RealTown's RealTalk

Hi Barbara,

iHOUSE Web Solutions has a new pay-per-click service designed just for REALTORS. iHOUSE PPC integrates pay-per-click with a custom IDX solution so you deliver the targeted results that homebuyers are looking for. Check it out at our iHOUSE PPC website.

Best of luck to you!

Rich Hudson
Director of PR/Marketing
InternetCrusade
(619) 283-7302 Ext. 602
Rich@InternetCrusade.com

Barbara,

This is a big question as many factors are involved.  It's not as simple as setting up a ppc campaign.  Your site needs to be a good site that is sticky to begin with.  A great IDX that captures leads is most important when considering your ppc.  I still see agents using keywords like "real estate" or "real estate agent."  This is too broad.  Never use content matches for real estate ppc.  Your ad will appear on everything from soup to nuts that probably doesn't relate to real estate.

Write an effective ad.  Don't make it about yourself and your service.  The ad should be about the area and what you focus on.  Do you work with first time homebuyers?  Does your site reflect this?

The main reason people will click on your ad will be that it is compelling and once they get to your site it has the same thought process of why they came there to begin with.  Cluttered homepages with way too much information about awards, etc., will sure to bounce them off.  Make sure they can find the button to search for homes and clearly see listings that you may have.

If you have a high bounce rate on your homepage, chances are you will be wasting money on ppc.  Stay away from companies that offer bulk ppc, i.e. you can buy a certain term and be on Google 24/7.  These companies don't have a magic wand.

If you are truly interested in running an effective ppc campaign yourself, spend the few dollars it takes to go to Google or Yahoo training.  If you don't have something close then mentor with someone that specializes in real estate ppc. 

I still would like to see you put the money into a copywriter for your blog and get you organic results.  We do use ppc, but only when all the elements are set up properly and can give good results.

Sincerely,

Cherie Young
Online Marketing Strategies
Real Estate Web Design
760.782.0103

"Cluttered homepages with way too much information about awards, etc., will sure to bounce them off. Make sure they can find the button to search for homes and clearly see listings that you may have."

The landing page should be a page specific to what you are advertising. If search for homes, they should land on a page where you have the home search. If you advertise a community, they should land on that community page. Landing on a home page is not usually where you want them to land. The PPC ad and the page where they land should have relevance to each other. Otherwise, you look just like most of the rest that do PPC.

 I've been using Yahoo PPC and havn't had much success.  My counce rate is a little high so I'm trying to find ways to turn the clicks into leads.

It also isn't getting as many people to my site as I would like.  I think I am going to go with Google next month.

Jon Huther Albany NY Homes wrote:
I've been using Yahoo PPC and havn't had much success. My counce rate is
a little high so I'm trying to find ways to turn the clicks into
leads.It also isn't getting as many people to my site as I would like. I
think I am going to go with Google next month.

_________________________________________

John, typically real estate agent sites' stats will show around 65% of
organic visitors coming from Google vs about 15% coming from Yahoo!. So
it's only logical that Google PPC may deliver more visitors to your site
than Yahoo.

You might be able to improve your bounce rate by making your little
search form easier to find. Consider exchanging your "free book" offer's
position with that of the search form. The upper left corner of your
page is usually the most important "turf" on a Web site because that's
usually where people start reading first.

Suzanne

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Suzanne Hathcock Stephens
Point2Agent Design Partner
http://www.SuzStephens.com
360-666-0881