Video increases a user's "Time on Page", says Jacob Klein, a Search Engine analyst at Distilled.  Time on page is how long someone spends on your site. 

The SEO Benefits of Video Content

"When Google analyzes your site, they are looking for several indicators including page quality, relevance and keyword instances." says Klein. "Multimedia objects add value to all three of these metrics."

An important indicator of page quality that Google looks for is how long the user stays on your site and whether they click on links.  Video increases a user's Time on Page- "which seems to becoming more important every day." says Klein.  "Not to mention people are more likely to link to your content if it contains multimedia content."   

The relevance of your site means is it attracting visitors looking for what you sell?  Keywords play a big part in this.  Google offers a great search-based keyword tool to help you use the keywords that will drive traffic to your site.

"Pages containing videos that also have text and images will often both rank better and get crawled more often," writes Phil Nottingham, an SEO consultant in London, "therefore including text descriptions, stills or transcripts alongside the video is always worthwhile if suitable."

Adding video to your website gets results.  Visitors engage with video, resulting in more leads and more business.

Related: Bring More Visitors to your Website

Also:  Video Makes your Small Business Seem Bigger

photo credit: Wessex Archaeology

Posted in Internet Marketing

Marketing your business is a challenge and keeping up with all your social media outlets can take more time than you have, especially as a small business owner.  But, luckily, there's an app for that!

"What if I told you that there is a way to do less work but actually reach more people with your company news, products and services?" offers Megan Totka on Social Media Biz.  She offers us a look at the best business apps to use for marketing your business.

1.  Perch- This app helps you keep an eye on what the competition is doing.  It monitors social media posts, review sites and their website promotions and sends updates to your phone. Perch just won the Appy Award for Best Business App for 2013.

2.  PostRiocket- Analyzes your Facebook Business Page and provides you with data to help you post at optimal times.  PostRocket can even post for you!

3.  TweetWally-   This free app is a Twitter power tool, a way to save and customize search results and present them in different formats, according to the website.   You create a TweetWall and all your favorite posts are displayed in an easy to read format.

4.  Buffer- Schedules your tweets at optimal times.  You can pre-write updates and then set up a schedule with the Buffer app for posting.

5.  Twilert- This app works like Google alerts but for Twitter.  "Signing up for Google Alerts is a smart way to get a summary of the topics trending in your industry on a consistent basis. Twilert combines this helpful tool with information from Twitter in order to gather user-specific information in one concise email. "writes Totka.  

If you handle your own social media marketing for your business, these apps can save you time and money. 

Read the full article at SocialMedia.Biz.

Posted in Internet Marketing, Blogging, Real Estate Industry Trends

Everyone knows that "content is King" and to have a successful website, you need to be filling it with great content.  But as with all writing, it's not easy to come up with new interesting content all the time. 

"This is where having a content strategy really comes into play." says Kati Lance on Inman Next. "Take the time to brainstorm all of the different things you could talk about on your social channels and then make sure you have a nice balance day to day of content."

How To Jumpstart Content on your Website

1.  Add Pictures- If you are tired of writing, spend a little time in the communities you specialize in and take pictures of the best things about the area.  "If you take 30 photos (of your favorite things)" writes Lance, "you will have 30 days' worth of content!"

2. Promote Other News Sources:  Have you read a great article?  Re-tweet it or post it on your Facebook page.

3. Create Theme Days, says Lance.  "How about Photo Friday? Or Story Saturday (where you share the story of a client). Or Tip Tuesday?"  However, you don't actually have to use a clever name, she says, just go for a general theme to keep you writing.

For instance, Lance offers these great ideas:

EXAMPLE 1:

Monday - Photo from community

Tuesday - Tip for sellers

Wednesday - Fun video

Thursday - Tip for buyers

Friday - Local event

Saturday - Secret real estate tip

EXAMPLE 2:

Monday - Client photo/story

Tuesday - Short sale tip

Wednesday - What not to do when buying/selling (funny)

Thursday - Economy article

Friday - Why I love (city) (photo)

Saturday - The coolest house you've seen this week

4. Promote Local Events:  Plan ahead and help promote local events in your community.  "Go to your Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Association websites and look at the events for the next two months. "suggests Lance. "Pick 3-4 that you are excited about promoting. Put them on your calendar and then one week in advance, start promoting it."

She also suggests that you contact the event promoter, tell them about your article and ask for complimentary passes to the event.  Then invite your best clients to the event and arrange a way to meet them to give them the tickets.

Go to the event and post pictures afterwards and tweet it while you are there!

5. Stay Current.  What is happening in your business today?  What's on the minds of your clients?  Take those talking points and create a post about the most current happenings in your business.

"Take ten minutes and brainstorm a list of 20 topics off the top of your head that you get asked all the time." offers Lance.  "Each one of those could be a blog post!"

Using these ideas might help you come up with other ideas for your blog and social media posts. 

Read more on Inman Next.

Read:  What Not To Do on Social Media.

photo credit: Guttorm Flatabø

Posted in Internet Marketing, Technology And YOU

Think of Social Media as a social event.  Each one is different and needs to be handled a little differently.  Katie Lance, a writer for Inman Next offers some great tips about what NOT to do on social media.

"When it comes to social media, there are a lot of articles telling real estate professionals what they need to do," writes Lance, "but it is just as important to know what not to do."

Don't Give it to Someone Else to Do:  The best person to reach your clientele is you.  "This is your opportunity to connect and build relationships with past present and future clients." she says.

"Don't sync your Facebook to your Twitter and vice versa." says Lance. "Many real estate pros do this in an effort to save time. Don't do this - it looks lazy. Plus, the language and conversation on Facebook and Twitter is very different. You can certainly post the same type of content to each channel, but do so separately and make sure to use the right lingo for each network."

Engage Your Viewers; don't promote only your listings:  The first thing visitors should see is what your business is about, not just your listings.  Just as in a social situation, you need to "talk to them",  get to know them and  let them know more about you.

Don't be pushy:  It's important to sell your brand, but not over and over again.  "This is where having a content strategy really comes into play. Take the time to brainstorm all of the different things you could talk about on your social channels and then make sure you have a nice balance day to day of content.

Read the full story at InmanNext.

photo credit: Wayan Vota

Posted in Internet Marketing, Real Estate Industry Trends

Why should someone visit your website? Think about what you offer to a potential customer.   Do they get free information on the latest topics in your industry?  Or do you have a great product that offers solutions?  Pinpoint what makes your website a great site to visit,stick with it and use these great tips to increase traffic.

8 Tips to Bring More Visitors to Your Website

1.      Research your Keywords 

All the top search engines offer great tools to help you use the latest keyword trends in your business.  Check out Google Trends and YouTube Keywords, just to name a few. (Read more about how to use keywords)   

2.      Your Blog (everyone should have one)

If you can talk about it or sell it, you can blog about it.  Blogging is a great way to let potential customers know a little more about you and your expertise. Or you can add video to your website and rank even higher on the search engines!  (Read:  The Value of Video in Your Business)

It goes without saying that your blog or video should be teeming with keywords.  Obviously you should focus on your content, but it's important to try to add the top keywords in your industry in every post.

Keep the content fresh.   Not everyone has the time to blog daily, but at least keep it current and relevant.  Fresh content plays an important role in how relevant your website is to the search engines.

The final word on blogging... write what you know and share your experiences; that's what readers want to read. 

3.      Internal Linking vs. External Linking: 

It's a fine line.  It's important to share the wealth and link to outside (external) sources within your blog or video content, but it's just as important to link within your own website (internal).    

First of all, internal linking keeps customers on your site but, it also adds more clicks to your site which will help you rank higher on the search engines.

Pay attention to the anchor text you use in your links.  "Click Here" is one of the worst anchor text terms you can use.  Instead, use descriptive, relative words to target the subject.

Bottom line is that links, both external and internal, are an important part of being found on the internet.  Make sure you include them in your website.

4.      Streamline Your Navigation Bar

The navigation bar leads the visitor to the most important parts of your website.  Links from this bar are a high priority to search engines, so internal links to these pages will help you in search.

5.      Page Title vs Post Title

Focus your Page Titles on delivering your important keywords to the search engines, but still being useful to visitors. 

Your Post Titles should be more directed to the reader. 

Both should be loaded with keywords.

6.      Don't Forget the Footer

Add internal links to relevant content in your footer, such as "Recent Posts" or "Categories" which helps visitors navigate to lots of information on your site.

7.      Make Your Content Easy to Share

Plug-in to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media outlets so that your visitors can share your content easily with their friends.

8.      Comment on Other Blogs

When you read other blogs that pertain to your business or something of interest to your community, offer a comment that adds to the discussion stream, whether you agree or disagree, and add a link to your site.

Guest posting on popular sites gives you great exposure and a larger audience.

Just remember to focus on what your website offers visitors and use these tips to help you get found in search.

Read More about How to Increase Traffic to Your Website

Posted in Internet Marketing, Lead Generation, Technology And YOU