Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
We have buildium. We started at 5 houses and now have used it for over 11. I use it for the tenant screening. I have not use it for the web address. I really like the program and look forward to exploring it's other capabilities.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
12y
I used my own URL with an iFrame in the HTML that only contains the Buildium website. This makes it look seamless, and any visitor will not know they are interacting with two "different" sites. www.redhotrentalsaz.com
Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
We have buildium. We started at 5 houses and now have used it for over 11. I use it for the tenant screening. I have not use it for the web address. I really like the program and look forward to exploring it's other capabilities.
Real Estate Investor · Troy, MI · Member since 2014 · 139 posts · 23 votes
12y
Buildium's instructions say "
Contact your domain registrar
Ask them to redirect your domain name to your Buildium subdomain. Tell them to use an Unmasked/Standard URL redirect."
Thats a foreign language to me. Not sure what I do with that or how to find out if I can do that with a particular domain service like okdaddy or what ever.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
12y
I use GoDaddy as well. Lets say you purchase BensPropertymanagement.com with GoDaddy, but it redirects to ManageBuildium.BensPM.com while you're a Buildium customer. Your purchased domain at GoDaddy is essentially worthless if you ever leave Buildium because it didn't build up reputation, it merely redirected to your Buildium page. Reputation is important for search engine results. So you'd want your purchased domain to show up if people searched for "property management" or "rental properties" in Troy, Michigan for example.
Real Estate Investor · Troy, MI · Member since 2014 · 139 posts · 23 votes
12y
So, what would you recommend? How can I have someone use my purchased url and get linked to my buildium site without making the reputation dependent on that? Is that even possible?
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
12y
My website redhotrentalsaz.com is hosted with GoDaddy, but it shows all of the content from my Buildium page in an iFrame. This builds up site rep on my primary domain without any redirects. What I'm describing wouldn't be difficult for an experienced web developer to build for you.
Thanks for the tips! I currently use the redirect and am building zero rep...not cool in a business where all you have is your rep. I will have to look into the iframe you speak of. Thanks again.
Real Estate Investor · Troy, MI · Member since 2014 · 139 posts · 23 votes
12y
To tell the truth, Im not all that worried about that. Maybe a few years down the road when I get bigger that would be something I need to take into account.
My website redhotrentalsaz.com is hosted with GoDaddy, but it shows all of the content from my Buildium page in an iFrame. This builds up site rep on my primary domain without any redirects. What I'm describing wouldn't be difficult for an experienced web developer to build for you.
That's really not true. When you use an iFrame, you're embedding another site within the frame. If your site is nothing but a container for another site, it's not going to have much more value than the domain you have stuck in the iframe.
Building a website's value is a long-term proposition and isn't as simple as just framing another site. You have to understand keywords, roughly how Google chooses to rank sites (to the extent it can be understood), and how to make sure your site ranks for the proper terms.
Think about it this way -- the only factor you're really enhancing by either iframing another site or redirecting to another site is the domain's age. After all, there is literally nothing else on the site. Google has no idea what your domain is about and therefore can't rank it anywhere. Google can pull in data via the frame, but it's more likely to attribute that to the site you framed, not your site.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
12y
I realize it's not ideal SEO wise, but it's the best option in this case. The main domain has well built title and meta tags, and is also back linked from the framed page as well. I'll take these small benefits over the total loss of doing a redirect.
The iFrame method also eliminates the unsettling feeling of redirects. I ask potential tenants to fill out my online application (all of their sensitive personal information and credit card #), and I personally wouldn't fill that out if I had just been bounced around between domains.
App Designer · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 124 posts · 31 votes
12y
Better than embedding a limited portion of content from another provider (ie, your application, ie Buildium): find a provider who can created a fully-integrated solution including your brand assets and content. It does affect the impression of seamless and coherence for your site visitors.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
12y
@Jeff Blanchard Please share the secret provider you know of that offers all the features of Buildium AND has a fully integrated seamless website at the Buildium price points!
And you must have missed the point that the iFrame method, while not ideal for SEO, DOES provide a seamless and coherent experience for visitors.
I realize it's not ideal SEO wise, but it's the best option in this case. The main domain has well built title and meta tags, and is also back linked from the framed page as well. I'll take these small benefits over the total loss of doing a redirect.
The iFrame method also eliminates the unsettling feeling of redirects. I ask potential tenants to fill out my online application (all of their sensitive personal information and credit card #), and I personally wouldn't fill that out if I had just been bounced around between domains.
To each their own. It's pretty obvious when things are iframed and I would be way less comfortable filling out a form that is iframed over one that is linked to from a site that explains why I have to go to a 3rd party site to complete my application.
App Designer · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 124 posts · 31 votes
12y
@Ryan Swan I agree that your use of that plugin is seamless enough -- however it's not of very high quality, IMHO. Totally functional, yes (except that it's not responsive for mobile). Does that UX matter to the majority of your site visitors? The analytics may say no; they may say yes. Can you run traffic analytics with this setup?
Here are some examples of fully-integrated solutions (disclaimer, I built these). Note that the presentation is totally custom, therefore the data can be pulled from the back end and leveraged in a variety of ways. Totally seamless, responsive & flexible.
Real Estate Agent · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2012 · 640 posts · 457 votes
12y
@Beau Blinder 99% of casual users visiting the site would not have any clue it was framed, let alone what a frame is, but those same users WOULD instantly know if they typed in one address and ended up someplace else. Maybe you could offer some actual feedback for the OP who was asking how to work with his own domain as well as the site included with Buildium. You clearly don't think using an iFrame is the best option, so what would you suggest? (keeping in mind Buildium does not support using a domain you purchased)
@Jeff Blanchard your sites are certainly of the caliber I'd expect if I paid for a custom build. But I am working with the free included Buildium page, as is the OP of this thread, so that's really what the issue is about. Please offer feedback related to OP's initial question.
App Designer · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 124 posts · 31 votes
12y
I haven't fully test-driven the pages included with a Buildium account, but from their screenshots I can say we put more effort into good presentation.
Having said that we are working on a more-refined website template for free accounts that is mobile optimized; should be ready next month.