This Palm Springs Seller is pretty creative....

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
IR2, would you consider doing something like this for one of your listings? What is your professional opinion?





<em>"but our specialty is search engine optimization"</em>



This is kind of an inside joke, but can you tell us how to optimize the phrase



<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/1188/">Brightwater in Huntington Beach</a> ? ;-P
 
[quote author="Trooper" date=1212849357]IR2, would you consider doing something like this for one of your listings? What is your professional opinion?





<em>"but our specialty is search engine optimization"</em>



This is kind of an inside joke, but can you tell us how to optimize the phrase



<a href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/forums/viewthread/1188/">Brightwater in Huntington Beach</a> ? ;-P</blockquote>


I already do set up an individual property website for each of my listings, along with a video tour and as many photos as they'll let me. Not as fine-tuned as PSS has done, (and I hear that acpme won't like my flash component), but they offer photos, details, school links, area maps, and floorplans when available.



a couple of recent examples for your critique:

Websites

<a href="http://www.10981LakeCourtRd.com ">www.10981LakeCourtRd.com </a>

<a href="http://www.28Willowhurst.com">www.28Willowhurst.com</a>

<a href="http://www.64Autumn.com">www.64Autumn.com</a>

<a href="http://www.8Honeydew.com">www.8Honeydew.com</a>

<a href="http://www.2830Ballesteros.com">www.2830Ballesteros.com</a>

<a href="http://www.2NewMarket.com">www.2NewMarket.com</a>

Video Tours

<a href="http://www.realestateshows.com/261662">2832 Ballesteros</a>

<a href="http://www.realestateshows.com/241227">3100 Puesta Del Sol #203</a>

<a href="http://www.realestateshows.com/182738">89 Avondale</a>

I also put one together for a block party that I put on for West Irvine

<a href="http://www.realestateshows.com/174903">Block Party</a>



The #1 (most users) website for property is www.Realtor.com and I pay to have my listings get preferential treatment there, if that is what "search engine optimization" is referring to, because it helps get better # of eyes on the properties.



IMO these are all well and fine, but they are merely the sizzle and not the steak. To steal IrvineRenter's phrase, "price is the ultimate amenity." I certainly have specific reasons that I use these tools, but without the right price, setting up the nicest peripherals is like trying to put a dress on a pig.



And Brightwater is nice, so long as they're not storing bodies in the attic.
 
"Search Engine Optimization" refers to the art of making a website seen in the "organic" rankings of a search engine for specific keyword searched. "Search Engine Marketing" is buying ad listings from the search engines to drive traffic to a website. "Search Engine Optimization" is time consuming and difficult and employs many different techniques, but if done properly, can be very effective since it provides "free" traffic to your website. This can take several months, if not years, to achieve, so it may not be worth the effort for individual property websites. That is why I gave our domain a "generic" name, ourpalmspringshouse.com and did not use the address of the property, which appears to be the most common method used on individual property websites created by realtors. Once the house sells, that domain name must be scrapped. However, if you create a generic domain name, you could use that domain name to promote a different listing, and it could have the longevity needed to acquire "organic" search rankings.



The more targeted a keyword, the harder it is to optimize for. For instance ranking for "Brightwater in Huntington Beach" would be much more attainable than ranking for "Irvine Real Estate"



One effective method of getting "organic" traffic to a new website is press releases. I submitted a news story to the local paper here in the Desert yesterday, and it is appearing today in Google News for keyphrase "palm springs



<a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=palm springs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn">Google News Palm Springs</a>



Many people subscribe to Google news articles for specific keywords, and they receive email notification when there is current news related to these keyword phrases.



IR - Thanks for the reference to realtor.com. I should definitely post my website here.



Cheers

Todd
 
Ooops, put the wrong url in the "Google News Palm Springs" link. So much for my "optimization" specialist status!!!

Let's try that again



<a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=palm springs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn">Google News Palm Springs</a>



<a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=palm springs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn">Google News Palm Springs</a>
 
<blockquote>Search Engine Optimization? is time consuming and difficult and employs many different techniques, but if done properly, can be very effective since it provides ?free? traffic to your website.</blockquote>
PSS, I've heard that if you abuse the Search Engine Optimization you can get blacklisted from Google. Have you had any experience with this?



Also, best of luck with the sale of your house. Hopefully you get an offer soon.
 
Well, so much for giving you the right link. It looks like there is a character limit on a url string.

Anyways, if you go to news.google.com and do a search on "Palm Springs" you will see reference to the article that I posted in the Desert Sun



CalGal - Yes, you need to be very careful in optimizing a website for the search engines. There are several methods that can be employed that will get you temporary rankings, but will lead to your site getting permanently banned. I have not had this happen to any of my websites because I always take great caution to avoid these techniques.



My company website,

<a href="http://www.healthinsurancefinders.com">HealthInsuranceFinders.com</a> has been on the first page of Google for "health insurance" for 4 years running and was ranked #1 until reecntly. This is a highly competitive keyword and the competition is fierce for acquiring top search rankings. I have seen many sites come and go for this keyword search because they used techniques that got them banned.
 
[quote author="Palm Springs Seller" date=1212883828]"Search Engine Optimization" refers to the art of making a website seen in the "organic" rankings of a search engine for specific keyword searched. "Search Engine Marketing" is buying ad listings from the search engines to drive traffic to a website. "Search Engine Optimization" is time consuming and difficult and employs many different techniques, but if done properly, can be very effective since it provides "free" traffic to your website. This can take several months, if not years, to achieve, so it may not be worth the effort for individual property websites. That is why I gave our domain a "generic" name, ourpalmspringshouse.com and did not use the address of the property, which appears to be the most common method used on individual property websites created by realtors. Once the house sells, that domain name must be scrapped. However, if you create a generic domain name, you could use that domain name to promote a different listing, and it could have the longevity needed to acquire "organic" search rankings.



The more targeted a keyword, the harder it is to optimize for. For instance ranking for "Brightwater in Huntington Beach" would be much more attainable than ranking for "Irvine Real Estate"



One effective method of getting "organic" traffic to a new website is press releases. I submitted a news story to the local paper here in the Desert yesterday, and it is appearing today in Google News for keyphrase "palm springs



<a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=palm springs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn">Google News Palm Springs</a>



Many people subscribe to Google news articles for specific keywords, and they receive email notification when there is current news related to these keyword phrases.



IR - Thanks for the reference to realtor.com. I should definitely post my website here.



Cheers

Todd</blockquote>


Todd,

Your home is already on realtor.com <a href="http://www.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=92262&ml=3&bd=5&bth=7&typ=7&sid=e7562c101737411591ec6906e7b8bb13&pg=2&lid=1097974019&lsn=15&srcnt=116#Detail">here</a>.



From a rough look, your home looks incredible. Just make sure the price is right. If you are not getting offers, it is not because of ANY other reason.
 
<a href="http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080606/GETPUBLISHED/806060332">Todd's story</a>



I also think you might have a little trouble now because of the wind...but that should be ending pretty soon from what I understand.



Todd, are there any PS housing blogs ?
 
The wind subsides as the temperature increases, and that will be a whole new issue. From what I understand, the real estate market all but dries up in the summer out here.



I think I have the house priced right. I started at $895K, then dropped to $860K, then dropped to $839K, then promoted it at $839K fully furnished, now it is at $799K. I am hoping to use the furnishings as an incentive in negotiating at the current price. I suggested to my realtor that we promote a $10K commission bonus to the selling agent, but he thinks we should let it ride for a couple of weeks at the current price. If I do sell at the current price, I am probably going to be upside down about $10K on proceeds from escrow.



I am not much of a blogger, so I do not know about any housing blogs in PS. In fact, this blog is the first blog I have ever posted to, and that was only because I was notified by PeterUK about the attention my site was receiving on this blog.
 
[quote author="Palm Springs Seller" date=1212897213]



. In fact, this blog is the first blog I have ever posted to, and that was only because I was notified by PeterUK about the attention my site was receiving on this blog.</blockquote>


No, that was freedomCM Todd....I can't take the credit for that one...



But welcome to IHB.
 
Todd, you should get Brady to link up from realtor.com to your site, so any prospects can benefit from all the work you did to market it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top