TMS Client Tips

Finding "Riches in Niches" by Streamlining Your Web Content

2009-02-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

By Jennifer Ryan
07/20/2005

When marketing online it's crucial to remember the old business adage, "There are riches in niches." Niche marketing is the process of filling a small, distinguishable segment of the marketplace in a way competitors are not. Finding your niche online is about zooming into the nitty-gritty of your web site's purpose and communicating your message clearly. Here's just a few reasons why:

Search Engine Optimization

The most important reason your web site should have a narrowed focus is for SEO. Your web content must be sprinkled with keywords that people will use to find what your business offers. Proximity, totality and location of your keywords play a part in the optimization of your web site. Each page, and every word of your web site must be carefully chosen to specifically address what people are searching to find. Get down to the brass tax of your business purpose and cut out everything that doesn't deal with your core competencies.

Web Usability

Your web visitors are zooming by at the same rate as drivers viewing a billboard at 70 mph. This is no Sunday stroll. They are going fast. Let them know right away that they've found what they're looking for. By communicating your niche in the marketplace clearly and succinctly, you won't waste a second. Telling them straight-up what your company does and helps them do what you want them to without making them think. Keeping your message narrowed and simple helps take the guesswork out of what they are supposed to do on your web site.

Good Business Principals

There is a tendency for new online businesses to try to do everything all at once. That's natural because building a web site is so darn easy. But, it is not feasible that you will be able to do all things well. Finding one niche and marketing it like crazy, and meeting your customers needs will be more effective than doing a zillion things in a mediocrity. You can't do it all. So choose to do a few things well. That's what your web site niche is all about.

Your web site should be a crystal clear glass of niche marketing concentrate. Give it to us straight. Make each page specific, addressing one thing and make your message undeniably clear. Trim the confusion that plagues so many web sites with watered down messages. One idea communicated clearly with a dash of personality causes people to respond and register, download, call or buy. Best wishes finding the riches in your own web niches.

Jenna Ryan of The Marketing Shop is a web promotions and sales expert specializing in Realtor Websites.

Writing for People and Search Engines

2009-02-17T10:29:00.000-08:00

Writing for the search engines is much different than writing in any other medium. Search engines are finicky, but they love text, so you're talking thier language. When writing your web content, it's important to to keep the following three things in mind.

1. What You Want the Reader to Do: While writing your content, keep the overall objective of the page in view. Think about what you want the reader to do. Do you want them to sign up for something? Click to another page? Buy something? Visit your store? Download an e-book? Whatever it is you want them to do, keep that in mind as you write.

2. Search Engine Optimization: Remember the search engines as you write too. Usually it's better to do a quick draft without thinking of the search engines first, then later, come back and optimize the writing of the page. We will get into the details of how to make your web content friendly to search engines later. For now, just remember that it's one of those things you have to keep in mind as you write your web content.

3. How people use the web. Know that people do not use the web like we sometimes think they do. People are more likely to briefly scan your writing rather than to dig-in and read it. Keep your content should be relevant and informational and conversational. People don't want to read a book, they want to be informed. Give them the information they crave and they'll keep coming back for more.

Now that you know what to keep in mind as you write your classic web content, we are going to discuss the different elements of search engine optimization. The good thing about SEO is that your page will show up at the top of search engines so that people--lots of people--will actually be able to read what you've written. What a concept!

The SEO Lowdown

Keywords

Keywords are what drives search engines optimization. Here's how it works:

People type words into the search boxes at Google.
Google goes through all the pages it already knows about...these pages are in its database because they've been crawled and indexed beforehand.
Google delivers webpages that match the keywords the searcher uses to find what they're looking for.

When Google comes to your page, the only way they know it's good for the search is by keywords--period.

More About Keywords

We've already established that you need keywords woven throughout the content of the page, right? You also need keywords in your title. Here's a few other things to know about keyword placement in your webpage.

Do not overdo it. Don't gross people out by sticking keywords everywhere. That's not good business. Be discreet when inserting keywords in your website content (hint, hint).
If you are optimizing for a certain keyphrase, you must keep the entire phrase in tact throughout the page content for the keyword phrase to have any affect on SEO.
The keywords you should use should be carefully picked out and are always industry and subject specific.
Optimize for one to two keywords or phrases per page, with the exception of the homepage. Your homepage contains everything but the kitchen sink, but that's another article.
Putting your keywords in bold gives your site a boost.

Headers

There are up to six levels of headers in an html document. Usually as a web content writer you won't be going beyond the third or fourth header. Headers are very important to search engines. They use them to decipher page relevancy for searches. When you include keywords about your subject your article's headers, you are scoring points with the search engine crawlers. Here is an example of the different header tags.

This is an H1 header

This is an H2 header

This is an H3 header

This is an H4 header

There is a really good explanation for why headers exist, but I don't have time to tell you. For your purposes of writing for the search engines, just know they are mega important for optimization.

H1 - This is the title of your article.
H2 - This is the sub-title of your article.

Keyword Proximity in Headers

As if it couldn't get any worse, would you believe that where you place the keywords in your title is bigtime important? It is true. To score more points with search engines, place keywords and phrases at the beginning of your titles and paragraphs. Keep unnecessary words out of the titles. This is a very delicate issue, especially when you consider that keywords aren't always good for the human palate. Therein lies our dilemma. Who do we write the title for? People or search engines?

Well, the answer my friend ... is BOTH. Yes. If you don't write for both, you're defeating your purpose. Why would you write something that repulses people, but that search engines love? Some SEO people do this. Gross. First, write a title that search engines love. Then, use your noggin to write enticing words drawing the reader into your copy. Here's how I do it.

SEO Tips | Search Engine Optimization Techniques

10 Ways to Make a Lot of Money with Your Website

See? Don't give up having a compelling title for the sake of the search engines. (God help us all.) What good is having alot of traffic to your site if no one can stand to read your copy. To see an example of this on a live site, look here: http://www.internationalbcs.com/ibcs-payment-performance-guarantees.htm.

Compelling Titles and Headlines

According to John Caples, there are five rules for writing headlines:

Self Interest. Your titles need to speak to the self-interest of the reader. People just want to know what's in it for them.

News. If you have news, get it in your headline.

Curiosity. Don't let curiosity drive alone. Pair it up with other headline writing techniques.

No bad news. Avoid the urge to paint the negative picture in the headline. Be positive.

Quick and easy. Show the reader how there is a quick and easy way to get something that they want.

Links on the Page

The whole web is made up of links. Links help humans get around the web, but search engines use links too. Since both search engines and people use the web differently, you need different types of links for both.

General Search Engine Links: Search engines only index those pages on your site that are linked together. They use your internal links, such as your navigation bars to find their way around your site and make record of your pages. That's why it's important that your navigation be 100% text.

Anchor Text Links: The anchor text link is a different animal. Anchor text effects the page that it is linking to, not necessarily the page that it is on. Your anchor text should consist of keywords. So, instead of making "click here" a link, you would make, get keyword here a link.

Now, be careful here. Remember when a search engine zooms on your page, it follows the links. So, if you want it to read all your content, don't stick links arbitrarily in the page. Be strategic. If you want it to read the whole page, put your anchor text and any other links at the end. Usually, you can put anchor text links anywhere because it is the page you're optimizing for in the first place, so you don't care if the search engine goes for a visit there.

People Links: Make your links for people clear, concise and accurate. Don't just put a link on your page. You need a description of what's behind door number three. By being consistent and having the correct link descriptions, you build trust with the people on your site.

Contact Jenna Ryan with The Marketing Shop.com
today to discuss your website marketing strategy!

Types of Links

2009-02-17T10:24:00.000-08:00

Links are "the currency of the web." Without them, your website is a stand-alone entity. Think about it... how do people get around on the Internet? LINKS!!! They are the highways, roads, streets and avenues leading to your website's door. You need plenty of them, and you need them in a variety of ways in order to be effective. There is so much good stuff to tell you about links, I can hardly stand it. But for now, I'll just share a bit at a time so you don't get overwhelmed with mumbo jumbo. Here's some basic terminology to help you know more about links .

Incoming Links:Incoming links are the way Google judges the value of your website. The more incoming links you have from viable sources that are relevant to your website's theme, the higher rankings you will get in Google. It's that simple.

Deep Links:Deep links are links coming into the interior pages (pages that aren't the home page). These can include links within your site pointing to one-another. Deep links are important for getting your website indexed or cached by Google. Deep Links will also help a particular web-page rank well for it's main keyword phrase.

Reciprocal Links: Reciprocal links are no longer as valuable as they once were because the Google Algorithms now deduct points for traded links. These types of links are still okay, but not nearly as good as one-way in bound links.

Directory Links: As of now, one-way paid directory links are absolutely the best way to get the attention of Google and turn your website into a "search engine sponge." Submitting to directories is not what you think. It's not about getting found in the directories by your prospects. The true value in paid directory submissions is the attention it will get you from Google, so don't be duped into paying a high price for something you don't need. You're only in it for the link.

High PR Links: We focus on links with the highest PR possible, although it's best to get a variety of links so as to appear more natural for the search engine algorithms.

Text Links: Keyword phrases should be used as anchors for the hyper-links you create, wherever you create them.

Article Links: You can sprinkle keyword text links throughout articles and then submit them to article submission and syndication sites for long-standing links from relevant sources.

Content Links: Keyword rich links throughout the website have a substantial bearing on rankings, so long as your site is built correctly.

Ad Links: You can get incoming links in a variety of ways, including paying for them through Paid Text Link Services, however, Google frowns on such services so if used, they should be used sparingly.

Local Links: In my book, I consider local links to be links which contain the geo-target keyword phrasing that mirrors that of prospects and home searchers in your local area.

Keywords + Links = Search Engine Optimization

2009-02-02T07:53:00.000-08:00

This article is for those of you interested in writing web content and blogs that link back to your website to help the optimization of your website. Everyone who will be blogging needs to know these basic facts.

Links are the currency of the web, without them, you would not be able to traverse from website to website. Some links are built on images and others are built on plain-ole-text. It's the text links that are devoured ravenously by search engine crawlers; and interestingly enough, it's the text links that are most often clicked by website surfers.

Keywords (Anchor Text)

It's imperative that you use keywords for as many links as possible, from as many different websites as you can muster. Such text used in links is called "Anchor Text." The search engine crawlers will follow these links from wherever they are on the web. In fact, the anchor text is what search engines use to determine what a page it is about. Yes, it's that simple! The more links coming into a website with keyword- rich anchor text, the higher the site will rise in the search engine rankings.

Links

Links that are attached to text are called, Anchor Text Links, which is another way of saying "hyperlink on text." Links are what makes up the entire web, so you better get used to them. You'll find links on websites, blogs and social networking sites. Anywhere you can edit on the web, you'll have the option of creating a Anchor Text Link. Such a link is crucial for SEO as it tells search crawlers what the page it is traveling to will be about.

Proper Anchor Text Link for SEO looks like this:

Correct: Real Estate Websites

Correct: Dallas Real Estate

Not so Good Anchor Text for SEO looks like this:

The tendency when linking to a website is to use the name of the website, for example, in my
case it would make sense to link like this:

Incorrect: TheMarketingShop.com

Incorrect: Keith Dobbs

The above incorrect way is not the ideal way to link for SEO. The incorrect version above is essentially optimizing the website for the keywords of the hyperlink anchor: "The Marketing Shop" and "Keith Dobbs." But, our site is already showing up #1 on Google for "The Marketing Shop and Keith Dobbs is already #1 on Google for "Keith Dobbs." Using those terms as anchor texts results in a wasted link. You must use keyword phrases with which you want to rank on top.

How to Create an Anchor Text Link

1. In a web-edit screen type a line of keyword-rich text. (Don't get greedy! Use three words max to avoid penalties)

2. Select / highlight the text that will be the Anchor.

3. While the text is still highlighted, click on the Link Button in the edit controls area

4. Type in the ENTIRE URL of your website, web-page, blog or other web medium.

ie: http://www.the-marketing-shop.com/

5. Select "Okay"

Voila! You've created an Anchor Text Linkthat will do wonders for the SEO of your website.

The Law of Reciprocity

2009-01-15T11:20:00.001-08:00

Have you ever clicked on a Web site with great expectation, only to find a contact form shoved in your face? Obviously the site owner is a little over-zealous to get your information. Did you, like me, exclaim: "How rude, they didn't even break the ice!" Such sites violate the "Law of Reciprocity." Simple give and take.

Building Rapport

Contact forms and pay-per-click campaigns may generate leads, but not good ones. Quality leads are quality people who are increasingly Web savvy and skeptical. People aren't stupid. They can tell if you've taken time to figure out who they are and what they want. As with face-to-face sales, you've got to prove yourself first. Creating a useful, informative Web site that's non-salesy is a sure-fire way to build trust, establish rapport and foster loyalty.

Give Freely

If you give freely, without asking for anything in return, you trigger feelings of obligation. After all, if someone does something nice for you, it's the least you can do to return the favor, right? Trustworthy and confident people aren't afraid to give things away. I'll take a Web site that's generous and open over one that's greedy and hording info any day. Wouldn't you?

To Have a Friend, Be a Friend

Its human nature to repay others based on how they treat us. The world gives us what we give to the world. A few well-known axioms come to mind:

* I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine
* You reap what you sow
* You get what you give

What to Give

What you give online depends on what your market wants. It's a good bet that your people want to be informed about what you know best. We're in the information age where "Search engines have become answer engines." If you have unique data, insights and perspective that your target demographic needs, be generous. Put it on the Web. If you're not sure what folks want, use keyword tools to study the search habits of your target market to determine your slant. Brainstorm ways to bring value to those you serve.

Mutuality in Action

Internet marketing is a virtual face-to-face sales encounter. The same principals apply. The thought of exchanging favors creates feelings of obligation between you and potential leads. This powerful and psychologically binding expectation creates a bond between those you're trying to reach. Use the Law of Reciprocity to capture leads online, and open doors to many happy returns.

Social Networking - Time to Get Started

2009-01-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

Social Networking is the new buzz term for networking online through the various social networks. Many new social websites are popping up all the time, but like any other web phenomenon, only a few will rise to the top of popularity. I believe FaceBook and Twitter are two potential players in the social networking arena, among many others.

Your Social Networking efforts will supplement and eventually replace the efforts of search engine optimization in the near future. Why? Because getting connected socially on the web is an extension of getting your website to the top of search engines. When you are networked socially, it is more like YOU are at the top of search engines.

Forget having just a static website, with a strong Social Network in your real estate service area, people should be able to ask questions and find YOU answering them on top of Google. I know this all sounds strange, but bare with me. It's GOING to happen whether you like getting online or not. Social networking will be all the rage--and the people on top are going to be those who got in first.

Facebook and similar social networking sites will become the new place to find stuff. Search brings you flat websites; social networking brings you to life. ~Jenna Ryan

STEPS TO GETTING STARTED NOW

Get your head out of your everyday processes and broaden to include networking on the net.

Get signed up for various social sites such as Facebook & Twitter

Start communicating with other people on the web through such sites

Make a commitment to spend so much time EVERY DAY on the web networking

Network with people in your area.

Don't focus on selling anything yet. Just get to know people.

Remember that everything you do will increase your web presence, so no time is wasted.

If you need training or assistance, please contact us at TheMarketingShop.com.

Friend me on Facebook and review my free tips.

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Social networking is not going away. Your prospects and clients are going online. Why not meet them where they are? There is no more efficient way to market yourself than through online web marketing. Start learning. Get savvy.

There is no time to waste!

Do's & Don'ts for Facebook Marketing for Real Estate

2009-01-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

Web Marketing through social networking is a different beast from any other type of sales & marketing. If you want to increase your influence online, you can't use the same tactics you use in networking face-to-face. Facebook is definitely a place to market yourself online, however, you must do it carefully. You don't want to turn people off. If you market yourself with skill and class, you won't come across like a cheesy car sales person or a "self-absorbed "Slick Willy." You will get more respect and more clients by following this proven web marketing protocol.

This article won't discuss the psychological reasons it's a turn off to be sold on the web, but it will show you in a nut shell how to build rapport with people and make them like you well enough to eventually do business with you.

Direct Sales Jargon is Nauseating

Our culture is so bombarded with advertisements everywhere. It's nice to get away from all the ad deluge and just relax talking to friends or learning about things that interest and intrigue us online. Our brains are so overloaded with ads that we now just tune them out. It’s too easy for people to de-friend you or click away on the web if you’re overly pushy. Be part of the solution, not the problem.

Don't be a commercial. Be a friend.

Who goes online to their favorite social networking haunt to be sold something? Nobody. When marketing your real estate practice online, you'll need to lose your aggressive, shark-like sales tactics and get back to the basics of relationship building. I'm talking about a different kind of friend here--not bosom buddies. You've got to be a friend in the web-marketing kind of way.

Do's for Marketing on Facebook

Determine what is important to your target market.

Keep your network informed in areas of importance TO THEM.

Find a niche angle to discuss, blog and provide data about. (ie: schools, neighborhoods, government, parks, families, nightlife, highrises, investment properties, etc... If you’re not interested in your area, no one else will be either.)

Provide personal information along with business info to keep it real.

Give interesting tidbits about yourself, your market and other news daily.

Brainstorm ways to keep others informed.

Make yourself valuable to your network. Bring value and it will come back to you!

Get to know others in your real estate service area: (ie: merchants, other agents, stay-at-home moms, dads, other business people)

Don'ts for Marketing on Facebook

Do not sell in an obvious way.

Do not limit yourself to only speaking about how you want leads, or how you want to sell houses, or how you want to make money. This will turn most prospects off.

Send out massive emails to people on Facebook regarding something that doesn't interest them.

Think about your network more than yourself.

Don't become fake-friends with people. Be sincere.

Think of Facebook as a route to making deals, not the be-all-and-end-all.

Think of Facebook as a way to gain popularity and get your name out there, not to sell a house tomorrow.

Think of social networking as a way to add value to the community which will in turn increase your value and cause people
to flock to you.

Be patient. Don't try to get immediate results. Build your network one sound relationship at a time.

When discussing what you're doing, try to form it in a way that shows a potential client that you're the agent for them. Do this sporadically or it will seem obvious.

Do not use a lot of exclamation points or they will become meaningless.

Facebook is an online place for you to expand your business off-line. All of your clients and prospects are on the web and will continue coming in droves. The people who are positioned on the web properly in the beginning will be the ones to benefit from the influx of users in the future. Trying to shove your services down their necks when they get there will ruin their image of you, and cause Facebook to be a gross place to visit. Building relationships and making friends by bringing value to the table is the best way to experience success with web marketing. Selling should be done matter-of-factly, only AFTER you've given something worthwhile first.

What is Twitter?

2009-01-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

Twitter is a social networking medium that allows you to log in and keep other people informed about what you are doing. On first glance, it seems that Twitter is just a dumb, stupid website aimed and wasting your time. If you're new to the game, you'll think Twitter is for people who have nothing better to do than to tell others about what they're eating for lunch, or other boring data on trivial matters that don't pertain to you. Once you're past the newbie stage--if you have a little vision and imagination--you'll begin to Twitter as a whole new way to market your real estate practice online.

Twitter only has about 2 Million users at this time, compared to Facebook's 90 million users, however, this will change as people become more aware of social network marketing. I believe this is the beginning of something--what the web is becoming; so it's important to get on board now if you want to be effective later. Learn the social networking ropes at the ground-floor so you'll be on the higher floors when the elevator goes up.

How does it work?

Twitter is very simple. All you do is sign-up, log in and type in the little box: "What are you doing right now?" That's it. Just describe what it is you are doing.

Why is what you are doing important?

What you are doing is important to people in your life. (If it's not, you need to get a life!) You can use Twitter for personal, business, hobbies, news info, and more. Since I'm a real estate web marketer, I'm going to discuss Twitter for marketing your real estate practice.

What should I do to market my real estate practice on Twitter?

The best way to market yourself on Twitter is to (again) provide valuable information that is interesting and informative to your target market. If you sell homes in McKinney, Texas--Twitter about McKinney. Twitter, Twitter, Twitter away. It may seem like you're getting no where, but in truth you are. You're discussing your service area and this will eventually tie into everything else you are doing. Use the same good web marketing acumen that I taught you in my Do's & Don'ts for Facebook Article.

Establish your credibility. Show your personality and style. Offer value. Don't just post ads saying, "Looking for real estate leads in Ten-Buck-Two. That's a total turn-off and you'll find no true followers. Be informative, snazzy, interesting, fun and sassy. Have a little personality please! And whatever you do, don't try to sell us anything.

Following Other People

The premise of Twitter is following people who are involved in the process of telling you what they are doing. Once the ball gets rolling and people start to come on board, you will be able to get pretty good insight from other top-real estate agents, and other people who share what they are doing to your advantage. You can pick and choose who to follow. The options are endless.

Getting Followers

Another aspect of Twitter is getting people to follow you. Ideally you want your target market to follow you, but they may or may not be online yet. In the meantime, you want to attract followers to your Twitter handle using the following methods:

Letting people know you're tweeting on Twitter.

Inviting people to follow you in person, via email and providing a link on your website.

Doing a "Follower Push" by following a bunch of other people in hopes they'll reciprocate the follow.

Have a very popular blog or website already and tell all your users you're on Twitter.

Let people on Facebook know you're also found on Twitter.

How to Get More Out of Your SEO Campaign

2008-01-31T13:11:00.000-08:00

SEO does not work in a vacuum. It takes a broad effort to push results to the top. Our successful lead generating websitesbelong to clients who were patient in waiting for results, and/or are supplementing our efforts with their own web traffic buildingstrategies.

Age of Domain: Newer domains take longer because of Google Sandbox / Trustbox

Web Marketing: The more traffic you have, the higher your rankings. Are you advertising your website online? Are you making use of alternative other web traffic generators?

Realtor.com
HomeGain
Homes.com
Trulia.com
Craigslist.com
Web Ads on other sites
LuxuryRealEstate.com
Move.com
Yahoo.com
Local Newspaper Ads (Online)
PostYourListings.com

Email Newsletters: Are sending a regular, informative email newsletter to a relevant audience in effort to attractvisitors to your website? Do you have a Email Drip Campaign in place?

Are you using the Lead Engine to contact existing clients and potential clients?
Do you have a regular Email Newsletter going out to your clients and prospects?

Web Network: How strong is your local web network?

Are you registered with local Chamber of Commerce?
Do you donate to local causes and obtain web publicity and links back to your website?
Are you networking within your community to create a buzz about your website?
Have you offered to write a blog or column for your local newspaper?
Do you have a compelling reason for anyone to visit your website?

Off-Line Marketing: What are you doing off-line to drive traffic to your website?

How are you advertising your website off-line?
Is your website set as the default home page for the internet use of everyone in your office?
Do you send out postcards driving traffic to your website?
Are you running off-line ads? Newspapers? Billboards? Flyers?

Who is accessing the website day-to-day? How can you increase the activity of your website?

Social Networking:

Are you blogging regularly? (The more you blog, the higher your rankings)
Are you engaging in online communication with others in your field?

LINKS & CONTENT

Right now your website needs inbound links and content. That’s our goal and we’re going about it as fast as we can, but it mighttake us a while to reach our goal. The more you help us by implementing the above, the faster you will achieve results.

New Website Leads

2008-01-31T13:10:00.000-08:00

I can assure you that once your site achieves top rankings, you will begin to acquire more leads from your SEO, however, as I stress from day one, getting to the top is hard-as-can-be. This is why we stress that you may not see strong lead results for six months to one year. The length of time has to do with a number of factors such as:

SEO does not work in a vacuum. It takes a broad effort to push results to the top. Our successful lead generating websitesbelong to clients who were patient in waiting for results, and/or are supplementing our efforts with their own web traffic buildingstrategies.

Age of Domain: Newer domains take longer because of Google Sandbox / Trustbox (I’ll explain in another email)
Web Marketing: The more traffic you have, the higher your rankings. Are you advertising your website online? Are you making use of alternative other web traffic generators?- Realtor.com- HomeGain- Homes.com- Trulia.com- Craigslist.com- Web Ads on other sites- LuxuryRealEstate.com- Move.com- Yahoo.com- Local Newspaper Ads (Online)- PostYourListings.com
Email Newsletters: Are sending a regular, informative email newsletter to a relevant audience in effort to attractvisitors to your website? Do you have a Email Drip Campaign in place?
Web Network: How strong is your local web network? - Are you registered with local Chamber of Commerce?- Do you donate to local causes and obtain web publicity and links back to your website?- Are you networking within your community to create a buzz about your website?- Have you offered to write a blog or column for your local newspaper?- Do you have a compelling reason for anyone to visit your website?
Off-Line Marketing: What are you doing off-line to drive traffic to your website? - How are you advertising your website off-line? - Is your website set as the default home page for the internet use of everyone in your office?- Do you send out postcards driving traffic to your website?- Are you running off-line ads? Newspapers? Billboards? Flyers?
- Who is accessing the website day-to-day? How can you increase the activity of your website?
Social Networking:

- Are you blogging regularly? (The more you blog, the higher your rankings) - Are you engaging in online communication with others in your field?

LINKS & CONTENT

Right now your website needs inbound links and content. That’s our goal and we’re going about it as fast as we can, but it mighttake us a while to reach our goal. The more you help us by implementing the above, the faster you will achieve results.

More to come...

How to Help Us Get Your Website to the Top

2008-01-29T09:42:00.000-08:00

Many of my clients are anxious to achieve top rankings and always interested in ways they can help us reach our goals of page #1 on Google and Yahoo. You can do much to help us optimize your website achieve top rankings, such as:

Blogging everyday (See What to Blog About)
Advertising on other websites such as local newspaper sites, Realtor.com, etc...
Paying for submissions to higher-priced directories such as BBB Online ($800) and Yahoo Directory ($299)
Becoming a member of your local Chamber of Commerce which gets you a link back.
Donating money to a local cause, when it will get your name and website address on a local website.
Writing news articles that get you a link back.
Sending Email Newsletters.
Optimizing your Lead Engine for sending auto email newsletters.
Sending direct mail campaigns.
Anything that increases your site's traffic / visitors, will increase your rankings.
Putting your Web Address on all marketing materials.
Making your website URL the default page on everyone's computer in your office.
Networking with owners of other sites to include ads / banners from their site to yours.
Sponsoring anything local to get a link back to your site.
Write articles about your local real estate market and submit them to article submission sites with a proper anchor text bio.
Create a marketing campaign or free offer that gets people to come onto your website.
Increase the stickiness of your site by continuously adding content.
Making sure your site is current, updated and correct.
Adding fresh content and photos as often as possible.
Market your blog by submitting to Blog Directories.
Make sure your blog is syndicated by sending to ping sites.
Submit all your listings to a listing submission service (more info later).

What to Blog About

2007-12-28T19:56:00.000-08:00

Blogging is an important part of marketing yourself and your real estate practice online. Once you get started, it's impossible to stop. It is very fun for most of us, and I'm betting you enjoy it too since you're reading this now. So, here's a list of things to blog about I'm compiling for my readers.

Current events in the city
Current real estate market
Real estate trends
Area suburbs as a group
Area suburbs one-by-one
Holiday events and attractions
Theater and cultural events
Your opinions about elections, votes, events
Major events
Weather
Recipe for regional cuisine
Reiterate an article of local interest
Local sports teams
Parks
Listings
Typical house
Cost of living tidbits (gas price, gallon of milk, auto ins.)
Local attractions
Home sales - If you can obtain a list
Police Blotter - If you can obtain a list
Area commercial developments
Local elections & votes
School district news
Individual School news
Teacher of the Year
Awards of the City in Money Mag, etc...
Park Improvements
Road Improvements
New retail outlets & shopping
New Construction
Neighborhood Crime Watch
Home Owners Associations
Streets, Traffic & Traffic Lights
Road construction
Notable residents
City History
Local weather
Golf tournaments
Upcoming Developments
Environmental Affairs - Green causes
Gyms, atheletics, marathons
List fire stations
Dog Parks, Events & Contests
Police department News
Local utilities
Local Book Clubs
Local airport(s)
Transportation
Hotels in the area
List of restaurants
Restaurant Review
Opinion article about city issue (editorial)
Why is your city great?
Neighborhood parties & concerns
Water quality
Trash pick-up data
New Home Builders
Custom Home Builders
Map of the area
Fun things to do

The Marketing Shop.com Active Rain Blogs

2007-12-28T19:39:00.000-08:00

Check out our client blogs on Active Rain!

Long Beach Real Estate - Shannon Jones, Shannon Jones Team
Breckenridge Colorado Homes - Jason Long, The Long Group
Chino Hills Homes for Sale California - Tricia Parido
Dallas Real Estate Agents - Keith Dobbs, Re/Max Dallas Suburbs
Arlington Texas Homes & Foreclosures - Margarita Leslie
Southlake Real Estate - Judy M. Brooks
Arlington TX Real Estate - Will & Deanna DeBose
Plano Homes of North Dallas - Brenda Mancil
McKinney TX Real Estate - Trey Teichelman
Frisco TX Homes - Dale Corbett, Century 21 Frisco
Colorado Springs Real Estate, Shawn Jardine, eSalehomes
Richland Chambers Lake Homes - Stuart Smith, Harper Smith Team
Salt Lake City Real Estate - Jen & Hannah
Real Estate Websites - Jenna Ryan, The Marketing Shop.com
Fort Worth Homes - Sharon Mays, Mays Realty
Preston Hollow Real Estate - Bernice Edelman
Houston TX Sienna Plantation - Team Riddle

Real Estate Websites by The Marketing Shop.com

Benefits of Active Rain

2007-12-28T19:21:00.000-08:00

Active Rain is a social networking platform for Realtors that is extremely valuable for your website's optimization. A later article will discuss what to do once you get started, but for now, let's just consider the benefits of Blogging in general.

SEO Benefits of Active Rain Usage

If you blog regularly about topics relevant to your website's geo-target area, you will boost your website's rankings.
If you create links on your blogs that go back to your own website, you will boost your website's rankings.
If you use keyword anchor text in your links (see below), you will boost your website's rankings.
Blog articles are webpages that will show up in search results themselves, thus serving as a web lead generation tool.

JOIN ACTIVE RAIN NOW!!!

Here is my Real Estate Blog on Active Rain.

Should I register multiple domain names?

2007-06-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

It is not beneficial to register more than one domain name. The only way it may help you is if you already have the domains listed on existing marketing collateral. It does not help one bit to have more than one domain name pointing to your website, in fact, Google considers it spam and could give you penalties.

Lead Email Reliability

2007-05-30T10:55:00.001-07:00

"Some of my leads did not make it to my email inbox."

This is because the email system itself is highly unreliable. The email was sent, but did not make it to your inbox for some reason. There are many things that can happen to an email message in route. Sometimes your own ISP will delete emails coming your way if they suspect it may be spam. Other times, an email will land in your Junk Mail file without your knowledge.

Our recommendation when it comes to leads is never to rely on your email inbox alone. Always check your Lead Databases to recover leads that you may have missed via email.

To access your leads in the Lead Engine, login to your control panel and go to the Lead Button. http://www.themarketingshop.com/clients.

Link Exchanges Are No Good

2007-04-07T13:00:00.000-07:00

If you get an email from another agent or webmaster requesting a LINK EXCHANGE, please just disregard it. We are no longer exchanging links because it is something Google frowns upon. Google wants to see links coming to your site naturally, and has stopped considering reciprocal links when ranking websites.

Anytime the masses find out "tricks," Google changes its algorithm to prevent sites from being ranked unnaturally. Any benefit proffered by link exchanges is not worth the time they take to do. Our strategy is to build content so good that people start linking to your site naturally.

The emails you get requesting links are dwindling as people find out they are not worth anything. Plus, most of them are just mass-emails. You can either let the person know we don't do exchanges or you can ignore the email altogether.

iHomefinder - Adding Supplemental Listings

2007-04-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

If you choose to upload additional photos to your Featured Listings in your iHomefinder account, you need to size them correctly to achieve optimal results.

Photos larger than (350x240) will not show up correctly and/or may cause scrolling on the page. Resize your photos for the right effect on your site.

Will My Website Ever Get Leads???

2007-04-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

If your site is not getting leads, it can be due to a number of reasons. It could be a technical error on our part, or more often--it's just due to the natural time it takes to achieve top rankings. Sometimes, your lack of leads is your own fault. Like anything else, "you get out of it what you put into it."

Here's a few reasons your site may not be getting the results you expect:

New sites in competitive areas may be subject to Google Sandbox.
Google updates only once per month.
Your competitors hold the rankings you're trying to achieve and it takes time to beat them.
Your site could need tweaking to uniquely drive traffic and court leads.
Your site may require additional marketing in the form of Pay-Per-Click to be successful.
You may need to increase your involvement with the SEO of your site by blogging, reviewing your statistics and checking the accuracy of the content.
The real estate market may be dry in your area (no leads if no one is looking)
Your site's geo-targets may be too broad.
During development, you could have chosen not to allow us to fully optimize your site, thus delaying your site's success.
Your site may need more relevant content to make it the best for the search performed.
You may need to buy links to climb higher.
You may need to up-your Monthly SEO Program.
You may be making so many general content updates and maintenance requests that all your points are not allocated for SEO work.
Basic Websites with less content naturally take longer to achieve top rankings than do Premium sites.
You may need to invest in one of our SEO Bundles to keep up with the competitors in your area.
You may have requested alterations to the layout and content that are not optimal for generating leads.
Your website may need a better or more updated photo of you.
Your website may need attention to make it more personable.
Your website may need more photos of your area.
Your corporate colors may turn people off.
You may need a professional logo.
Your lead form may need testing.
You may need to check your iHomefinder & Lead Engine (you never know... maybe there are leads in there!!!)
Your phone number may be wrong on your website. Please check it.
Your leads may not be reaching you because your Lead Email needs to be updated.

Your website should definitely be successful eventually, however, it's important to understand that organic search engine optimization takes time and patience. Beyond that, it may take you getting involved in the SEO process and increasing your monthly SEO budget.

Building your website to the point where it produces leads can be long and expensive, but take it from our clients who get new leads and business almost daily--Getting to the top of Google is worth every minute and every dime. "No Pain, No Gain."

Our goal is to help you generate business from your website. Let us know what we can do to help. support@themarketingshop.com.

Adding SEO Content to Your Website

2007-04-06T17:08:00.000-07:00

Please note that we charge $299 to add new SEO pages to your website. Each SEO Page is researched and written for search engine optimization and contains 250 words.

Adding Content to Existing Pages
If you want to add content to an existing page, please send us the exact wording you want included on the page and we'll work that in as part of your monthly SEO Maintenance. There will be at least a 1 point deduction for adding client-provided content.

Webmail Access

2007-04-06T16:59:00.000-07:00

Access your email anywhere in the world using webmail access.

All you need to login to your WEBMAIL account is your email address and email password.

http://webmail.themarketingshop.com/horde/imp/login.php

If you do not know your email password, you will need to reset it in your Hosting Control Panel.

Client Spotlight - Judy M. Brooks

2007-04-06T16:43:00.000-07:00

Judy Brooks has been with The Marketing Shop.com for nine months. From the beginning, her site has been a huge success. She recently sold her first home that came from a lead on her website, looks like there's lots more where that came from!

Wednesday Judy called and said, "I just want you to know...I get compliments from my site all the time. People tell me how easy it is to use... I get clients almost every day from my site."

Wow! This is so good to hear. We work very hard to hear this from you all. Nothing makes us more proud than to see you be successful with sites that we build for you. It isn't always a fast process to getting exposure on the web, but once your site starts getting etched into the rankings, it's all downhill from there--as Judy M. Brooks proves.

Southlake, Grapevine & Colleyville Homes

Blogging Dos & Don'ts for SEO

2007-04-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

Now that you're blogging, you probably have more questions--including what to blog about. My answer to this is ANYTHING RELATIVE TO THE TOPIC OF YOUR WEBSITE. In your case, your topic is real estate, so you want to write about real estate in your area. Here's a few tips to get you going.

BLOGGING DOS

DO write about real estate in your area.
DO use real estate related keywords when appropriate.
DO use keywords related to your area (City, State, Abbreviations)
DO write about real estate related topics.
DO cite sources of information.
DO provide links pointing to valuable resources off your blog.
DO write short snippets or thoughts if that's all you have time for.
DO use keywords in your titles whenever possible.
DO use spellcheck.
DO try to provide original information in your own unique way.
DO insert photos if you know how.
DO take photos of your area if possible.
DO use personal pronouns to keep things light and casual.
DO talk to the person one-on-one rather than to a group.
DO discuss items on your website
DO link to pages on your website, such as your MLS Search

BLOGGING DON'TS

DON'T write about your personal life.
DON'T forget to stay on topic.
DON'T over-use keywords (spam).
DON'T ramble.
DON'T plagiarize by copying your competitors.
DON'T forget to save often.
DON'T get caught up in perfection--just get it done!
DON'T worry about people seeing your blog--chances are it will be a while.
DON'T forget to link to your own website using the hyperlink button.
DON'T use long sentences--short ones work best.

Read Jakob Nielsen's opinion of 10 Blogging Mistakes.

Blogging: Does It Help My Rankings?

2007-04-06T16:02:00.000-07:00

We have gotten several inquiries this past month regarding blogging. The answer is, yes--blogging will help the search engine optimization of your website. Even though we are constantly updating blogs connected to your website, we welcome all the help we can get. The more blog content you create, the better your website will fare in the search engine rankings.

How Blogging Works
Blogging is the fastest and quickest way possible to get content up on the web. Unlike a website, which requires technical skills to manuever, blogs are so easy-to-create, even an newbie can do it. If you know how to send email, you can be blogging in minutes. It really is that easy.

Blogs are a web medium that separate content from the layout so you don't need to know how to arrange html to post a blog on the web. Free blogging software such as Blogger.com offer easy set-up. Of course, there are fancier ways to blog for advanced bloggers such as WordPress, that require programmer set-up--not recommended for beginning bloggers.

Posting to your blog is both fun and familiar. You simply add write into a text editor similar to what you write emails in--think Microsoft Word. Press "Publish" and viola! Your thoughts are on display for the world to see. Who knew?

The blogging system will track the headings, the titles, the dates and everything. It's a great way to organize your thoughts and communicate to your clients, target market, prospects and competitors.

Why Does Blogging Help My Rankings?
Blogging helps your current website's rankings by infiltrating the web with fresh content and links that relate to your existing content. Google goes ga-ga for good content, especially when it's updated on a regular basis; and unique; and related to a particular topic. There's really no better way to get Google's attention than to supply a steady stream of easy-to-publish content by blogging.

How to Set-Up A Blog

Set up your free blog by...

Go to http://www.blogger.com/.
Create an Account
Think of a Unique Blog Name
Start Typing

What is the RSS Subscribe Feed for?

2007-04-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed that starting in March we have been adding RSS Subscribe options to your website. The RSS Feed subscribe is a search engine optimization technique we are testing as well as a way for people to subscribe to your website. We will be working on perfecting the feeds over the next few months, as well as adding them to sites that don't have them as a part of the Monthly SEO Plans.

iHomefinder MLS Feed

2007-04-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Most TMS websites rely on the iHomefinder MLS System because we've found it to integrate seamlessly with our existing website layouts. This MLS System is only available in approved areas. It is up to your local real estate board to determine if iHomefinder can supply your MLS Feed. We cannot run iHomefinder in the following locations:

- Houston Association of Realtors - HAR

- Salt Lake City Association of Realtors

- Fort Hood, Killeen & Copperas Cove Texas Association of Realtors

TMS Real Estate Network

2007-04-06T14:51:00.000-07:00

The TMS Real Estate Network is a powerful network of websites with pages built by The Marketing Shop.com. When you start your Monthly SEO Plan, your site is hooked up within our network and all new web pages are linked to you. Due to the number of websites we're currently creating, we're in the process of working on an alternative network system. Until then, having these links on your site means that each page we build will link to your site. In other words, this network will boost your rankings...

How to Check Leads in Lead Engine

2007-04-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

You should make it a habit to check the leads coming into your website regularly, even though the leads are set to be sent to you by email. This is important because sometimes the email may be deleted before it hits your inbox by your ISP, or by your own Outlook program. It never hurts to double check your leads--just in case.

To Get to the Lead Engine, follow these steps:

1) In the upper right hand corner of your site, you will see an Admin link – click on it
2) Then click on Lead Engine
3) Login with

a. User Name
b. Password

4) Go to Manage Leads

Email is not always perfect. We recommend you regularly log into the lead engine to verify your leads.

Adding SEO Pages to Your Website

2007-04-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in generating leads in a specific target area not covered by your current website, you may consider ordering an additional web page or section to cover the area. As you know, the more information you have on your site about a particular area or topic, the more leads you are bound to generate as the content is soaked up into the search engine results.

If you would like to order an additional page or section for your website, contact us today at SUPPORT at TheMarketingShop.com for a quote.

MLS Listings on Your Website

2007-01-10T11:14:00.000-08:00

New listings will not show up on your website immediately or automatically. It can take days for the data to be transferred to iHomefinder from your local real estate board. Please alert your clients of the delay between the listing of their property in the MLS and the property's visibility on your website. It's a good idea to let them know that just because your clients cannot see their homes on your website, doesn't mean that their homes are not listed in the MLS.

Why is there a delay in Listings Showing on your website?

The delay between uploading your listings to the MLS and the listing showing on your website can be due to one or all of these factors:

1. The unreliability of current technological means of transferring web data (ftp);
2. Problems with the dataflow coming from your MLS Board;
3. Technical problems with receipt of your data to iHomefinder;
4. Lack of a feed for specific property types;

For these reasons, we like to give at least a week between the time the listing is included in the MLS and the property showing up on your website. As technology improves, perhaps this time will shorten. As of today, the technology for transferring large quantities of image files to the web is just not robust enough to guarantee real-time immediate property listing visibility.

What if your property listing is not visible on your website?

If your property is not visible on your website and it has been over one week since it has been listed with your MLS board, please create a support ticket at The Marketing Shop or by sending an email to support@themarketingshop.com. When you send us your issue, please help us to solve your issue faster with the following tips:

1. Provide MLS Listing #;
2. Provide date property was listed;
3. Provide details of what's not showing up (ie: there were 5 photos, but only 2 are showing up)
4. Give us at least 3 days to research the problem and come up with a solution.

This will help us to resolve your MLS issue more quickly and efficiently. We appreciate your assistance.

Not sure if you have iHomefinder?

If you do not have iHomefinder, it may be because your board does not allow listings to be shown on the web. If you're not sure about whether you have iHomefinder, please contact us at support@themarketingshop.com.

Welcome to The Marketing Shop!

2006-06-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Marketing Shop Clients,

This blog is for all The Marketing Shop clients. Here you will be able to find instruction and tips on how to better use our features, such as the Home Showcase and Meet the Team.

If you have any questions at all, contact us at support@themarketingshop.com.

Jenna Ryan

The Marketing Shop.com