Is Your Web Site Generating any Business?

Written by Bob Schwartz,CRS,GRI


Is your web site generatingrepparttar traffic and/or actual business you originally thought it would?

Many Realtors are realizing that just having a web site is not a panacea to generating sales. Through a very small informal survey, (that I personally conducted with fifty San Diego REALTORS) I've concluded thatrepparttar 128198 average Realtor's web site generates less than 50 unique hits per month. Unique hits are single page views from one URL within a 24hr. period. This is very important because many people confuse hits with unique hits. The problem is that simplistic tracking tools may only track hits. A hit, within this context, usually includesrepparttar 128199 individual visitors andrepparttar 128200 total number of graphics that load when that page is visited. So, one visit could show as six hits ifrepparttar 128201 page visited has five graphics!

Worse,repparttar 128202 vast majority of agents have not generated any actual sales from their sites in over a year.

However, just having a web presence, will in most cases not pay for your site hosting fees. I have outlined five tips that could improve your web traffic and client generating potential below.

#1. Name your site to be found. Select a URL that incorporates some of your keywords. Consumers search by key words, such asrepparttar 128203 city or neighborhood they want to live in. Which site do you think would generate more search engine hits: www.bobschwartz.com or www.rancho-santa-fe-real-estate.com? (Interested in owning this Optimized Rancho Santa Fe URL? Now about one for La Jolla or Coronado? . . . send an email to sofia@websitetrafficbuilders.com )

Even if you have great name recognition in your local neighborhood, a relocation buyer considering Rancho Santa Fe will most definitely findrepparttar 128204 second site beforerepparttar 128205 first. Result: Incorporating key words into your URL will increase your chances of being found in a key word search. CLICK HERE to see what url can own thru Network Solutions,repparttar 128206 1st. & largest register of URL's!. #2. Be wary of placing 'Free' content links on your site. Many site enhancements such as links to weather, maps, newsletters, etc., take your hard won visitors off your site, and in many cases they never return. Worse yet, when viewing off site information, your potential clients have a high probability of being exposed to your competition's ad or banner. All ofrepparttar 128207 'Free' information links earn revenue from selling ads. The same is true of many banner exchanges. Do you really want to join a banner program where your competitor's banner is exposed on your site?

End of the Free Ride; Many Top Search Engines & Directories Switching to Pay Model

Written by Merle


Search engines are in a constant state of change. Just when you think you've gotrepparttar rules down, someone comes along and changes them. If you've been paying attention lately, you'll notice that many ofrepparttar 128197 top search engines and directories are now charging for website submissions. What was once totally free now could cost you $199.00. The submission price is not for a top position, it's simply for a listing inrepparttar 128198 index itself. Believe it or not, some of them will take your money, guaranteeing only that your site will be reviewed -- not listed.

Some ofrepparttar 128199 search engines and directories that were once independent have been bought out by other companies or borrow their search results from them to display on their own site. Keeping up with who owns what and who's charging for admission could drive you crazy. Come along with me forrepparttar 128200 latest updates inrepparttar 128201 insane world of search engines as I reviewrepparttar 128202 major players inrepparttar 128203 game today.

1) EXCITE: http://www.excite.com/info/add_url

Now partnered with LookSmart by submitting you'll also get listed with LookSmart's Network of partner sites such as Alta Vista, MSN, WebCrawler and Magellan.

Offers three levels of submission services. Express submit gives you a guaranteed review within two business days for $199.00.

Basic Submission is $99.00 but takes longer, with sites being reviewed in approximately eight weeks. Excite still offers a free service with no guarantee of a listing: Go to http://www.excite.com/info/add_url_form

2) ALTAVISTA: http://doc.altavista.com/addurl/

As one of LookSmart's partner sites, here you'll be presented withrepparttar 128204 same submission prices as at Excite. Prices are $199.00 or $99.00. They do allow you to submit your site for free with no guarantee of a listing. Go to http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=addurl#form

3) HOTBOT: http://hotbot.lycos.com/addurl.asp

The link above will submit your site torepparttar 128205 Inktomi web page database which is HotBot's partner. Another way of getting listed here is to submit your site to "The Open Directory Project" which is our next stop. Submission is still free at this time.

4) THE OPEN DIRECTORY PROJECT: http://dmoz.org/add.html

A good reason to get listed here isrepparttar 128206 size and number of other search engines and directories that feed off its contents, such as AOL and Hotbot. Remember it's a directory and all submissions are reviewed by a human. When submitting, you need to findrepparttar 128207 appropriate category for your site and then clickrepparttar 128208 "add URL" atrepparttar 128209 top of that page. Submission is free.

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