Real Estate Blog

June 20, 2010

New Real Estate Online Marketing Platform Revolutionizes Internet Property Search

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There’s no question that real estate marketing has definitely shifted ground. In years past, the primary choice for selling property was overwhelmingly traditional advertising. Online advertising, however, has supplanted the printed media in a big way. It’s estimated that at least four out of five of those searching property listings are now beginning their search on the internet. As a matter of fact, it’s projected that three billion dollars will be spent on online real estate marketing by the year 2010.
At the same time, it’s also essential to differentiate yourself in this incredibly competitive market and industry. The financial turmoil, facing us today has created many challenges- and those marketing property of any kind must find new, cost-efficient ways that deliver recognizable results to successfully market real estate
With all that in mind, Locally Located. com has created an entirely new online business model for posting any type of real estate listing – at a price anyone could live with free.
Locally Located. com’s revolutionary new online marketing platform applies the popular online Pay-Per-Click (PPC) business model to selling real estate. That means anyone is welcome to post real estate listings at no cost – the advertiser only gets charged when a potential online buyer clicks on their listing to open it and examine it in detail.
The end result? The advertiser only has to pay for serious customers interested in looking over a specific property listing. And that’s well worth the minor PPC fees to those who want to most effectively use their marketing dollars.
The ground-breaking PPC marketing concept was introduced in 1998 and was mostly utilized by businesses looking to gain the maximum amount of customers in the most cost effective way -while obtaining the greatest possible ROI (Return On Investment). With Locally Located. com’s innovative new use of PPC, real estate advertisers can finally take part in the most popular online selling practice in existence today – which is expected to gross over 3. 7 billion dollars in revenue by the end of 2009.

Just like most PPC advertising systems, Locally Located. com gives the advertiser complete control over the number of clicks they want to pay for, the length of time they want the listing posted for, and the budget they want to spend. All of these parameters, of course, can be adjusted as need be, after the listing is posted. Advertisers will also be able to control how often they would like to receive account updates, which will allow the user to thoroughly test their marketing efforts.
Unlike most traditional PPC systems, however, Locally Located. com does NOT force the real estate advertiser to bid against other advertisers worldwide for the best placements. The playing field is level – and the PPC charge is equal for everyone, not driven up by big business wanting to squeeze the most money out of the small advertiser.
Another overwhelming advantage to LocallyLocated. com is that the site will post any type of real estate listing – making it a hub or “one-stop shop” for any potential property prospects, and anyone seeking information on a specific geographic area of interest to them .
LocallyLocated. com is also committed to being more than a traditional real estate search site. To attract a steady stream of traffic consisting of potential property buyers, the site will be filled with enhanced targeted real estate content – including news article’s, blogs and forums. This content will utilize the latest Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, ensuring the site high search engine result rankings, which will bring about exposure to the greatest amount of online users interested in real estate and all the supplemental information they would need to make an informed decision .
Local Search will also be an important and integral part of Locally Located. com. Local search is now a close second to email as the most utilized function of the internet. By enabling specific geographic guidelines, Locally Located. com will be able to further target buyers on the lookout for property in specific areas with the assistance of satellite and map views, and many more free tools to assist its users in making the most informed decisions.
Local Searches are growing three times as fast as other kinds of online searches, as more and more people use the internet instead of print and other traditional media to find and research information on nearby neighborhoods. Obviously, this category includes real estate – a category that Locally Located. com is strategically positioned to heavily influence with its innovative new approach to real estate marketing.
Internet marketing has come of age – and Locally Located. com is determined to bring online real estate advertising up to speed in the most cutting-edge and cost-effective way possible.

For our residential Real Estate agent advertisers, we go the extra mile. When you list a residence with Locally Located. com we will in turn list the home on many of the nations largest Real Estate search engines, giving your property unparalleled exposure and the attention it deserves. Instead of just listing your home you are now utilizing a professional, and testable, marketing vehicle for the most minimal cost possible.

June 11, 2010

Indianapolis Real Estate: Using the Internet to Find Specific Property Types

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As a major metropolitan city, Indianapolis has countless neighborhoods that run the gamut in terms of real estate quality, type of real estate, availability and price. Sorting through Indianapolis real estate to find exactly what you need can be very intimidating. If you are looking for a very specific type of property, it can be hard to locate exactly what you need.

For instance, an individual might be considering the purchase of a duplex for investment purchases. Another individual might want a home in a very specific price range, but only within a very limited section of Indianapolis, such as the popular northeast Indianapolis market. If you are not interested in acquiring the services of a real estate professional, or if you want to wait until later in the process to do so, never fear. There are several methods of navigating the Indianapolis real estate market on your own, and the easiest way is through the internet.

The internet has gone far beyond basic e-mail communication and web surfing for the latest news. Business people and individuals can now use the internet with confidence to help them gather information for important decisions, like making a purchase in the Indianapolis real estate market. Many real estate web sites cater to individuals researching for such a purpose. Some of these web sites are hosted by specific real estate firms, but many others are not.

The exciting part? We learned, during our search for Indianapolis real estate, that it doesn’t matter. Whether a home is listed on a specific real estate firms web site or not is completely irrelevant. Many real estate firms list homes or other properties on their web site that they themselves have not been commissioned to sell. The key to going after any property, regardless of the realtor, is obtaining the MLS number.

When viewing any listing online, the MLS number should be readily available and should be listed as such. Once you’ve obtained the MLS number of a property you’re interested in, you can contact the realtor who is listing the property. If you have a friend who is a realtor or if you have chosen your own realtor, you can contact them and give them the MLS number. They can take it from there, getting more information on the property, price and history. Your realtor can show you any home or property in the Indianapolis real estate market, even if it was not originally listed with them.

This particular aspect of the Indianapolis real estate market provides added freedom for those looking to buy. Real estate web sites vary greatly in quality and their property search capabilities; it is helpful to know, then, that you can use the best site without any obligation to their realtors.

The Indianapolis real estate arena is a varied and dynamic market with many opportunities for prospective homeowners and entrepreneurs. If you’re tired of flipping through the newspaper, or you want to work without a realtor, try using online web sites to navigate the real estate market independently and with ease.

May 29, 2010

Why Should Any Real Estate Agent Utilize Internet Marketing

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Internet Marketing for Real Estate can be both an effective real estate marketing endeavor or it can be the worst idea you have ever tried out to build your real estate business. Internet Marketing for Real Estate is a whole new ballgame in itself, so be prepared to be an astute learner to gain the most from the experience.

The main purpose of any Internet Marketing for Real Estate campaign is to help you get the leads you need to be able to make a prospects list. This prospect list is composed of people you believe have the potential to become customers for you eventually. And this means managing traffic to your website appropriately.

Internet Marketing for Real Estate websites have to be useful somehow to visitors. Visitors who get disappointed by your website will never return and since you know how hard it is to get a person to visit in the first place, your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website has to offer as much information pertaining to the real estate biz as you can fit in without making your site look cluttered or disorganized. This leads us to the next tip.

The right Internet Marketing for Real Estate campaign will work if you snare the attention of visitors as soon as they enter your site. Yes, first impressions definitely last – but for them to lead to a possible sale, you have to have follow-through as well.

To produce follow-through, try examining your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website as if you were yourself just a visitor: what do you see? Do you just see a website like any other, or do you see a website that would attract people interested in real estate, that provides information that is actually usable for them, and that tells people the owner of this website is the person they should look for when trying to buy or sell real estate? Hopefully, it would be more of the latter for you.

When visitors drop by and leave a note, what is your Internet Marketing for Real Estate follow-through? Do you just take note of them then drop their names into a giant database to be swallowed up and forgotten forever? If you are a true follower of Internet Marketing for Real Estate follow-through techniques, you should follow through by sending them a message at whatever contact address they may have left. If all they left was an email address, that is okay already. You can start by sending them a thank-you email for visiting your website and tell them that you hope they will agree to be part of your subscription list for your business-oriented newsletter. It is always part of ethical Internet Marketing for Real Estate practice to ask before adding anyone to an emailing list – think of it as good etiquette for real estate agents.

Your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website would be incomplete if all you have are the same static content to showcase day in and day out. This means that your Internet Marketing for Real Estate articles on the website should always be updated, maybe even replaced when necessary, so that visitors get intrigued and come back for more. The better the service you provide this way, the more visitors will want to read and learn about what you have to offer.
Internet Marketing for Real Estate may be misused in one way though, and that is by using too much data that visitors get glassy-eyed and click on the mouse to find a less burdensome site to visit. It is tricky, this Internet Marketing for Real Estate campaign work, so you need to have a good sense of when you are overdoing the content.

If you want to add a personal touch to your Internet Marketing for Real Estate website, you may want to use a blog on your website as well. This helps visitors see things through your eyes.

How to Successfully Utilize Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals

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Real Estate Internet Marketing is basically the practice of using Internet-based techniques to gain more business for your real estate sales or realty business. And if you want to do Real Estate Internet Marketing the right way, you should learn to make the techniques work for you rather than make yourself work harder – in other words, work smarter rather than kill yourself with overwork.

The main aim of Real Estate Internet Marketing is to boost the number of leads you get that would eventually lead to prospects. There are six ways you can use Real Estate Internet Marketing to your advantage for this.

First, you can create press releases and then send these to your contacts and prospects online via email or by inviting them to your website to see the press release. Either way, this form of Real Estate Internet Marketing tactic is supposed to heighten awareness about your service which is real estate sales. In this world where many people and companies are competing in the same line of work, you can expect this form of Real Estate Internet Marketing to be a very important tool to drive up the number of leads you get.

Second, you need new content for your website or newsletter as part of a well-thought out Real Estate Internet Marketing effort. You need not create the articles or content by yourself if you don’t consider yourself a good writer or if you are strapped for time. There are professional writers who will be glad to be hired to do that for you. Just make sure you inform them how your Real Estate Internet Marketing effort is to be structured though. You need a consistent Real Estate Internet Marketing program, not a slapdash one.

You might then consider a Pay-Per-Click advertising program as part of your Real Estate Internet Marketing campaign. Basically, Pay-Per-Click is about hiring other website owners to post your advertisements on their own sites. When their site visitors click on your advertisement, then that is the only time you pay the website owner for hosting your ad on his site. Of course, you should only set out on a Pay-Per-Click campaign if you already have something suitable to show people at your own site. Otherwise, the visitors will be disappointed once they visit your own site.

You might be surprised how many people would love to be invited to join your newsletter subscription base. So do try to send out invites to as many people as you can. Take a cue from the life insurance agents who ask their present policy holders to give at least one contact whom they personally know as a potential new prospect for the agents. That is how these life insurance agents stay in business. They emphasize relationship building over making money – and that is exactly how you should treat your Real Estate Internet Marketing campaign as well. It should be about you building relationships with other people, so you can better serve their needs.

Real Estate Internet Marketing should always be a complement to the real job at hand which is selling real estate. Of course, you could always turn over your Real Estate Internet Marketing program to be handled by a specialist but that would cost big bucks. Actually, you might find it rather fun constructing your own Real Estate Internet Marketing effort and see how well you do. Only if you prove to be all thumbs at this and really ineffective should you initiate a search for a specialist who knows what Real Estate Internet Marketing is all about and can carry it out with flair and precision under your guidance.

May 23, 2010

The Internet Homebuyer: Reach Them With a Real Estate Website

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You’ve tried to avoid it for years…a real estate agent website.   You figured word-of-mouth, newspaper, flyers and signage would cover your advertising for years to come. Well, if you haven’t crawled out from under your rock already, it’s 2008. We live in a digital world…where Facebook and BlackBerry addictions have supreme reign. Where blogging, texting and e-mails are our communication lines of choice. People use the Internet now to buy their groceries, rent a movie and order their favourite Chinese take-out. If your real estate business has yet to embrace the online age, where does that leave you? Probably miles behind your competition. So isn’t it time you capitalized on the Internet revolution?

 Start by understanding that more and more people are relying on the web to learn about the entire real estate process. There has also been a shift in consumer from Generation X to Generation Y. First-time buyers from GenY will have different communication needs, purchasing behaviour and housing requirements than their earlier counterparts. Now more than ever, it’s vital for all real estate professionals to understand why the Internet is so crucial to today’s industry, and why choosing not to get involved would reduce their profits and competitive edge.

 As today’s potential client has less time than ever before, they desire their information served on a silver platter. So why not deliver the information they want and make it available to them 24 hours a day? Give them a one-stop-online-real-estate-shop to help them buy their dream home? That’s what they’re looking for. Nowadays, they expect it.

So why are customers so apt to house-hunting online?

1.   Well first, it saves them time, and plenty of it. Who has the energy to flip through a mile-high pile of messy newspapers? Or make 20 preview appointments with a REALTOR®? Certainly not the urban jet-setters, soccer moms or suits of today’s world.

These Internet savvy buyers will take an average of 4. 5 weeks to look for information on homes and neighborhoods before ever contacting a real estate professional, as compared to a traditional buyer that takes only 1. 5 weeks. However, once the initial information gathering is complete, Internet buyers spend significantly less time with their agent and preview far fewer homes, spending 2 weeks, compared to 7 weeks for the traditional buyer.

 2.   Online buyers also enjoy a greater sense of control. Real estate websites of today embrace a more user-friendly attitude than ever before. The Internet helps these buyers better understand the whole home buying process, and puts them in better control of that process. They can refine their needs and wants and comparison shop to paint a more detailed picture of their dream home for you. In the end it also helps save you time, so you can steer clear of what they don’t want, and deliver on what they do.

Just know that if they’re looking for a ‘4-bedroom, 3-bathroom raised bungalow with a salt-water outdoor pool and white picket fence, close to the highway yet nestled in a quiet community and close to a nature trail’…you’ll be the first to know.

3.   Internet buyers tend to be global risk-takers. They are more willing and able to relocate now more than ever. These buyers are looking to move to different parts of the country, and use the Internet to scope out the hottest trends. They want to settle into a new lifestyle and status, not just a new home. With it they’ll earn a trend-setting label among friends and colleagues, and a life experience they’ll never forget.

Internet buyers are expanding their families at a slower pace, having children significantly later than their baby-boomer counterparts. As a REALTOR®, you need to appeal to their sense of freedom, mobile lifestyle and ability to live in an exciting new place, whether on their own or with a partner.

4.   The information they need is available at the touch of a button, anytime, anywhere. Whether they’re searching for a home on their lunch break or at 2am, they have all the resources they need on their timetable. They don’t have to play phone tag to answer their questions. Everything they need is ready and waiting for them online.

 Keep in mind that Internet homebuyers want as much detailed information as possible. Therefore, real estate professionals that offer websites with specialized, inside information and detailed listings including plenty of quality photos and virtual tours, will be more likely to capture these customers.

So, who exactly are these Internet savvy homebuyers, anyway? Let’s take a closer look at the Internet homebuyer profile and how they differ from traditional buyers.

They enjoy a controlled environment. The Internet empowers this type of consumer. They have control of the search process, by way of privacy and freedom. They can regulate the level of communication they choose to have with an agent or agency, and therefore feel less pressured and more comfortable in the decision-making process.

They are usually first-time buyers. The Internet buyer tends to be new to the real estate purchasing market, and is younger, wealthier, more likely to be married and better educated than a traditional buyer.

They want to be as informed as possible. These buyers want a complete understanding of what they’ll be jumping into. Not just listings and prices, they want information on the entire real estate transaction, from agent negotiations to legal procedures. They want all the real estate marketing tools wrapped into one complete package.  

Internet savvy real estate professionals are at an advantage to fill in the gaps for these types of clients. Armed with this buyer profile and the proper real estate internet marketing tool, you can learn to better recognize and understand the requirements of this market niche. Think of real estate professionals like a GPS Navigation System for the Internet homebuyer. The Internet is their road map, but they still need detailed navigated directions to get to their destination; a guide to help them through the negotiation and transaction processes of home buying.

Remember, these Internet buyers will judge your competency based on your online perception. Establishing an online presence through a user-friendly real estate website and e-mail has become a benchmark of professionalism for all business. So, if you find your business is lacking in this department, keep in mind that valuable sales are being lost each passing moment. A website can therefore only compliment your role in the home buying process. Take action and get your real estate business online. Farming, referrals, sign calls and traditional advertising can only take you so far in the 2008 marketplace.

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