Most real estate agents are continually vying for that top spot on Google. After all, the right search term can send thousands of visitors to your site. The reality is that there are usually hundreds of thousands (and more likely millions) of other pages competing for only a handful of slots on the first page. But the good news is that Google’s new “Universal Search” combined with a little bit of creative thinking may be just the formula to capture Google’s most sought after piece of real estate.

What Is Universal Search?

Google has always been the resource to find web pages about a particular keyword. But they soon realized that people wanted more than just web pages when searching. That’s where Universal Search comes in. Back in May of 2007 Google began incorporating images, video, and news into the search results page. You can see from the graphic below that a search for iPhone on Google shows results for Web pages, News Stories and Videos.

What about Real Estate?

So how does this relate to the real estate industry? There are two key places for a real estate agent to take advantage of Universal Search.

1. Google Base (aka Google Housing Search): If you search for Sheridan Wy Real Estate in Google, you will see a link that says “Find results for Sheridan WY Real Estate in housing search” (see graphic below). By having your listings appear in the Housing Search, you can attract more buyers and expose your listing to more eyeballs – thus making your sellers much happier! The good news is that it’s very easy to include your listings on Google’s Housing Search as well as other places like Trulia, Oodle, and more. Simply use a listing syndication site like Postlets or V-flyer.com.
   
2. Google Local: One recent change that Google has implemented is the way they display their local results. Any time Google “thinks” a search is related to a local area; it will pull from Google Local and display this information at the top of the search results page (see below).
   

   While some areas such as Raleigh Real Estate are pretty competitive, there are also areas that are still wide open for that coveted top position. For example, in the Sheridan Wyoming area, there is only one agent who has taken advantage of Google Local, as a result, when you search for sheridan wy real estate agent, Century 21 BHJ has the Google Local spot all to themselves. Even though they are not the top position in the organic search results, their Google Local listing appears above all other results, and here is the best part – it doesn’t cost them a dime!

   

   So how do you take advantage of this prime piece of search engine real estate? Simply go to the Google Local Business Center and add your information. While Google hasn’t come out and said what the secret is to getting to the top of the local results, there are a few tips for local optimization that can help push you to the top. Just visit the Dakno Real Estate Blog for the tips.

More than Just Google

Google isn’t the only game in town blending video, images and more into search results. Yahoo and Ask also have their own version. You can take advantage of Yahoo’s local results by submitting to their Local Directory. In fact, there are dozens of places to submit to local portals.

Get Creative with Your Search Engine Optimization

Remember, Universal Search can show results for videos, images, news, maps, books, websites and more. In other words, the answer to breaking through the keyword glass ceiling may be hidden in more than the content on your website. So get creative with your optimization plan. If you are having trouble getting to the top spot for that coveted keyword, try a different approach. Create a video, write a press release, or post a blog article. It just might be the trigger that pushes you to the top!

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I am a student of human behavior. I am certain that my interest in how people interact started at a young age and grew as I went to college and graduate school. One of my favorite activities is to watch salespeople develop rapport and secure a client. As an outsider, who is basically a fly on the wall, watching these interactions I am always interested in these salespeople’s skills and how they go about their business. I don’t think it takes a person with an advanced degree in psychology to see if someone is genuine or just out to make a sale. When people want to genuinely help people with their needs and wants, it is natural, unforced, and free of sales games. I have seen people with what I would call bad sales skills become very successful out of sheer desire to want to help people. I will take someone with sincerity and passion over a person with impressive sales skills anytime.

I am going to over-simplify the sales process for a moment, and perhaps re-analyze it in a future writing. Simply put, the sales process comes down to 2 elements: Communication and Relationship.

More than Words

Let’s talk about communication briefly, as I do not have the time or space to fully explore it. I don’t think it would surprise anyone that communication is more than words. Words are extremely important and powerful however, words are only a small portion of the communication process. Words by themselves are quite frankly…empty. Even the words that you read on this page lack so much. I am always frustrated when I write, because the words alone cannot express, or convey what I am truly trying to say. While it is true I am not the best writer, if you could see the emotion and passion on my face as I write, I can assure you that I am fully aware of the problems of putting words on a page. ARRRRGH!

Emote with Me

Emotions are important to the communication process. Whether it be the salesperson or the potential consumer, the individual’s emotions and the ability to react to them immediately is crucial to the process. When someone’s tone becomes more excitable, or there is a sense of sadness, anger, or joy, it is absolutely key to be able to respond appropriately. This makes the communication process not only easier, but less frustrating for the all the parties involved.

The Eyes Don’t Lie

If I were sitting in front of you right now you would be able to look at my face and into my eyes. Typically the face and eyes give us clues as to the genuineness of someone when they speak with you, especially when the subject matter has significant impact on us. We will have a tendency to look a little deeper into the eyes, check the facial expressions, compare it with the words and make a determination whether a person can be trusted. When I was working as an intern in a mental hospital, the very first thing I would do is look at the eyes of the new patient. I could immediately get clues as to the type of person I was dealing with, or if my point was being communicated.

Hand Jive

Body language is extremely important, yet one of the most underestimated. This is partially because we don’t pay conscious attention to it, yet it gives us strong clues into intention, passion, and believability. There have been numerous studies conducted on people crossing their arms in front of themselves vs. opening their arms, leaning forward versus leaning back in conversation and the effects on specific physical behaviors of the person being engaged in conversation. Many people talk with their hands. I have been told I am one of them, part of this may be because I get so excited about the topics I discuss I want to emphasize a point. I am also a “hugger.” No words need to be communicated in a hug, yet the message is powerful.

Relationship

What about “relationship?” Humans are built for relationships. No one functions emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually healthily when they do not have relationships. How many studies have we seen that demonstrate that people who are married, or have significant relationships tend to live longer and have less health problems than people who remain alone? Beyond this, we want to work with people we know, or think that we know. We want people to care about us, to care about what we care about, to be genuine, and show empathy toward a situation. This, my friends, is a “relationship.” Honestly, people want to work with people they can trust, that they like, and they can count on.

The internet presents a set of problems for communication and relationships that even the best salesperson cannot overcome. Let’s talk about these for a moment.

1.    The Internet Lacks a Human Face

2.    The Internet Lacks Emotion

3.    The Internet Lacks Physical Responses

4.    The Internet Lacks Vocal Inflection

5.    The internet does not foster true relationships

The internet does have words, but as I stated earlier, it is progressively more difficult to express them because it lacks so many elements of the communication process, much less trying to develop some sort of relationship. I understand that there are a few successes with dating websites etc, but there are far more failures, and ultimately those people who are successful still must meet face to face. Here are the issues of trying to sell on the internet. It is nearly impossible to communicate and create meaningful, long lasting relationships on the web. So if you are trying to practice your same face to face communication and relationship skills on the web, you are not going to be very successful.

So what do you do?

Since you cannot employ the same strategies, then you need to create trust and relationship in a different way.

1.     Provide updated accurate information your potential consumer wants

There is nothing more powerful that will create faster consumer trust then understanding what the consumer actually wants and getting it to them in a user friendly manner. I am sure you think you are providing useful information, and maybe you have good information, but do you know what your consumers really want. Here is a clue, if you look at your website statistics and you see that your consumers are exiting pages after a brief period of time, chances are you are not providing the information that they want. Further, make sure you update your information on a regular basis. There are two reasons for this. First of all, nothing is static, so you need to update your website all the time. Add new content and update information that has changed. Second, the search engines like it when you update your site. This tells them you are being active, and trying to provide the most up to date information.

2.    Make sure your information is FREE

I have never understood why people would require sign-ups for information they can find somewhere else for free. While you think you are getting a significant number of customers from forced sign-ups, I can guarantee this statement… you don’t know how many didn’t sign up and are now working with someone who is providing that information at no personal identity cost to them.

3.    Always Protect the Consumer Identity

We used to talk about this as privacy. However, it is now a bigger issue than just privacy. It is taking active steps to protect a person’s identity. This is about ensuring your potential clients that your business is going to do everything within your business power to ensure that their identity does not get passed out. This means that you will delete their names from your database when they want it deleted. It means that you are not going to put them on some email list unless they request it. It means that you want to keep them as anonymous as they want to be kept anonymous.

4.    Discuss Their Issues, NOT Your Service

If you want to really communicate with people and develop relationships with them, then talk about the issues that affect them. When I go to websites the owners want to talk about how great their service is. No one cares. First of all, the internet consumer is skeptical, they can’t see your face, they can’t see your body language. You are nothing more than some cheap salesperson giving them a line. I know that is not your intention; however, that is what the consumer sees and believes. If you are going to change that, then you need to truly consider what your consumers are concerned about, and then discuss it. If you feel you have to talk about your service, put it somewhere on a back page.

5.    Don’t try to be everything to everybody

We all know the old saying, “when you try to be everything to everybody, then you become nothing to no one.” I know that you might service more than one type of individual; however, when you try to make your website so big with enough information to include everyone it becomes too overwhelming to the consumer. The best answer is to start creating more websites that will speak to the different members of your business. Too many times I have seen websites with so many links to different places that people are overwhelmed with information. You would never do that in face to face conversation. If a person must sell then you talk about selling, not buying. Therefore you need to simplify the life for the consumer. If you make it simple, more user-friendly you will achieve greater success.

All in all, you cannot continue to be the salesperson on the internet that you are in person. You do need to have it in your style but you do not have the advantages on the internet that you do in person. You have to “tune in” to your client. You have to think like they think. You have to stop thinking about your next sale, and think about what is important to your consumer. If you can truly stop thinking about your bottom line, and start thinking like your consumer, you will find that your internet business will take a turn for the best. You will develop better customers that will turn into clients, and possibly great relationships for life. Really, isn’t that the bottom line?

 Jay Izso aka “Dr. Jay” has his Masters of Science degree in Psychology from Washington State University. He was a former instructor of Human Learning and Motivation, Experimental Psychology, and Statistics at Washington State and North Carolina State University. He has been part of the Linda Craft Top 50 Internationally Ranked RE/MAX Team located in Raleigh, NC, since 1996 where he developed Linda’s award winning Websites and cutting edge technologies. He is also head coach for the Mr. Internet® Total Solutions Coaching program. Many of his articles and writings and observations can be read at www.realestatepsychologist.com.

Jay Izso, “Dr Jay”, M.S., Broker
Internet Doctor
1641 Stannard Trail
Raleigh, NC 27612
919.369.2121
Toll Free: 800.506.0633
FAX: 800.506.0633
doc@InternetDr.com

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This seasoned Realtor® goes back to basics, using ingenuity, skill and the expertise of professionals to create a new, powerful, interactive website (www.PrimeVoyage.com) which directly assesses the value of your home!

Dear Michael,

I got my license in 1977 and started farming a neighborhood in 1978. I walked it religiously until 1989 when the local postman took over the delivery! I followed up by distributing an informational neighborhood newsletter which has, indeed, drawn business over the years. Today, neighborhood farming is still about half of my work.

Yet, after thirty years as a real estate agent, I have utilized one of your most valuable pieces of advice by going back to basics in order to grow a unique offshoot of my existing business. I kept my existing website www.ScottWilliams.com, but created a new one, my fifth building of a website, www.primevoyage.com. I guess you could say that my methods in doing this were a veritable mixture of “Russer” and a little bit of “Gerber”. I was spending so much time running a business and doing things that were providing a living that it took a real effort for me to re-examine the basic features of my business and start my wheels turning. I started thinking things like, “what if I wanted to sell the business” or “what if I wanted to transfer it to someone else?” With all the things a business owner ought to do, taking a hard look at the way my business was operating was the most difficult and the most important lesson I learned. I credit myself with that much, at least, of being able to see the need for reassessment. The experience was humbling. It took nearly two years to hire the right people to build Prime Voyage, and while it has only been active for two months, I’m getting word of mouth buzz on this site. I’m beginning to really reap some of the benefits of offering a service to the public that has not been offered before. I have not only found a niche market, but I actually created one!

With your encouragement, I previously built four different websites. I started with cookie cutter, migrating to custom ones. This time round, I went about finding the right resources and the right people with the right skills, to build an even better website that would allow me to do more with the information I gleaned and actually SHOW visitors that I know the neighborhoods—specifically16 separate neighborhoods in Santa Barbara, CA. I took the traditional farming neighborhood newsletter as the model for the sites, but improved on the print model through brainstorming new ideas with you. Taking the newsletter model to the web allows me to grow the information presented in ways that would never be affordable in print. In the process, my site provides useful tools and information that no other local site offers. Prime Voyage has the first, automated, web-based Home Valuation ToolTM that provides crucial and accurate results which address direct, relevant information for the homeowner, home buyer and the general public.

An accurate analysis of a property is the ‘holy grail’ of real estate sites. No one else out there is offering this. “Zillow” (www.zillow.com) is a similar online resource which claims to perform this service, but such important factors as location and the condition of a property are only included when a third-party assessor is hired to do so.

Heeding your suggestions, again, I hired virtual consultants to help make important decisions in building the new site, such as what language to use and strategies for SEO so that the results and capabilities of the site would be understood by people in the business. I learned that it’s a good idea to have people on board with extreme technical skills. I didn’t know what functions needed to be included or activated, but I knew I needed people who did. I then asked my prime VC to hire a programmer. Following your advice, I gave the work to the experts—my virtual consultants. Today, the work on the site is mostly maintenance and I will occasionally call upon their expertise. I expect this site to take less time than writing the monthly newsletter that I still send out, and the newsletter promotes the site.

One major decision led to the next. Out of initial conversations with these experts, I realized that simply using my own name to dub the website, was basically uninteresting and ultimately, not saleable. Scott Williams is certainly not as enticing as Prime Voyage. I used experts to pick the brand name. Here, too, I learned that branding the product and not myself was the thing to do. I took the advice of the experts who ideated the slogan, “Connecting Your Home with Your Next Adventure.” I would not have come up with this, alone.

I also implemented another of your truly brilliant ideas. I went to online freelance worksites (Elance and Guru) and found voice talent to record phone interviews with my clients, posing to them twelve questions that I came up with, to create testimonial content for the website. I found that there really was a substantial difference in the sound bites I got, as opposed to using written testimonials—especially when you contact a client within a few days either side of escrow closing. If it happens later than that, their comments lose their edge, and that’s when you realize that these are the calls someone should make much sooner! Once you have those sound files, you can offer them on CDs to other potential clients. Buttons to access these interviews are scattered throughout the sites.

This is the first time I’m aware that the public is visiting me—via Prime Voyage, contacting me with questions prompted by their visits to the site. I didn’t recommend my other websites as aggressively as I do this one, because there is active engagement on this site. As I move forward with the feedback I get, it helps me to immediately tweak the site for greater usability. If it operates right, it feels right. If it is going to be interesting to the general public, my own site has to be interesting and lucrative enough for me!

These contacts enable me to gladly walk people through a market analysis of their home’s worth, including market appreciation/depreciation, with Prime Voyage software that can create settings for the particular criteria involved, such as location, condition, size of the home and more. The software, itself, makes things that might be hard to otherwise understand, much easier. My associations with those who have visited the site have been and continue to be positive and much appreciated. I’m always up for a discussion of how much a property is worth or signing up for auto e-mail updates. These are central to making real estate decisions.

At this point in time, I would actually like to find someone out there who could package the software and help promote it for agents to add to their own sites. I don’t want to start selling software. The VCs who built it for me could do installation, but I would like to find that MLS-friendly expert who is interested in promoting sales of this software so other agents can experience the benefit of it as well.

Thank you,

Scott Williams

Scott Williams’ property valuation site, Prime Voyage, is especially oriented toward the home owner who seeks information about what the current market trends are in a particular (Santa Barbara) neighborhood. www.PrimeVoyage.com lets you go back to basics, too!

Contact Scott at scott@primevoyage.com

Prudential California Realty
3868 State Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 563-4031

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Would you like to have customers return again and again to buy? Would you like to be first in line for additional orders and repeat business? Would you like to keep your customers for a very long time? Then read on for:

7 Tips for Building Relationships & Guaranteeing Repeat Business

(1) Make sure that you ask all of the right questions so that you truly understand your prospect’s needs. Don’t assume that you know what your customer wants or that they have the same needs as all of your other customers. Ask. This way you’ll be sure.

(2) Give your customers exactly what they ask for. “Sort of” doesn’t count. Make sure that you are delivering quality each and every time. In addition, don’t oversell. Persuading a customer to take more product than they actually need will quickly make you a one-time resource.

(3) Make absolutely certain that what you are offering will solve your customers’ problems or help them in the way they need to be helped. If your offering is not truly a solution, tell the truth. Selling a product/service that does not solve the problem it was purchased to solve may put money in your pocket in the short term but in the long term, it will guarantee that you lose the customer.

(4) Do everything you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it. Nothing builds trust and credibility like doing what you say you’re going to do. And tell the truth no matter what. While sometimes being truthful might cost you a sale, in the long run the trust you build with your customers will more than make up for any lost revenue.

(5) Keep your new customer informed every step of the way. Whether it’s a delay, a pricing issue, a mistake or any potential problem, let your customer know about it as soon as you know. Do not delay. They will find out eventually and not telling them personally and/or allowing them to discover it on their own will lose you business.

(6) Become a valued team member and go above and beyond your prospects’ expectations. Show your customer that you are interested in their business. Invest time thinking about their needs and how you can help

(7) Show appreciation for your customers’ business. Don’t forget to say, “thank you.”

Wendy Weiss, “The Queen of Cold Calling,” is a sales trainer, author and sales coach. Her recently released program, The Miracle Appointment-Setting Script, and/or her book, Cold Calling for Women, can be ordered by visiting http://queenofcoldcalling.com. Contact her at wendy@wendyweiss.com. Get Wendy’s free Special Report, How to Write an Effective Cold Calling Script, at http://www.queenofcoldcalling.com

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I generally use this space to share some thoughts about marketing your real estate practice but, hey, it’s 2008, so I thought I’d break away from the usual. How about some resolutions that you (and I) might actually have a chance of keeping this year? We both know that we’re not going to hit the gym 6 days a week, cut out all junk food and/or achieve world peace. However, here are some ideas that may change your outlook on life. Who knows, with a new attitude, you might come up with some great ideas for your business as well!

Laugh every day. We all get caught up in the day-to-day grind, whether it’s work,
home or family related. Are all the things you’re stressing about really that critical? If your daughter wants to wear mismatched socks to school or you can’t find that file folder you stashed yesterday, is the world coming to an end? Click on the Comedy Channel, pop in a Marx Brothers DVD or read the comics—anything to bring on a chuckle. It’s guaranteed to lower your boiling point and make the rest of the day more fun.

Concentrate on what goes right. How many of us gnash our teeth at night over things that went awry during the day? Sure, the boss was cranky, a can’t-miss deal fell through and your cell phone bill hit the stratosphere. But, there was also a magnificent sunset, having your own two feet carrying you where you needed to be and your favorite song popping onto the radio during the drive home. Learn to shift your perspective and life will treat you kindly.

Slow down. When it’s time for lunch, walk away from your desk and turn off your phone, even if it’s just for 15 minutes. Multi-tasking may seem efficient, but it’s an energy drainer. Savor that tuna sandwich and Diet Coke.

Weed out the extraneous. Do you own your stuff or does it own you? A constant battle with clutter takes time away from more meaningful tasks. Throw out magazines that are more than three months old, whittle down your earring collection and shred those 20-year-old tax returns. View your closet with a critical eye—do you really need 35 ties or 10 white t-shirts? Bag up the extras and give them to charity; you’ll be doing a good deed and cutting down your stress level.

Help somebody else. One of the best mood elevators around is lending a hand to someone less fortunate. Donating money is relatively easy; if you’ve got some time to give that’s even better. There are plenty of organizations that can use your help on a once-a month or infrequent basis. Check out local food banks, Habitat for Humanity or homeless shelters.

Resolve to try just one or two of these suggestions, and see what a difference some small steps can make in your life. I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2008.

Lois H. Feinstein produces powerful and compelling Web copy, marketing materials, newsletters and brochures for Realtors® and other business professionals. She is Chair of the Real Estate Virtual Assistants (REVA) Copywriting Guild and a member of the International Virtual Assistants Association, and has written for a number of magazines including 5280 and Denver Woman. Her business, I Can Do That!, www.i-cando-that.com, is based in Denver, Colorado.

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Happy New Year everyone! It’s the beginning of a new year. It also means that your internet business should be celebrating a new year. Why? Because we know that more people will be using the internet to buy products and services than ever before. This should be exciting to you. I know I am excited! As we approach the New Year, I have several questions.

How did you do last year?
Do you know?
If I was to come over to your office right now could you show me exactly what your internet business did?
Can you show me every lead you received?
Can you tell me where those leads came from specifically?
Can you tell me what happened to those leads?
Who is your best converter of leads?
How do you know?                                 
How did you define a lead?
How do you know that your Pay Per Click (PPC) campaign actually worked?
How did you evaluate it?
Did your PPC just drive more traffic to your website, or did it actually produce business?
How did you measure that?
What is your follow up system?

If you cannot produce numbers that can clearly show me the answers to any one of these questions, then I would say you are not really running a business; you are just spending money and assuming you are doing business. The key here is to track your business by the numbers. One of my clients tracks every lead, she makes sure her sales staff is accountable for every internet lead, and she can produce a spreadsheet with actual numbers of where the leads came from and what happened to them. She is running a business, not feeding one with money. She has a budget; she knows her conversion rates for each of her forms on her websites.

In this New Year, your first goal is not to set a goal for how much business you should do. Your first task is to put systems in place so that you can track every lead, from every location, how much money it cost you, and what eventually happened to those leads. How do you know if your business is going if you don’t know where your business has been? How do you know that your internet marketing is really working? How do you know you are really profitable? Is it because you can still write a check without it bouncing, or there is still money on the credit cards? Ridiculous! You need to know your business by the numbers; as a matter of fact, it’s a must.

I know this sounds crazy to some business people, but what I have found is that people have no idea where their business is really coming from. They assume they do, and we all know what ass-u-me translates to.

Okay, so here are some handy tips for you this year to get your numbers off to a good start.

1. Operationally define what you are going to consider a lead
2. Determine whether the lead is an A, B, C, or dead and operationally define it
3. Determine how many sources from the internet you are getting leads from
   1. Create an alphanumeric system from each source that can identify each lead
   2. If you have purchased leads from another company determine how those leads will be identified, and how they will be tracked
4. Purchase a program or create a spreadsheet where every lead is going to be listed
5. Be sure every person who is responsible for handling leads is able to access the software or spreadsheet and require them to make an entry every time they have a lead
6. Create a follow up system by which you or your team will follow up on each lead until it leads to a sale or is dead
7. Make sure you have talked to your SEO about conversion rates and how you will define them
8. Have a quarterly review with your SEO and your conversion team to review how leads are handled and whether or not more expenditure is necessary

Clearly this is not an exhaustive list. However, if you will start with just these things your business will already be ahead of 90% of your competition. With all that said, stop the resolutions, and get to know your numbers. If nothing else you really will know where your internet business is headed. This is an exciting New Year. Fill it with numbers and it will be your best one ever. Happy New Year!

Jay Izso aka “Dr. Jay” has his Masters of Science degree in Psychology from Washington State University. He was a former instructor of Human Learning and Motivation, Experimental Psychology, and Statistics at Washington State and North Carolina State University. He has been part of the Linda Craft Top 50 Internationally Ranked RE/MAX Team located in Raleigh, NC, since 1996 where he developed Linda’s award winning Websites and cutting edge technologies. He is also head coach for the Mr. Internet® Total Solutions Coaching program. Many of his articles and writings and observations can be read at www.realestatepsychologist.com.

Jay Izso, “Dr Jay”, M.S., Broker

Internet Doctor

1641 Stannard Trail

Raleigh, NC 27612

919.369.2121

Toll Free: 800.506.0633

FAX: 800.506.0633

doc@InternetDr.com

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As you may well be aware, search engine ranking is dynamic. The major search engines are always changing their methods of ranking so I’ve asked a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) specialist, Kerstin Hutchinson of Total Impact Marketing to tell us what the major search engines are looking for now. The information she provided will give you the inside scoop on what you need to do to increase your search engine results.

Recent Changes in Google and MSN

Kerstin found that over the past 12 months, Google and MSN have undergone algorithm changes that may have affected your rankings. Here’s what she found:

Google – the most important search engine for which to have good rankings – has implemented several changes since spring 2007 and even more in early fall.

The spring changes involved discrediting several linking techniques that have become hot trends with webmasters, those that dabble in SEO and even some SEO companies whose linking practices are questionable. Linking refers to a website that provides a link to your site as well as any links you provide to other sites. Inbound links to your site help build your popularity, which then increases the chance of ranking well in the search engines if your site has been optimized.

1.    The first change was to discredit reciprocal linking. Reciprocal linking occurs when one website trades a link with another website so they each link to one another. Sites with excessive reciprocal linking lost all benefits to their popularity or page rank. So, get rid of your links to sites that aren’t compatible with your business. For example, a link to a mortgage lender site is good but a link to a tire repair company is not.

2.    The second change was to discredit Link Rings. Not to be confused with link farms or linking networks, Link Rings is a new trend some webmasters and SEO companies started when they found out that a one-way inbound link to a website was the best link to have.

How it works? A Link Ring essentially has site A provide an inbound link to site B; site B provides an inbound link to site C; and site C links back to site A. Google caught on to this trend, and believing it was a way of cheating the system, stopped the Link Ring sites from getting any benefit from such links.

3.    Google’s last change in the fall was to discredit known paid links. A paid link is any inbound link to a site from another site that it paid for. There are many paid directories that have been de-listed in Google; therefore, anyone with inbound links from these directories have lost the popularity it brought to their site.

It is important to note that any site that has employed any of these linking strategies has seen a drop in their overall rankings in the search engines.

The Trust Factor Trend

Google seems to be moving toward a “trust factor” trend that includes any one of these three features:

•    A site with an older domain name doing much better than that of a new domain name. This is something already well known within the industry but is being seen much more often now.

•    A site that displays their phone number and full address and doesn’t hide behind a contact form.

•    Good unique, professional content – not just lots of content for the sake of having content. Many sites have added thousands of pages of cheaply written content by those that don’t speak English as a first language. They are full of grammatical and spelling errors but are optimized for certain keywords. Sites with such content have been dropping in their rankings as opposed to other sites that contain less, but more professional, unique content.

Did you know that 80% of consumers search for local businesses on the search engines before contacting them? MSN noticed this and saw it as an opportunity to increase its 10% search engine market share. They decided to improve the results it returned for local searches in an attempt to appeal to those searching locally by providing better local results.

But fear not, for this is not likely to affect the real estate industry since the local search results for real estate professionals are already very good. The real estate industry as a whole is very competitive and many agents are already optimizing their sites for good rankings.

What Hasn’t Changed?

What has not changed with the search engines is the need for a search engine-friendly website and for professional search engine optimization services. Consider this: when is the last time you used the Yellow Pages to locate a business locally? Instead, your first reaction was probably to search Google, Yahoo or MSN, right? As you can imagine, having first-page rankings in the search engines is just as important, if not more so, than a Yellow Pages listing was 5-10 years ago.

Look at Your Web Design Company’s Results

To achieve good SEO, you need a search engine-friendly website. Many specialty web design sites (such as those designed specifically for real estate professionals) will claim they build search engine friendly websites, but you shouldn’t take their word for it. Look at their SEO portfolio and make sure they list clients that have good rankings in the search engines. Also, be sure the company’s SEO ranking portfolio is relevant. If they’re touting a number one search engine ranking for a real estate agent in Timbuktu, you should be saying to yourself, “So what?” Think about the competition they actually have and how easy that number one ranking would be to achieve … even without any SEO! Instead, you’d be better off looking for SEO specialists that have high rankings for sites that are highly competitive such as those in huge markets such as California and Washington, D.C.

One word of advice: if they don’t have a prominent SEO portfolio on their site, consider this a warning. Make sure you address this when talking with them.

Do This for Your SEO Company as well                                     

When hiring someone (or a company) to perform your SEO work, be sure to research their portfolio as well. They can certainly sound like they know what they are doing but nothing speaks louder than what they have been able to achieve for others. Ensure that they proudly display that their SEO methods are ethical or “white hat” (meaning they will not employ any questionable tactics that can leave your site punished or banned from the search engines causing irreparable damage to your website and your online presence). When you consider that poor SEO techniques can be harmful to your rankings, you want to be sure that your SEO specialist applies the current trends in order to increase your rankings.

By implementing these new SEO methods, you should be able to increase your ranking in the major search engines. This is especially important when you consider that over 80% of buyers in the market head to the Internet first. Don’t pass up your chance to get better rankings; find a reputable SEO company to optimize your site.

Evy Williams is our VA QUICK TIPS columnist. She specializes in designing marketing materials to sell homes through her company, BrochuresByDesign.com. She holds a Master’s degree in Administration and is a certified Master Virtual Assistant, Military Spouse Virtual Assistant, Professional Real Estate Virtual Assistant, Real Estate Support Specialist and is EthicsChecked. Contact her at Evy@BrochuresByDesign.com

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It seems that when people talk about driving traffic to their website, they immediately focus on two methods - Pay Per Click, and Search Engine Optimization. While these both work, they are only two of a number of ways to send new visitors to your site.

The problem with Search Traffic

With both Pay Per Click and Search engine Optimization, you rely on people seeking you out. You simply wait around for someone to type the exact keyword that is going to show your website and hope that the user clicks on your link. To me, this seems like a pretty passive way to get traffic. Why not take a more active approach? Instead of waiting for the traffic to come to you, why not go to them?

Groups of Your Target Audience

Did you know that there are currently over 18K groups (groups not people) centered on Real Estate in Yahoo Groups. And this doesn’t even include Google Groups, MSN Groups, etc. Now remember, these groups are not too fond of people who go in and try to “hard sale” their services. Instead, they are looking for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). With this in mind, simply go in with the mindset of being the resource of information. They will quickly see you as a Trusted Advisor.

Linking Up with LinkedIn

Groups are not the only social hub for your target market. LinkedIn is another place to become a SME to your target audience. Even if you target audience is the luxury market. In fact, LinkedIn states that “Every one of the Fortune 500 companies has at least one executive on the LinkedIn network.”

But Social Networks is only for Teens!

I know what some people may thinking. “You Tube, Facebook and My Space are only for teens!” Right? Not really. Actually “Over 40 percent of luxury consumers visited a social networking site, such as Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc. in the past three months.” And since we are talking about the luxury market, there are even Social Networks for specifically for those jetsetters.

Get Creative – Land More Clients

The key is to get creative and use the power of social networks to catch your target audience early on in the game. For example, “Over 90 percent of luxury consumers used the Internet in support of their travel planning” (think 2^nd home or relocation). Now, imagine you are on these travel websites submitting reviews of the best 5 Star restaurants in the area. Oh, and you just happen to subtly work in your background and profession to validate yourself. “As a Realtor in CityName, I frequently take my clients to [Restaurant name]…” Suddenly, the luxury home owner looking to buy a vacation home now has a trusted resource who didn’t try to hard sell them but was the information resource.

Can Potential Clients See You on YouTube?

Vacation seekers and people looking for 2^nd homes and investment property frequently use sites like Flickr and YouTube to see images and video of the area before visiting. When they do a search on YouTube for keywords like Raleigh Real Estate, do they see your or your competition?

The only thing constant about the internet is that it’s always changing. With so much information available, people will continue to use their peers and social networks to not only find information, but trusted information. Will you actively pursue this gold mind of new business or continue to wait around for people to find you?

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