UK estate agents property marketing,uk search engines, web site advertising services for uk estate agents

The marketing of property can often get out of control. Advertising salesman have grown rich peddling to Estate Agents who know that they have to keep a high profile in the area. Glossy brochure or radio, billboard or press, community sponsorship or directory listings? The choice is endless. The internet provides an alternative:- an intelligent well targeted, service that ensures decision makers know about your services. Building a web site without harnessing the power of search engines is pointless. Only your best friends will know it exists. Due to the sheer number of web pages competing for attention on the Internet, estate agents need to make sure that their web site is easy to find. Users may select a search engine based on the proximity of a search button, the ease of use, the quality of the results they receive, or its popularity. Knowing how to attract search engines to your web site is extremely important, since most people depend on search engines to find information. Effective promotion delivers the right information to the right people at the right time Online advertising or internet advertising offers an inexpensive sales channel direct to 'Property Search' consumers worldwide. Free advertising does not exist and many an advertising agency have made healthy profits from designing web sites for property companies.

Problems

If your site appears in the first 10 search results, you have a prominent web presence. If your site does not show up you will have further expense as to gain this competitive edge, some search engines invite site owners to purchase or bid on key words that pertain to their web site. There are hundreds of search engines on the Internet. They will all accept web sites if they are correctly submitted. They all have different rules to judge the sites position on the results that it returns to searchers. Announcement and listing services allow you to submit a site simultaneously to many search engines and services that list web sites. Many of these services are free but not effective. Sadly, web sites built without addressing the search engines' requirements are destined to online oblivion.

Solution

Web positioning, or search engine positioning, is one of the most preferred marketing strategies for websites. It is especially very popular among small and medium sized businesses that are under a strict budget and in need of such inexpensive sources of traffic to their websites. It is believed that over 95% of traffic comes from search engines and directories such as AltaVista, Google, Yahoo, Northern Light, Lycos, Excite, DMOZ, etc. If users are searching for information, products, or services online, they use a search engine/directory. And according to a Compaq study, 68% of 500 million users looked only at the first page of the results drawn by a search engine. Therefore, if your website ranks in the top 10 positions of major search engines/directories, you can and you will attract hundreds or even thousands of new visitors to your website every month. More importantly, if web positioning is done carefully, your site will attract very targeted visitors who are more likely to be customers or recipients of the services that your business is offering. Most of the search engines do not charge you for submitting your site, but a few engines do charge you a one-time fee for submission.

Site Overhaul

The ultimate goal of every web site is to be included in the first 10 search results. But how do you accomplish this? Generally speaking search engines read and memorise the words on a web page. If the word that the "searcher" enters into the query is not on the page, no match results and the page will not be listed. However each search engine uses different techniques for its searches. Search engines may look for titles, content, keywords and descriptions (as included in HTML "META tags") or some combination of the above. Once the content has been developed, the search engines use algorithms to rank the pages by generating a Confidence or Relevance Factor that is displayed as a percentage or points with the search results. The Relevance Factor is determined by how many times a word is used in a document and how it is used. Ranking also may be determined by a site reviewer or by the number of web sites that link to your web site, indicating its credibility or popularity. More on Developing Searchable Pages

Branding

Your starting point to increase estate sales is your target area, its perceived image, its investment potential and its strategic location. Collate the type and size of accommodation available, local schools and Council information to help to build an in-depth profile of your particular niche. Your knowledge of the market helps determine the areas and the sectors of the local economy to be targeted and high-lighted in order to increase your sales Once you know who your audience is, you need to package yourself so that you appeal to them. Just like a product your business will need a strong image that can develop into a well-known and trusted on line brand name. Positioning has to do with the position that people place you in when they think about you compared to other Estate Agents. You need to define your business so that consumers will hold you in their minds in the position that you expect. It must not be left to chance. You do it by proper packaging and branding . Why offer 'all property related services' when you can write out and describe your skills, services, features and benefits? If you really were a consumer product on a supermarket shelf, what colour would your package be? That may help you decide your on line identity. More on Positioning Analysis

Site Submissions

When submitting a site, be patient. Due to volume and backlog some search engines can take 6 weeks or more to get a site listed. Others will show up in a couple of days. Do not be discouraged if a page does not show up immediately. Submit several key "entry point" pages of your site to search engines. Submit the Table of Contents or Sitemap. Prepare a brief site description and include it with the submission. Update your pages and resubmit for each alteration. Each time the "Last Updated" date changes, your site is eligible for new indexing. Establish reciprocal links with sites that are indexed by commercial search engines, such as your Council's home page, to be included in their indexing run. Become an information hub or a recognised source for good links, and the search engines will come to you. More on Site Submissions

Targeted Promotions

If you are a relatively new Estate Agent on a commission split with your competitors operating in a depressed area you will have difficulty positioning yourself in the Luxury Home market. However, if you grew up with horses and know everything equestrian you might successfully position yourself in the Horse Property market. Or maybe you grew up on a lake or the sea-side and still live there. You might well package yourself in the Retirement or Waterside Property market While you're at it, why not create your very own slogan or tag line to match your positioning? Next, you have to begin publicising your new image to consumers. Especially on your web site. For your plan, write down all the reasons you can think of that a consumer can gain by contacting you instead of some "generalist" or "me-too" Estate Agents. More on Targeted Promotions