Create Your Own Squeeze Pages On The Fly!

Posted on April 9, 2013 by admin

As most of you might know, we recently added a great new feature that allows our users to create squeeze pages by a simple click of a button. However, there are still many people that are still unclear as to what a squeeze page is and what it could be used for in real estate. Well, here’s our answer:

Simply put, a squeeze page is a landing page with the sole purpose of capturing prospect information.

squeeze page

A successful squeeze page should have the following criteria:

  • No exit hyperlinks or options to leave the page
  • Content on the squeeze page should be kept to a minimum
  • Keep forms and fields simple

Your squeeze page should offer something unique that will entice the prospect to leave their contact information with you.

Some examples related to real estate are:

  • List of foreclosed homes in a certain area
  • Exclusive home selling or buying tips
  • Giveaways
  • Special promotions

If you have any questions, or have some good squeeze page tips, just drop us a line!

 

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Great Tool To Engage With Your Customers In Real-Time!

Posted on March 5, 2013 by admin

Zopim

We’ve been fans of this great tool called Zopim for quite some time now. It’s basically a live chat plugin that allows you to have live conversations with visitors on your website. It is a great way to engage with a potential client before they move on to the next site. Their “Lite” version is free, which is perfect for an individual real estate agent.

But the best part about it, is that it easily integrates with your Web4Realty website in seconds!

Check it out, and feel free to contact us if you need any help installing it on your site!

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How To Create A Facebook Page: Step By Step

Posted on February 13, 2013 by admin

A couple of common questions we frequently get asked is, “How do I setup my own Facebook page?” or “How can I improve my search engine results?”. Both are very important for any business, and simply setting up a Facebook page will not only enhance your online presence, but also give you better search engine results.

Below are simple, step-by-step instructions on how to setup your own Facebook page for your real estate business:

1) Choose A Classification

Go to the following URL to begin setting up your page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Click on the first category, “Local Business or Place” and select “Real Estate” as the category. Fill in the rest of your information, and click “Get Started”.

Classifications

2) Complete Basic Information

Upload Photo

Facebook will now prompt you to upload the main photo for your page. This photo will appear as your icon in News Feeds when you post or comment. A nice professional photo of yourself, or logo is recommended.

About Section

Next, write a quick blurb in the “About” section so visitors can know a little bit about yourself and what makes you stand a part.

*** Very important: Don’t forget to add a link to your Web4Realty website in the “Website” field!

Basic info

3) Create Your First Post

You can now update your page by creating different kinds of posts on your Page including updates, photos, videos and questions. Some things you can post include: Your new listings, market updates, or other real estate topics. The people who like your Page will see some of your posts in their news feed.

first post

4) Invite People You Know To Like Your Page

You’ve probably got a community of friends, family or clients who care about your business. Invite them to like your Page.

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There you have it! In a few short minutes, you can create your own Facebook page for your real estate business.

As always, if you have any questions about anything, feel free to contact us.

Oh ya, and don’t forget to “Like” Web4Realty’s Facebook Page for other tips, new developments and giveaways!

Posted in Branding, Content, Facebook, Internet, Marketing, SEO, Social networking, Website tips | Leave a comment

How Can My Site Appear #1 On Google?

Posted on May 12, 2011 by admin

The question “How can my site appear #1 on Google?” is a question we get all the time here at Web4Realty. The truth is, there’s a lot that has to be done in order for your site to appear on one of those coveted first 10 spots on search engine results. The good news though, is that Web4Realty websites provide you the tools that can allow you to perform very well on search results.

1. Relevant, Updated Content And Meta Tags

There’s no way around this simple requirement. It is necessary that your website gets updated with relevant real estate information, including meta tags. Many websites aren’t properly optimized because the meta tags are incomplete or non-existent. Web4Realty already assists you in this department in a couple of ways. First, when you add a new page to your website, your meta tags automatically get optimized based on your personal information and content. Second, your listings get updated daily, meaning there is always fresh new content being updated on your site every single day. It’s up to you however, to consistently update your website with even more fresh, new content!

2. Site Maps

Search engines have a tough job going through the entire internet to locate data in order to pull the best results. It’s important that your site is organized in a way that allows search engines to easily locate the content it’s looking for. One way to do this is to make sure your site has a Site Map. Site Maps organize the information on your website so search engine robots can easily find what they’re looking for. All Web4Realty websites are automatically organized with a Site Map, so you can be sure your website is always neatly filed.

3. Link Building

I’m sure you’ve heard the term “Google Page Rank” all around the web. It’s a ranking system that Google uses to determine the importance of a website based on how many other relevant sites are linked to it. Getting “back links” (having your website linked to other sites) to your website is very important to increasing your search rankings. Here are some ways you can get back links:

  • Websites and blogs from your friends
  • Online directories
  • Related business sites (mortgage lenders, real estate lawyers, inspectors etc.)

Web4Realty makes the first 2 steps a breeze. Your website is updated daily with new listings, automatically optimized when you add new pages, and structured neatly with Site Maps. It’s up to you now to take your website to the next level by getting valuable back links to your website. If you follow these steps, you will surely notice a rise in your search engine ranking!

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How Real Estate Agents Can Use Social Media For Customer Service

Posted on April 18, 2011 by admin

In any business (Realtors included), being able to easily reach out to your clients is essential for excellent customer service. With social media being the dominant form of communication nowadays, it’s important to offer support through outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, etc.

Being able to monitor client feedback, respond to inquiries, and help answer questions across a wide variety of websites is incredibly valuable, and helps establish rapport with customers. And as we all know, great customer service is what often leads to customers spreading the word about your services.

The most important part of bringing your business online for customer interaction is to give yourself personality, and give your business a face. This will allow potential clients to understand a little more about who you are before they pick up the phone and call you, and will make them feel a lot more comfortable while doing so.

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Web4Realty Is Now Integrated With The Toronto Real Estate Board!

Posted on April 11, 2011 by admin

Web4Realty is happy to announce that its websites are now integrated with the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)! All Web4Realty users that belong to TREB will now have updated listings integrated onto their websites automatically. You will never have to worry about manually uploading a listing onto your website ever again. Your website visitors will now be able to search up-to-date TREB listings without having to leave your site!

Some users may already see this feature on their sites, but we will be rolling out this update to all users’ websites within the next couple of days. There are more updates on the way, and we’ll keep you posted!

Posted in Listings, Technology, Web4Realty Updates | Leave a comment

How Is The Real Estate Industry Using Social Media?

Posted on April 8, 2011 by admin

Postling.com conducted a survey on the real estate industry’s use of social media. A couple of standout points from the survey are the confirmation of mobile usage and the increased use of videos by real estate agents.

Take a look at the infographic below and share your thoughts!

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3 Social Media Mistakes That Real Estate Agents Make

Posted on March 30, 2011 by admin

By providing real estate websites to realtors, I’ve been able to keep an eye on what real estate agents and brokerages are doing in the social media world. Through all my connections to realtors from social outlets such as Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin, I’ve been able to keep an eye on who is mastering the tool of social media.

As you all know, simply creating an account on Facebook or Twitter rarely equates to being plugged in. The most common reason for not spending time on developing a social media strategy is that real estate agents and brokers fear there will be little to no return on investment, or ‘it’s just too much work’ or ‘I don’t have the time.’
Here are 3 common mistakes that I see real estate agents doing all the time:

1. Doing too much. For people in real estate, it’s often best to start with a small social media presence. Check out LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter – which one appeals to you the most? The one that makes the most sense to you should be your starting point. Start there and then set goals for when you will branch out onto other channels.

2. Giving it to the intern. I often see social media responsibilities passed on to assistants or interns. If you’re going to hire someone to help you with your social media, make sure it’s someone who is not only tech-savvy, but comfortable with public exposure. Effective social media definitely needs that personal touch.

3. One-way conversations. Too many real estate agents and brokers just see social media tools as just another way to push out information. Bombarding people with listings won’t earn many followers, there has to be a dialogue that keeps the audience engaged. Remember, less about you and more about the people receiving the information – always ask yourself, ‘what’s in it for them?’

Please share your thoughts!

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3 Ways Real Estate Agents Can Manage Their Social Media Accounts

Posted on March 29, 2011 by admin

One of the main reasons real estate agents shy away from using social networking websites is because they feel overwhelmed with managing every account. With so many major social media sites out there, such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr and Linkedin, who can blame them? However, there are many free online tools available that will make managing all of these accounts effortless.

1) Seesmic

Seesmic is a social management tool that allows you to connect all of your social media accounts into one platform. I have been using Seesmic to manage my accounts for about six months, and it has been great! You’re able to monitor and update all of your accounts without having to login to each one separately.  Seesmic also allows you to schedule tweets and posts throughout the day, which saves you even more time.

2) Twitterfeed

If you regularly blog on your real estate website, you might find it pretty tedious to update your social media accounts with a link to your new blog post. Twitterfeed allows you to automatically feed your blog into your Facebook and Twitter accounts. Each time you publish a new post on your blog, your Facebook and Twitter accounts will automatically be updated with a link to your new blog post. Twitterfeed is very easy to setup, and saves you much valuable time.

3) Shareaholic

Shareaholic is a lightweight Firefox add-on that allows you to easily share content on any of over 60 social networking sites quickly and easily. It also offers other advanced features, such as real-time trending, and it’s totally customizable. One of its greatest features – other than speeding up your social networking – is that it helps to declutter your web browser by eliminating the need for social media buttons. Shareaholic won the Mozilla Foundation Grand Prize Award based on user experiences, innovation, technical correctness, and use of open standards – sounds like a winner to me.

Got any other social networking tools that you use? Tell us about your “must have” social media tools in the comments section below!

Posted in Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social networking, Twitter, Website tips | Leave a comment

Part 3 Social Networking Series: LinkedIn

Posted on March 28, 2011 by admin

There is no doubt that LinkedIn is one of the most effective social networking websites, which is why we feature them third on our Social Networking Series.

LinkedIn has recently passed over 100 million users worldwide. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn is targeted to business people and professionals [I doubt this will remain. If you recall, Facebook was only accessible to College students]. The purpose of LinkedIn is to build your professional profile, which is very similar to resume format. It is recommended that you provide your current work experience, past career highlights, education, and other information that you would normally include in your resume.

Once you create your profile, you are ready to “connect” with other professionals. There are many high-profile individuals from big organizations using LinkedIn. You would be surprised how easy it easy to build your network and start connecting using this platform.

To further understand the benefits, I have compiled a list of 5 ways LinkedIn could help real estate professionals increase the effectiveness of their online presence:

Visibility: By adding “connections” to your profile, you increase the likelihood that people will find you first when looking for someone to hire or do business with. People are more likely to work with someone they have built some form of relationship with. This is why it is important to connect and network with as many people as possible.

Improve Google PageRank: LinkedIn profiles receive a very high rating on Google’s Page Ranking system. This is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you. The information you include in your profile is available to search engines, making it a bit easier for browsers to find you when conducting related searches. Make sure you include business related information in your profile, using as many keywords as possible.

Search Engine Results: Not only can you promote your name, but you can also promote your website using LinkedIn. Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize your website on search engines such as Google and Yahoo. By setting your LinkedIn profile to “Full View”, you are further optimizing your personal website, and hopefully increasing the number of hits to your site.

Make Your Meetings go Smoother: You can use LinkedIn to connect to people you are about to meet. Knowing a little bit about the individual will surely help break any awkward silence during the meeting. Building this initial connection will also enhance the comfort level between the two of you, which will increase your chances of making a sale.

Networking with Other Professionals: LinkedIn has a unique feature called “LinkedIn Answers” which aims to broadcast your business related questions to other professionals in the industry. Participating in these discussions will get you more high-valued responses from people in your network compared to open forums. You are also likely to build more connections with people in your own industry which can further help your business in the long-run.

Do you use LinkedIn as a networking tool? Please share your experience below!

Posted in Internet, LinkedIn, Marketing, Social networking | Leave a comment