Every successful business knows where their business comes from and know how to go after that business. If they didn't they could not stay in business, it is that simple.
The Walmarts, J.C. Penney's, Ford, etc. spend a lot of time and money knowing where their business comes from and what they need to do to generate the business they need to not only survive but to become competitive and flourish.
As Realtors we also have small businesses. We need to know who our market is and how to get that business. Speak to any Realtor in your area and askthem what their marketing plan is. Ask them what the return is on everything they are doing and they could honestly not tell you. They just know they are writing print ads, creating stunning Zillow, Trulia, etc. brochures and doing open houses because that is what they were told to do.
Broker agent news just wrote one of the best articles I have read this year that proves where the buyers are coming from and what you and I need to do to get them. Broker Agent news gave these figures:
- 213,000,000 searches happen within the United States per day. That's 6.4 BILLION searches monthly. (Source: comscore March 2006.)
Searches | Per Day (Millions) | Per Month (Millions) |
91 | 2,733 | |
Yahoo | 60 | 1,792 |
MSN | 28 | 845 |
AOL | 16 | 486 |
Ask | 13 | 378 |
Others | 6 | 166 |
Total | 213 | 6,400 |
Data from: | Searchenginewatch.com |
|
Their point is that when a consumer looks for a home in Tim Buck Two they go to the internet and type in "Tim Buck Two Real Estate" and typically look at the first page and sometimes the second page of what they find. They don't care who's site it is as long as they get the information they are looking for.
The average consumer doesn't know what a Zillow, Trulia or Backpage is. The article is not saying not to use these portals. It is simply saying that don't concentrate on these portals. Instead, concentrate on building a powerful website with good SEO that will rank you high in the search engines. Realtor sites like Point2Agent will automatically post each listing to more than 30 portals across the country with just one click of the mouse. All we need to do is concentrate on building a powerful website and watch our business grow.
Instead of spending hours and hours creating stunning internet market brochures, invest your time on building a powerful real estate presence that can be found by consumers.
The internet has become a powerful tool that consumers are using to buy everything they want and need. Be like the major corporations that invest their money where it will bring them the returns they need to stay in business. Read Realtor Internet Marketing
Great stuff George. I honestly thought Google was a bit more ahead than that. We may have to look into yahoo. I don't get any love from Yahoo but I do all the rest.
Dan - If I did everything my clients wanted me to do I would be spinning my wheels. Sellers need to be educated. When I educate them and tell them what works and what does not and why they simply do not question it. I tell all sellers I don't do print advertising and I don't do open houses...it is that simple. My business continues to flourish and I don't have to make excuses.
George - I just read this artcile this morning - pretty interesting, but not surprising. Realtor.com claims to have such a huge market share but in terms of searches it is miniscule.
Jeff
Wow! This is really amazing; your data would help us out in need. May we know about some benefits of internet marketing?
I agree, the consumers are changing how they look ad we need to be where they are looking.
Hi George, Michael Parker makes a very compelling argument, doesn't he. We must seems like kids flailing in a swimming pool with the disjointed way we approach things. Not by choice, but these things are not what we are trained in and yet we must learn this stuff. It is not easy and many try and some succeed. I am for jobbing this out to Virtual Assistants that can do it and I'll know it is done right and I am saturated with learning all this.
Marketing should be done by marketers and real estate done by us. It just makes good business sense. A very good post and I read Michael's contribution and it really started my mind whirling. He is an excellent writer and the article is well organized to be able to get to the bottom line quickly.
Hey George! Have you sent that e-mail yet? Very curious....
Randy - True my friend...it's good to hear from you
William - They Michael Parker is a good writer and I support everything he stated in this article
Jessica - Yes, I sent it out 1/2 our ago to info@remaxstandard.com
Kotambu - YOu are ver welcome and I wish you well
Thank you very much for sharing this valuable information. It makes so much sense and this is the right time to reposition my marketing plans for 2008.
Sorry for the duplicate...I'm still a newbie.
Rod
Rodney - You are very welcome and good luck to you
George....taking that one step further. If you check the stats at inventory.overture.com it shows that in January 2007, there were over 3 million searches done for the term 'real estate' and almost 700,000 for the term 'real estate agent'...and that doesn't even include the searches done on Google.
The internet is where people turn now a days for almost anything, including their home buying and selling. I find it amazing how many people don't take advantage of it!
Martin - Thanks dude...I will check it out
Donald - Congratulations!
Great post! I'm trying to find out what works and what does not. I love hearing what people have to say on this topic. Keep it coming. I'm learning!
Rob - Thanks...I will ty to keep it coming
Lori - Thanks and good luck to you
George,
I read the article last week and am aggressively looking to implement SEO with my website. As I was reading the article, I reflected on how I conduct my searches and it is right from my own home page! If we are to survive in this market, we must have a solid web strategy. I'm still looking for your Point 2 Agent blog!
Thanks for the information, I have the free site to point 2, but do not understand how the handshake works,