14 replies to this topic

[sansonj72]

Real Estate SEO Battle

Is it worth it to try and compete in today's real estate market place. You have huge national brokerages Re/Max, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, ZipRealty, RedFin, weichert, Keller Williams, Prudential, and this does not include companies like Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, Homes.com, etc. These companies have 90 DA and 1000000 of backlinks, and some of the best SEO minds working for them. I can maybe get lucky getting on google places.

Where does this leave a small fish like myself with a dream? Is my only choice to join Zillow, etc and then do PPC? Can a small fish like myself compete for the organic positions against these monsters? I think Google is trying to do this, but to be on google places it seems like you have to be the actual real estate brokerage vs agent.

Real Estate is local, but these companies are national and some even international. Where does this leave people like myself to compete? We are told longtail, but these large companies here that, so they start adding in subdivisions, property address, and once again they control the searches. I only see it getting worse and worse.

[chuckfinley]

Real Estate is local, but these companies are national and some even international. Where does this leave people like myself to compete? We are told longtail, but these large companies here that, so they start adding in subdivisions, property address, and once again they control the searches. I only see it getting worse and worse.

It's not easy. Having said that, you should be thankful that business is hard because if it wasn't, you'd have even more competition and profits would be driven down to the point it wouldn't be worth it.

Look for niches that big companies haven't found. Those keywords exist, it just takes creativity and knowledge. There are many good articles on how to find keywords when keywords are hard to find.

One word - Creativity.

Think outside the box. Think like a customer.

A contractor long ago fixed a roof leak at my grandmother's house that a trail of contractors had tried to fix and failed.

He said, "You have to think like a raindrop."

Edited by chuckfinley, 16 January 2013 - 04:39 AM.

[jonbey]

Nothing is easy. Try the health and fitness market!

[Walter]

Sansonj72,

Is it worth it to try and compete in today's real estate market place

I once read something written by a man that made his living betting on the ponies. He said that it could be done, he was living proof, but he just made a living at it and if he had spent the same amount of time and expended the same amount of effort in almost any other field of endeavor he would have been wildly successful.

I think your situation is similar. You have to ask yourself where your time and efforts are best spent. What would happen if you spent the same amount of time and effort in some other form of marketing/advancing your business, rather than trying to "beat" these giants in organic search results positioning?

I think you should partner up with those giants that allow for it, make sure you take advantage of every opportunity they provide and yes, I think spending some fraction of your time on developing an effective website is a good idea. However, I would look at it as a long term project. I'd focus less on what's for sale right now, and more on writing about concepts and topics of general interest.

For example:

What can the interest rate stipulated in the contract tell me?

Are there any surprises purchasers of new construction can expect on their property tax bills in your area?

What are the census bureaus latest numbers for permits in your area?

and so on......

Writing about these topics on your website will force you to become a little more polished as an agent and I think, over time, help you to accomplish what you're trying to achieve.

Also, it may seem counter intuitive, but I'd take down all the "homes for sale" stuff on your site. I'd only mention them in the context of a "study"

What's the average listing price in your area? Break it down, (for some reason a fairly large subset of people love square foot costs)

Whats the average market time?

Whats the relationship between initial listing price and final selling price in your areas?

Give a quick synopsis, and then a 'read more' deal where you really explain things in depth.

But again, I'd look at the website as a sideline and I'd be looking for long term results rather than quick ones. Unless of course you'd rather be a web dev than a real estate agent.

Walter

[EGOL]

Yep... if you get into retail you have Amazon, ebay, niche sites, manufacturer, publisher websites -- and now walmart is really coming on strong.

If you try to sell any common item you will have hundreds of competitors.

[bobbb]

Hmm bottom line seems to be: Why bother?

This is the question I asked myself from the very first time I read one of your posts. The only thought I have is that you have to think of your website as a calling card to real customers you meet and show properties to instead of carrying around a book.
"This is not exactly it? Visit my site. Here is what I got" Really you are not going to beat Re/Max, Century 21 et al.

I built a site for an artist friend. I knew it would not sell him any paintings but it is his portfolio and he does not have to carry it. Just point to it when he is with a real live person and at a function et cetera et cetera.

Edited by bobbb, 16 January 2013 - 11:49 AM.

[sansonj72]

Some really good stuff. It is not all about SEO. It is about delivering a site worth sending people to. The site I am focusing on is http://www.AzBestListings.com/ and http://www.ArizonaBestListings.com are my two focus points, and deliver a better buyer experience than the national website. Why? They basically deliver the same valuable information, but my site only delivers actively available homes for sale vs a list of homes that are now under contract, never for sale, or sold a long time ago + active available homes for sale. The problem I have with this still -- even though it is a better search people still want to look at phantom inventory on those other sites, because they are listed way less than what is reality. A short sale that sold in one day listed for $150,000, but the highest offer was $200,000, and the home is still show is active for $150,000 is going to get people to go crazy about it. Anyhow, all of this information above is huge and worth it weight in gold.

[tam]

You're on the right lines, chasing the big guys is a waste of time. So many people think "well Amazon are doing great, I just need to do what they do and I'll do great too", but Amazon are already doing it - they've got the experience, the customer base and the massive resource budget.

If you want to compete, the best thing to do is don't try and compete, do something different and better - give people a reason to use you.

But, your reason seems a little weak. You sound excited about it but I'm not. I bet you more than half of users aren't in a position to buy, they are browsing - dreaming about the house they might be able to get a year down the line. And from the sound of it, your selling point is you have less listings and they appear more expensive - that is not a selling point!

I don't know how the US national home search sites work, but most of the UK ones you can achieve exactly the same thing by going to the advance search and ticking/unticking 'sold subject to contract'.

My advice would be to stop guessing what people want, and sit down with a bunch of people in front of the national sites and find out what they like/don't like and then do the same with your website. There is often a big difference between what users think and what we think they think

[Walter]

Sansonj72,

Ok, I have an idea, you'll have to judge if there is any merit to it or not.

You said:

Anyhow, all of this information above is huge and worth it weight in gold.

Quite often there is a lot of information about the sale of a home that isn't common knowledge, distorts the impression of what the property really sold for, and is difficult to harvest automatically like the big guys do. Where I live, a lot of that information is given out on a form called the Real Estate Transfer Declaration that's filled out at closing and filed sometime down the line. There people are legally obligated to disclose things like sales between relatives, points or personal property included in the sale, whether its a distressed sale and such things. Mortgages are usually filed locally as well and can make for some interesting reading.

Now if you wanted to delve into these sales a little deeper, give a little analysis and color commentary a la a sports caster, that might just work. People might get the sense that you're giving them the inside scoop and that you're an "insider" . . . which you would be after writing a few of these.

Here, as I recall I could set up alerts on the MLS, that would let me know when there were price drops, property went off the market, pending contracts and ect. If you wanted to spend the time, you could keep your site updated with information like this.

"Today's Price Drops In Area X"

"Under Contract Today in Area X"

"Off The Market Today in Area X"

and etc.

But again, I would keep it less like a list and more like a color commentary . . . think sports caster.

Walter

[cre8pc]

Having done some usability consulting for a few local real estate offices, I know that they are often forced to use third party software for home searching and I hate every one of them. They're all usability nightmares and worse, the larger Real Estate firms demand that their franchises use their software and templates. I've never seen a real estate site I like or that was easy to use.

James, I know you've struggled for years and years with the SEO side. Have you ever had a web site designed professionally for you and if so, what kind of search and tracking software tracking did you use? There are marketers and designers in the USA that specialize in just real estate sites (run a search). To compete, you have to invest in design and marketing and let professionals take over the web site part.

Yes, there are big names out there but this doesn't mean their sites are usable. Most are barely tolerable. If you have a niche and specialize, that sets you apart and should be promoted. I did that myself. I never accepted just being a regular SEO in the early days. There's tons of them around. What doesn't (and didn't) exist were people who practiced SEO and user centered design, or SEO and accessibility or software functional testing with usability and organic SEO worked in. The combos came naturally to me. What comes naturally for you?

[RisaBB]

Is the internet the driving force for real estate sales? Do you really need a successful website to be successful in the business? RE companies survived 15 years ago without the internet. Do rankings determine whether you sink or swim in the RE business. I can understand that for an online business like mine with no storefront, but can't you get sales the traditional way, like home listings in the paper, signs on houses, etc?

[sansonj72]

I use professional websites now, but they do not do SEO, content, etc. I have been through four professional sites, and I am still with two of them. I use one as a CRM and usability site for my leads that come in from Zillow, and then I use a site for SEO. I use google analytics for my tracking. One of my sites that I had was KINGofHUD.com and I stripped it down. The site would rank top for HUD homes for sale in X City, AZ, but there was not a lot of searches for this niche, but I made a killing off of craigslist to it and print add to it. Eventually, craigslist got so competitive and the leads were real junk I just walked away from that site to go with cleaner leads.

I like the way Walter is thinking on the blogging content.

Risa, the answer for me is mixed. A ton of business from Zillow, and in a different area Craigslist for one of my agents. Most of my personal business is from referrals. However, I am not growing or attempting to grow my site for me. I am wanting to build it as a lead source for my buyer agents, but more so I want it to be a tool for helping get listings. How nice would it be to walk into a presentation, and say your home will be features Zillow, Trulia, Homes.com, and AzBestListings.com and where will my competition be.

[tam]

Slightly off-topic, but I'm curious, how do real estate sales work in the US?

Here (UK), the seller would pick an estate agent to market their property (they'd put up a sale board, put ads in the paper/online etc.) and take a cut of the sale. As a buyer you might 'register' what you're looking for with all the local estate agents and/or keep and eye out for a property you want. When you find one, you phone up and say I want to view/buy that house and deal with whichever estate agent is selling it.

I would say online was very important for browsing but personal contact with estate agents is still important when you're serious/ready to buy. When I brought, we got a call to say someone had pulled out of the sale of a property that might suit us and we went and saw it the next morning - it never went back online as available. We'd have missed it just looking online.

That might be a way to create a niche actually. The big national websites won't have direct local contacts it's all automated. Calling up all the local agents each week and getting updates and encouraging them to call & let you know new details - you could tweet/blog information before other sites had access. Stuff like - 'there is a new property going online tomorrow in such and such town' is info they can only get from you and gives you a USP.

[jonbey]

Does the US have an equivalent of Rightmove.co.uk?

Most people I know use Rightmove to find properties. I guess Estate Agents sign up to be included in it and send their listings in, manage their own accounts. If the US does not have something like this, which provides once place to view most agents, then there is a huge gap that you need to fill. Also a very expensive gap.

[sansonj72]

The big sites like Zillow, Trulia, Homes, and Realtor all have local premier agents. That site is super nice.