crappy design can be effective, example Craig’s list
- You need the fundamental items on your site to get started such as your contact information and your story as who you are
- Great design can be effective, however great design can also be crappy
#8 – Use an Editorial Calendar
- You need to feed your site fresh content for it to grow
- Consider installing the WordPress Editorial Calendar to map out your content
#7 – Go Small or Go Home
Jay related that his biggest mistake marketing his business online was branding himself as the Phoenix Real Estate Guy as he is competing against 233,000,000 other pages in Google.
Instead he should had targeted a niche market such as Power Ranch Gilbert Az home for sale as he would only be competing against 257,000 pages in broad search and only 1 page in exact search and there was a total of 366 homes sold in this subdivision.
To be successful in real estate Internet marketing you need to focus on the niche markets.
#6 – Comment and Link Out
Social media marketing is critical to your online success.
Create other social media properties and link these back to your real estate site.
- Disqus
- Intense Debate
- LiveFyre
- WordPress.com
- Blogger
Also link out to other websites from your site to get discovered
- Link to other real estate websites (including the competition)
- Community based sites
#5 – Don’t Be Afraid to Fail
Don’t be afraid to experiment on your website and don’t be afraid to fail.
#4 – Write A Lot!
- Good content is critical for your site to be successful
- Bad content is BAD
Jay spends 2 hours a day researching and developing content for his real estate site and he considers this Internet Marketing his “prospecting for new leads”.
Jay related that he “shoots from the hip” and writes about topics that are on his mind.
#3 – Calls to Action Are Everything
You need to tell the visitors on your site what you want them to do next. Call to action examples:
- Search for homes
- Read our blog
- Learn about Short Sales
- We want to hire real estate agents
#2 – Test, Tweak, Retest
Spit testing to optimize your site for conversions is critical for your success.
- Try changing words, locations, colors, phrases, titles
- Split test your headlines
- Use the WordPress Split Test Optimizer tool
#1 – Get an Effective Home Search
This is what your visitors expect to see, people come to real estate websites to search for homes.
Offer multiple solutions, items to consider when choosing a search application
- Indexable vs. Framed
- User friendliness
- Multiple solutions
Jay also recommended the following WordPress plugins and themes for realtors:
Real Estate Plugins
- Real Estate Chart of the Day
- Simple Real Estate Pack
- Great Real Estate
- Firestorm Real Estate Plugin
Real Estate Themes
- AgentPress (StudioPress)
- ElegantEstate (Elegant)
- Estate (Woo Themes)
Interested in learning more about SEO and Internet Marketing?
Then check out our free SEO and Internet Marketing Videos and our SEO and Internet Marketing Training Videos on DVD
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2 Responses to Internet Marketing Tips For Realtors
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I have been following Jay and using some of his tools on my home inspection site for the last year. Listen to what he says, It works.
Thanks for all the marketing tips. Not all realtors and conveyancers know how to promote their services online.