Subscribe to Myers' Blog

Enter Email Address*

How to Make Search Work for You

December 18th, 2008

In this post, real estate advertising and e-marketing expert Tom Nelson shares more on how website searches are used by prospective homebuyers and how you can make sure your website is as close to the top of their list as possible.

Last time, I gave you some hard facts about the importance of search engine optimization for new home sales websites, like the fact that 84% of homebuyers start their new home search on the internet. So you understand WHY you need to be concerned about making sure search engines rank your website as high as possible. Now, here’s the HOW. Below are some fundamentals you must consider when creating your website in order to help search engines connect you with the right prospects who are searching for new homes.

• It is estimated that 47% of all website visits come from direct navigation (that is, a user typing the website address or URL directly into the address navigation box). Therefore, your website’s address or “URL” should be simple and intuitive—as close to the community’s name or brand as possible. The closer your website address to your actual property’s name, the easier it will be for prospects to locate you online and for search engines to connect your website with the right prospects.

• A website’s architecture (the pages of content and how they are structured together) and the actual content of the website’s pages themselves have a direct impact on the way search engines interpret the site’s information and determine its relevancy. So, the better your content, the more relevant it is to your prospects, and the fresher it is, the easier it will be for prospects to find your website via search engines. When you update your website often with news, events, and more detailed information, the search engines notice this and will boost your ranking higher so that you can be found more easily. Websites that never change will begin to fall further down the list. The lesson: Stay fresh.

• Websites use special “tags” in the actual programming code to help search engines understand the content of your website. The Title Tag is one of the most important factors in achieving high search engine rankings. Limited to 68 characters including spaces, the title tag description is what appears in the clickable link on the search engine results page and is incredibly important in helping your website get better search rankings. Each page in your website can have a separate title tag that describes the page’s content. Remember, the title tag determines what your prospects will see when they’re searching for new homes online and find your website’s listing, and will help them determine whether to click your link, or to skip it and move on. So make sure you take advantage of this simple but most important programming tag to connect with your prospects.

• Having other websites link to your website can boost your ranking with some of the search engines and substantially increase the flow of traffic through your site. Just as having new and fresh content regularly added to your website will help improve your ranking, the more links you have between your website and others the more search engine optimization benefit you’ll be able to realize.

There are many, many more methods and strategies for helping your website achieve better search engine results rankings, but the ones we’ve discussed today are among the most fundamental and a good place to start. My company, NDG Communications, has helped countless clients boost their rankings to get more qualified leads, increase registrations, and help establish communities with our effective SEO services and e-marketing capabilities.

Stay tuned for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, Customer Service, Marketing, New Home Sales, Sales Management | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

There Are No Shortcuts To Success

December 12th, 2008

When the news broke that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich had been arrested on charges of corruption, I was stunned at first by the audacity and greed of this public official. Can you imagine trying to “sell” the Senate seat of President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder? He was seeking money, favors, and even a high-paying job for himself and his wife. Apparently, Blagojevich felt these rewards were out of his reach through the traditional means of hard work, dedication, intelligence, and skill.

What Blagojevich has failed to understand is that there is no shortcut to success. You can’t skip key steps like hard work, motivation, dedication, and vision. People who attempt to do so end up with one of two results: either they crash head-on into a brick wall that prevents them from proceeding, or like Blagojevich, they rise to the top of a mountain and fall off the other edge because they weren’t properly equipped to plan the ascent.

I encourage you to take the time to map out your blueprint for success. Where do you want to go? What are the necessary steps to get there? What extra efforts do you need to make to achieve those goals along the timeline you have established? Then look at this plan and remove one step. What does it do to the potential outcome? Will it prolong the schedule? Will it reduce the results? Or, like Rod Blagojevich, will it place you in a position that leaves you on shaky ground?

Overnight sensations do not happen overnight. They may suddenly achieve the recognition for their efforts but I guarantee you they did not find some magic shortcut. That road is a dead end.

Myers

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, New Home Sales, Personal Development, Sales Management | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Selling at Christmas: A Myth-Understanding

December 10th, 2008

“Forget about selling homes in December. No one is buying during the holidays.” MYTH OR REALITY?

Well, you might believe that people do not buy homes around the holidays and my response to you would be that it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Or an excuse. If you want to kick back around the holidays, enjoy! You (probably) need and deserve the break, but don’t base your decision on the lack of buying for a sluggish December because that’s a complete myth-understanding.

Many homes are bought and sold in December, because the desire to fulfill that dream doesn’t go according to the calendar. That’s a myth created by people who just don’t want to make the effort to sell at this time of year.

If you head into December with the mindset that buyers won’t buy, I guarantee that you will not be disappointed. However, if you can adjust this attitude and recognize that a buyer is every bit as excited about buying a home at this time of year as any other, then you will succeed where the others failed.

After all, it’s not like the home purchase is coming out of their Christmas budget! Nor will they be moving on Christmas Eve. And I assure you that no homebuyer is waiting for the after-Christmas sales to make the deal on a house.

Everybody needs a vacation now and then. I certainly do! The holiday season is a wonderful time to unwind and excuse yourself from the grind for a bit. A vast majority of people in the non-home-selling world do this every year—and without the need to make an excuse. However you choose to spend the holidays—selling or celebrating, or perhaps both—I wish you a joyous, safe, and happy season and a very prosperous 2009!

Myers

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, Marketing, New Home Sales, New Home Sales Training, Personal Development | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Thanks for Attending!

December 9th, 2008

Thanks to all who attended my web seminar today. I hope you enjoyed the time we spent together, and that you feel motivated and energized. Remember, it’s Free in 2009 here at MyersBarnes.com.

Myers

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, Marketing, New Home Sales, Personal Development | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Driving Web Traffic is Job #1

December 9th, 2008

DOES YOUR WEBSITE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES TO DRIVE TRAFFIC? Part 1

In today’s market, new home consumers are spending up to eight weeks doing their research online. Their goal in this research process is to shop by elimination—to narrow their search down to three communities that fit their desires and then make an on-site visit. If your website does not effectively tell your story or resonate with the consumer, you will lose this battle before you ever realized it began.

Consumers will not contact you to clarify your message—they will simply eliminate your product from consideration. With the website being the most fundamental marketing tool, the hub of all the information here are some key considerations:

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION (USP)
It is extremely important that the user can immediately ascertain the value of the site’s purpose and the usefulness of the content. The unique selling proposition should be clearly stated on the home page. Remember, current research tells us that we have 4 SECONDS to tell your user who you are in order for them to continue to invest their valuable time in your website.

KEY ACTION POINTS/ CALL-TO-ACTION
This site should be richly interactive and encourage user participation from the outset. There should be direct links to key action points immediately visible on the homepage. The website should provide a means to engage in a discussion with the user and encourage the next step—direct contact via an online form, email, or phone call.

DEPTH OF SITE AND LEVEL OF INTERACTION
The site should strive to completely engage the user. The goal should be to create a website with such compelling and engaging content that the user stays as long as possible on each visit, and revisits the site frequently. Also, as a medium, websites are especially tailored to present content through the combined use of text, graphics, and animation—offering a huge potential to convey content and meaning to users. Therefore, a website should be as interactive as possible to take advantage of the great opportunity to engage users

AESTHETICS/USE OF VALUABLE GRAPHICS
Successful websites are founded in firm and established design principles. Graphics should add value to the website, and never reduce the readability or performance. It is important that the look and feel of a website be a positive and compelling visual reflection of the product through the use of colors, fonts, and graphics.

USEFUL INFORMATION
All content presented on the site should be of the highest quality. Animations and graphics are to support the content, not compete. It is important to ensure that your message is clear and your intent is obvious. Ensure that all content is accurate and error free.

Stay tuned for the next part of this article for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, Marketing, New Home Sales | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Myers Barnes Exclusive Webinar

December 4th, 2008

Please join me for an exclusive web seminar on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, at 1:00 PM Eastern. My topic will be “Supercharge your Sales: Strategies and Tools for Management Success in New Home Sales.” I hope you’ll make sure to take advantage of this opportunity to learn the latest insights into new home sales, and get some of that meaningful motivation you need to get 2009 started right. For more information about when, where, and how to watch this exclusive web seminar with me, please click here.

Keep Selling, Super Achievers!
Myers

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, Marketing, New Home Sales, New Home Sales Training, Personal Development, Sales Management | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

THE HIDE AND SEEK OF SEARCH, Part 2

December 4th, 2008

HOW BUYERS FIND YOU IN THE 21ST CENTURY, Part 2

So your website has fresh and relevant content—but even the best website in the world will not lead to conversions if prospects never even know about your website.

It is therefore critical to ensure that, when prospective buyers who should be your prospective buyers are searching the web, they find your website. The process of helping your website connect with people you want to find it is called “Search Engine Optimization” often abbreviated as “SEO.”

SEO is a set of an ever-evolving set of methods to help your website achieve the highest ranking possible in search engine results. And while the specifics of HOW it’s done can be a bit complicated, the WHY cannot be overstated. Here are some incredible facts: According to Forrester Research, 81% of internet users find websites via search engines. In addition, the first 3 positions in “organic” (that is, non-paid) search engine results are viewed almost 100% of the time, and the 4th organic position was viewed 85% of the time.

In total, 90% of all Internet search engine traffic goes to the top 30 organic search results. And with 84% of homebuyers starting their new home search on the internet, you can see the overwhelming importance of proper Search Engine Optimization in getting prospects to your community.

So, that’s the WHY. Next time we’ll begin to discuss the HOW—the specifics of how you can make sure your website has effective content, and is effectively optimized for web search engines to be able to connect you with the right prospects.

Stay tuned for the next part of this article for more new home sales insights from real estate e-marketing expert Tom Nelson.

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll, Marketing, New Home Sales | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes

Happy Thanksgiving

November 26th, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving, Super Achievers! This is the time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished this year, what we have to be thankful for, and to begin getting ready to start a new year with fresh eyes and ears.

I hope you have a happy holiday with family and friends, and I want to remind you that starting next week, guest blogger Tom Nelson of NDG Communications will be taking over the Myers Barnes blog for a short while with some truly valuable advice and strategies for effective e-marketing. Make sure to read Tom’s insights and I promise you’ll learn something that will help change your business for the better.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Myers

Bookmark and Share
[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Google] [LinkedIn] [StumbleUpon] [Windows Live] [Yahoo!] [Email] More »
Powered by Bookmarkify™

No Comments » | Blogroll | Permalink
Posted by Myers Barnes