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 Daniel Allen  Wednesday, April 28th, 2010  In a world where almost anything is a quick search and click away, it has become important for REALTORS® to keep an eye on how they are perceived online. How many times have you googled someone? Chances are they are googling you as well. With more and more real estate clients using the internet in their search for a home, it is a safe bet that they are doing just that: googling you! But do you know what they see?
Once you know what is already out there, how do you keep on top of what is being posted? Well Google already has a solution: Google Alerts
“Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.”
And setting up alerts could not be simpler!
Google simply asks you what your “Search Terms” are. (if you are adding an alert for your name you may want to consider putting your name in quotes. This tells Google to only send alerts where your full name appears. Otherwise Google will send you an alert any time either your first name or your last name appears anywhere on the internet… which can be a lot!)
Next Google allows you narrow down what “Type” of alerts you are interested in receiving when it finds a match. You can choose between News, Blogs, Web, Video, Groups, or the all encompassing Comprehensive.
Continue reading: What is the Internet Saying About You? Google Yourself to Find Out!
Peyman Aleagha Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a topic that’s probably had millions of pages written about it on the Internet. Gurus are everywhere, with advice both free and paid. The advice runs from excellent to downright silly, with penalties placed on sites by Google and Yahoo when bad advice is followed in an attempt to trick the engines.
Google is very helpful in telling us what we need to do to better our search engine page ranks for our chosen keywords and phrases. They have an excellent tutorial here, and you can get helpful information on arranging and composing your content for better results. There are some basic things to keep in mind when optimizing your site for the search engines:
Continue reading: SEO – Help From the Search Engines Themselves
Peyman Aleagha Wednesday, July 1st, 2009
We all know that location is arguably the most important aspect of real estate. You won’t be buying a home where you can’t get to work, school or the other things important to you and your family. So, if location is so important, then it is only logical to assume that mapping, and lots of it, is going to be a valuable and important feature of your site.
Of course, we do want to use maps in our IDX results displays. Seeing the location of a home in relation to area sites, businesses, schools, and other important locations is critical. It would be hard to have too many map choices on a successful real estate site. The IDX mapping would of course show the homes that come up in the searches. The ability to zoom in and out to orient better is also a big advantage. But, are there other uses for maps on your site that your visitors would appreciate? There are, and they revolve around specialized mapping.
Continue reading: IDX – If Real Estate is Location, Location, Location – Then Map, Map, Map
Peyman Aleagha Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
It’s an exciting time in technology innovation, particularly as it relates to our real estate marketing practices. With cell phones getting smarter, netbook computers, and faster broadband access, Americans are going mobile at a frantic pace. The search engines, especially Google, have been important sources of website and blog traffic for quite some time. Now these engines are also going mobile. What does this mean to the real estate professional, as well as brokerages? There are two seemingly opposing trends developing as regards mapping. Let’s look at what they are and how each will influence our business and marketing practices.
Mobile Technology and Shrinking Office Space – In May, 2009, the National Association of Realtors is holding forums in Washington, DC. One of these is featuring speakers focusing on how brokers can cut their operating costs for office space and overhead by increasing the mobility of their agents. There are already very successful large brokerages that provide little or no office space for most of their agents. They have space for meeting clients and administration, but their agents operate from their homes and remote locations with today’s technology providing the services they need.
Continue reading: Mapping, Google’s Local Business Center & Going Mobile
Peyman Aleagha Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Google Latitude is a new Google Map service that is proving to be quite popular with Internet enabled cell phone users. Once installed on your phone, you can import your contacts and friends, and invite them to share locations with you. In other words, you can let your selected contacts see where you are on Google Maps. Yes, right down to your picture icon on a street map location. If your contacts accept reciprocal sharing, they can see your location and you can see theirs.
It may sound like the ultimate in fun, but not very useful. However, people are finding it easier to get together for short meetings or a cup of coffee when they find that they happen to be close to each other in their daily travels. Parents are keeping up with their children, and vice versa. Companies can track their sales or mobile service personnel, and you can keep up with your friends anywhere in the world. Let’s talk about some of the features and also privacy concerns.
Continue reading: Google Latitude – How Might It Work for Real Estate?
Peyman Aleagha Wednesday, May 13th, 2009
Advancements and enhancements are being introduced now by Google for the improvement of their Personalized Search. Google Personalized Search uses the history of searches by the user to present different results based on previous searches. An example given was a search for the word “java.” If your search history shows a great deal of search activity on software and web topics, you would likely be presented with top results related to the Java Runtime Environment. If you’ve been searching beverages or coffee topics, then you’d get results for the slang term for coffee. And, for those who have been searching through travel and cruise sites, or geography sites, then the island would be in your top results.
Continue reading: Google Personalized Search – What They Want Can Bring Them Back
Peyman Aleagha Monday, April 13th, 2009
Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is possibly the most bandied-about phrase on the Web. Gurus are everywhere claiming to be able to get you top search engine positions in a hurry… at a price. Some actually can help you in this regard, but any fast results are usually based on techniques the search engines soon negate once they figure them out. So, how does the average real estate professional approach SEO for their personal or brokerage website or blog?
Here are some simple truths:
Continue reading: The Simple Truths about Real Estate SEO
Peyman Aleagha Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
Do you have any idea how thrilled the Monks were when the printing press was invented? They could put up the quill pens and get over the old version of carpal tunnel. As a real estate professional in today’s Internet world, you should be ecstatic with the free tools available.
The suite of tools from Google just keep getting better. You don’t have to be a tech geek to use them either. If you’ll just take what you get from this article and implement it, you’ll save hours of your time every week, serve your clients better, get more business, and be an email guru. Let’s see what it’s all about.
Continue reading: Being Frugal With Google – The Free Office Suite
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