Birmingham's BEST Real Estate

I just posted a new interview over on my blog http://www.realestaterocketfuel.com/63/interview-jw-starts-raking-in-leads/ .

It features Jason, a newly licensed agent who knew practically nothing about internet marketing.

In the revealing interview, Jason details exactly what he did to get to page one of Google within a week, which tools he used, and how he captured 25 online leads within his first week of "going live".

I've put this in a prior post but it was at 6am.  I know there are a lot of activerainers that only log in at night so I though you would want to hear this.

Enjoy!

Mike

Hi Activerainers...

It's been a while since I have posted but I just had to update you on a "newbie agent" I am coaching.

He started working on his online marketing setup a few weeks ago.  You may have seen a video update on his progress.  If not, you can watch him HERE.

I interviewed him last night via Skype and he has made tremendous progress in just 3 weeks - from zero traffic and leads to 25 leads a week.  He had virtually zero internet experience before he started.

In fact, his comment is that if you can use windows, you can do it too.

The interview is posted HERE and is about 23 minutes.  However, the stuff he tells you about is definitely worth the time.  He also reveals 3 "secret" tools he's using to get all these leads.

Besides the tools he mentions, he also mentions a training program that you can get HERE.

Let me know if you have any questions.  I am going to post an update on this guy the end of the month and check on his lead and closing volume.  Stay tuned...

I thought everyone might want to see this...

I've been "coaching" a new agent in the Metro Atlanta area.  He's been licensed about a month and a half.

He didn't have any money, had no idea where to start, and wanted a little help on this internet marketing thing.

He just finished a video and I thought everyone would like to see it. (it's only 2 minutes)

He now has 2 different sites or Blogs on the first page of Google for his selected high traffic keywords.

Here's the link to the video:  http://www.realestaterocketfuel.com/59/case-study-2-jason/  (opens in a new window so you won't lose your place)

If you think it's cool - please leave a comment - I'm sure Jason would appreciate it.

Mike

I have been posting tips and tricks here on Active Rain for months showing you how to get your blogs and webpages to the top of the search engines and then how to capture leads from them.

There is no way I could post EVERYTHING on ActiveRain so I have put together the ultimate 6 hour DVD course that shows you every free technique and then some.  If you can "copy and paste" and click your mouse, that is all the technical ability you need!

12 days and counting to the Release of Real Estate Rocket Fuel 1.1

Here's the video that changed Real Estate Marketing:  Real Estate Marketing

And that's just a preview...

Want to get FREE Leads?  Want more Traffic to your website?  Want to be on page one of Google?

This 6 hour course has it all.

Find out more at www.RealEstateRocketFuel.com/rerf1.html

Launch Date is June 30th, 2009.  Get on my priority notification list and then Watch your email for the exact time.

Wishing you Rocket Fueled Success,

Mike

There's an old saying... Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.  Heard it before?

In these tumultuous times in our industry, the rules of the game seem to be changing daily.  Here's some of what I mean:

• Short Sales were Popular a month ago - now the banks just hold onto the property
• I placed a print ad 3 years ago and got 50 calls - now I get 4
• Foreclosures were everywhere 6 months ago - now they seem to be drying up
• Buyers could get USDA funding 2 months ago - now they have to wait 4 months
• Manual Underwrite FHA loans were abundant - no they are all but gone
• A credit score of 600+ was "good" - now it takes 650+

The Changes are happening faster and faster.  Now loans get approved by lenders but turned down by PMI companies and on and on.

Probably the BIGGEST difference between now and 2 years ago is the impact of Print Advertising.  All of our local venues are getting thinner and thinner - the Real Estate Magazines and the Sunday Real Estate Section... They used to be THICK with ads.  Now the faintest breeze can blow them down the street they're so thin.

Besides the loan program changes and the changes in the behavior of banks that are holding properties, there's the consumer and their behavior - they simply don't look at print ads any more. 

Between 2005 and 2008 - the consumer EMBRACED the internet.  They actually started using online services like Amazon and eBay to buy things.  They started getting their news online.  They started using the internet as a "one stop solution" for buying, selling, shopping and even research and basic information.

This new "toy" called the internet has now turned into the GO TO Source for all things information based and if WE as a group don't sit up and take notice, then we could easily become obsolete - become dinosaurs.  And here's why - the consumers are using the internet as about their ONLY source for finding houses and finding real estate services.  

And that's scary...  Especially if YOU are not highly visible Online.  if you are not visible, then it follows that you are INVISIBLE.  Not a good thing for any business to be.

So - here' the VIDEO that's changing that:  Market Yourself and Your Listings Online

Do your fellow agents a BIG FAVOR and REBLOG this post.

Enjoy

During our last release of the Real Estate Rocket Fuel Training Course, an agent in the Atlanta area (Jason) picked up a copy of the course and started implementing what he learned.

Here's the thing:  Jason has only been licensed about 3 and a half weeks.

His goal?  To get his site to Page One of Google

I decided to "video" his progress and provide some constructive criticism for him and have just gotten permission to show you a few of the "critiques" of his blogs.  Now - you can take his mistakes and learn from them on the do's and don'ts.

I am presenting these videos over the next few days and weeks. (so if you want them all, the best thing to do is subscribe to this blog).

In this first video, what you will learn is the importance of using the keyword phrase in your posts, how to get free content to put on your blog (cool - no brainer), and you'll get some insight on post scheduling.

The point of all of this is to get the blog into a stream of traffic online that already exists and capture leads from it.

Here's the link:  Internet Marketing for Real Estate:  Case Study #1 (opens in a new window)

Hope you get something out of it you can use,

Mike

91% of consumers use the internet as their GO TO source for information on houses and just about anything else - so YOU need to be WHERE they are looking.

I've been posting tips, tricks and "how to's" here on Active Rain and on my blog for quite some time but a lot of people have asked if I could do a course or put on some kind of hands on training.

The answer is yes and it's coming the end of this month:  The Real Estate Rocket Fuel Training Course.

NOTICE:  If you are a Subscriber to this Blog - Please Click the "REBLOG" button - Thanks!

Now, and I'll be honest, this course IS NOT for everyone.  if you don't want to spend a few hours going through it and actually taking action on what you will learn, it's not for you.

If you don't want more business - please - it's not for you.

But, if you want to be able to get to page one on Google, capture leads online, and then turn them into customers - that's what this course is all about.

I'll be releasing it on June 30th and you can get all the details HERE.

Scroll to the bottom and get on my "priority notification" list and you'll be one of the first to know when it goes live.

If you have questions - post them here.

Mike

Okay, now that you have some keywords picked out, it's time to go into Google Adwords and set up an account.

Once the account is set up, choose "new online campaign".

When you click on it, a little pull down menu appears and you want to click on "start with keywords"...

When you click that, here is the next screen you will see...

Let's talk about the four red arrows.  The first one is the name of your campaign.  You can just make it something like "real estate".  The second part is the GROUP name and this one is important. 

By GROUP - what Google wants you to do is GROUP similar keywords together into the same group.  for example:

Houses in Seattle

Seattle houses for sale

Both of these keyword have the words "houses" and "seattle" so it would be a good to put them into the SAME ADGROUP.  There's a reason we do this and I'll cover it a little later but it's called "Quality Score".

So we would name our group "Seattle Houses" - the two words that our keyword phrases have in common.

The next red arrow is the language and you can leave it alone.  BUT - the next one is the targeting. 

Now - if you want to advertise Seattle Houses to people in Key West Florida - go for it.  But I am going to suggest you click on targeting and then just choose a 50 to 80 mile radius around your target city.

That'll save you a ton of money because you won't be getting clicks from New York City or Birmingham, Al.

When you click on Change Targeting, you'll see this screen:

and as the red arrow indicates, we want to click on "Custom Targeting" and then fill in your city and state and then choose how far around your city you want your ads to show...

If you like it, just click "done" on the lower left and your campaign setting are saved.

Now we have a campaign set up, with an adgroup targeted for 2 keywords and targeted for 75 miles around our city of choice.

Tomorrow, I'll show you how to put in those keywords and take advantage of Google's exact match, phrase match, and broad match, and then how to create an ad that will result in a higher quality score and a lower cost per click.

Obviously this stuff is not for people who don't want to take action, who don't want more business, or who are going to use these techniques for scams.

Make sure you take a look at THIS VIDEO is you haven't already.

Mark your Calendar for June 30th...  It's gonna be big.  RERF 1.0 release date.

See you tomorrow,

Mike

In my last post, I covered a little introductory info on Pay per Click Advertising.  In this post, we'll take it a few steps further.

Your first task is to choose which keywords you want to target.  Keyword selection and research is the first place that you can avoid losing your shirt.  If you pick very broad search terms (things people search for on Google), you could end up paying as much as $7+ per click for your advertising.

But, if you do a little research first, you can find keywords that are lower in search volume and have very few advertisers - which means you won't have to pay but 20 or 30 cents a click to get people to come and see your landing page.

Here is a video I did on keyword research and how to find keywords that have lower search volume for your area.  Do some research and make a list.

You can also use Google's keyword tool for keyword suggestions.

Now - if your landing page offers, let's say, a report on "23 Quick and Easy Fixups to add value and Sell your home fast", then you will want to target sellers who are looking for information on selling their home.  If your landing page targets buyers in the southern subdivisions of Seattle, Washington, then you'd want to make a list of keywords that target the subdivisons, BY NAME, in the southern part of Seattle, Washington.

The idea is to pick as many possible keyword combinations for YOUR area that buyers and sellers in your area would search for information on.

Keep in mind though:  you are going to be directing people to a page that might not have any homes on it.  In other words, you may be offering people a report on "How to Avoid the 6 Biggest Mistakes when Buying a Home in Southern Seattle, Washington".  So your keywords MUST all relate to Seattle, Washington Homes and preferrably, southern Seattle homes.

Something else to keep in mind is your "message to market match".  What this means is that whatever it is you are running ads for must be EXACTLY what people find when they click your ad and are taken to the page you want them to go to.

So, here's what you do NOT want to do... we'll use the example of the 6 biggest mistakes report from above.

AD COPY:  Homes for Sale in Seattle - find beautiful homes for sale in Seattle at bargain prices

Now if that's the ad I run and I click on it but I am taken to a page that offers me a report on avoiding mistakes that homebuyers make - THAT is NOT a message to market match and your response rate will be very low.  Also - GOOGLE will charge you MORE per click because the content on the page doesn't match up well with the ad.  YES - Google looks at your landing page and analyzes the match between your ad and the content on your page.

So here's BETTER Ad COPY:  Buy a Home in Seattle? Warning - Failure to Get this Free Report Could Cost you Thousands!

It still targets Seattle, it mentions free report, it mentions buy a home.  So there is a much better message to market match.

Remember that the idea is to put up an ad that gets the readers attention and then takes them to a page that offers them an immediate benefit that exactly relates back to the ad.

So when you are doing your keyword research and making a list of keywords that you want to bid on, you must keep in mind the WHOLE picture of what it is you are trying to accomplish.  If you start off with the big picture in mind, it will save you TONS of money on your PPC advertising campaign in the long run.

In my next post, we'll take the list of keywords that we have selected, put them into groups, and go into Google Adwords and begin setting up an actual advertising campaign.

If you haven't already gotten the free Agent Toolkit, you can get it HERE.

See you tomorrow,

Mike

If you are not on page one but want to get eyes on your website, there are a few things you need to do BEFORE investing any money in Pay per Click for your Real Estate Marketing.

First, you MUST have a good landing page.

What's that you say?

A landing page is where you are going to send people to with your advertising and it is composed of exactly 2 things:  1) An irresistible offer and 2) A lead capture form

The page should have exactly one purpose and that is to get the prospect to fill out the form to get whatever it is you are offering.  You could offer a "special report" or you could offer a special "white paper".

HERE is a great example of a "landing page".  Notice that it is highly targeted AND it has one purpose... to capture the prospects information.  Once they fill in the form, the prospect is given what is offered.

Once you have the "offer" and lead capture form set up, now all you have to do is DRIVE traffic to the page and the simplest way to do that is with "Pay per Click" advertising.

Here's the way pay per click works:

You set up an ad that is targeted for your offer or landing page.  Then you place a bid saying how much you will pay for someone to click on the ad.  When the prospect clicks the ad, they are taken to the webpage you want them to go to.

Again - that web page MUST have an offer for SOMETHING that they can fill in a form for.  If you just take them to a web page that has your listings, you are wasting your money and you will spend and spend and spend and won't get anything for it.

Google Adwords is the #1 online Pay per Click sevice and has millions of advertisers and generates billions in revenue for Google.  It has a learning curve but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy to use.  It is free to set up an Adwords account and you can set one up HERE. 

Just look on the left hand side of the page and click sign up now.

Now - before you go settting up ads and bidding on keywords, there is a LOT of stuff that you need to know that will save you a LOT of money.  Watch for my next few posts or subscribe to this blog so you can get the step by step information on how to PAY LESS but get TOP POSITIONS for your ads on Google.

I'll also be posting videos of how to set up advertising campaigns - stay tuned!