Mike - I have wondered about site maps as well. My question is: If you have a header at the top of your website, does the verbiage inside the header have any "key word" significance to a search engine? Right now, mine says "Southern Oregon."
Hope you are on the road to a speedy recovery :)
Melinda Peterson Broker Realtor® Grants Pass Southern Oregon Real Estate (Real Estate Cafe)
To Melinda - Headers and Title Bars are two different things. The Header is going to take on much more significance when you can identify these as different levels of headers for the search engines. You can not do that effectively with the real estate website builders out there, so you must make sure you have a GREAT Title Bar and you use the Site Map builder companies like A la Mode offer.
Mike Morgan - 772-260-5448
P.S. If you have a question about SEO, SEM, Google, Yahoo, Sponsored Links or Internet Marketing, please post a comment here or email me at Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Friday, November 27, 2009
Site Map Question
Mike - Do most of the websites Realtors buy have site maps? I don't see them on websites like I used to. Are they buried in the site somewhere?
Rich Cederberg- Northwest Albuquerque Real Estate Expert (RE/MAX Elite)
Hi Rich - Yes, most websites programs do have sitemaps. In fact, it is usually nothing more than checking a box as to whether you want to display the site map on your website and to search engines. I'd be happy to assist you with our site if you have any problems. No charge.
Mike Morgan - 772-260-5448
Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me. I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Rich Cederberg- Northwest Albuquerque Real Estate Expert (RE/MAX Elite)
Hi Rich - Yes, most websites programs do have sitemaps. In fact, it is usually nothing more than checking a box as to whether you want to display the site map on your website and to search engines. I'd be happy to assist you with our site if you have any problems. No charge.
Mike Morgan - 772-260-5448
Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me. I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Header vs. Title Bar Question
Question - Header vs Title Bar from Jenny Durline Jenny Durling Silver Lake, Los Feliz & L.A. properties:
OK, I must really be backwards. I don't know what a header vs a title bar is!!
That's an excellent question. A Header is referred to when writing html code. Header Tags (H1 through H6) are a way for developers to format text and define a web page's organization structure. The text is referred to as Header Text, while the html code is the Head Tag. The biggest bonus of proper Headers and Header Tags is site ranking because if done properly, you've provide the search engine crawler with an easy roadmap of your website.
Unfortunately, Header Tags are more complicated to implement with website builders that offer easy-to-use and build pages. At this point, you really must understand html code. But at this stage of the game, don't worry. There are enough things for you to do to enhance ranking.
A Title Bar is the line of copy that appears in the blue bar at the very top of you computer screen . . . and on the first line of Google, Yahoo and other search engine results. In fact, this line of copy is one of the two lines of copy you control on the search engine results page! More on that in a later post.
Here is an example of a Title Bar from my former website - http://www.floridahomes.pro/MortgageCalculators
Click on the link or paste it into your address bar, then look at the top of your computer screen. You should see this Title Bar . . .
Mortgage Calculators Mortgage Payments Calculating Mortgage Payments
This would also be the very first line that appears in a Google, Yahoo, etc. search that matches the user's search criteria. The next two lines would be copy pulled from the site, and the fourth line, usually in green would be the actual URL. So here you can see how you control the first and last line in search engine results displayed. The middle section in black is selected by secret algorithims.
Post your questions here, or send your questions to me at Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
OK, I must really be backwards. I don't know what a header vs a title bar is!!
That's an excellent question. A Header is referred to when writing html code. Header Tags (H1 through H6) are a way for developers to format text and define a web page's organization structure. The text is referred to as Header Text, while the html code is the Head Tag. The biggest bonus of proper Headers and Header Tags is site ranking because if done properly, you've provide the search engine crawler with an easy roadmap of your website.
Unfortunately, Header Tags are more complicated to implement with website builders that offer easy-to-use and build pages. At this point, you really must understand html code. But at this stage of the game, don't worry. There are enough things for you to do to enhance ranking.
A Title Bar is the line of copy that appears in the blue bar at the very top of you computer screen . . . and on the first line of Google, Yahoo and other search engine results. In fact, this line of copy is one of the two lines of copy you control on the search engine results page! More on that in a later post.
Here is an example of a Title Bar from my former website - http://www.floridahomes.pro/MortgageCalculators
Click on the link or paste it into your address bar, then look at the top of your computer screen. You should see this Title Bar . . .
Mortgage Calculators Mortgage Payments Calculating Mortgage Payments
This would also be the very first line that appears in a Google, Yahoo, etc. search that matches the user's search criteria. The next two lines would be copy pulled from the site, and the fourth line, usually in green would be the actual URL. So here you can see how you control the first and last line in search engine results displayed. The middle section in black is selected by secret algorithims.
Post your questions here, or send your questions to me at Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Domain Names - Picking and Displaying
All too often I see agents and brokers pick long complicated domain names. For example . . . www.miamiluxuryrealestate.com That's a mouth full to say, not to mention to read and decipher what it is. It's also very difficult for the search engines to decipher. The crawlers read this as one word, then the crawlers my try to break out Miami, but with domain this long, even when someone is search for "miami luxury real estate" the website does not show up on the first few pages.
So here are a few tips.
1. If you are truly stuck on a long domain name, buy the hyphenated version. So in this case, buy www.miami-luxury-real-estate.com At least the search engines have a chance to read and identify your domain. And it is a lot easier on the eye for consumers to decipher what your website is all about.
2. Whether your domain is too long, too short or just right, you always want to display it in ads, sponsored links and anywhere else with capital letter breaks. For example . . . www.MiamiLuxuryRealEstate.com is much easier to read than www.miamiluxuryrealestate.com And the same holds true for www.Miami-Luxury-Real-Estate.com
3. Better yet, try to find shorter domain name that will be easier to use in and on all of your marketing materials. If you can't find the dot.com domain, next look at dot.us, dot.org or dot.net. Don't get too crazy with all of the new domain providers. The only other one you want to consider is dot.pro, available through www.Encirca.com I own several, and my clients own quite a few more.
4. One final tip, even though there are dozens more. When buying a domain, consider what your clients are going to be searching for. In the example used here, is a buyer really going to be searching for "miami luxury real estate" or might they be searching for "miami condos" or "miami mansions" or "miami luxury homes" or "miami waterfront homes."
With all that said, be careful. You can get carried away with domain names. You want one solid name that is the main domain. Then if you want secondary domains to point to the main domain fine, but plan how you are going to use them. I see clients that own dozens of domains for one product or area. You can't possibly manage the effectively when you compare the amount of time you must invest, compared to investing that time in the main domain.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section. I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
So here are a few tips.
1. If you are truly stuck on a long domain name, buy the hyphenated version. So in this case, buy www.miami-luxury-real-estate.com At least the search engines have a chance to read and identify your domain. And it is a lot easier on the eye for consumers to decipher what your website is all about.
2. Whether your domain is too long, too short or just right, you always want to display it in ads, sponsored links and anywhere else with capital letter breaks. For example . . . www.MiamiLuxuryRealEstate.com is much easier to read than www.miamiluxuryrealestate.com And the same holds true for www.Miami-Luxury-Real-Estate.com
3. Better yet, try to find shorter domain name that will be easier to use in and on all of your marketing materials. If you can't find the dot.com domain, next look at dot.us, dot.org or dot.net. Don't get too crazy with all of the new domain providers. The only other one you want to consider is dot.pro, available through www.Encirca.com I own several, and my clients own quite a few more.
4. One final tip, even though there are dozens more. When buying a domain, consider what your clients are going to be searching for. In the example used here, is a buyer really going to be searching for "miami luxury real estate" or might they be searching for "miami condos" or "miami mansions" or "miami luxury homes" or "miami waterfront homes."
With all that said, be careful. You can get carried away with domain names. You want one solid name that is the main domain. Then if you want secondary domains to point to the main domain fine, but plan how you are going to use them. I see clients that own dozens of domains for one product or area. You can't possibly manage the effectively when you compare the amount of time you must invest, compared to investing that time in the main domain.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section. I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Google - Testing Rotating Ads
If you're using Google Adwords you need to understand testing a control ad against one or two other ads. Here are some pointers:
1 - Only use one or two test ads. Do not get carried away with more than two. You will not be able to evaluate properly.
2 - Make sure the test ads are similar. Focus on testing one element. You may want to test different headlines with the rest of the ads identical.
3 - You may want to test a single word or phrase.
4 - Make sure you turn on the feature in your settings to allow the ads to be rotated equally. You do NOT want Google to display better performing ads more often, because you are testing, so you want equal distribution of the ads.
5 - Don't make snap judgements, so make sure there is sufficient data (impressions) of your ads to make a statistically intelligent call. If one or two additional clicks changes the outcome, you do not have enough clicks.
6 - Once you have made a decision that one of the ads beat your control ad, make the new one the control, and create two new ads.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
1 - Only use one or two test ads. Do not get carried away with more than two. You will not be able to evaluate properly.
2 - Make sure the test ads are similar. Focus on testing one element. You may want to test different headlines with the rest of the ads identical.
3 - You may want to test a single word or phrase.
4 - Make sure you turn on the feature in your settings to allow the ads to be rotated equally. You do NOT want Google to display better performing ads more often, because you are testing, so you want equal distribution of the ads.
5 - Don't make snap judgements, so make sure there is sufficient data (impressions) of your ads to make a statistically intelligent call. If one or two additional clicks changes the outcome, you do not have enough clicks.
6 - Once you have made a decision that one of the ads beat your control ad, make the new one the control, and create two new ads.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Google Adwords - Multiple Ads - Why?
This morning I posted about testing within the Google Adwords program. I gave you a few of the more basic tips, but keep in mind, there are dozens of things you can do to enhance ad testing. I'll discuss more of them over the next few months, but I don't want to bog anyone down that is following along.
I do want to note that multiple ads for one keyword go beyond testing. Once you spend the time testing, and you feel confident you have one solid winner, and two very close ads, you want to continue to run three ads in rotation. Some might wonder, why, if we are done testing.
First, you are actually never done testing, but you can concentrate on other areas for awhile and come back and re-visit testing.
Second, multiple ads present multiple marketing points. You may run three ads with headlines like this:
1 - Miami Real Estate Expert
2 - Search the Entire Miami MLS
3 - Preview All Miami Listings
The three headlines send three different messages. One thing to always remember with Internet Marketing is . . . the higher the price of the items, the more the shopper will search. If someone is buying a bar of specialty soap, they are not going to visit 20 websites and spend two hours online. If someone is buying a $500,000 house, YES . . . they may visit more than 20 websites and spend hours online.
So each time your ads are displayed on a keyword, the buyer will see a different ad, but when they click on it, they are returned to your website. Take this a step further with fine tuning where you drop the buyer.
For the first ad, you will drop them on a page that talks about your expertise.
For the second ad, you will drop them on a page that features your IDX MLS search.
And for the third ad, you will drop them on a different MLS search page.
For your competitors that ran only one ad, the viewer would not be clicking on it three times. They've seen the ad, and they realize they already saw that website. But you directed the buyer to your website THREE times. If you're doing your homework, and your website is a HIT, the buyer should at least fill out a form. You had three shots at convincing this buyer, that you are the EXPERT.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
I do want to note that multiple ads for one keyword go beyond testing. Once you spend the time testing, and you feel confident you have one solid winner, and two very close ads, you want to continue to run three ads in rotation. Some might wonder, why, if we are done testing.
First, you are actually never done testing, but you can concentrate on other areas for awhile and come back and re-visit testing.
Second, multiple ads present multiple marketing points. You may run three ads with headlines like this:
1 - Miami Real Estate Expert
2 - Search the Entire Miami MLS
3 - Preview All Miami Listings
The three headlines send three different messages. One thing to always remember with Internet Marketing is . . . the higher the price of the items, the more the shopper will search. If someone is buying a bar of specialty soap, they are not going to visit 20 websites and spend two hours online. If someone is buying a $500,000 house, YES . . . they may visit more than 20 websites and spend hours online.
So each time your ads are displayed on a keyword, the buyer will see a different ad, but when they click on it, they are returned to your website. Take this a step further with fine tuning where you drop the buyer.
For the first ad, you will drop them on a page that talks about your expertise.
For the second ad, you will drop them on a page that features your IDX MLS search.
And for the third ad, you will drop them on a different MLS search page.
For your competitors that ran only one ad, the viewer would not be clicking on it three times. They've seen the ad, and they realize they already saw that website. But you directed the buyer to your website THREE times. If you're doing your homework, and your website is a HIT, the buyer should at least fill out a form. You had three shots at convincing this buyer, that you are the EXPERT.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
Google Adwords - You Do NOT Want to Be #1
That's right, on Google, Yahoo and other Sponsored Links, you do NOT want to be #1. Remember in the prior post how I pointed out the higher the price of a product, the more ads a buyer will click on. There are not too many advertised products more expensive than homes. So you do NOT want to pay the premium to be #1, when a potential buyer is going to click on several Google ads. This means, even if you are 3,4,5, or more, you are probably going to be clicked on . . . if you have an ad that appeals to the buyer.
You can tell Google exactly what position you want when you set the Positions Preference option in Settings for each Campaign. Once that is set, you can then adjust positions by keywords, but it is much easier to do it by Ad Groups.
You have a few options.
1 - Set a specific position that you want. If I were going to use this option, I would set 3-5, because this way you maximize your exposure in the top right hand corner position. Google will display from 1-3 ads on top of the wide organic section, and the rest of the ads go down the right hand side.
2 - Another option is to select 2-8, which means you will be on the first page, but you do not want to pay for position #1. I should note that Google will still place you in the #1 position if you are bidding enough to make it worthwhile for them to place you there. That is a complicated message that will be dealt with in my next post on how Google decides the order of ads.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
You can tell Google exactly what position you want when you set the Positions Preference option in Settings for each Campaign. Once that is set, you can then adjust positions by keywords, but it is much easier to do it by Ad Groups.
You have a few options.
1 - Set a specific position that you want. If I were going to use this option, I would set 3-5, because this way you maximize your exposure in the top right hand corner position. Google will display from 1-3 ads on top of the wide organic section, and the rest of the ads go down the right hand side.
2 - Another option is to select 2-8, which means you will be on the first page, but you do not want to pay for position #1. I should note that Google will still place you in the #1 position if you are bidding enough to make it worthwhile for them to place you there. That is a complicated message that will be dealt with in my next post on how Google decides the order of ads.
If you have a question about this post, please post in the comments section or email me Mike@MikeMorgan7.com I will respond to all questions posted.
Mike Morgan, J.D., CRS, GRI, SRES, e-PRO, REO TRANS Platinum
"Internet Marketing for Real Estate Professionals"
Phone: (772) 260-5448
Email: Mike@MikeMorgan7.com
Website: www.MikeMorgan7.com
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