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May 14, 2008

Number1Expert/Trulia Widget Link Count Correction

by

Real Estate

Author website

Earlier this week, I posted a mock story about Number1Expert rebranding as Number2Expert due to their decision to automatically include Trulia widgets on their template sites, and thus give Trulia over 11k links.

11k-links.JPG

Well, I never claimed to be perfect (only close,) and ummmmm, I screwed up. Number2Expert is actually providing Trulia with 36,400 links.

Let me explain…

I first checked the total # of links to Trulia from N2E sites. Because N2E currently tags every site w/ the text “Number1Expert” at the top of each page, it was pretty easy to find. I ran this link analysis.

But jogging through some of the link pages, I realized that many of the webmasters linking out were doing so on their own. Sites like this guy were putting the widgets on their home page, and I’m only concerned about the links that N2E is placing on the sites through corporate policy.

So this meant that we needed to find the template pages where N2E is automatically placing the widgets. N2E uses the same page naming structure on all of their templates, so again, it wasn’t that difficult. We already knew they place the widgets on all of the “myhomes.asp” pages, and are providing them 11,200 links on these. I dugg a little more, and found a TON of dynamically generated pages that all have “myhomedtl” in the URL.

I ran this link analysis, and found an additional 25,200 links coming from N2E sites. Add that to the 11,200 links coming from the myhomes.asp pages, and we’re at a total of 36,400 links that are automatically placed on Number2Expert sites.

To put it in perspective, BloodhoundRealty.com has a total of 48,600 incoming links. Activerain has a total of 13,500 incoming links.

Trulia has a total of 164k backlinks. Number2Expert sites make up over 22% of their link profile.

Do you guys think this might be partially responsible for Trulia’s rankings?

Here’s a basic resource on how to check backlinks using yahoo.

More in the blogosphere:

May 14, 2008

Success is Knowing Who Your Friend Is

by

Real Estate Renaissance Man

Author website

Back on Monday, Jeff Brown wrote a post explaining in no uncertain terms why some real estate agents are failing.  If you have not read that post yet you need to take a long look in the mirror, get your priorities straight, stop reading this post and go back to Jeff’s.  Once you are done reading take another long look in the mirror and come on back.  Yesterday Brian Brady wrote a post with no less than sixteen links on marketing as religion.  If you are going to reference religion in marketing you had better use a minimum of ten links, so Brian is safe.  If you have not read his post: Marketing is Religion you need to take a knee for a moment, get your priorities straight, stop reading this post and go back to Brian’s.  Once you are done reading take a knee again, meditate or pray about your philosophy of marketing, then come on back.  Go ahead, I will wait right here…

My two cents’ worth on creating leads has more of an athletic angle; if you don’t know me you might find this interesting. (If you do know me you are probably quite sick of the ‘sport as life’ analogy, to which I say: tough!)  Two years ago I began racing Ironman triathlons (I use the term racing lightly here).  If you are not sure what an Ironman entails, I will be glad to tell you.  You start your day by jumping in the water with a little over two thousand other competitors for a quick 2.4 mile swim.  This warms you up sufficiently for the 112 mile bike ride that follows and we cap the whole thing off by running a marathon.  The cut off time for finishing is 17 hours and believe me, that doesn’t sound like much as the day progresses.  So besides bragging, you ask, what does sharing this have to do with marketing for leads in real estate and mortgages?  Plenty.

By the time I start the marathon portion of an Ironman, I am not alone.  I have a little buddy that shows up occasionally and runs along with Read more

May 13, 2008

Marketing Is Religion

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

“He’s Catholic but he’s awfully nice” was a comment you might have heard, in the 50’s. Now, I picked Catholicism but I could have picked Judaism, Evangelical Christianity, Islam… whatever. I’m using this as an example of how high the passions run when talk about a belief system. People are awfully defensive of their “mind-turf” and can be inflexible when it comes to considering a different school of thought.

Consider the RE.net. Do you like oranges or tomatoes? Did you cheer for Brady or Luther? Push versus pull? Will you call a lead a “lead”? It’s all seems stoopid yet it is ALL extremely important. Marketing is the new religion and sometimes our discussions escalate to the level of jihad.

…and that’s really okay. We’ll all get through it. Jew or Christian, push or pull, we’ll all achieve nirvana if we open our ears and listen…and be bold enough to act upon what we learn from each other.

I am a Real Estate Radio USA junkie. The Barrys are natural interviewers with just the right blend of doubt and enthusiasm. They are snaring some tremendous guests. Today, they interviewed Craig Proctor.

The Cliff Notes of what Craig Proctor said were:

1- Marketing trumps prospecting. AMEN

2- Marketing should be automated. Done properly, marketing automation allows us to spend 70% of our time doing our job rather than chasing business- AMEN

3- Direct response advertising trumps image advertising. AMEN, Brother.

4- Blogging is good to the extent that it produces leads and not to the extent that it (and I quote) “entertains or educates”. OUCH! Kinda stings, doesn’t it?

5- Marketing should produce so many leads that you should be able to pick and choose your clients. In fact, the most important thing in your real estate or mortgage brokerage practice IS lead generation. (We’ve heard that before). That is not to say that you should spend all your time on it but you must be OBSESSED with lead generation so that you CAN do Read more

May 13, 2008

To Z or Not To Z?

by

CEO, PA Association of Realtors

Author website

That is the question. 

Whether ‘tis noble in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by not opposing them?  To die:to sleep;

No more; and by a sleep to say we end. 

I started this post with what I thought was a cute title, but then I looked at the actual Shakespeare soliloquy and saw that it was quite appropriate to this post.  The “Z” in the title is for Zillow – the latest in a long list of challengers to Realtor.com for supremacy in Internet traffic for real estate eyeballs.  There are other relatively new sites – Trulia, etc. – but Zillow seems to have captured the imagination of both the public and REALTORS®.  Maybe it’s the cute name or the even cuter play on words with “Zestimates,” but the one site everyone seems to remember is Zillow.  It has almost become a cliché term for Internet listing aggregators.  Not bad for a site that has only been around for a year and a half.

But this post is not about Zillow; rather I wanted to explore the question of whether it make sense for local MLS systems to send their listing data to Zillow (or any other aggregator).  A recent New York Times article provides a good framework of the discussion, but leaves out most of the “slings and arrows” that need to be considered before we willy nilly send MLS data to any site that wants it.  Before you draw any conclusions as to my opinion on sending listing data to Zillow, let me say I could argue either “To Z, or Not To Z.”  This post will focus a bit more on the slings and arrows, but Times article does a good job of making the other side of the argument.  Frankly, I am undecided on this question and I encourage you to approach this discussion with an open mind.

We recently had this discussion in the Technology Group of the Charlottesville Area Association of REALTORS® (CAAR).  There were strong opinions stated on both sides of the debate.  Advocates Read more

May 13, 2008

One-hand solid-state video cameras like the Flip are a fantastic resource for both real estate documentation and video podcasting

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

I’m completely sold on the Flip camera. Unchained bought a second one for Brian the other day. We’ll use both of them at the conference, then each of us will take one home. We’re going to buy another one out of our own money for Cathleen. I wrote my Republic column for next week about all the real estate marketing uses I’m coming up with for this little video camera.

Why am I so sweet on the Flip?

  • It’s second only to my digital still camera as an on-hand resource for recording and communicating real estate ideas
  • It fits on my hip — just like my still camera — and that’s where it rides
  • Because it’s so easy to carry and so easy to use, there is no aversion or impediment to using it
  • It’s eminently useful for documenting traffic conditions around a house — or weather, as I did earlier today
  • It’s simply excellent for doing interviews, whether those are testimonials, vendor reports for clients or video podcasts

The video shared below is a brief summary by Mike Elsberry, my all time favorite home inspector, documenting the repair issues in the home we looked at today. The buyers are out-of-state, but they get to see Mike’s face, hear the confidence and expertise in his voice and judge his level of concern with the issues he raises. This simply rocks, a completely different way of dealing with a remote-control inspection.

I want for Brain and I to both have Flip cameras with us all the time because of the ease of making video podcasts. Whenever we find ourselves talking to anyone with something interesting to say, we can turn the conversation into a podcast, a permanent addition to our library of Black Pearls.

Until now I have shouted down real estate video with my volume knob set to eleven. I still feel the same way about what I call the Lurch video, the painfully boring home tour with swooping and jerking camera movement and a voiceover narration punctuated by way… too… much… punctuation… Cathy shot an interview on Sunday with the seller of our listing on Lookout Mountain in Phoenix, Read more

May 13, 2008

When the weather in Phoenix is bad…

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

…it’s really bad…

That’s what I woke up to this morning. Windy, cold and spitting rain. I had a home inspection in the nearby foothills and I had to sit through a brief brown-out — a cloud of dust so thick I couldn’t see to drive. The Russian Thistle were on the march — that’s Tumbleweed to you. In all, a brisk and challenging morning.

Is that what you can expect for BloodhoundBlog Unchained, if you’re coming to town this weekend? Not hardly. Sunny and not too terribly hot — for the Phoenix natives. Bring your swim suit. Should be clear and dry — what I think of as Chamber of Commerce weather. The conditions you’ll see this weekend have been selling homes by the dozens in this Valley since 1948.

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May 13, 2008

An Example Of Contrarian Marketing As It Relates To Real Estate

by

Real Estate Broadcaster and Investor

Author website

[With this post, Barry Cunningham will be taking his leave from BloodhoundBlog. Between Real Estate Radio USA and his burgeoning real estate business, Barry feels a need to regroup and redeploy his time. We’ll miss him here, but we’ll always be able to see him on the radio. –GSS]

Real Estate Radio USA | Contrarian Marketing

I wrote an article Sunday that some misunderstood and thought was only based upon shock and awe. A campaign of that nature is merely one of a myriad of ways to be contrarian. Simply put, implementing a marketing campaign of this sort would be defined as that which is contrary to conventional wisdom and normal business practices.

Subsequent to that article I received a ton of emails from real estate agents asking how such a campaign could be implemented and how it could be executed WITHOUT being shocking or offensive.

My reply is that what is shocking and offensive to one, may not be shocking and offensive to another. It all depends upon the niche you are marketing to.

I interviewed Mr. Internet, Michael Russer recently and he told us about a few Realtors that were really doing some neat things in their marketing and their focus.

Jackie Youngblood is a Realtor in Pasco County, Florida that markets to nudists. Yes, her market is people who want to walk around naked and be around others that want to be naked as well.

Obviously, Jackie markets to a specific clientele. Being a nudist is not for everyone.Is her marketing contrarian? I don’t recall seeing many other Realtors marketing their services while being nude in a hot tub with 5 or 6 other nude people. So I’d have to say yes, this is very much contrarian.

Is it shocking or offensive? That would wholly depend upon the person visiting her website, receiving her marketing materials or viewing the properties that she represents. If it is shocking and or offensive then you are most assuredly not the client she is seeking to reach.

Does it make it wrong? Absolutely not! She has found her market. She is a nudist herself, and she is selling homes. More power to her!

Linda Jefferson, is the broker-owner Read more

May 12, 2008

Using YouTube video cameras to create text plus video landing pages

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

Hunter Jackson of IBlogColumbia.com wrote to me yesterday about the possibility of doing video testimonials with the RCA Small Wonder, a CMOS-based video camera like the Flip Camera we discussed a few days ago. Like the Flip, the Small Wonder has a built-in USB connector, and it also uses AA batteries for maximum uptime. Some users have had complaints about video quality, especially in low light, but a very cool feature of the Small Wonder is its ability to use 2 GB SD cards for storage. Each card holds up to four hours of video, so you can either just keep shooting, or you can record onto one card while you’re uploading your videos on another.

The cost? Ninety bucks at Amazon.com.

Here is Hunter’s first chapter of a video diary of a home-buyer’s journey through the escrow process:

This works as a blog post, or as a series of posts, but the video can also be blended together with interstitial text to create something like the Realty Reality posts I used to do, but with video instead of photos for the illustrations.

I’m short on time to play with this, but I think this may be a very effective way to integrate video into real estate web sites: Text plus video landing pages.

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May 12, 2008

UNCHAINED PodCatcher: May 12, 2008

by

Commercial Real Estate Finance Expert
Structured Debt and Equity
Licensed Real Estate Broker in AL, CA, and FL

Author website

I’m going to start offering a little update on BloodhoundBlog. I’ve been spending a bunch of time listening to podcasts about social media marketing, to prepare for UNCHAINED. I thought I’d start sharing a few of them with you. Here is what I listened to, last week:

Real Estate Radio USA did two great interviews :

Laura “@Pistachio” Fitton discussed how to use social media in your business. Laura is the foremost authority on Twitter and goes by the handle @Pistachio. This is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED if you’re attending UNCHAINED.

Travis Greenlee owns a solo practitioner marketing business. His social media marketing tips are a must for the folks who work out of their home (sound like you?).

MediaBlather gives us “How to Promote Your Blog” (Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers hosts this weblog with David Strom). They also hosted @Pistachio in a topical interview about Twitter

Download, strap on the headphones, and jump on the treadmill. These will keep you busy for about 2 hours.

May 12, 2008

#1 Myth In Real Estate: Agents Don’t Know Why They’re Failing

by

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

BHB is about excellence. Excellence in service, products we need and/or use, various marketing methods, and how we conduct ourselves during what I’ll laughingly refer to as ‘business hours’. I’ve suspected Greg’s goal of reaching the million agents is gonna be a tall order, ‘cuz 80% of the agents out there would have to move up the ‘I get it’ ladder to have a clue. More simply put, they don’t come here, and probably never will. That said, I also believe there is a relatively large grouping of agents who’ve not learned yet what it takes to become a consistently successful high volume producer. They do business, but realize they could, and should be doing much more.

High volume? Look, you don’t have to close 100 escrows, ok? But an agent who wants to, can make six figures, $100-250,000 or more in nearly any market. This morning I discovered Russ also addressed this topic, but in his own way.

Agents just don’t know what they should be doing with their time.

Or so they would have you believe.

Let’s conduct a short experiment. Think of any past endeavor for which you had more than a passing interest in succeeding. Let’s take a simple one with which most of us can identify — losing weight and/or improving our overall health. How’d ya do?

If you were successful, it’s my guess you know why. Duh. Can’t we then infer if you had failed, 99% of folks would also know exactly why? Am I being too subtle here? When I was the ‘Chubby Little Blonde Guy’ (That oughta date it for you.) I knew exactly what road I’d used to arrive at Chubsville. No self discipline when it came to diet and exercise. Go ahead, write down that Black Pearl. I’ll wait for you.

It takes an IQ of at least 150-180 minimum to understand the dynamics of calories in vs. calories out, plus the added factor of consistent exercise, both aerobic, and anaerobic. Get the right math goin’ for 120 days or so, and pretty soon you’re shoppin’ for clothes that aren’t X-rated. I Read more

May 12, 2008

Are you an investor looking for a rental home that will stay rented? Buy a home that’s worth living in

by

Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

Author website

This is my column for this week from the Arizona Republic (permanent link). I wrote this last Tuesday, but it coincides nicely with Barry’s post this morning.

 
Are you an investor looking for a rental home that will stay rented? Buy a home that’s worth living in

I represented tenants for my first two years as a real estate licensee. Working with tenants didn’t pay very well, but it was a good way to get a lot of real estate experience very fast. Gradually I started working with home buyers, and then with home sellers. By now, I only work with tenants as a courtesy. It still doesn’t pay very well.

But in those two years, I saw an awful lot of rental homes. Or, more precisely, a lot of awful rental homes. Again and again, I would find myself wondering why anyone would think a particular house would be appealing to tenants. Not just the condition of the property, often atrocious, but simply the location itself. It’s astounding to me how many vacant rentals are situated nowhere near where tenants might want to live.

In the years since then, I’ve represented a huge number of investors. Market conditions haven’t been kind to them lately, but Phoenix is once again a market ripe for landlords. Prices are low and cash flows are positive. If landlords buy the right properties to use as rentals, the homes should rent quickly and stay rented.

So which homes will work best as rentals?

I’m looking for a home in a built-out suburb. Buckeye is a bargain for owner-occupants, but why would tenants move to a town with no employment base? What I want are jobs, schools, shopping and entertainment, all nearby, with decent freeway and bus access. I want a north-facing home; tenants read their power bills, too.

Am I looking for the cheapest house? No. Price matters, but what matters more is livability. Parents worry about the kids taking a header down the stairs, so I want a single-story home. There has to be at least a little grass in the back yard so toddlers can romp.

Here’s the magic bullet: If Read more

May 12, 2008

How A Realtor Can Work With A Real Estate Investor

by

Real Estate Broadcaster and Investor

Author website

Real Estate Radio USA | Real Estate Investors

It’s no secret to most Realtors that the housing market is in the toilet right now, but there is still a group of aggressive buyers who are still quite active. The Real Estate Investor.

While the mere thought of working with investors causes some Realtors to cringe, it’s time for the vinegar and oil relationship to end.

Investors are willing to work with anyone that can bring them a deal. They use birddogs, postal workers, bankruptcy attorneys, court clerks and yes, they will use the services of a Realtor.

However, the breakdown in communication usually comes when the parameters of a real estate investor are not met. A real estate investor, if they are experienced, will have a very defined set of criteria that must be met if they are going to pull the trigger on a deal.

While condition and neighborhood often are irrelevant, the numbers have to absolutely make sense. Most investors that we work with will not look at any deal unless it either cash flows if it is held or provides for significant return if it is to be re-sold.

Cashflow means the property must provide for at minimum a zero balance after income and expenses are taken into account. That is to say that after the projected rental amount on the property, less expenses can not be a negative number.

Here is a calculator that you can use to determine cash flow BEFORE presenting a deal to an investor. You can obtain market rents very easily without the need of the MLS by simply going to Zilpy. The features on Zilpy are pretty accurate and we have used them to work the numbers on properties we own and properties we have purchased and it has proven to be quite accurate.

On a re-sale deal, the property has to be purchased at a price that is at minimum 60% or belowwhat is perceived to be current market value. Some more aggressive investors will take a deal at 70% below perceived current market value but the pool gets really thin at LTV levels above this number.

Where do you find properties like this to sell Read more

May 12, 2008

The Joker is Your Ace in the Hole

by

Real Estate Renaissance Man

Author website

“Eat your peas.”

“Don’t talk to strangers.”

When we were young, we heard many admonitions.  Being of curious mind, I always had a lot of interests, so one particular admonition I heard repeatedly was: “A jack of all trades is Master of none.”  The implication being that someone with a wide array of interests but no focus will establish mastery over nothing; which is to say: will not find measureable success.  There are, of course, exceptions to every rule.  Ben Franklin is certainly one.  His insights and accomplishments exist across a wide spectrum of intellectual and physical arenas.  Quintessentially, the exception to the rule might be Leonardo Da Vinci.  Alas, they are the exceptions.  As a matter of fact, if you establish mastery over many endeavors a la Da Vinci, we have created a new category for you. You are a Renaissance Man.  The goal of becoming a renaissance man is quite laudable… and beyond comprehension for most of us.

A recent post on BloodhoundBlog asked if agents writing on blogs shouldn’t spend more time writing about real estate.  I certainly do not take issue with that inquiry, nor do I question the purpose of the suggestion.  Real estate blogging can and should benefit those who buy and sell as well as those who represent.  But I do disagree with the premise.  I suggest that somewhere between Jack of all trades, but Master of none and achieving the pinnacle of renaissance man lies a gray zone most do not understand.

Not everything we were taught at a young age is correct.  Wide ranging interests without direct focus does not necessarily lead one to become a Jack of all trades.  As a matter of fact, by measurement of trade I have not participated, as a Jack, in a great many callings.  Yet in my life, outside of a few athletic avenues, I have not gained mastery over many things either; I certainly have yet to become a renaissance man.  So what do we call the strange area where interests are many and masteries are few?  The area in between Jack of all trades and renaissance man?

There Read more

May 12, 2008

Trulia Widgets — a deeper look

by

The Real Estate Group, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake VA

Author website

Why would Eric Bramlett post something like this? Or this? The debate rolls on as to Trulia Widgets and their use as a linkbaiting scheme. They are writing these things because they matter. But it has been said that they don’t matter, that Trulia would still be climbing in the search engines **cough**Google**cough** anyway. So I have undertaken to research a bit more deeply. (Authors Note: In ALL of what I say here, please understand that (on an SEO level), I ADMIRE what Trulia has pulled off here. They have found the soft underbelly and have used it to their advantage. Props to you.)

Here is a very brief overview of my findings: (NOTE: I have more which will continue to come out as time goes on…)

Let’s look at the city of Nashville. And at the term Nashville real estate. Trulia has recently popped up onto the first page (#7 in my datacenter). How did they get there?

The page on Trulia’s site that is #7 on Google is trulia(.)com/TN/nashville/. If you look at Yahoo Site Explorer, you can see that there are 3,800 plus links to Trulia (but all links are not created equal). There are only 108 of those links that are coming to Trulia from outside of Trulia.com. Let’s take a look at two of those links, shall we?

On MOST Trulia widgets there are often three links back to Trulia. Here’s an example. Here’s another. Scroll down on each page to see the Trulia Widgets and find the links. Where do they go? What ANCHOR TEXT do they use?

Typically one links goes to the local site (to compete against the very REALTOR whose site it is on, another link goes to Trulia’s home page and a third goes to their widget page. Hmmm…and if we look at the bottom of the latter two of those pages, where is Trulia pointing all of THAT link love from ALL OVER THE COUNTRY?

nashville2.png

It appears that Trulia is pretty interested in San Fran, San Jose, Phoenix, San Diego..etc etc…Those are some fairly competitive areas, so they funnel some extra strength Read more

May 11, 2008

Put Voicemail Testimonials On Your Blog Or Website: Audio Editing For SalesPeople.

by

Instigator, anthill kicker.

Author website

Social proof.  It’s what people need to do business with you.  They may not say it consciously, but they need it.  One of my (many) websites, at Ten Day Team, I’ve put up some significant testimonials.  Realtors are always afraid that several things will happen:  The lender won’t return his calls, the lender won’t get the job done, there will be endless delays, and they won’t get paid. They had that fear since time immemorial.  I like consumer business, I love agent-referred business.  So I have to use some artillery to soften them up.  What better than a parade of agents and customers affirming that I, Chris Johnson, do a good job?

To prove that I’m an OK guy, I’ve gotten a few people to say good things about me.  I didn’t edit MUCH of the testimonial content, generally limiting myself to shortening pauses and deleting "ums" that were bookended by pauses.  Edits are easy enough to spot, people have acute BS detectors, and an edited testimonial does more harm than good.  Every website I do in the future will have customer testimonials–in this fashion, because it’s so easy. 

The entire process–start to finish–including learning how, took two hours.  Aside: One of the keys to life is to presume that you can quickly figure out how to do something because someone has had the same problem before and has posted about it.   This is posted for WordPress, but I’ve done this stuff on other blogs and sites.  Email me, and I’ll help if I can, and walk you through doing it on a non WordPress site.

Step 1: Get Some Audio.  Here is the letter I sent out to my clients:

Dear {name}

Thanks for the opportunity to serve you.  One of the things that is important to my practice is the ability to continue to win and keep the trust of my clients.  It would honor me a great deal if you could simply leave me a voicemail message at my phone number,614-839-4850 telling me how I helped you.   Read more

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Inventing Real Estate 2.0

Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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