Apr. 2, 2008 - Keep tabs on the Competition

Keeping tabs on the competition, tracking your own reputation - it is a necessary exercise in today's online world. In class I speak about setting up a Google Alert on your name or your business. All you do it set up your search term, say how often you want to receive them and enter the email address where you want them sent. Google scours the internet and wherever your name shows up it finds it and sends you an email. You can set up a similar free search with Yahoo. I get alerts when people mention that they had a class with me or if they link to my blog. I always go to their site and post on their comments a thank you for mentioning my name and classes.

There are three other sites that will bring this search to the next step. Andiamo Systems tracks your business's online reputation by scanning blogs, message boards, forums, social netowrks and mainstream media sites. You will know who is saying what and whether its good or bad for your business. Pricing starts at $275 per month. The second is Elixir Systems. This site assesses your online repulation and compes up with a plan to manage it. There is also Watch360. This site keeps an eye on your competitor's websites with a free version of Watch360. You enter in the pages you want watched and they rpogram does a daily scan and sends you an email report of what it finds. They will do more sites for $195 a year.

The power of the internet is the information it creates. If you can keep tabs on who is visiting your website, why not keep track of your online reputation? Definitely set up Google and Yahoo Alerts to get started!

Mar. 19, 2008 - Syndicate your Listings

Online classified are not a substitute for your Web site or other avenues of drawing attention to your listings, such as REALTOR.com. Along with these venues, print advertising, and other traditional ways to get the word out about your listings, online classified sites provide you with the opportunity to expand your marketing reach to more prospective buyers — at no cost to you — which ultimately will help you find a buyer faster.

Some sites to consider:

Trulia

Zillow

Frontdoor

Googlebase

Craigslist

LiveDeal

Postyourlistings

HomeScout

Oodle

SecondSpace

Also available are free sites that will help you create an ad once and then help you post them on many of the classified sites. These include:

Nov. 7, 2007 - Writing Effective Ad Copy for Today's Buyer

Nov. 7, 2007 - Syndicate or Not

We have been hearing alot about different internet business models - Current Internet Business Models include the Advertising Model, IDX Model, Referral Model, and the Lead Generation Model

The most recent addition to the group is syndicating your listings. What does that mean? Thing of Oprah Winfrey. She originated in the Chicago market. When she syndicated, well you know - she was everywhere. That is what we want to happen to your listings. Okay, what syndication is not:

1. A replacement for a website
2. A replacement for website optimization on search engines
3. A replacement for your listings on Realtor.com, your Public MLS site and your company and personal website.

What syndication is - putting your listings on real estate search engine websites and online classifieds that many of the younger buyers and sellers frequent. Why do they like them? Because there is a degree of social networking, interaction on all of these sites.

The consumer has experienced interaction on sites where they buy books, shoes and clothes. They can ask questions, compare products and read comments of other consumers. How does that translate into the real estate world? Consumers can look up listings, and find recently sold properties. They can look at many photos, virtual tours, ask the company questions and see the house on a map. One of the most effective syndication sites is http://nls.point2.com. It allows you to put your listings on many of the most popular syndication sites. Here is a short list: Google Base, Yahoo Real Estate, Craigslist, Edgeio, Propsmart, just to name a few.

Click here for a complete list.

They also offer a free website and a unique service called "agent handshake" option. You can have our listings on other agent's websites with a handshake. Check it out.