When real estate agents think about their online marketing, they typically only think about their website and possibly a Pay-Per-Click campaign. But your online marketing strategy should be so much more than that. There are literally hundreds of free places to promote your website online. By taking advantage of these resources you not only give your Search Ranking a boost, you will also expose your website and business information to thousands of potential visitors every day!

Cast a Wide “Net”

We already know that Buyers are online. In fact, 80% of Buyers use the Internet to search for homes. So why wait around hoping they make it to your website? Instead, place your information on the websites they are already visiting. Only focusing on your website is like fishing with one hook. You may catch a few fish here and there, but you will catch many more fish by using a wide net.

Finding the Fish

Before you start casting, it’s important to first find the fish. Fortunately, fish hang out in schools. On the web, these schools are commonly referred to as Social Networks.

Social networking has exploded in recent years. The great thing about Social Networks is the fact that they typically cater to a specific niche - LinkedIn for Business Professionals and ActiveRain for the Real Estate Industry are a few examples. Additionally, some social communities such as MeetUp help connect like minded people no matter what their interest. These targeted communities are a gold mine to obtain potential clients.

What are you using for bait?

In order to draw in the fish, you need to have good bait. What constitutes good bait isn’t determined by how flashy it is but rather how compelling it is to the fish. In the same way, visitors are interested in valuable resources and not how great you are. Instead of saying you’re the expert, prove it. Feed them with comprehensive information that wets their appetite. Once they come to their own conclusion that you are the expert and provide real value, they will swim (or surf) to your website.

It Actually Works!

I did a quick experiment to determine the impact of this strategy. Less than a month ago, I signed up with ActiveRain and added a few blog posts. Almost immediately, I saw an increase in visits and Search Engine Optimization for my website.

1. 30% of traffic to my website now comes directly from ActiveRain. In addition, my ActiveRain profile has been viewed over 1,000 times and my posts have over 18,000 views. All in just a few short weeks.

2. In addition to the increase in traffic, I also saw a big impact in Search Engine Optimization. My ActiveRain profile made a big splash in the search engines. In three weeks it went from no placement in Google to the following results:

• real estate web design blog - #4 out of 13,600,000 results

• real estate design blog - #6 out of 46,300,000 results

• Brad Carroll - #7 out of 1,260,000 results

This is a perfect example of how a multifaceted approach on the internet will greatly impact your online success.

Who Has the Time

You are probably thinking, “This is great, but I barely have enough time to keep my own website up to date, yet alone add content to other sites.” Remember, you don’t have to do it. A Virtual Assistant or your marketing partner can handle 99% of this for you. Plus, in the long run, it actually gives you more free time. How? Take a look at these enlightening statistics.

Finding Even More Fish

Keep in mind, this strategy can go beyond just social networks. The strategy is to think about any and every way to draw attention to yourself, your business and your listings. The goal here is to maximize every possible way to promote yourself and your website.

This week, make a commitment to do something that expands your internet exposure; Sign up for ActiveRain (it’s free), Create a Squidoo Page, or offer to write a guest post on someone’s blog. Be creative and think about new ways to drive traffic to your website and increase your online presence. You will quickly see the results are well worth the effort!

 

As owner of Dakno Marketing, a real estate web design and marketing firm, Brad Carroll is a noted “young entrepreneur” who partners with many of the most successful Realtors in the US and Canada. Dakno also serves as the Webmaster for RUSSER Communications and numerous other businesses and organizations. As a high honors graduate from Barton College, Brad now coaches other entrepreneurs across a broad spectrum of business sectors. An avid reader and blogger, Brad offers his tips to real estate technology and marketing via his website at www.dakno.com.