Top Agents Online Real Estate Blogs

When spending money on search engine marketing, consider where you want to be, not where you are! As a rule of thumb, the Texas Association of Realtors stated...set your budget based on what you want to earn, not what you currently make. Your real estate marketing budget should be between 15% and 30% of your gross commission goal for the coming year. The percentage that you spend is inversely proportional to your income. The more you make, the less you have to spend. If you earn $1 million a year in commissions, you can get by with spending 15% or even less on marketing. If you are making $100,000 or less, you must spend 30% so that you grow your business.

Every day, thousands of searches are conducted by people in your area, searching the Internet to find a real estate agent to buy or to sell property. Statistics show that 90% of internet users employ search engines as a starting point to find information. 85% of these use the top 10 major search engines and directories. 80% of search engine users never look further than the first 15 results.

In 2000, 28% of consumers said that they used the Internet as an important part of their home-buying and selection process. In 2006, 70% said they did; - 86% of home buyers started using the Internet as part of their process before they started looking for a specific home; the other 14% did after they started looking, but before they contacted a real estate agent; that means that 100% of buyers surveyed, started looking at homes first, agents second.

With the internet and search engine marketing being such a powerful tool for any industry, real estate marketing has been one of the most profitable. Unbelievably, only 4% of real estate agents throughout the country are effectively utilizing the internet! Having a real estate web site is only an extension of a business card. As a real estate agent, ask yourself a few of of these questions, to see if you're doing the bare minimum or at the forefront of what real estate technology has to offer.

1. Do I have 3-5 optimized real estate web sites on the search engines right now?

2. Am I posting real estate "blogs" every week?

3. If a consumer searches for real estate using many forms of "search terms", is my personal web site on the first page (top 10) of the results on Google, Yahoo or MSN?

The year 2008 is expected to show some staggering numbers to date regarding real estate internet-transactions. The most common thought years ago was that connecting with a buyer or seller that's surfing the web looking for real estate was most likely a "just looking" type of lead.

Times has proven otherwise...thousands of top real estate professionals throughout the country and all over the world, have discovered a high level of success through real estate web site optimization and search engine marketing.

Most top producing real estate agents and modern offices have a major presence on Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask, AOL, and have made the decision to gear 100% of their efforts towards internet-driven buyers and sellers.

The most convincing internet marketing statistics are ones that show consistency as real estate and local real estate markets change. One of many proven methods used by Top Agents Online is to utilize every powerful resource for immediate exposure on the search engines for our customers while a long term plan for consistent lead generation is the over-all objective.

With Top Agents Online being at the forefront of very successful real estate web site design and search engine marketing, our customers can feel confident that they're working with the most modern, cutting edge development team in the business.

Pay per click advertising is an essential real estate marketing tool used on search engines, advertising networks, and content websites, where real estate agents only pay when a user clicks on one of their ads to visit their website. Advertisers bid on keywords that they predict their target market will use as real estate search terms when they are looking for homes, market information or a service. When researched properly, keyword research specific to the real estate market being targeted is a key step when creating a successful campaign.

When a real estate web site is designed for search engine marketing, the building process is much more involved when it comes to the research than it is for the design or the "look" of the site. Keyword research analysis, aggressive link building and the overall platform of the web site are just a few of the many things that can and will be done when it comes to the Top Agents Online real estate marketing system.

Working Internet leads aggressively is essential to increasing your sales. Pick up the phone and make that call right away. Relying on emails is impersonal and rarely leads to capturing the buyers/sellers attention. As a rule of thumb, it may take 4 - 8 phone calls to reach someone who is busy. At the very least, follow these simple steps to increase your conversions: 1. Respond quickly. 2. Leave a voice mail that creates urgency while offering assistance. 3. Sound good on the phone, practice by teaming up with someone that can provide you with feedback. 4. Set an appointment to meet.

Internet advertising/Search engine marketing done correctly is the most cost effective way to promote yourself to the rest of the country. If someone searches for real estate on the internet, the first agent to get in touch with them has the best chance of working with that buyer or seller. Local advertising is good and shouldn't be forgotten, but online advertising, specifically top placement is a must if you look at the number of daily searches in a single real estate market on Google, Yahoo and MSN!

Depending on an individuals marketing budget, pay per click advertising may seem too expensive to test out without proper training. There are several ways to start or adjust a marketing strategy that can generate leads immediately without losing site of a plan for long term success on the search engines.

The number one mistake real estate agents and their webmasters make is taking advantage of Google Adwords but not letting time work for you!

Start the time clock with a powerful web site built by professionals that have proven results that can be demonstrated online of actual clients. Top Agents Online provides online demonstrations for interested real estate professionals.

In the pre-Internet days, it used to be hard work to get good leads. It would sometimes require months of door knocking, cold-calling, and cultivating stay-in-touch programs. And, if the general market slowed down, like it recently has done in many parts of the country, your flow of leads would tend to slow down, too.

The Internet, however, never slows down and it never gets tired. It continues to deliver qualified leads regardless of current market conditions. This makes it the most prolific and reliable source of new business in the industry-period. You may think I'm exaggerating, but I'm not. As long as you know how to speak the language of your online leads, and you know what to do with them until they're really ready to buy or sell, you'll never have a shortage of clients.

Article by, Mr. Internet-Michael J. Russer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It may be the best time to buy a house in more than four years.

Home prices have dropped so quickly and so far that valuations - the difference between what a home should cost and its actual price - are the lowest they've been since 2004, according to a report.

The Cleveland-based bank National City Corp. (NCC, Fortune 500), together with financial analysis firm Global Insight, revealed Tuesday that more than 88% of the 330 housing markets surveyed showed price declines and improved affordability during the last three months of 2007.

"Housing valuations are almost back to long-term norms," said National City's chief economist, Richard DeKaser. He called current affordability "the best in the past four years."

1) Search bank websites.

Banks often list their foreclosed properties for sale online. At Bank of America, for example, about 800 residential listings are posted, including 156 in California. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchase mortgages from banks.

2) Look up government-owned listings.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development lists the foreclosed homes that it owns on its website as well as through local real estate agents. Once you find a home you're interested in, you can make an offer through the agent representing the property.

3) Visit your county's offices.

Foreclosure information is filed with county offices, some of which post it online. In Boulder County, Colo., for example, current foreclosure listings, as well as weekly sales, are published on the county website, where users can search by ZIP code or street address.

4) Pay for a foreclosure listing service.

Some companies, such as