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2010

Two new Multiple Listing Service databases integrated with Sequoia to offer our clients complete coverage for Massachusetts.

We've recently integrated the listing databases of LINK and LINK MV (Martha's Vineyard) to offer our Sequoia clients complete MLS coverage across the Massachusetts coast and islands. We now cover all of Mass, with LINK, LINK MV, the Cape Cod & Islands MLS, and MLS PIN all serving our clients and their customers - and will soon welcome the addition of the Rhode Island Statewide MLS to better serve our clients in the Ocean State.

We are constantly increasing our MLS coverage in order to serve as many customers as possible - and as an added benefit, allowing customers with multiple MLS ID's to show off and give their customers access to all of their listings in all of their MLS's. Now our southern Massachusetts clients can feature their listings from the South Shore, the Cape and Islands, and beyond - all on the same Sequoia real estate website design.

To learn more about the Sequoia platform and how we can make your new custom real estate website look great and perform better than you ever thought possible, call or email us today! We'll be happy to talk, or to give you a live demonstration of the technology that makes Sequoia the best real estate software platform on the market today.

Real Estate Website Q&A Tuesday: SEO and Sequoia 10/5/2010

For today's installment of Q&A Tuesday, where we discuss Frequently Asked Questions we receive from clients or potential clients regarding our Sequoia real estate website platform, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about website optimization. We are constantly being asked about search engine optimization and how our Sequoia websites can help our clients in their search engine marketing efforts.

Here at Boston Logic, we realize the importance of search engine marketing and optimization for your real estate business. Search engines are the way most people find information and services they want- and if your website is not optimized, it is less likely that potential clients will find you.

Even if you've never heard of Search Engine Optimization, a Sequoia website will make optimizing your web presence easy!

Q: How will switching to a Sequoia website help me with SEO?

A: The Sequoia platform was designed specifically with search engine optimization in mind! Sequoia is a cutting edge website platform that integrates the most advanced real estate website features enabling leading-edge marketing campaigns- and we're constantly improving it! Whenever there is a Sequoia system upgrade, your site is upgraded automatically, so your website will always be using the best technology in the real estate industry.

Q: I don't understand SEO. Will I still be able to benefit from the SEO features of a Sequoia website?

A: Yes! With a Sequoia website, adding important Meta Data (such as Page Titles, Page Descriptions, and Keyword Tags) to your website pages and creating custom URLs (essential elements of a well-optimized page) are as easy as filling out a field on a form! You don't have to be an SEO specialist or know HTML to improve your search engine ranking! Simply fill out the fields provided as you create your pages!

Adding Essential SEO Elements to a Sequoia Website is EASY!

Adding Essential SEO Elements is EASY!

Q: Is there support available if I need help with my SEO?

A: Yes! Your Sequoia website comes with a very informative Users Guide tab you can access from your Admin dashboard. We are constantly adding easy-to-follow demos and step-by-step instructions to the Help Section of this blog, and articles on SEO best practices on our blog at RealEstateSEO1.com.

Here are a few suggested links to help get you started:

Real Estate SEO is a Process

Optimize Your Site to Get More Traffic and Leads

Simple SEO for Your Blog

Q: I heard that using Social Media could help my SEO; how do Sequoia websites integrate with popular social sites?

A: You heard correctly! Utilizing social media sharing and social media websites are integral parts of any good search engine marketing strategy. We are constantly upgrading our system to keep up with social media trends.

Sequoia websites also give you the ability to add Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn icons to your website's footer that link to your profile pages on these social media sites. Setup is easy! Simply copy and paste the URL of your profile page into the 'Social Media' fields on your 'Configuration' tab from your Admin dashboard, click 'Save' and your icon links appear automatically!

The more ways you give potential clients to connect with you, the better! We can also help you set up MLS and rental property searches on your Facebook Fan Page that connect to the property searches on your website, and help you set up an RSS feed from your blog to your social media profiles!

Using Email Features on Sequoia Real Estate Websites: 9/14/2010

Follow up with your leads and convert them into clients with a Sequoia real estate websites' Email Features!

Welcome Emails

When a lead signs up on your website an email is automatically generated and sent out to the associated email address, thanking them for signing up with your website! It also includes their login information and a link to their account on your site.

Additionally, if you manually create a lead, they will receive an email with all of their account and login information with links to your website.

Once a lead clicks the link in their welcome email, they are prompted to sign in and are directed to their account. Here they are able to access and edit the following:

·    Contact Information
·    Favorite Properties / Searches
·    Email Updates
·    Personal Notes
·    Change Password

Daily Email Updates:
One of our favorite features offered to leads is Daily Email Updates. Both the Lead and Agent can set these up simply by selecting "Email Updates" under the leads detail information.

Once a daily email search is set up, a lead will start receiving emails the next day when they log into their email. A lead will ONLY receive emails if there are any updates to their search criteria.

If you would like to send an email to a lead immediately after setting up their email update, you can select "Send all Searches to lead right now." This will prompt it to send all updates for that particular day.
Email updates can be set up for both sales and rentals. You or a lead may also set up as many searches as you desire!

Email Listing to a Lead:
As a real estate agent you may send a property to a lead via email. This will include all property information, pictures, and descriptions. It will also include your logo and contact information so the lead has everything they could possible need right in front of them!

Once you select the property that you would like to email to your client, select the lead you would like the listing to go to. You may also include a message to go along with the property.

Once you hit 'submit', your listing has been sent to your lead and they will be able to view it directly from their inbox!

Interested in a custom real estate website that includes this feature and more? Contact us to learn more about how to get started, and to take advantage of our Free 30 Day Trial!

Need some tips on email marketing? Check out our posts on effective email marketing strategies on our Real Estate SEO blog.

New Sequoia Real Estate Website Feature: Type-Ahead Search Forms 8/27/2010

We've recently introduced another great Sequoia broker web design feature - type-ahead search forms!

Now instead of scrolling through lists of towns and neighborhoods when performing a search, setting up email updates, and creating pages with search forms, all you need to do is start typing the name of the town or neighborhood.

Once you do, the system will automatically provide a list of all towns and neighborhoods that match the characters you have entered- for example, typing B-O-S will give you Boston and all Boston neighborhoods. Keep typing to make the list smaller until you see what you want, or just scroll the list and click on the choice you want to make. If you make a mistake while making a page, or want to remove a town or neighborhood, just click the "x" to the upper right of the place name.

This feature gives Sequoia web sites for realtors two great benefits. First is, of course, the ease and simplicity with which users can perform searches, and agents can set up pages. Second, pages with search forms on them now load much faster, since your browser doesn't have to load the list of towns provided by your MLS. Both of these improvements make the user experience of your Sequoia site that much more enjoyable, and will contribute to increased lead traffic.

This is just one of the many features we have recently introduced for the Sequoia platform - part of our ongoing commitment to maintaining Sequoia's position as the highest-quality real estate website platform in the industry.

Read more of Sequoia's Latest Feature Upgrades available on our Websites for Realtors.

Modal Windows : Myths, Fears, & Conversions

What's a Modal Window?

You may already be familiar with the Modal Window feature of your Sequoia website for realtors, especially if you attended our LogicClassroom about Maximizing Lead Conversion! We hope you've had your Modal Windows turned on since your site went live!

We have seen our clients' lead capture rates increase significantly time and time again once they utilize this basic, yet crucial feature of their new Sequoia website design for realtors.

A Modal Window functions similarly to a pop-up window in that it is a small dialog box that appears in the center of the screen above the contents of the page the visitor is on. Pop-up windows are easily dismissed or ignored, however, whereas a Modal Window requires the visitor's attention before allowing them to proceed to the rest of the website. Modal Windows will still appear even if the visitor is using a pop-up blocker on their system.

How Modal Windows Work:

On your Sequoia website, the Modal Window (once enabled) will appear when a new visitor uses a property search on your site. The search results will be displayed, but will be elegantly faded out and disabled so that the visitor can only see the list of properties that match their query, but they won't be able to click on any of the properties on the list for more information until they fill out the contact form in your Modal Window.

If the visitor tries to scroll down the page, they can see the extensive list of properties in the background scrolling, but the Modal Window will continue to hover over the disabled results until they fill out the form or hit the 'Back to Search' button.

The ability to see the extensive list of properties behind the window helps assure the visitor that you have the information they are looking for, and that there is a large list of properties matching their criteria to choose from upon submitting their contact information.

Some of clients have expressed concerns about implementing Modal Windows on their site. They are concerned that Modal Windows will drive visitors away from the site entirely and cause them lose quality leads. This could not be further from the truth! We've had clients disable their Modal Windows in hopes of capturing more leads without prompting visitors to fill out their contact information in exchange for listing information, only to have the clients turn the Modal Windows back on within less than a month of testing the site without them!

Modal Windows are becoming more popular for websites across the internet and users are getting used to the requirement to sign up for an account in order to access information on a large variety of websites- everything from social networking sites, to news archives, and even e-commerce websites. Visitors will see that you offer the information they are after with the ability to scroll the results behind the Modal Window, and if they are serious about finding a new home or apartment, will have no issue with filling out your contact form.

Enabling Your Modal Windows:

If you haven't done so already, here is how you enable the Modal Windows on your new Sequoia website:

1. Log into your website, and go to the 'Settings' Tab.

2. Select 'Configuration' from the sub navigation menu on the Settings Tab.

3. Scroll down the Configuration settings panel until your reach the section titled 'Lead Options'.

4. From here, you can simply check the boxes next to where you want to Modal Window to appear.

We suggest enabling the Modal Window for Rental, Sale, and Luxury Developments to get the most leads. To make your Modal Window less intimidating to visitors, you can leave the 'Require Lead Phone Number' option unchecked, so the visitor doesn't have to supply that information, only their name and email.

Now that you can see how easy it is to enable your Modal Window, we hope that you will make use of this great feature to help you capture more leads within your realtor internet marketing campaign!

If you still have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us for support!

Importing Leads to Your New Site With the Logic Leads System

Our goal here at Boston Logic is to help you deliver an exceptional real estate website that looks great, saves you time, and helps you close more deals. With the much-anticipated launch of recent real estate agent sites, we wanted to reach out to those users and develop some helpful blog posts to hit the ground running with their new real estate website design.

This post discusses how to import your existing leads into your site- if you haven't done so already. When logged into your new site, you can also reference our User Guide (see image) which is located on the right-hand side of your dashboard to help you get answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about your real estate platform. We have also created a very thorough walk through demo video on Lead Management.

Getting your leads into your website and leveraging your LogicLeads system will help you get more referrals from your clients and close deals!

Follow these steps to upload your leads:

1) To upload leads, select the Import Leads sub-item under your Lead Management tab.

2) Next, download the Batch User Template file by clicking the link to download. Once you have entered your lead data, simply upload the file by clicking the "Browse" button, locating the file, and clicking Import Users. The file must be less than 1KB.

3) After you have uploaded your leads you can manage them under the My Leads sub-item.

4) By viewing a lead's detailed information you can check out their favorite properties and searches, site activity, and tool usage.

5) As a real estate agent user, you can also update a lead's contact information and sales info, and add follow-up dates and contact events to keep your lead's information up to date.

6) One of our favorite features offered to leads is Daily Email Updates. Both the lead and Agent can set these up - Agents can do so by simply selecting "Email Updates" under the leads' detailed information.

7) Email updates can be set up for both sales and rentals. An agent can also choose to send out an updated search to their lead by clicking the New Daily Search link under the Email Updates tab on the lead's detailed information view.

Like what you see and want to get in on the real estate website action? Contact Boston Logic to get started on your very own agent real estate web site today!

Agent Websites Now Available on the Sequoia Platform! 7/16/2010

For Boston Logic's Agent Sites, we employ the same industry leading technology as found behind our broker web design office sites - in addition to enhance personal real estate online marketing features.

Until now, Boston Logic did not offer a cost-effective solution for Real Estate agents who wanted to have their own personally branded, custom real estate website. Well, so many individual agents asked us to create such a product, that we couldn't say no any longer!

Like our sites for Real Estate Offices, Agent Sites are designed to help you rank in the search engines, leverage social media, produce more traffic, and convert more of that traffic into leads. The difference is ownership - Agent Sites not only work seamlessly with the LogicLeads system of your company's Sequoia site, they can generate their own unique leads which go directly to the agent who owns the site. Aggregating leads from your Agent Site and your office's Sequoia site will increase the amount of business going directly to you.

Of course, Agent Sites have all New Sequoia Features of the best-in-class features that make Sequoia the leading platform in Real Estate agent website design: branded site designs with an unlimited number of pages, advanced lead management, unlimited editable lead capture forms, MLS property search with Google maps, extensive interactive user tools, rental search, and much, much more.

Our websites for Realtors offices consistently produce leads, traffic, and search engine ranking. Positioned at the cutting edge of online marketing and technology, Sequoia sites support next generation marketing campaigns, work seamlessly with social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and give offices the edge over their competition. Now individual agents can tap into the power of the best software platform in the industry - by using Sequoia Agent Sites.

Explore the power of your personal brand and the unlimited lead generation potential the web has to offer. To find out more about Agent Sites and the Sequoia platform: web design for realtors, contact Boston Logic today.

Realtors Now Looking to the Web for an Edge

In an article by Jennifer LeClaire of the Boston Business journal, real estate brokers are relying more and more on online marketing in this current market. Email marketing alone was hailed as a vital component of realtor internet marketing, as is an extremely effective way to engage and communicate with existing customers and future prospects - and has led the way in taking real estate services to the next level.

ConstantContact has recently conducted a survey in which nearly 60% of respondents indicated that they currently use real estate web sites and email marketing to drive more potential customers to their businesses. Now, more than ever, it is important for real estate agents and brokers to establish effective means to build and maintain strong customer relationships. And with the right website and online marketing campaign, more contacts = more leads = more closings.

But simply having a web site is not enough - you have to advertise it to gain drive traffic to your site to get leads. And furthermore, you must understand where your traffic is coming from so that you can narrow the focus of your advertising efforts. When executed and maintained correctly, as much as 50% of your business can come through your website. And if maintained and tended to consistently correctly over time, you will see a growth in business. The National Association of Realtor data states that more than 80% of home buyers will start their property search online, and 70% will then work with the agent that contacts them first.

Blogs are also a key tool for real estate businesses, and they are great resources for search engines to crawl for relevant search content. After time, blogs can attract much organic search engine traffic because of their keyword-rich content. So your real estate internet presence can make the effectiveness of print ads or billboards a thing of the past - as long as you work consistently on your website, blog, and email marketing campaigns, customers will find you.

The Importance of Websites for Realtors

A few years ago, it was difficult for Real Estate agents to acquire leads. With the constant utilization of the internet, this has become much easier for realtors. The vast majority of clients are now seeking homes by turning to the internet as their first means of search.

However, this is not to say that hard work isn't involved with this process. True, there is potentially no limit to how big your business can grow online - but it is up to each realtor and real estate broker to put in the effort. It is up to you how far you want to stretch, how much money you want to spend, and how much time and effort you are willing to invest in your website.

Without a functioning, aesthetically pleasing web presence (or without a web presence at all), your realty company risks becoming obsolete: customers and leads trust agencies with good websites. The fact is that your brick and mortar office is no longer your biggest sign of significance, it's your real estate office website.

Consider a new website or website makeover as an investment in the success of your real estate brokerage. Sequoia Real Estate Solutions provides a high-quality, customized website option for you at a great price. Click here to read more about how you can market your real estate brokerage - and all the advantages and features that go along with it!

New MLS Databases Now Integrated with Sequoia: LINK and LINKMV 10/26/2010

Related Links:

Real Estate Website Q&A Tuesday: SEO and Sequoia 10/5/2010

Related Links:

Using Email Features on Sequoia Real Estate Websites: 9/14/2010

Related Links:

New Sequoia Real Estate Website Feature: Type-Ahead Search Forms 8/27/2010

Related Links:

Modal Windows : Myths, Fears, & Conversions

What's a Modal Window?

How Modal Windows Work:

Enabling Your Modal Windows:

Related Links:

Importing Leads to Your New Site With the Logic Leads System

Related Links:

Agent Websites Now Available on the Sequoia Platform! 7/16/2010

Related Links:

Realtors Now Looking to the Web for an Edge

Related Links:

The Importance of Websites for Realtors

Related Links:

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