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Search Engine Marketing: Options for Real Estate Agents

Using search engines has become one of the most popular activities on the Internet, second only to email. But with millions of websites and billions of web pages, potential homebuyers need a tool that can sift through this clutter to find the realtor websites relevant to their search.

Thanks mostly to the techniques pioneered by Google, search engines have become remarkably effective at providing results that are highly relevant to the term or phrase the user searches on like

Homes for Sale. But to be relevant, you have to be found, and this is where search engine marketing comes in.

What is Search Engine Marketing?

You may have great inventory, a fantastic local clientele, and a high-end new website, but if that website doesn’t show up on the first two pages of Google (or Yahoo, MSN, or Ask Jeeves), you’re not getting the exposure you need to remain competitive.

Why aren’t you showing up? You may have overlooked search engine marketing. Effective search engine marketing is about more than just optimizing your website or submitting it to the search engines for indexing. When hundreds or thousands of your competitors are competing with you on your service and keywords, just one Internet marketing technique won’t give you high rankings.

Studies have proven what most Internet users know already – people usually do not look past the first two pages of search results. And with over 71% of homebuyers initiating their home search on the Internet (according to the National Association of Realtors), you can’t afford to miss out on all of those active buyers. And if your site isn’t ranked high, it probably isn’t pulling in leads either – leads that translate to more sales and more commissions.

How does it work?

Unlike organic search engine optimization, which you (or your webmasters) can do yourself, search engine marketing requires a little financial investment to generate results. It’s pay to play, but the rewards are worth it.

Generally speaking, search engine marketing is the advertising that appears on top of or along side the “natural” or organic search results on search engine sites such as Google, MSN, Yahoo and many others, usually under the heading of “Sponsored Links” or “Sponsored Sites.” These links can also show up on many consumer and industry-specific websites, depending on the keywords used like Fort Myers Beach Florida Real Estate.

The copy that you see in the advertisement is usually written by the site owner, who will also come up with the keywords and keyword phrases trigger the ad. The site owner also determines how much she is willing to pay for each click as well as daily maximum limit, giving total control of targeting and spending. Advertising charges are only incurred when a visitor clicks on the ad, not when the ad is shown.

Although sponsored listings are a popular way to conduct your search engine marketing, there are other ways to get great results. Many real estate agents are finding that having the time and expense of a good search engine marketing service done for them by a third-party is a great way to go.

Getting traffic to your real estate website

In addition to buying sponsored (paid) listings, lead tracking, and email marketing excellent strategies for drawing relevant real estate leads to your real estate website. All of these methods work quite well and give you a high return on investment, when done properly that is. If you do not have the time or energy to invest in creating your own real estate marketing campaign for search engines, you can always leave it to the experts to create a custom-designed solution for you.

But let’s look at each of the above methods in more detail.

Sponsored (Paid) Listings

As mentioned above, sponsored, or paid listings are a great way to get fast visibility on the major search engines.

Google AdWords is by far the most popular sponsored listings program, mainly because the Google network is used by 80% of all Internet users. The AdWord program allows you to create your own ads based upon the keywords most relevant to your business. You can also choose to have Google write the ad for you for an extra fee.

Lead Tracking

Sponsored listings and SEO can help attract leads, but to truly get the most out of SEM, you will want to develop a lead tracking system to target the customers and prospects most likely to be interested in your services.

Lead tracking brings both short- and long-term benefits to your company – giving you instant access to information about each sales prospect while also helping to streamline and manage the sales process.

Lead tracking not only helps you attract more customers, it also tracks your return on investment, so you know exactly how much each lead is worth, how many leads convert into transactions, and your overall return on investment in your advertising dollars.

Email Marketing

So now you have high rankings on the search engines and lead tracking is bringing in numerous high-quality prospects. Now what? Email marketing is the icing on the SEM cake – it impresses your prospects by allowing you to send them valuable information on the market and it helps you to stay fresh in their minds.

Relevant Real Estate Website Traffic

At Fidelity Assets we have a better way. We charge you a flat fee every month for the number of visitors you want sent to your site from the search engines. That’s it. Your costs are fixed, and your traffic and quality is guaranteed. You can start with as few as 30 visitors a month for a flat $59.95/month fee. You can buy more traffic as your business grows over time.

Fidelity Assets was created and is staffed by search engine marketing experts. Our company manages online advertising for real estate agents, and our employees are veterans of companies such as NBC Internet, Xoom.com, Infoseek, CNET and other pioneering advertising and e-commerce companies. We know the online ad space better than anyone.

While Austin has continued to have one of the best real estate markets in the country, we will finish the year with lower sales activity, higher unemployment and real estate inventory levels, lower rents, and a deteriorating economy. Real estate sales are trending down, even with near 50 year low mortgage rates. Rents are following the same pattern.

Consumer confidence is very low. Consumers are holding cash and focusing on their immediate needs. This has impacted every industry. Though credit is harder to obtain, it is not the driving factor for the reduction in consumer spending. It is consumer confidence. Even if car dealerships are offering huge discounts and zero percent interest, consumers are keeping their existing cars and not going into debt for a car they don’t absolutely need.

We are seeing the same trends in the real estate market. Tenants are staying put and renewing their leases; homeowners are delaying home purchases on fear of job loss or price erosion in the real estate market; and it is getting harder to qualify for a mortgage as Fannie Mae changes its guidelines. For example, a borrower now must have a 740 fico score to obtain the best mortgage interest rate, assuming they have the down payment and reserves for a conventional loan.

For the past two years, we have consistently raised rents. This trend continued until the financial crisis hit us this fall. Many homeowners are not able to sell their homes at a desired price point and are forced to lease their homes and become landlords. Inventory of rental homes is at an all time high in Cedar Park/Leander and Round Rock areas.

We are dropping rents on all existing inventory. Properties priced below $1,100 month have weathered the storm better than higher priced rental properties. The most resilient rental homes are those priced below $1,000/month. Homes leasing at or above $1,200/month earlier in the early part of the year are now leasing for 10% less. As rents increase, the pool of qualified tenants decreases. We are also seeing tenants downsize and move to more affordable homes.

We have transitioned from a landlord market to a tenant market. Next year, we will renew most of our leases at the same price point and may drop rents to keep current tenants. I expect to see more rental applicants affected by job losses, financial troubles, and foreclosures as homeowners lose their homes and are forced to rent. I anticipate the days on market will increase as long as our inventory remains at high levels. Owners will need to look harder at applications to avoid long term vacancies.

Though Austin continues to have one of the best economies and real estate markets it the country, our unemployment rate has increased, and our real estate sales market is deteriorating. According to the Austin American Statesman, our unemployment rate was below 4% in early 2008 and 3.5% a year ago. It has now reached 5.0%. This is still below the Texas and national average. However, Austin is not immune from the national economic, mortgage, and financial crisis. November home sales were down 40% in Austin, a level not seen since 1997. Some areas were down almost 60%.

Long term, Austin will continue to have one of the best economies and real estate markets in the country. 2009 will be a year of recovery. Rents and home prices most likely will trend downward, and inventory levels will remain high. If the job market recovers more quickly, we will see the market stabilize. Now is a great time to purchase a home or take advantage of the down market.

If you have a current mortgage on a primary residence with a rate above 5.75%, it may be a great time to refinance your mortgage. Mortgage rates for primary residence are in the 4.75% range. Our office provides sales, leasing, property management, handyman, and mortgage services.

Article written by our Broker, Chris Warren, Smart Source Realty

The importance of creating a user-friendly, search engine optimized website can’t be emphasized enough, but once your site has been established you’ll want to look for new ways to build your web presence and find new avenues for generating online leads. One of the most effective ways to do this is to start a real estate blog.Google and other search engines place a lot of weight on blogs that have quality content and are updated often. Blog entries are cached quickly and can rank higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages) than many static websites. This means that a blog can really enhance your online visibility and help you reach more potential clients. Once users land on your blog, you need to offer them something of value. Write content that is entertaining and informative, and be sure to include calls-to-action that entice your readers to get in touch with you. By offering things like free home evaluations, access to the latest property listings, or some other goodie, you’ll give your visitors a reason to contact you, which is of course what you’re after. As opposed to websites, the content on a blog is always dynamic and can quickly become outdated. If you update your blog only once every 3 months, your readers will quickly click away. They want to see the latest real estate news, so it’s imperative to stay on top of your blogging. Set aside time to post every week, and treat blogging as an important tool in your marketing arsenal. In addition to regular updates, readers also want to see a more personalized style of writing in a blog than on a web page. Your personality, professional insight, and insider information are what they’re looking for when they visit your blog.In terms of content, blogs are a great vehicle for talking about the community and the local real estate market in a less formal way. Talk about local events that are happening, provide tips for buyers or sellers, highlight special listings, and advertise upcoming open houses. To help newcomers to the area, share your favorite hiking spots, eateries, new property developments, information about the local school system, or tips on getting around the city. This is your chance to talk about your hobbies and to share your favorite aspects of the community. This window to your personality will be engaging to users, and will go a long way in cultivating an online relationship. As readers follow your blog posts, they’ll be able to get to know you and your work style. This personal aspect allows for long-term lead cultivation and conversion which is quite unique from static websites. Remember, to make the most of your blog, be timely in your posts, be personal, and have fun. This is a creative outlet in addition to a marketing strategy. The more passion you bring to your posts, the more absorbed your readers will be, and the more likely they’ll be to contact you when they’re ready for an agent.

Last week we demystified Internet marketing and gave a brief overview of its main components search engine marketing, search engine optimization, and affiliate marketing. This week we’re going to look at ways that real estate marketing with a special focus on search engine marketing (SEM) can benefit you for the real estate professional.

Real estate agents and brokers have been sometimes been unfairly painted as being indifferent to new technologies and business methodologies such as SEM. While it’s true that much of your business relies on personal connections and face-to-face communication, real estate agents like all business savvy professionals know that personal connections only get you so far. And in today’s increasingly competitive market, you need to go very far. SEM can help you expand your reach by promoting your business and expanding your sales pipeline across the Internet.

Using search engines has become one of the most popular activities on the Internet, second only to email. But with millions of websites and billions of web pages, potential homebuyers need a tool that can sift through this clutter to find the realtor websites relevant to their search. Thanks mostly to the techniques pioneered by Google, search engines have become remarkably effective at providing results that are highly relevant to the term or phrase the user searches on. But to be relevant, you have to be found.The importance of being found

You may have great inventory, a fantastic local clientele, and a snazzy new website, but if your business website doesn’t show up on the first two pages of Google (or Yahoo, MSN, or Ask Jeeves), you’re not getting the exposure you need to remain competitive. Studies have proven what most Internet users know already people generally do not look past the first two pages of search results. And with over 71% of homebuyers initiating their home search on the Internet (according to the National Association of Realtors), you can’t afford to miss out on

all of those active buyers.

As we mentioned last week, SEM is a comprehensive marketing strategy that includes search engine optimization (SEO) and sponsored listings. Purchasing sponsored listings is a surefire way to get your website to the top of the results page quickly without waiting for the results of a comprehensive SEO campaign. Identifying right keywords is crucial for the success of SEO / SEM campaigns (e.g., http://www.homeseekers.com targets “Homes for Sale” and http://www.thesanguineteam.com/ targets “Fort Myers Beach Florida Real Estate” as their main keywords. We will dedicate a full newsletter to SEO (and how to rank for the above mentioned keywords) next week, so keep your eyes peeled for that.

But using the major search engines is just a part of an effective SEM strategy. A lead tracking system lets you make more money off of your website with far less work, and an email marketing campaign keeps your prospects and clients up-to-date while positively setting you apart from your competition.Sponsored (paid) listings

Sponsored, or paid listings are a great way to get fast visibility on the major search engines. Also called pay-per-click, (PPC) sponsored listings are those that show up at the top of search engines such as Google in a blue box or in a column along the right side of the page. These results are clearly labeled “Sponsored listings.” The more popular the keyword, the more paid listings come up.

Google AdWords is by far the most popular sponsored listings program, mainly because the Google network is used by 80% of all Internet users. The AdWord program allows you to create your own ads based upon the keywords most relevant to your business. You can also choose to have Google write the ad for you for an extra fee. And not only do you can choose for your ads to show up on the Google results page, they will also show up on sites in the Google Network, such as AOL, EarthLink, Blogger, and HowStuffWorks. When someone clicks on your ad, you pay Google a pre-determined fee.

Here’s how AdWords and other programs like it work:

The real estate industry is turning ferocious. There are innumerable real estate agents in the United States, making excelling an actual challenge. Every real estate agent is different, therefore, every real estate agent marketing campaign must match its subject. It is fundamental to utilize the trial and error rule with a number of ideas until you find the right plan for you, one that serves your style, finances and aims.Marketing can be intimidating; we show here several suggestions we hope can turn the path easier for you and are useful for attracting the correct users. We promise that one, two or all of these will be good for you once you are set to begin your real estate agent marketing adventure. First idea. Start a blog. A blog will serve you in expanding your real estate company in many manners and is simple to manage, making it effortless to share interesting and pertinent real estate articles. A bigger amount of superior content equals stronger Internet presence that equals being found on the Internet more easily and inspiring a positive response out of users. A blog gives you the chance to talk with your customers and meet them intimately, which is an important characteristic of any real estate agent marketing campaign trying to to convey to your customers that you care for them and their wishes.Idea number two. Increment on line presence. Your real estate agent marketing strategy wants you to gain as many future customers as you can. The web is an amazing instrument to touch persons in any corner of the globe, and once you unite a site, a blog, Internet news and writings, you can be positive users will reach you, as you are everywhere. You will pass as an authority as your business is widely covered.Third idea. Increase your direct marketing plans. The web is a significant real estate agent marketing means, however, there are others of the same worth. Direct marketing is highly effective to fortify and establish your real estate company too. Test several direct marketing instruments and research what is efficient; offer extra value to your communications so that people are prompted to act. Idea number four. Do public relations. Use it to boost your real estate agent marketing plan and strengthen your image. A piece in the town’s paper, a relevant press release or a free seminar in your community regarding hints to get a home, go a long way when aiming to imprint a solid image among customers. Fifth idea. Give people something to tattle about. Your venture counts almost completely on word of mouth, thus, help people to want to talk about you and your services continuously. Give distinctiveness which will turn you irresistible and that everybody will desire to communicate to others. Nothing is invalid, simply visualize what would impress your customers and find a way to offer it to them: free interior design tips, free landscape tips or a tour around their new city. Options are infinite. A real estate agent marketing plan is about imagination and, as any other business, about placing yourself in the customers’ place and surpassing their expectations. Go for it!