The easiest form of SEO - Building a better website

January 03, 2012  |  Shawn Smalley

Happy New Year!  With each new year comes a new set of resolutions, most having to do with their website and how to get higher rankings.  So this series (yes, a series) will focus on just that. 

There are a lot of myths about how to “optimize” your website for search engines. Notice I put “optimize” in double-quotes. Here’s a truth that will make some paid SEO companies shake in their boots: The real trick to SEO is just building a better website in general. That’s it. Nothing technical, nothing “behind-the-scenes” you have to install or tweak, and your website is just a platform for you to...

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Is e-mail marketing dead?

December 22, 2011  |  Kara Calderon

Actually it’s not. Ever wonder why you get so many e-mails from some of the biggest retailers around? It’s effective and inexpensive.
Regardless what you may think about “too much e-mail” or “getting spammed” the fact is (like it or not)…e-mail marketing is here to stay. Now, what you do with your e-mail marketing is up to you. Use it to only feature new listings, generate more referrals, provide home improvement tips, or….all of the above. The bottom line is you need to keep your name in front of your potential and past customers every chance you get.
So if you don’t have your marketing plan...

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New Virtual Tour for Agent XSites

December 01, 2011  |  Matt Krodel

When we originally designed the XSites Virtual Tour in 2003, the web was kind of a dull place.  Many people still had slow dial-up connections, low resolution CRT displays and a browser that would seem primitive by today’s standards.  To make up for all those limitations, we implemented a really nice Flash-based virtual tour that (at the time) was cutting edge and gained us a lot of fans.

Now that high speed connections and high resolution displays are the norm, we’ve rewritten our Virtual Tour to take advantage of today’s mainstream web technologies to give your buyers and sellers a better...

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The most wonderful time of the year

November 10, 2011  |  Kara Calderon

It’s the most wonderful time of the year….The National Association of REALTORS® Expo and Conference.
 
This is my fifth Expo and I've learned a lot over the years.  Therefore, I wanted to share my 5 best tips to help make your trip (and Expo) a success.
 
1.  Take comfy shoes.  Ladies this is directed at you.  The show floor is HUGE!  Add in walking to classes, the hotel, and everything else there’s lot of walking…so put function over fashion and bring your comfy kicks.  I recommend insoles too.
 
2.  Have a plan.  Between CE classes, speakers, and the show, you’re time is spread thin. ...

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Quick tip: Using video as SEO for real estate

November 04, 2011  |  Kara Calderon

This is a tip more than a blog per-say, but it's Friday so I figured what they hey....and say " YouTube it!"  (And no, I really didn't intend for all of that to rhyme, it just came out that way.)  YouTube is the LARGEST online video destination in the world (according to their Facebook page), so just think about what that could mean for your SEO for your real estate site.

Here's some ideas for the weekend...Shoot a video about a new neighborhood (think about it like a walking tour), or local attractions so that people who are relocating can get a glimpse of your city or you can even give advice...

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