Think Now for a More Profitable 2008

Start planning now for next year's business. Develop stratagies for increasing your current level of business. And, just as important where can you trim the fat on your expenses so that your bottom line looks healthier.

Visit this article for Walter Sanford's take on what to put in place for a more profitable new year.

Free or Paid Search Engine Marketing?

We would all like to show in the top 10 search engine results, especially Google, for a search phrase that would send folks to our web site. The more competitive the search phrase, the more difficult it is for good placement.

There are two primary ways to show in the top 10 results . . . either using proven SEO tactics, or pay to be there. The first route is probably the best route if it can be achieved . . . however, it takes time, patience, and can cost if you have someone SEO (Search Engine Optimization) your site for you. In this day and age, you almost certainly need the help of someone experienced in this realm as there are a myriad of "on the page", "behind the page", and "off the page" items that need attention,

The other route is pay for inclusion . . . and probably the most well-known is PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising on the internet. Here you can achieve almost immediate and tangible results, but it can be much more expensive in the long run. And also, as soon as you stop paying, your presence is gone.

So, ideally you may want to do both . . . especially in the early days of a new website/domain name. That way you can achieve immediate results while you work up your up in the free or organic listing results.

Visit this article to learn more about these two facets of positioning yourself on the internet.

Search/Map/Print Upcoming Open Houses with the TourBook

The TourBook is a new tool used to map and create driving directions to selected listings. These listings can include Open Houses as well as your Favorites.

Locate open houses . . . view details . . . map with driving directions and drive times. Then, print out your tour for easy reference.

Multiple listings may be loaded into a TourBook and you can arrange the order of you tour as well. Your tour then provides a mapped route from Listing A, to Listing B, to Listing C . . .

The TourBook is accessible to a visitor after creating an account, and logging into that account. Of course there are other benefits in creating an account including saving searches and favorites, and opting in for notification of new listings by email, to name a few.

For an example of this new product, vist http://www.windermerespokane.com and select Open Houses". There is also a good example of the new open house mapping program.

VOW Revisited

I have visited this topic before, and feel it is important enough to bring to the for-front again.

First, what exactly is VOW? This acronym stands for "Virtual Office Website". A VOW real estate web site allows you to provide your site visitors with access to the most information available in the MLS, in exchange for their contact information. A VOW is where the public can create their own password-protected user account, provide their own contact information, describe their property interest, and then conduct searches of all available listings within that MLS.

This all sounds cool and is probably pretty much what we expect the public to view on our websites. However, once the VOW has been "activated" by you via your admin center, all listings and additional information details can be displayed.

What do I mean by this? In some areas, the public is not allowed to see addresses, driving directions and other selected pieces of listing information . . . unless an account is created by the visitor on your website. Display rules are set by the MLS and once the visitor has created his/her account, they become a bona fide customer/client and are allowed to view this additional information.

Of course, they can save their searches and their favorite listings. And, they can opt in for email notification of new listings meeting their search criteria from this account as well.

So, how does this all work? What must you do to provide VOW to your visitors who sign up? In a nutshell, here would be the process:

When a user visits your web site for the first time, typically they will do a search and if they want to save it, or save their favorites, or opt in for additional features not available to the general public, they are presented with two options: register as a new user or log in as an existing user. A new user is required to enter his/her basic contact information and the criteria for his/her first saved search. Upon registration completion, the new user becomes a “registered user” and is notified via email with instructions on how to activate and access their account. You, also receive an email notifying you of this new registered user.

NOW HERE IS THE IMPORTANT PART . . . when you receive your notification via email that a new account has been created, you need to go into your GD Admin Center and activate the VOW to their account.

How do you do this? Simple! Sign in to your GD admin center. Go to your "Website" section. In the left panel of navigation icons is the “Contacts” section (as denoted by a small page icon displayed there). This section displays your website users. Select the “edit pencil” for the contact that just created their account. You will see the “VOW” access option which is probably turned “off”. Merely click on it to turn it “on” and you have activated their VOW.

In a nutshell then, GD Sign In Page > Website > Contacts > Website User > Edit > Turn On (VOW)

Any time the registered user returns to your site, they may log in as a registered user. Upon logging in, registered users are directed to own their private "Dashboard". From this screen they are able to manage their profiles, search home listings, save searches, save homes and request more information.

This is a great way to provide something special and lock in a visitor to your web site.