The Official HomeRoute Blog

Rising to the Top - of Search Engine Placement

The HomeRoute Insider came across a great article 7 Ways to Boost Your Online Visibility. These tips may not get you to Number 1 but you can increase your rank and the amount of traffic to your website. With simple steps, such as ‘Publish a Press Release Online’ and ‘Acquire Inbound Links’, author Brandon Cornett eases the confusion of getting your website better placement in the search engines.

Read all of Brandon Cornett’s article at Broker Agent News.

Business Plan for 2007

Have you finished your business plan for 2007? The HomeRoute Insider wants to share an article about the “Best Practices” every real estate agent should be doing. Putting together a business plan and goals is the best way to make use of the slower end of year time. Real Estate agent Claudia Wicks says this list “of Top 10 Practices [could] change your real estate career in 2007.”

For the entire list, read the article: http://agentceo.blogspot.com.

“Sticky” Publicity Campaigns for REALTORS

In a changing real estate industry, traditional advertising is becoming less effective. The HomeRoute Insider read an interesting article exploring how real estate agents can gain a competitive edge by creating positive publicity in their community and through their websites to stand out in their market. The article, written by Joe Cook, speaker and entrepreneur with public relations experience with his local association of REALTORS, offers inspiration for agents to showcase their community involvement, how to write press releases, creating authentic taglines and how to give your website “stickiness” that will entice and interest online home buyers.

For inspiration for your business plan going into 2007, check out: Sticky Business: Three Ways to Catch, Hold and Keep Your Customer’s Attention.

Why the Internet is a Tool, not a Threat for REALTORS

Many agents are finding that the Internet is enabling better communication with clients and prospects. When used to its fullest potential, the Internet can be the best tool to preserving the critical “relationship” focus of the real estate business. The HomeRoute Insider read a great post by West Coast Real Estate agent, Kevin Boer, titled: Why the Internet will Never Disintermediate Realtors – Part 2: It builds, not erodes, the relationship. In the post, Boer discusses how the Internet “excels as a relationship-building” tool because communication through the internet can be "targeted, tracked, tweaked, and timed."

Read Boer’s entire post at: http://3oceansrealestate.com. This post is a continuation of Boer's Part 1 Post, which can be read here: Part 1: It's the Relationship, stupid.

Cost-effective Web Techniques for Real Estate

As the real estate market slows to a more normal pace, agents are looking for ways to generate business through cost-effective, internet-based technologies. HomeRoute's Technology Watch read a helpful review by Inman News of strategies agents are using today to incorporate the latest technologies into their business plan. According to a recent Inman News Conference“Blogs, wireless devices, off-the-shelf Web applications, video, virtual offices and paperless processes are among the examples of Internet-powered tools and techniques that don't require a huge investment of time and money before they pay off.”

Review the following article for examples of how agents and brokers are using technology to produce innovative online tools that are drawing in more business, virtual office technologies to trim operating costs and making property information more readily available to improve communication between consumers and agents: http://www.inman.com.

Software Connects Agents to Buyers in Real Time

HomeRoute’s Technology Watch uncovered a new website application that allows your site’s visitors to connect to you immediately via text message when they see a property of interest on your listings website. The Mobile Connect technology by Cell Signs Inc. allows agents to be sent a text message of an inquiry that is submitted on their website. “The click-to-text application can deliver a question, message or other information posted from a website and send it immediately to a selected customer service representative, sales contact or agent’s cell phone via text messaging.” Additionally, the new IM Connect application allows a home buyer to immediately chat with an agent in real time using Instant Messaging technology.

To read reviews of this new technology, check out the following two articles: CellSigns, Inc. Launches ‘Click-to-Chat’ and ‘Click-to-Text’ Services for Real Estate Professionals and Texting, IMs Bring Consumers Closer to Real Estate Agents.  Learn more about pricing and options at http://cellsigns.com.

Neighboroo – Visual Research Tool for Home Buyers

If your buyers are looking for a resource to help them research an upcoming move, HomeRoute’s Technology Watch has a great tool for you to point them towards. The new beta site Neighboroo allows users to browse cities across the country using a Google's click and drag mapping technology integrated with statistical data about community culture, lifestyle, school rankings, the local housing market and average household income. This site would be a great recommendation to home buyers looking for an easy way to research and compare neighborhoods of interest.

Check out this easy to use tool at www.neighboroo.com. Click along the left side column to view the trends for any given neighborhood. Learn more about the creators of this site at: http://transparentretech.com.

Online Video – The Next Big Trend in Real Estate Marketing Tools

HomeRoute Technology Watch has been reading several recent blog posts and articles about the explosion of online videos as a marketing platform for real estate. The buzz is talking about the evolution of user-generated content as the focus of up and coming website technology and how Web Video is the “poster child” for user-generated content. Don’t be left behind – catch up on the latest insight into how and why real estate agents are using web videos to promote themselves and market their properties.

Read Matt Carter’s article on Inman News: Video is King of User-Generated Content. Link to real estate websites already utilizing web videos from the blog post: Real Estate Agents bear witness… The rise of video is upon us.

Get Reading: 500 Real Estate Blogs to Watch

As the real estate “blogosphere” explodes with hundreds of new blogs buzzing about the latest industry news, technology trends and real estate success stories, The HomeRoute Insider found a great list of 500 Real Estate Blogs to Watch compiled by the PittsburghHomesDailey.com.  Organized by state, this is a great place to find some new reading material to follow via RSS feed. 

To read the entire list, check out:
http://www.pittsburghdaily.com. To read Jim Cronin's review on the topic, visit: The Real Estate Tomato.

The Business Blog vs. The Real Estate Website

If you have started your own real estate blog or are considering it, the HomeRoute Insider recommends reading Jim Cronin’s September 25^th blog post titled “The Business Blog vs. The Real Estate Website.”  According to Cronin “If Realtors are going to recognize the value of blogging, they first need to recognize it's distinction from their personal website.  An analogy to help understand the difference: Think of your personal website as a brochure.  Think of a blog as the editorial section of a newspaper.”

To read Cronin’s detailed list of the differences between your personal real estate website and your blog and how best real estate agents can leverage the two to generate business, read http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/the_real_estate_tomato/2006/09/the_business_bl.html