‘Open source’, ‘Blogging’, 'Web 2.0', the importance (or impotence) of Search Engine Optimization is the buzz of the Internet, and especially hot in the real estate and mortgage verticals. Regardless of the lingo used, one thing is evident…The big WWW has evolved (very) dramatically. There are new rules since the web has gotten smarter; it’s a very different beast than the gigantic digital archive of static pages it used to be.
Change fosters discontent amongst the institutionalized. Most people don’t like change, especially if it means deviating from their current successful ways, even more so if it means losing coveted business to perceived neophytes. Aversion to change is a cancer from the Industrial Age, which is why most of the negative chatter about traffic, hits, referrals, and ‘new age marketing’ running amok in the real estate blogosphere comes from the traditionalists, the ones with the most to lose.
Call it the Innovators Dilemma…if my business isn’t broke per se’, why fix it (especially if I don’t understand it)? or in the alternative, If you can’t beat ‘em, trash ‘em...which has it's merits, for the 'trashed' The fundamental problem with this strategy (when attacking another successful and prudent strategy) is pretty direct...There's usually a high probability that the naysayer is well versed on and in their core business yet is grossly undereducated regarding what the new paradigm represents, which is damaging to the trasher. The thick irony of it all is that it’s not hard to find your way back to the truth, so the trasher inadvertently ends up championing the the ‘new’ cause. Who’s the neophyte now?
Redfin plays this role out with ingenious perfection. It would be fair to argue that they know exactly what they’re doing, but admitting so would lessen their impact. Glenn Kelman plays the roles of unassuming victim and willing combatant to a degree that makes me smile in admiration. Redfin’s model (and just about everything they stand for) is detested by the traditionalists in real estate. Scathing reviews are publicized with daily consistency. I read posts about Redfin stating the author will never write about Redfin again, this is my 50th and LAST time (BTW Redfins marketing dept thx you for the first 49). As a result, Redfin receives press it couldn’t buy with $100M in traditional marketing budget. Another example is Zillow having the honor of an actual legislative body trying to ban their Zestimate values from appearing on their site. It’s no wonder they spend $0.00 on conventional marketing…who needs to when you have a bunch of blue-hairs blowing your horn louder than a tuba.
Sooo...search engine guru's have developed succinct methods for yielding their results based madness, they're innately designed to sift through junk and find quality content. The ‘new web’ is as organic and alive as the people who use it; websites might as well have expiration dates if content isn’t updated with relative frequency. Proper meta tagging and key wording are as important as the content within the website. These descriptors help the search engines decide if your site matches someone’s search query, improving the efficiency of the overall process, or at least they’re supposed to. Alas, with every strategy comes loopholes that are sure to be exploited. Some mortals will try and trick the machines by erroneously loading content with meta data and key words in attempt to dupe traffic to their sites. This is called ‘packing’
What packing does prove is that SEO works, very very well...Producing relevant meta and key word rich, content filled web-sites is a potent web marketing strategy, far superior to buying banner ad’s, a page in the local real estate book, or a classified ad in the Sunday paper.
In any case, as a marketer I love attention, it’s free marketing...Attention Marketing. My business and greater messages are purely ethical and maintain the highest levels of character. I’m not looking to deceive anyone; in fact I look to fight the decepticons with a Spartan warrior’s fervor. I write with an edgy finger and a cutting style because 1) that’s how I feel and 2) it resonates with people…sometimes positively, sometimes negative, either way, I am heard.
In conclusion, for all those who feel slighted by another’s ill word or misdirected advice…relish in it, leverage it for all it’s worth, fan the flames, but keep it professional ;)
If you ever find yourself wondering who's talking about you (complimentary or the smack down) in the communal web '2.0', subscribe to Google Alerts...The Online Grapevine.
It’s the new web we live in...
OK, go ahead and trash me now for my Redfin props :)
Jeff:
I guess one cannot have enought SEO education today.
Hi Jeff-
People may or may not agree with what those companies do - but they certainly have the free advertising nailed.
As far as the Alerts go - they are great - I've been using them for months and it is surprising... you can pop up in some unexpected places.....
Geez, Jeff. You just wrote the Magna Carta of Real estate Web Marketing.
Jeff,
Excellent post--Now I have to go back and read it a couple of times so I can totally digest it.
Hi Jeff,
Thanks so much for the great information, being someone new to all of this I found your post to be chuck full of information I need to know.
I love eloquent, articulate assessments. This says so much of what I try to tell my oldster colleagues every day. I see the painful expressions in their faces, because they know it's true, even as it undercuts the years and years of honing they've done to become successful in their 'core' arena.
Well said Jeff.
You sure havesome insight and quite a way with words.
Someone will always figure out a way to beat the system, for a while anyway
I am so lost - lol
Ok so you reference "Packing" and provide a link - but the link doesn't discuss packing or what it is, or is that site an example of it (They certainly have enough keywords stuffed in their title to be sure, but hey so does your title - wait, that might be the point no?)
I "think" your point in this article is that by being controversial, new or exciting you gain immense PR (The traditional kind and thus the Google kind) because people on the web just won't shut up about things (I mean can't help themselves from chatting ;-) But I don't really know - like I said, i'm kind of lost.
I guess the old saying of "there is no such thing as bad press holds true. Especially on the "WWW"
By the way, great writing style and tone in this post. Very entertaining.
Great stuff...Thanks for the education..signed up for the google alerts.
Just as we can never be too rich o too thin, we can never stop learning web SEO.
Great post! You've hit the nail on the head when it comes to traditionalist and change when it comes to business. I hear it almost everyday when it comes to raw leads through our website. Today's buyer is going online first and if you can't adapt even a little... well let me just quote the famous cliche - "If you don't bend then you break." And one more cheesy cliche for good measure... "Education doesn't stop once you are out of school."
Any other suggestions to help out a small real estate company in upstate NY get better SEO?
Thx all for the nice comments...
Stuffing, packing... there are a few terms that are used to describe the purposeful deceit of the search engines into thinking a site has relevant content.
The packing link I included was an experiment by The BloodHound Blog, I believe by Greg Swann himself...he loaded up a post with keywords and meta tags about Maricopa CA, even though his post contained no content of value about Maricopa from a real estate perspective, in an attempt to demonstrate how easy it could be done, and therefore was somehow cheating.?.
I believe Greg was trying to make a point that anyone could stuff or pack a post with SEO tactics and get results, intended as a jab against others in this space who champion SEO as a potent marketing tool. What he ended up doing was validating what the SEO 'experts' have been saying:
Properly keywording and meta-tagging will get you placed higher on the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPS).
If you're loading up on relevant keywords and meta tags with no relevant content to support those tags, its called packing or stuffing, and frowned upon.
If you're doing so because you actually have relevant content related to the 'SEO Juice'. it's called making your post key-word 'rich'.
If anyone would like to try an experiment (at your own risk), stuff a post with the name Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan, and watch the traffic roll in...(Sad but True)
Nifder is a great substitute word.
Many of us use google alerts for our names, our company, our optimized words - it can also be useful to have a google alert for your main competitors - if they show up in good places, figure out why.