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New User Enhancements for Sequoia

We've got two new upgrades to Sequoia's user interface that we think will help you better leverage the platform from the back-end...

New 'Help?' Links

As you navigate through the back-end of all your Sequoia pages to alter Settings, create site pages, set-up forms, run reports, or track deals - you'll notice the new Help links next to all page headers. Each Help link is set-up to direct you to the corresponding page of our interactive User Guide. Each section will explain how to effectively use and leverage a specific Sequoia tool, feature, or general functionality.

It's very important to us that all of our client's are able to easily and effectively use all that Sequoia has to offer, so we are always open to feedback on the system's ease-of-use. Please contact Client Support for any suggestions, comments, or questions you might have- we're here to Help!

New Lead Report Interface!

Our development team has given the Lead Reports function a nice face-lift for 2012...here are a few changes you'll notice:

1) In addition to the line graphs previously shown you will also see bar graphs within, representing each Lead Creation Type (i.e. Modal, Dynamic Form, Inquiry, etc.) and Lead Type (i.e. Buying, Renting, Selling, etc.), depending on what you choose to filter.

2) You now have the ability to mouse over your Lead Type sections and dates to see a quick 'total' pop-up.

3) If you choose to filter by a date range that's too large for the screen to show, you can easily navigate back to previous weeks, or view a condensed graph of the entire range.

4) If you choose to Group your Leads by 'Total', Sequoia will generate an dynamic pie chart, giving you a digestible view of how the Lead Types break down as percentages of your total.

We hope this helps- let us know what you think!

Attend a Weekly Training to Learn More About Leveraging All Of Sequoia's Benefits

New Video About the Sequoia Platform!

There's no doubt that the Sequoia platform encompasses the most cutting-edge real estate website software available on the market. But how is this done? What features are available on a Sequoia website? How does Sequoia help you succeed in your real estate business?

We've put together a great real estate website video that breaks down exactly what it takes to make your real estate online marketing campaign to be successful. Click the image to view the video, or visit the Boston Logic YouTube page.

First, you need to drive traffic to your website. To do this, the Sequoia platform helps your site rank higher in search engines for highly applicable search terms. The platform also helps you leverage social media websites like Twitter, Facebook, and Linkedin. All of this is tracked using state of the art Analytics so that you can hone your campaign based on performance and actual usage statistics.

Next, when users arrive at your site, they should intuitively know where to click, and they should be able to quickly find what they came looking for. For example, many users on real estate websites arrive and want to immediately search for their perfect home. Once they’ve found what they want, or feel like they’re getting close, we want to compel them to provide their contact information. This is when the visitor converts from an anonymous user into a lead.
Throughout the user experience, prominent calls to action give easy access to tools which allow your customers to contact an agent, schedule a showing, save a favorite property, take notes on listings to help organize their search – even share a listing by broadcasting it to social media sites or emailing it to a friend.

How Can Sequoia Help?

The Sequoia Platform educates your clients by showing them the complete MLS listing. In addition, we’ve integrated the Sequoia platform with Yelp!, Walkscore, Education.com, Google Maps, Zillow, and myriad other data resources to provide relevant information about the town or neighborhood where your customers are looking to buy or rent. All of these tools help educate the user and ensure that your website becomes the foundation of their search for a new home.

Now that you have generated lots of leads and your site has become the foundation of their online home search, you’re going to need tools to incubate those leads until they’re ready to buy or rent. Not all leads are ready to close at the moment when you first identify them. So, we’ve built extensive functionality designed to maximize the ease of workflow and help you manage your pipeline.
We’ve also automated many of the tasks that you perform most often. The Sequoia system makes it quick and easy to create and print listing sheets, communicate with clients, schedule and coordinate showings, print showing sheets, search your MLS or rental database, send listing updates, follow up, and never forget a task.

While you’re at it, you’re going to want a record of your communication with each client. The Sequoia platform helps you precisely track your website’s user activity. You’ll know exactly what your clients are doing on your site, including how often they’re coming back, what they are searching for, homes they’re looking at, which listings they liked the most, and much more. All of this data will help you serve your customers better and close more deals!

When it’s time to put in an offer, the Sequoia platform helps you stay organized with our deal tracker component and virtual documents feature, making the process an organized procedure, rather than a mess of paperwork and tasks to juggle.
By facilitating this process, Sequoia makes your real estate online marketing campaign successful while making you more efficient! The Sequoia platform even helps you sign new seller clients by making your listings look great and maximizing the exposure of those listings on sites like Facebook, Trulia, and Zillow.

To learn more about Boston Logic, and how we can help you achieve results online, please give us a call or contact us for a demonstration.

Find All About Boston Logic with Our New Video!

Looking for a new way to appeal to potential customers and those real estate brokers or agents looking to invest in new real estate websites or real estate SEO services, Boston Logic's talented Design Team created the following video to enhance the understanding of what we do here at Boston Logic.

Click the image below to watch the video on YouTube, or check out the embedded video on the BostonLogic.com home page!

The following is an excerpt of the video transcript:

Attention Realtors! Are you tired of spending money online without seeing results?

After years in the real estate business, and working with thousands of Realtors, we know that if you’re watching this video, you’ve either tried to leverage the web and haven’t seen the results you need, or you have yet to make an investment online and you know that now is the time.

At Boston Logic, every product and service we offer is designed to help your real estate business grow and succeed by bringing you more customers and more deals.

At the heart of this mission is the Sequoia platform - the most advanced online marketing and lead management software available for the real estate business! Powerful and easy to use, Sequoia saves you time and money, and helps you work less and earn more! Let’s explore just how we do this.

Our experience has taught us that almost every broker and agent wants and needs the same things to succeed online.

Realtors want:

A great looking website
That ranks in search engines
And generates lots of user traffic and high quality leads.
Better lead management and Customer Relationship Management software -
That’s built for the real estate process from first contact to the closing table.

Realtors need:

A highly interactive MLS search which keeps users coming back to your site
Easy to use Social Media tools
Friendly support and training personnel who are only a call away
AND they want all of this to be easy to use and manage.

Watch the full video to find out more about the Boston Logic Sequoia platform, or contact us to schedule a demo of the Sequoia Software to see what the most cutting-edge real estate website software can do for you!

Find Your Hottest Leads FAST with LogicScore

ANNOUNCING a NEW SEQUOIA FEATURE: LogicScore!

We've recently launched a great new feature for the Sequoia platform – LogicScore.

Easily Find Your Hottest Leads with LogicScore

If you, like most Sequoia clients, get a large number of leads from your website, one of the biggest challenges you have at the beginning of the day is figuring out who your hottest leads are – who to contact first!

To help you make that process as easy as possible, we’ve created an algorithm to quantify each lead’s likelihood of becoming a customer and closing a deal.

We measure the quality of each activity the lead performs on your website, with actions such as property searches bearing a comparatively low value, but actions like reaching out to you by way of a contact form or a request for a property showing having a higher value. We then tabulate these results and further add to them the factor of their recent activity. A lead who performs a lot of actions on your site is clearly worth contacting, and the ones who have done so more recently are even more likely to become a satisfied customer.

Our algorithm calculates all of this information and produces a LogicScore based on the likelihood that this lead is going to be a good prospect for you to start working with ASAP. You’ll now notice on each table of leads that there is a new LogicScore column, sorted by default in descending order.

the New LogicScore Component

You can also use our Advanced Lead Search tool to find leads with high scores, so you’ll always be able to reach out to your best prospects first. With the Advanced Lead Search, you can also sort your leads based on a variety of criteria, including; the lead type, their current living arrangements, their desired move date, the assigned agent, the creation date, the date of their last activity, and much more!

Use the Advanced Lead Search for More Search Options

We hope this new tool helps to make the process of converting leads into deals even easier than before, and provides even more insight into how your new leads become your best clients thanks to your Sequoia website!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us to learn more.

Make More Money with These Lead Management and Sequoia CRM System Tips!

For those of you utilizing the great Sequoia real estate website platform, here are some helpful tips for using the LogicLeads Real Estate Lead Management and CRM system that will make you more money!

Enter each lead into the system. Regardless of source.
Setup nightly email updates.
Look at the searches your leads have performed, email them some listings and ask if they would like to see any of them.
Create a showing sheet and ask if they’d like to setup a time to see any of these listings.
Schedule tasks to follow up on.

5 Calls in 5 Days

Schedule a task to follow-up with each closed renter for 6 months later to see if they want to rent again (or maybe even buy!)
Ask every renter if they’ve thought about buying.

If "yes"...

Set them up with nightly email updates in the same neighborhood where they want to rent with their buying criteria

Send messages to leads directly from the system

*HINT: Make sure you’ve edited your profile to include a proper email signature!

Search through your lead activity to see who has been using the site and when and follow-up using that intelligence.
Enter each showing and make notes after so you know what each lead needs and / or wants.
Export calendar of events and tasks that you’ve set up.
Use export function to quickly get leads into your Outlook and phone.

Not set up with the best-in-class real estate website software? Contact Boston Logic today to make the investment in your business!

Creating Your First Sequoia Blog Post

The directions below are to assist you in creating your first blog post in a standard Sequoia Blog. If you chose to upgrade to a WordPress blog, you should refer to the Creating Your First WordPress Blog directions instead.

To create a Blog Post on your Sequoia website, you must first log into your new Sequoia website as a user that has been designated as a Blogger. If you are not a Blogger but would like to be, contact your office administrator to add you as a Blogger, or contact Boston Logic for support.

Once you log into the website as a Blogger, you will automatically be directed to the back end of the website, as usual.

Sample Sequoia 'Back End' Dashboard

However, to access the Sequoia blog, you will need return to the front end of the website. There will be a Home or Homepage link somewhere on the back end, usually either at the bottom or the top of the page. It will look similar to the image below:

Click the 'Home' Button to Return to the 'Front End' of the Website

When you return to the front end of the website, enter the blog like a reader would by clicking on the ‘Blog’ button from the Top Navigation Bar.

How to Create and Edit a Sequoia Blog Post

Click the 'Blog' Button on the Home Page to Visit the Blog

After you have clicked ‘Blog’, you will be brought to the main landing page of the blog that contains all the Published blog posts in chronological order. (If this is the first blog post, you won't see any posts listed yet).

At the top of the page, you will see a small orange icon and links to your Blog’s RSS and ATOM Feeds, which allows people to subscribe to your blog and receive notices when new posts are published.

Your Sequoia Blog’s RSS and ATOM Feeds

Below this Blog RSS Feed | ATOM Feed links, there will be a text link that says ‘Create Post.’ You will only be able to see this if you are logged in as a blogger for the website.

Click 'Create Post' to Start a New Blog

Once you click on ‘Create Post’ you will be brought back to the edit screen of the blog, which looks a lot like the back end of your Sequoia website. You will be able to add and edit your blog posts from this edit screen.

When you enter your blog Title, it will automatically generate a URL Permalink in the field directly below it.

Please Note: Until you are completely finished composing and editing your post, do not check the “Published” box found right below the Permalink field, or readers will see your blog before you want them to.

Enter and edit the body text of your blog post in the large space provided. Insert images and adjust formatting using the toolbar above the writing space. The buttons function much like the buttons in Microsoft Word. If you're not sure what a button does, hover your mouse over it and a description of the function will appear.

Insert Images & Format Your Blog Using the Toolbar

Be sure to add Categories that relate to your post; these can be found right below the blank space for your text. After a Category is created, it will be saved and available for future blog posts. It is important to categorize your blogs to help users more easily find topics that they would like to read about.

Once you have finished adding your Title, writing your blog, and tagging it with Categories, click the ‘Create Post’ button to preview your blog.

You can click the ‘Edit Post’ link at the bottom of the preview to make more edits to your blog post, or to return to the previous edit screen and check the ‘Publish’ box to post the blog 'live' if you have no further changes.

Edit Your Sequoia Blog Post by Clicking 'Edit Post' from the Preview Screen

Edit Your Blog Post by Clicking 'Edit Post' from the Preview Screen

Once you are happy with your blog, you can check off the 'Published' box. Be sure that you click the 'Update Post' button or the blog will still only be saved as a Draft.

Now you're blog is posted and viewable by your audience!

Learn the New Sequoia CRM! Sign up for 1/11 LogicClassroom NOW!

Boston Logic will be teaching an in-depth LogicClassroom on the recent upgrades to the LogicLeads component of our Sequoia Real Estate Web Sites.

Join us to learn how to utilize the new features and CRM functionality of LogicLeads to help you convert leads into deals! The LogicLeads system is the most effective way to stay organized, manage your time, and monitor your pipeline- and we've just made it more powerful and even easier to use!

We'll be discussing the new components of the CRM, launched just a few weeks ago - including Task Creation and Management, Lead Management, Event Creation, and more in this 30-minute class.

We recommend any clients currently using the Sequoia system attend this LogicClassroom on Tuesday, January 11th at 5pm.

Don't have a Sequoia real estate website by Boston Logic? This class is your chance to see how easy the Sequoia Dashboard is to navigate and to see a live demo of an exciting component of the software and all of its capabilities!

This LogicClassroom is a great opportunity to learn how to make the most out of your Sequoia website, to more effectively captures and manage leads. Don't miss out, sign up today!

You are welcome to attend at the Boston Logic Office (view map) or participate through an online webinar. The class begins at 5pm on January 11th. Don't be late!

To register for the event, please contact Angela at 617.266.9166 or by email at adavis@bostonlogic.com. Please specify whether you will attend the class at our office or online.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Feature Development Profiles on your Real Estate Website for More Leads & to Gain SEO Ranking! 1/4/2011

Development Profile Pages: Great for SEO!

Today, realtors know that new construction fetches a higher sale value. That's why so many of our clients want to feature condo developments, subdivisions, and high rise buildings on their site. So Boston Logic has developed a software component to help agents do just that!

Development profiles allow you to create attractive pages on your site packed with details on developments in your real estate market. Our software then populates these pages with the data that you've entered and we supplement with listings within the development pulled from your MLS.

Add the developments component for only $25/month, or for $250 per year!

Already have development pages on your real estate web site? Great! Follow the steps below to utilize this great feature on your real estate website design for both your leads, and for your SEO ranking in your real estate website marketing campaign!

Adding Development Profiles To Your Real Estate Website

1. Click the "Developments" sub item under the CMS tab
2. Click "Addresses" to the right of the development's name in the list
3. Click "Create New" in the top right of the address editing view
4. Enter address info and click "Create"

You can enter as many addresses as you like for the development; the more addresses you enter, the more search results will be generated by MLS. For example, you can enter "Tremont Street", "Tremont St.", "Tremont St", etc.

Addresses can be edited or deleted at any time by clicking on "Addresses" next to the development's name on the list and then clicking either "Edit" or "Delete".

To add pictures to a Development:

Click CMS - then Developments - then Pictures

1. Click the "Development" sub item under the CMS tab

2. Click "Pictures" next to the appropriate development's name on the list

3. Click "Create New" on the top right corner of the Pictures view

4. Click "Browse" to find the image on your hard drive

5. Enter a description for the image, if desired

6. Click "Create" to add the image to your development's page

To add Floor Plans or Listing Sheets to a Development:

CMS - Developments - Floor Plan

1. Click the "Developments" sub item under the CMS tab
2. Click either "Floor Plans" or "Listing Sheets" next to the appropriate developments' name on the list
3. Click "Create New" on the top right corner of the view
4. Title the document if desired, and click "Browse" to find the file on your hard drive (NOTE: These files must be in PDF format)
5. Click "Create" to add the document to your Development's page.

Questions? Contact us!

Improve Your Website's Presence with Online Directory Listings! 11/18/2010

The Importance of Online Directories

The goal of directory submission is to increase your real estate website's online presence, and thus, your sales. Links play a major role in determining your ranking position on Search Engines.

Obtaining inbound links in quantity and quality can immensely influence your search engine rankings. One simple way to obtain inbound links is to submit your link to directories. Online directories exist for the sole purpose of providing links to web users to various sites categorized under relevant topics. Directory submissions are an important part of a great real estate online marketing and website optimization strategy. Read more to understand how directories work, and to get started with your site submissions through Google Places and Yelp!

Why Submit To Online Directories?

Inbound Linking. Directories are a great way to accumulate valuable inbound links, build credibility for your company by increasing your online presence, and boost your real estate website design's visibility.

Increase Search Engine Ranking. Search Engines consistently consume information on these directories because the directory links are already established and considered a reliable source of information.

Increased Traffic. Major web directories are well ranked on search engines, so they attract lots of traffic on search engine results pages. Many users also go directly to these directories rather than search engines because it is easier to locate specific businesses due to all businesses being listed under appropriate categories.

Relevant Traffic. You will get highly relevant traffic, as users click on your business under the appropriate category or sub-category are actively seeking your products or services.

Get Started: Free Listings with Google Places and Yelp!

Google Places

Each business listing on Google is in fact a giant 'cluster' of information that Google gets from a few different places: Yellow Pages, for example, as well as other third-party providers.

However, the basic information that you submi t through Google Places is the information that Google trusts the most. This means that it will appear instead of any basic information that Google receives from anywhere else.

To make sure the basic information you submit is accurate, Google will ask you to verify it first by entering a PIN that will be sent to either your business address or phone number when you sign up.

You can add other information to your listing too, including a description of your business, as well as photos, client reviews, or information about hours and parking costs. All of this information will also appear above similar information from other providers. Click here for more information on how to sign up for and enhance your Google Places Listing.

Yelp!

Yelp allows consumers to share the experiences they've had with local businesses and lets business owners share information about their business with their customers. Simply put, it's word of mouth-- amplified. Boston Logic also wrote a great Yelp! blog post on how Yelp works and it's benefits, so make sure to check it out!

Some Stats and Features: Over 38 million people visited Yelp in August 2010 to make spending decisions. To help business owners get the most out of their online presence, Yelp offers a suite of FREE tools for business owners.

Communicate with your customers-- privately and publicly
Track how many people view your business page
Add photos, a detailed business description, up-to-date information, history, and specialties
Announce special offers and upcoming events
Recommend other businesses

Click here to Join the conversation about your business with your Free Yelp listing. Click here to Join the conversation about your business with your Free Yelp listing.

Your Turn: Do Your Homework!

Specific directories target only those websites based on a particular subject or field. No matter what your real estate business is, odds are that directories will be available that cater specifically to it. There are also regional directories available which may be highly useful if your online business targets a local audience.

You can submit to some directories for free while others charge a listing fee. Look for directories relevant to your website and industry and submit to them.

Good Luck!

The Truth About IDX For Real Estate Websites: 11/4/2010

IDX search is a buzz word in the real estate website design industry. Agents toss "IDX" around as if it means something that it does not. Also, lots of companies will sell you an IDX solution that is going to hurt far more than it helps.

These companies are, in fact, counting on agents' lack of education to sell them an IDX solution that is cheap, low quality, and far less likely to help their business grow. This post is intended to be help you become an educated consumer of IDX.

Here's some truth:

IDX is an acronym for Internet Data Exchange. An IDX feed is data fed from an MLS that can be shown on another website.
"IDX search" is often referred to as an MLS search.
IDX is simply a search of MLS listings on a website but, as defined by NAR, without logging in or providing any contact information. Once you log in, the site can show you more property information. This is defined as a VOW or Virtual Office Workspace.
An IDX search can be implemented in several ways:
- IDX searches should be an integrated part of your website. This does *not* mean that when you visit a site, you simply see a search. The search forms, search results pages, and listing details pages and ALL of the information found by searching needs to be a part of your site. If the search is implemented in an iFrame or a subdomain, then the search is NOT a part of your site. See below to figure out if your IDX is implemented improperly by one of these methods. Your search results and listing detail pages should all have unique web addresses. For example, all of these pages are parts of our IDX search solution a client's site. Notice that all of these pages have a unique page name.
  - Search page: http://www.jackconway.com/searches/new
  - Search Results page: http://www.jackconway.com/searches/241335
  - Listing Details page: http://www.jackconway.com/properties/Boston/South-Boston/East-3rd/606551
  - Another Listing details page: http://www.jackconway.com/properties/Boston/South-Boston/East-6th-St/791827
    Note that each listing detail page has a unique name which includes the property address. Also, note that the search results page has a unique ID at the end. This allows the user to send that search results page to anyone they wish and the criteria will be saved for the lifetime of the website. These functions are critical to achieving better search engine placement AND providing a superior user experience.
- IDX search in an iFrame - If you're using a search tool and the web address at the top of your browser screen never changes (ex: all you ever see is www.yourwebsite.com/mls_search) as you navigate from page to page and listing to listing, then your search is in an iFrame. An iframe is, in fact, one web page within another. Search engines see iframes as black holes. The content in those iframes is, in fact, on another site. The search engines will not be able to count any of the content in your search as a part of your site. None of these pages will show up in the search results - or are very likely to show up, anyway.
- IDX search in a sub domain - On a lot of websites, the user clicks to search and is then taken to a sub-domain. For example, you might be surfing realtorx.com. Then, to search, you're taken to realtorx.idxvendor.com or even idxvendor.com/search?user=23734636. Similar to the iframe folly, this means that you're now on another website. The content is on idxvendor.com and not realtorx.com. This is a slightly better solution because the pages might actually be link-able. Still, this will not help your search engine placement at all. Plus, if you send someone to one of these pages, then you're not sending them to your website, but to someone else's site.
- Snippet of search code that takes you to another site - Sometimes the search form is part of the site, but the results are in an iframe or sub-domain. So, the search page has a unique url, but again, the rest of the pages don't. This isn't any better.
It is critical that the pages of your IDX search are index-able by the search engines. Search engines do not fill out forms. They only click on links. As you know, links are most commonly blue and underlined. If you can't get to the listings on your website simply by clicking on a link or series of links, then your IDX, again, is holding you back from ranking more prominently in the search engines.

Here are some examples of great integrated IDX searches:

We'll be writing more on this topic soon.

New User Enhancements for Sequoia

New 'Help?' Links

It's very important to us that all of our client's are able to easily and effectively use all that Sequoia has to offer, so we are always open to feedback on the system's ease-of-use. Please contact Client Support for any suggestions, comments, or questions you might have- we're here to Help!

New Lead Report Interface!

We hope this helps- let us know what you think!

Attend a Weekly Training to Learn More About Leveraging All Of Sequoia's Benefits

Related Links:

New Video About the Sequoia Platform!

Related Links:

Find All About Boston Logic with Our New Video!

Related Links:

Find Your Hottest Leads FAST with LogicScore

ANNOUNCING a NEW SEQUOIA FEATURE: LogicScore!

Related Links:

Make More Money with These Lead Management and Sequoia CRM System Tips!

Related Links:

Creating Your First Sequoia Blog Post

Related Links:

Learn the New Sequoia CRM! Sign up for 1/11 LogicClassroom NOW!

Related Links:

Feature Development Profiles on your Real Estate Website for More Leads & to Gain SEO Ranking! 1/4/2011

Related Links:

Improve Your Website's Presence with Online Directory Listings! 11/18/2010

Related Links:

The Truth About IDX For Real Estate Websites: 11/4/2010

Related Links:

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