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Recently SAR launched several mobile versions of its website. Now you can view an optimized version of the website on your Blackberry, Android, iPhone or other mobile device. As a real estate professional, SAR is aware you are always on the go. During any given work day you may be driving with clients, [...]  Did you know that the Sacramento Association of REALTORS® (SAR) Member’s Only portion of the website gives you the ability to upload your own photo to our Membership database? The picture you upload will then show on your personal information page, where you can always update the picture or remove it, and the picture will also show on our “Find Members/Offices” search page on the SAR website for the public to see. Also along the way you may also wish to add a quick biography or marketing piece for yourself that the public can see. The best part is that it doesn’t cost anything to upload your photo other than a few minutes of your time and it takes just a few clicks to complete the process. To Upload a Photo: To get started, first things first you are going to have to log in to the SAR Member’s Only website:  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! Recent updates to the SAR Commercial Real Estate website, at www.saccommercial.org, will make it easier for Members and Affiliates to list their specialties. Affiliate Members who serve the commercial real estate market are encouraged to list their businesses in the vendor directory. There is no charge [...] On November 13, NAR’s Communications Committee previewed for members their new consumer website – www.houselogic.com. The site was created as a platform for NAR to further improve consumer perceptions of REALTORS; to become the one, comprehensive voice of real estate; to support members’ marketing efforts with [...] 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 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 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 CanTree Recipe Cookbook Recipe Submission Deadline – July 1 As a creative way to raise funds for CanTree, the CanTree Committee is publishing a cookbook, with you as our recipe contributor. If you are interested in submitting a recipe or two, please send your favorite recipes as soon as possible. To [...] The real estate marketing gurus who are sold on blogging have been pushing the benefits for a couple of years now. And, many real estate professionals are blogging as a stand-alone Web presence, or as an adjunct to a regular website. But, what if you don’t want to blog, or you are blogging but want to try yet another way to communicate with prospects who you may not yet know? The new catch word is “micro-blogging.” Some would tell us that it is necessary now for lead generation, or that you must be doing it soon. I’m not in that group, but there is certainly promise in this short and sweet approach to inform past clients and prospects of real estate related events in your area. Basically, micro-blogging in real estate would be releasing “breaking news” type alerts of happenings in the area, especially as they relate to real estate. Continue reading: Micro-blogging – Using Twitter for Market News Alerts |
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Monday, February 14th, 2011
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