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Logic Classroom | Understanding Long Tail Keywords

If you missed last night's LogicClassroom on Understanding Long Tail Keywords, please enjoy the slideshow from our presentation.

In this classroom we discussed the difference between generic 'Head' keywords and 'Long Tail' keywords, and what they mean for your Search Engine Optimization.

We talked about the Google Search Algorithm, and what the recent introduction of Google Instant means for the future of SEO and how searchers use Long Tail Keywords.

We also covered the basics of what a good SEO Keyword Strategy should include, and how to monitor and adjust your campaign as you go!

Logic Classroom | Understanding Long Tail Keywords

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100 1 Percents

I have a feeling that lots of folks are chasing a non-existent silver bullet. They are performing at a level 'x' and they're looking for the special real estate internet marketing tool or technique or potion that will get them performing at 2x or 3x.

Well, I'm going to tell you something that you may not want to hear. What you're looking for just doesn't exist. If you want to improve your performance, you're going to have to do a lot of little things.

In the end, all of these little improvement, these optimizations, will add up. I like to assume that every improvement I make will increase my effectiveness by 1%. Every time I improve my technique or add a feature or crate a special offer or improve a campaign, I can expect a 1% improvement. So, if I want to double my effectiveness, I need to make 100 improvements. In general, I find this to be a pretty good rule of thumb.

A very successful salesman once said that the secret to his success was that he called people back. Well, you might be thinking, "I call people back." Well, do you really? How quickly do you call them back. How many times do you call them back. Let me give you a few guidelines that I think will each give you a 1% (or probably much greater) chance of improving your sales performance:

Try to call every lead back within 1 hour. If you don't see the lead for a while, that's ok. maybe you were on a showing or driving or taking a swim. It's ok. Just try to get back to everyone in an hour. if you get back to that home buyer in 2 hours, don't hate yourself.
If you don't get them on the first call, call again the following day.
If you don't get in touch with the lead after 2 calls, call again.
Call back 5 times, once per day, over 5 or 7 business days. Watch how many more of your leads you'll actually have a conversation with!
Use a real lead management package - of course we recommend LogicLeads, but I'm not selling here - enter each lead into the system. Enter each planned follow-up into the system and catalog your showings, emails and call, even if all you did was leave a voicemail.

OK, if you're reading this and thinking," I already have a system like this and I execute it every time." Good for you! I bet you're also a pretty good producer. There's always room for improvement, but I think you can focus your 1%'s on other aspects real estate marketing, like blogging or newsletter writing.

But, if you're reading this and saying, "I know. I really should be better at following up with my leads and contacts." Well, it's time to make some small changes. Those 1% improvements really add up.

OH - I almost forgot.

I was reading Matt Cutt's post about Google factoring in load speed into their search algorithm. I should mention that I was reading High Rankings Advisor and found the link to the post by Matt. At any rate, Matt mentioned that fewer than 1% of sites would see a change in their ranking in the search engine results are a result of Google including load time in their 200 or so factors which determine search engine placement. Now you know where I came up with the title of this blog post!

What Makes Real Estate Companies Grow

When you get to the bottom of it all, real estate companies can grow one of two ways.

First, they can raise their head count. If we assume an average number of deals/agents - then the more real estate agents on your roster, the more real estate sales your real estate company will be a part of and the more commissions the company will receive. You can raise your head count by hiring more real estate agents or by buying other real estate companies. Sounds simple enough. Revenue is pegged to headcount.

Alternatively, a company can work to make ALL of their agents more effective. Remember that average number of deals per agent. Well, let's assume that the company doesn't want to hire more agents, just have their agents do more deals. The goal would be to raise that average. If your agents are doing 10 deals/year, on average, and you raise the average to 12, all else being equal, the office will make more money. By the way, so will the agents!

This somewhat assumes that the office is working on a classic split model - or does it?

Let me propose something radical. The best way to hire more agents is to have successful agents at your office. If your company has a reputation of making agents successful, then agents will want to work for you! Then it doesn't matter if you're on a desk fee model or a split.

Broker/owners, just imagine - instead of having 25 agents who do $50MM in transactions/year. You only have 10 - and they do the same sales volume! Sounds easier to manage, doesn't it. Or even better. Imaging you had 25 agents, 10 of them did $50MM and get a better split, the other 15 do another $50MM. You win either way.

So, how do you get your agents to produce more. Well, this isn't rocket science. First, they need leads. They need buyers and sellers reaching out to them. The office needs to be noticed. You have to stand out from the other guys in town. Next, you need to give your agents the tools they need to close deals with those leads. I'm talking about lead management, I'm talking about online marketing, I'm talking about social media and a great real estate website to serve as the foundation for it all.

If all you do is work on hiring agents and you don't give them the tools to succeed, they will come and go. They will under perform. Agents thirst for support, they want leads, and they want a company that gives them both. Real Estate agents will stand by a company that helps them succeed. If the agent was making $50,000/year at their last company and is making $60,000/year at your company, they're likely to stick around.

Also, the agents in town will take notice. They'll see your brand and your agents involved in lots of sales, on dozens and hundreds of yard signs. The agents will want to work for your company because you have the best website and your site has the best search engine placement.

Our clients see it all the time. Agents today want to work with a company that gives them what they need. They want a brokerage that provides leads and promotes their services.

The result is simple. The broker wins, the agents win, everybody wins.

Real Estate Web Design

Boston Logic's offering of real estate web design pairs high quality websites for realtors with ease of use. Our leading real estate software, the ONE System, is now a more affordable, available for rapid deployment, and reflect the cutting edge work of the top designers we have working here at Boston Logic.

So...why Upgrade Your Website?

Efficiency. Not only will you improve the image of your website with custom real estate website design features and templates, but you will also save time with our easy and efficient lead management system. And more efficiency for you means closing more deals!

Quick Turnaround. Our ONE System real estate software behind each real estate website allows you to simply chose a theme or template, and your website can be live in just 24 hours!

Customizable. Because Boston Logic specializes in real estate website design, each website theme is designed to offer a unique aesthetic. Whether your real estate office desires a website with a classic layout or a sleek, modern style, we have just the theme for you. Additionally, we offer all-encompassing themes of the real estate market: so whether you specialize in rentals or sales, small towns or cities, traditional or contemporary, we can match your business style with a theme that reflects you.

Access to Countless Features. Purchase of a high quality, functional, and aesthetically pleasing website also includes access to countless real estate website features innovated by our development team. Among the standard and optional feature upgrades available, Boston Logic websites are SEO Ready, Google Analytics installed, Mapped IDX Search, Blog, Live Chat, Neighborhood Profiles and much more! A few more additional standard features that are included with your real estate web site are mortgage calculators, saved searches, virtual tours, ConstantContact integration, and college search. Still not enough? We also have optional upgrades like Yelp! neighborhood info, Development profiles, Zillow property valuation, and Dynamic Forms. (Find a complete list of features and read more about optional upgrades at our Sequoia brand's website here).

So what are you waiting for? Take a step in the right direction towards a new and improved real estate internet marketing campaign today!

617.266.9166

Next LogicClassroom Announcement: Personal Branding and SEM

Please join us Tuesday, July 13th at 5PM for our Logic Classroom on Personal Branding and Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

You may have attended a previous LogicClassroom on Search Engine Marketing where we explored the basics. Now we are going to take SEM to the next level by incorporating the principles of personal branding. We'll demonstrate how these online techniques work seamlessly to help you market yourself and your business.

Your personal brand shapes how others actually see and find you, and this is especially important to potential customers. With the right understanding of how personal branding works, you can position yourself as a trusted adviser, subject matter expert, or successful entrepreneur: it's entirely up to you! So make sure to stop by or log on and learn how personal branding and search engine marketing work together. The results are closer than you may think.

You are welcome to attend at the Boston Logic office (view map), or participate through an online webinar. Take this excellent opportunity to learn how to utilize search engine marketing and personal branding to grow your business.

Contact Katrina at 617-266-9166 or ksierant@bostonlogic.com to attend. Please specify if you will be attending in the office or online via webinar. We look forward to seeing you all there.

Logic Classroom from 6.8.10: Keeping Up with Facebook

Thank you to everyone who attended our last Logic Classroom on June 8th.

We discussed Facebook Fan Pages; what they are, why they're good for business, how to create one, and how to get people to 'Like' your page (aka 'Become a Fan'). We covered the brand new changes to Facebook Privacy Settings (yes, they changed AGAIN); how create 'Friend Lists' to categories the types of people you associate with on Facebook (friends, family, clients, etc.) and how to completely customize who sees what on your profile utilizing these lists. Once your employees view this slideshow, they will know how to protect their privacy and be more willing to 'Like' the company Fan Page and interact with it. This presentation was designed with businesses in mind, but is valuable to anyone with a Facebook profile!

If you weren't able to attend the Logic Classroom, you can view the presentation below!

UPDATED: Leveraging Facebook for your Business

View more presentations from Boston Logic.

We host a new LogicClassroom on the second Tuesday of every month. Our next LogicClassroom will be on May 11th. Please email Katrina if you would like to attend or sign up for our Newsletter at the lower right-hand corner of our home page to receive reminders and information about the next LogicClassroom.

Next Logic Classroom: Beyond the Basics of Google Analytics

Please join us Tuesday, May 11th at 5PM for our Logic Classroom presentation on Google Analytics.

Understanding your website is essential to improving it. In this Logic Classroom, we'll use Google Analytics to understand the key indicators that tell us what's working, what's not, and how to achieve better results.

Analytics can tell us a lot about our sites. Learn how to analyze inbound traffic from search engines. Gain insight into how effective our website is. Discover what pages are effective and split test copy, design, and functionality. If you're getting analytics reports, but don't know how to make sense of what they're telling you, you're not going to want to miss this webinar!

Contact Katrina at 617-266-9166 or ksierant@bostonlogic.com to attend. Please specify if you will be attending in the office or online via webinar. We look forward to seeing you all there.

New Sequoia Site Launched: Boston Apartment Hunter

Boston Apartment Hunter took advantage of Boston Logic's Modified Template Theme option - taking one of our already excellent design templates and altering it to suit their individual needs. This option strikes a unique balance between an off-the-shelf site theme and a fully custom site.

Modified Template Themes start with one of our readily deployable template themes, and provide a distinctive look while adhering to a compressed timeframe and a lower cost than a fully custom design. Of course, all of the best-in-class functionality of the Sequoia platform is still present under the skin!

Boston Apartment Hunter specializes in apartment and condo rentals in the Boston area.

Tri State Realty Group launches new site on Boston Logic’s Sequoia Platform!

Tri State Realty Group had Boston Logic design a custom Sequoia platform site for their new web presence - adding a unique look and feel as well a few great new optional features we've created.

Adding to the already robust rental property search functionality built into the Sequoia platform, Tri State Realty Group opted to employ a customized graphical search map. This feature allows users to click on the areas of the map they wish to search, select a few quick parameters and get fast, accurate search results tailored to their specific needs. The tool can be customized to suit any desired range of locations and themed to match the style of your site.

In addition, Tri State added an MBTA Search tool to their rental property search roster. This tool, which can be added to any Sequoia site that already uses our Neighborhood Pages feature, allows users to search for rentals near any major MBTA line with one click. This tool can be readily deployed for any site that already utilizes Neighborhood Pages, adding to the already significant boost in search engine rankings the Neighborhood Pages component provides.

Tri State Realty Group specializes in residential sales and rentals in the Boston area.

Platform User Guide Added!

All Sequoia sites now feature a comprehensive guide to using the system.

You may have noticed a new tab on the dashboard of your Sequoia site. We've added a thorough, written user guide that will walk you through all of the major functions you need to know.

Have a question about how to do something with your site? Look here first! We're constantly updating the guide as we add new features, and soon the guide will feature visual aids as well as the step-by-step instructions

Logic Classroom | Understanding Long Tail Keywords

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100 1 Percents

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What Makes Real Estate Companies Grow

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Real Estate Web Design

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Next LogicClassroom Announcement: Personal Branding and SEM

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Logic Classroom from 6.8.10: Keeping Up with Facebook

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Next Logic Classroom: Beyond the Basics of Google Analytics

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New Sequoia Site Launched: Boston Apartment Hunter

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Tri State Realty Group launches new site on Boston Logic’s Sequoia Platform!

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Platform User Guide Added!

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