Princeton Real Estate
Get a Clue: What Do People Remember About Your Site?
By FREDERIC LARDINOIS of ReadWriteWeb
You’ve invested good money in your web design, but do you know what your customers actually remember about your site? <a href=”http://clueapp.com“>Clue</a>, a new tool from Bay Area interaction design and design strategy firm lets you create a 5-second interactive memory test that you can use to test what people remember about your product. The tool is available for free and you don’t even have to log in to use it.
Of all Google’s free tools, Google Keywords might be the most useful for real estate agents looking for more website traffic. I allows you to see what your customers and potential customers are searching for on the internet. For example:
Over 60,000 searches were conducted last month for the search term ‘princeton homes for sale’! An incredible number.
So in a sense, Google keywords give you real time information as to what the customer wants and allows you to adjust your online marketing to intersect with those customers. Here are a few steps to follow:
1. Open up Google Keywords and type in a word or phrase – “Montgomery Homes for Sale,” for example. You can place in whichever town or section of town that you want to research. Another good thought is to search a specific neighborhood, such as “Canal Point NJ.” You will be surprised by how many people are searching at a very micro level.
2. Several lists will appear that offer you details on the number of searches that took place on Google for those specific keywords. You can sort results by clicking on any of the top words that appear in blue.
3. As you look down the list you will find various terms that have a less competition than the one you typed in. You will want to focus in on these keywords.
4. Once you have decided on a keyword string that you want to research simply click on it and it will take you right to Google search results and allow you to see the websites that you are appearing with.
“Montgomery Homes for Sale ” faces some stiff competition from the likes of realtor.com and zillow.com, but scrolling down the list, it’s clear that if we focused in on more local keywords – “Cherry Valley Homes, Montgomery,” for example, we’d have a much better chance of getting noticed.
If you have questions as to how you can use the free information at Google to build your online strategy, drop me a note and I will help you: jwilton@weichertrealtors.net
Many of us (me included) have fl0cked to Facebook Business Pages as part of our marketing routine. There are a lot of advantages in having one…they are free, inexpensive to advertise on Facebook, and serve as a website of sorts for Realtors that have not been able to invest in one.
The one problem in using a Facebook business page is that you are flying blind once you build it…how many visitors have I had, who is arriving at the the page, how are they finding it and most importantly, what are the looking at once they get there?
Facebook launched its ‘Insights’ Analytics which again is very handy as it is built in and FREE! If you really want to track your marketing efforts on-line Google Analytics is the probably the best (Free) application you can use.
Now there is a way to place Google Analytics right on your Facebook Business Page. Follow these simple steps to get started and start analyzing the effectiveness of your Facebook Realtor Business Page:
1. Setup Google Analytics account.(you can go to Google and search ‘set up google analytics account’) If you already have one, create a new website profile. You can name it facebook.com or facebook.com/your_page_name. You will finally get your tracking code which looks like this UA-3123123-2
2. Follow the simple instructions on Google (feel free to contact me for help) and it will create HTML code. You need to copy that code.
3. Go to your Facebook business page, click on ‘Edit Page’ (this is located in the upper left of your page right below your photo).
4. Scroll Down to the box titled ‘More Applications’ and click on the ‘Static FBML’ Link (Static FBML)and Install that on your Facebook Business Page.
5. Once you install that on your Facebook Business Page you need to click on the ‘edit page’ button again and scroll down again though this time the FBML will have its own box. In the FBML box, click ‘edit’.
6. In the box that pops up, past the HTML code that you copied from Google earlier and click ‘save.’
Google will do the rest. Remember that it starts tracking from the day you install it on your Facebook page so be patient and get marketing. Drive as much business to your Facebook business page as you can and Google Analytics will help you measure the results.
Happy Tracking!
I did it. I built a website. It is sophisticated, high tech and consumer focused. So why isn’t my phone ringing with oodles of calls from new customers telling me to partner with them on their Real Estate needs? Well, simply because the consumer hasn’t found your site yet and it is up to you to drive them there. Here’s is a couple of ideas for you to consider. The best way to get traffic to your site I will not post here. Want that juicy tidbit, give me a call.
Rethink your marketing and drive everything and everyone to your website. Want my #1 proven way to drive traffic to your site…call me.
If you have any question on setting up your internet strategy please give me a call and I will be happy to help. Office 609-921-1900.
Two major reasons are ‘CONTENT & STRUCTURE.’
Websites with good ‘content & structure’ get ranked higher by Google than those that don’t.
Take a look below at a Realtor website for an example.
What we see….
What Google sees…
Though pleasant to look at this website does not have good content or structure as Google sees very little. As a result this Realtor website will have a tough time appearing on the first page of Google or any of the major search engines.
Curious as to what Google & other search engines see when they go to your website? Do you want a plan to have your website appear #1 at Google?
Call me and I will show you how to use the Internet to take your business to a new level. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
I recently read the following quote, ‘ I am not sure the secret to success, but the secret for failure is trying to please everyone.’
I am sure that I did not do it justice though it sums up what Agents struggle with in their on-line marketing strategies. They don’t want to miss on a potential customer so they try to please every possible demographic on their website. This approach however is completely contrary to how customers search online. If a customer is searching for homes in California they will not put ‘california homes for sale’ into Google. It is too big a search. Customers will search ‘Malibu homes for sale.’ If they are looking for an ocean front home they will surely incorporate the word ‘ocean front or ocean view(s)’ into their search so they pull results that they are looking for.
Per Google there were 450,000 searches for ‘california homes for sale’ in the last 30 days. A Realtor has very little chance of showing up in the top of the search results, as that search pulled up over 14 million websites related to that search that would compete with yours to land on the first page of Google. These means that you have a 1 in 14 million chance of getting on the first page of Google so those consumers find your website.
Per Google when you typed in ‘malibu homes for sale’ there were only 406,000 possible websites that would appear for those search results and more importatly there were 49,500 consumers who typed that exact search into Google in the last 30 days!
Per Google when you type in ‘malibu oceanfront homes for sale’ there were (only) 40,000 websites that appeared and yet there were over 5,000 customers typing that phrase into Google in the last 30 days.
If you wanted to go ultra niche you could focus on ‘solar malibu homes for sale’. There were less than 6500 websites that you would be in competition with!
So ask yourself, does your website have a better chance of appearing on the first page of Google with competition from over 14 million websites or less than 7,000?
If you want more specific strategies on making your web and marketing strategy Hyper Local contact me for an evaluation of your current program. jwilton@weichertrealtors.net
