BiggerPockets

Stuffing's for Turkeys, Not Websites!

Friday, January 20

While content is critical to creating an amazing real estate website or blog that internet users will want to visit again and again, there is more work to be had behind the scenes...primarily keywords.  Keywords are the specific words or phrases that internet users type into the search field when looking up information.  Each search engine uses their own algorithm to determine what websites will provide the best information that the searcher is looking for based on these keywords.  When it comes to keywords, though, stuffing's for turkeys, not websites! 

Search engines frown upon the practice of adding thousands of keywords to a website or blog (known as "keyword stuffing").  You can actually be penalized for this.  Instead, it is recommended that you find a few key words or phrases that you want to focus on. 

When narrowing your choices, think of how you typically search for things online.  For example, let's say you heard about a balloon festival in Sonoma and want to know more about it.  You wouldn't just type in "balloons" or even "balloon festival", would you?  That would give you tons of extra websites ranging from party balloons to the annual Albuquerque Balloon Festival, none of which is what you are actually looking for.  You would instead type in something more specific like "Sonoma balloon festival" in your search engine's search field and hit enter.  Then, your search engine would look through all the sites it had in its database to list the best sites for you to visit to find the information you are seeking. 

Most people get as specific as they can when typing in the search field.  Searchers typically look for a specific thing (person, company, event...in this case, "balloon festival") and then a specific location (in this case, "Sonoma").  Instead of focusing on a generic term for your site, such as "real estate", you want to get specific so that you get those people really looking for your services in your particular area.  These terms may be searched less, but they increase the likelihood of a cold prospect turning into a hot lead.

There are several tools available to help you create a list of keywords to focus on your real estate site or blog.  One of my personal favorites is Soovle.com.  Soovle allows you to compare top keyword searches on multiple search engines at one time.  You can choose the search engines you want to compare (anywhere from 7 to 15 at one time).  All you have to do is start typing in the keywords you would like to use and you will instantly see the most searched words/phrases on each search engine.  You don't even have to finish your word before Soovle begins offering suggestions.  This can help you optimize the keywords on your site/blog so you can find your audience and they can find you.

Don't fall for the "if one is good, more is better" way of thinking.  Stuffing's for turkeys, not websites...or blogs.  Keep a few key words or phrases in mind when working on your real estate website or blog and you'll find yourself at the top of the search engines soon enough.  Best of all, potential clients will find their way to you, too.

Pamela Cendejas, Real Estate Virtual Assistant – Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn’t Enough of You to Go Around!

Originally posted on my Real Estate Support blog here: http://real-estate-support.com/2012/01/stuffings-for-turkeys-not-websites/.

Customize Your WordPress Site for FREE!

Friday, January 13

Creating an interesting, interactive website used to cost thousands of dollars a year.  Even if you went the "do-it-yourself" route, you ran the risk of looking like many other real estate sites out there by using the same old limited freebie themes.  However, websites have come a long way, baby.  Most real estate professionals are ditching their old expensive websites for a hosted WordPress site.  They are much more affordable, offer a wide variety of plugins and widgets to completely customize your site, and, most importantly, they are completely user-friendly.  Even computer novices can look like geniuses with WordPress.

Theme Shock is a great program I have found to help my real estate clients create a truly impressive WordPress site.  Through Theme Shock, you can download your own free bundle of WordPress themes to use on your hosted site.  Each free bundle includes your choice of 99 different WordPress themes (you can use 10 different ones at a time for free), 750 free high quality icons and more.  For a fee, you can download the premium Shock Bundle.  This includes 102 Premium WordPress themes, icons for Android and iPhone, credit card icons, social media icons, logo templates and so much more.  The following are just a few examples of Word Press sites using Theme Shock my clients are currently using:

Don't delay.  Stop spending thousands of dollars on your real estate website.  Get Theme Shock now and make a true impression on future clients.  Just let me know if you need any help getting started.

Pamela Cendejas, Real Estate Virtual Assistant – Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn’t Enough of You to Go Around!

Originally posted on my Real Estate Support blog here: http://real-estate-support.com/2012/01/customize-your-wordpress-site-for-free/.

SPAM is a Four Letter Word

Friday, January 06

The internet has become a way of life for most people.  You can go online to do just about anything: shop, socialize, pay your taxes, find real estate clients, look up how long George Jetson's work week was (or is that just me?), etc.  It's very convenient to have the wealth of knowledge you used to have to go to the library to find now available at your fingertips.  The downside of all this convenience, however, is SPAM...the other four letter word that sends shudders up your spine.  It can clog up your inbox and take forever to clear up.  I've found a solution to reduce SPAM as well as managing your own contact list absolutely FREE!  Unsubscribe.com.

Unsubscribe.com is offered as a free download that integrates with most email programs, including Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.  In essence, Unsubscribe.com becomes your SPAM blocker.  All you need to do is click the "Unsubscribe" button next to an email you know is unsolicited and you will never receive emails from that source again.  As you continue to "unsubscribe", the program learns what to identify as SPAM so that future SPAM will never make it into your inbox ever again.

Another neat feature of this free program is the Social Monitor.  With the simple click of a button, Unsubscribe.com is downloaded as an add-on to your toolbar.  Social Monitor helps you find out who is accessing your information on any of your social networking sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.  Remove any connections you may have to applications you don't use, applications you aren't sure you can trust and applications you know to be unsafe.  When you find unsafe applications, quickly and easily let your friends and followers know about them through Unsubscribe.com so that they can protect themselves as well.  With the recent Ramnit worm that infected thousands of Facebook accounts overseas recently, stealing more than 45,000 login credentials from users in the UK and France, you can never be vigilant enough.

Real estate professionals can also use Unsubscribe.com to manage their contacts.  When you download the Safe Send program, an extra button will be installed in your email program.  With Safe Send, an "unsubscribe" link will automatically be added to the bottom of all of your emails.  If someone receives an email from you, all they have to do is click the link and their email will automatically be removed from your contact list so they never receive an email from you again.  That way, YOU don't look like annoying SPAM to your contacts.  All you have to do to activate the Safe Send is to click that button rather than your regular "send" button. 

Unsubscribe.com has several other features, too.  I encourage you to visit their website to see how amazing this program is.  In my vocabulary, SPAM is a four letter word.  Wash out your inbox's mouth with Unsubscribe.com today.  You'll be so happy you did!

Pamela Cendejas, Real Estate Virtual Assistant – Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn’t Enough of You to Go Around!

Originally posted on my Real Estate Support blog here: http://real-estate-support.com/2012/01/spam-is-a-four-letter-word/.

Using YouTube for Real Estate Promotion

Thursday, December 29

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last 20 years, you have heard of, visited, searched and/or shared videos on YouTube.  However, this hugely popular site is more than just videos of piano-playing cats, silly baby laughs and dumb stunts gone wrong.  YouTube has, in fact, become a force to be reckoned with as a promotional device.  Since it is the second most used search engine (right behind Google and a step ahead of Yahoo!), it's time you started thinking about how you can use YouTube in your marketing efforts.

Creating a real estate website or blog used to be the first step in getting noticed on the web.  Adding photos to said sites drew visitors' attention by breaking up a page full of simple text.  Now, video has replaced still images as the site enhancer needed to capture and maintain a potential real estate client's attention.  You should already be creating videos that promote your real estate clients' listings.  They don't have to be big productions.  A simple handheld Flip video camera is all the equipment you need to walk a viewer through the wonderful aspects of a listing, with you as their personal tour guide.  These videos should then be uploaded to your YouTube channel.

The first thing you need to do is create your own YouTube channel.  It's free and simple.  Then, create a few fun videos that showcase your skills, knowledge of the area, places to see, etc. that can be uploaded to your channel.  This will provide people with a reason to want to visit your channel again and again.  Shoot videos of each of your listings to add to your channel that include appropriate tags and a search-friendly description that relate directly to your video.  I would also suggest including the complete address of the property being promoted in the title, at the beginning of the description and in the tags.  In your description, you can also add a link to your website or a direct link to the listing itself.  You can even add annotations (text) within your uploaded video to encourage the viewer to investigate the listing further on your website, creating a better opportunity to convert them into a client.

Get creative with your videos.  After all, the point is to make an impression and keep a viewer's attention for as long as possible.  This doesn't mean spending tons of money on a huge production.  You do need to make sure that any audio is easy to hear and the video itself is steady, clear and conveys the message you want it to.

Like paid Google ads, YouTube Promoted Video Ads are a way to get your videos seen right away.  If you have the budget to do so, consider bidding for keywords through the YouTube Promoted Video Ads.  You will need to think about your budget, conversion rate and expected volume before you bid on any specific keywords, though, to make the most out of your time and money.  One of the key advantages to a Promoted Video Ad on YouTube is that you can also create an overlay ad.  This is a clickable link embedded into the bottom of the video that will send the visitor to another outside site (like your website or blog).  This is a fantastic way to send more traffic your way.

As technology evolves, the uses for it evolve as well.  With YouTube's popularity steadily increasing, it's time to consider adding it to your marketing arsenal by using YouTube for real estate promotion.  Create a marketing strategy like you do for your website and blogs.  If you need help promoting your YouTube videos, just contact us.  We're always ready to help you succeed.

Pamela Cendejas, Real Estate Virtual Assistant – Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn’t Enough of You to Go Around!

Originally posted on my Real Estate Support blog here: http://real-estate-support.com/2011/12/using-youtube-for-real-estate-promotion/.

Vanity URLs for Google Plus Profiles

Thursday, July 07

As I discussed in a previous post, Google Plus is Google's answer to the Facebook "like" button.  It's a new project that allows Google users to share content that they have found useful with their friends.  It also helps promote favorite websites in the rankings (good old "Google Juice"). 

Google Plus profiles are still in their infancy.  Not everyone is able to get a Google Plus profile at this time.  However, if you do have one, you know that the URL for your profile is a long string of numbers.  It's not really catchy to send someone to a website with "1234567890" attached to it.  Wouldn't it be nice to get something more catchy like both Twitter and Facebook allows?  You can now change out the long string of numbers for a vanity URL for your Google Plus profile with GPlus.to.

The reason Google uses numbers instead of your username is because they are trying to cut down on the possibility of spammers targeting their members.  Most Google accounts use their gmail addresses, which would make it pretty simple for spammers to figure out.  GPlus.to is a free account that allows you to choose a nick name for your Google Plus profile, plug in the actual URL for your profile and then create a new, user-friendly link that you can share with your friends, family, co-workers and business prospects.

If you have a Google Plus profile, get your own vanity URL at GPlus.to.  Even though Google Plus is still in the beta phase, it will be rolling out to everyone eventually.  So, keep GPlus.to on hand.  Promoting your real estate business online is an ever-evolving process.  It is my job to keep you informed of those changes.  Let me know how Second Self can help you promote your business.

Pamela Cendejas, Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around!

Plus One, Please

Thursday, June 09

By now, you're probably VERY acquainted with Facebook's "like" button. When one of your Facebook friends posts something, you simply click "like" and it shows up on your profile as well as those of all your friends. It's a great way to share information with other friends and tell them, "Hey, check this out!" Well, Google has come up with something similar that also gives you a heck of a boost in the Google juice department...the Google +1 button. All you need is a Google profile, the correct code and you'll soon be saying "Plus One, please".

What IS Google +1?

The Google +1 button allows anyone with a Google profile to share information with others in their network (via your email contacts) like recommendations for restaurants, loan companies, mortgage brokers, printers, nail salons, etc and share news items that are of particular interest to you. When someone clicks on the Google +1 button, it's letting everyone in their network know that they like what you have to offer.

How Does Google +1 Work?

Once the button is installed, anyone who clicks it will have your site show up whenever they are logged into their Google account. In turn, when you are logged into Google, you, too, can see what other friends and colleagues have liked via Google +1. You decide which of your "pluses" you wish to make public and which you want to keep to yourself. So, you won't be sharing any information you don't want to. Even if a +1 isn't publicly shared, however, it will still be recognized as a worthy site in Google's eyes, garnering more Google juice to the site and propelling it up the search engine ladders. Also, when someone visits your Google profile, they will be able to see all of the sites you publicly +1'd.

How Do I add Google +1 to My Site?

It's really quite simple. You simply need to get the code and plug it into your site. You can even make it different sizes. If you are struggling with adding your button, Second Self Virtual Assistance can help.

Google +1 can do for real estate professionals what the Facebook "like" button does for them on the social networking site. Next time you want to have your name shouted to the heavens for potential clients to hear (and see), just say "Plus One, please".

Pamela Cendejas, Real Estate V.A. Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around!