Comments on: How to Use Trulia Voices, Zillow Q&A and “Interest Based” Social Networks to Build Your Own Brand http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/ Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:28:52 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: jfsellsius http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-271644 jfsellsius Mon, 22 Feb 2010 12:59:45 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-271644 True Susan True Susan

]]> By: susanbaker1 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-271643 susanbaker1 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:56:49 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-271643 Hi Joseph, thanks for sharing the tips through this informative article. I’ll Digg it or tweet it on other social sites. I think such suggestions will really help a website owner to boost his brand. Such a thing brings in a sheer volume of traffic to the site. And, I agree with the fact the social networking sites do play an important role in powerful marketing. I hope it works with real estate websites as well like <a href="http://Lrgboston.com" rel="nofollow">Lrgboston.com</a> which is known for unique listings for <a href="http://www.lrgboston.com/boston-condos" rel="nofollow">Boston condos</a>. Hi Joseph, thanks for sharing the tips through this informative article. I’ll Digg it or tweet it on other social sites. I think such suggestions will really help a website owner to boost his brand. Such a thing brings in a sheer volume of traffic to the site. And, I agree with the fact the social networking sites do play an important role in powerful marketing. I hope it works with real estate websites as well like Lrgboston.com which is known for unique listings for Boston condos.

]]> By: Jill Wente http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267051 Jill Wente Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:31:21 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267051 Great advise, Laurie on not mentioning the large listing site aggregators by name, limiting the use of keywords in your responses, and not linking to them. We are competing against the aggregators more than we are individual agents in our local areas. Great advise, Laurie on not mentioning the large listing site aggregators by name, limiting the use of keywords in your responses, and not linking to them. We are competing against the aggregators more than we are individual agents in our local areas.

]]> By: jf http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267050 jf Sun, 07 Sep 2008 23:06:14 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267050 Thanks Laurie (and Mary ) for the agent perspective and great tips to build your own traffic. <br><br> You hit the nail on the head-- USE THEM them instead of letting them use you. And you are right about the widget-- don't use it. Instead, create your own Q&A widget and keep the G-juice for yourself. Thanks Laurie (and Mary ) for the agent perspective and great tips to build your own traffic.

You hit the nail on the head– USE THEM them instead of letting them use you. And you are right about the widget– don't use it. Instead, create your own Q&A widget and keep the G-juice for yourself.

]]> By: Mary McKnight http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267049 Mary McKnight Sun, 07 Sep 2008 21:30:41 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267049 I'm going with Laurie here - Trulia, especially is riding up the rear of of agents in the SERPS - why would any agent willing give up their link juice to help their competition (and in terms of search- these companies are their competition) in the SERPs? I agree with everything but using the widgets and giving these mega sites links. Use them, don't let them use you. I'm going with Laurie here – Trulia, especially is riding up the rear of of agents in the SERPS – why would any agent willing give up their link juice to help their competition (and in terms of search- these companies are their competition) in the SERPs? I agree with everything but using the widgets and giving these mega sites links. Use them, don't let them use you.

]]> By: Laurie Manny http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267048 Laurie Manny Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:57:08 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267048 OK I'm done ranting now. :) OK I'm done ranting now. :)

]]> By: Laurie Manny http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267047 Laurie Manny Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:52:01 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267047 The Trulia widget has hidden links in it sending juice back to Trulia! Agents are placing it on the front page of their sites - the most powerful place for it to be. This gives Trulia POWERFUL front page backlinks from EVERY site that puts up the freakin widget! <br><br>The result? Every one of these links tells Google that Trulia is more relevant than the agents site and it is OK to rank them higher. The Trulia widget has hidden links in it sending juice back to Trulia! Agents are placing it on the front page of their sites – the most powerful place for it to be. This gives Trulia POWERFUL front page backlinks from EVERY site that puts up the freakin widget!

The result? Every one of these links tells Google that Trulia is more relevant than the agents site and it is OK to rank them higher.

]]> By: Laurie Manny http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267046 Laurie Manny Sun, 07 Sep 2008 19:04:51 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267046 As you said in your post these questions are getting 10-20 answers each. Of those if half were other agents local to your area you would have placed yourself into a very competitive situation - IF there were business to be attained from the consumer. <br><br>Considering that the majority of the answers will be redundant you should strive to stand out from the crowd and drive the consumer to the link that you leave. Get them off of that page and onto yours. Then keep them there! As you said in your post these questions are getting 10-20 answers each. Of those if half were other agents local to your area you would have placed yourself into a very competitive situation – IF there were business to be attained from the consumer.

Considering that the majority of the answers will be redundant you should strive to stand out from the crowd and drive the consumer to the link that you leave. Get them off of that page and onto yours. Then keep them there!

]]> By: Laurie Manny http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267045 Laurie Manny Sun, 07 Sep 2008 18:46:23 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267045 Large sites, like you have mentioned here, are powered up by the listings that they aggregate and the content that Realtors contribute. By sheer volume, this level of content guarantees them top placement on the engines. With so many of them now in existence and more on the rise, how are Realtor blogs and websites going to compete for those cherished positions? <br><br>Isn't it bad enough that the big brokers have aggregated agents listings to these sites without considering how they were going about it? But agents contributing to these sites should know a few things. <br><br>When you contribute your local keywords you are aiding in the rise of that site. <br><br>For instance, if an alleged consumer is asking a question about Long Beach and you answer using the words Long Beach and then go on and mention the neighborhood name a few times, you have added to the relevance of the site in Google's eyes in Long Beach. <br><br>Solution: They already know you are discussing Long Beach, so say LB. Instead of giving up the name of the neighborhood, say, in the area you are asking about. Don't use the abbreviation of a state, they too are keywords. <br><br>I think the real solution is to look at the question, go to your blog, write a post that answers the question and powers up YOUR site, then go in and just say something very nice and explain that you have addressed this in an article they might be interested in checking out and leave the URL. <br><br>Keep your keyword contribution down to an absolute minimum. Remember that the words; real estate, home/s, condo/s, property/ies, are all nation wide keywords as well and contribute to the problem. <br><br>So far, I have been successful at this for most of my keywords. Even with handling it this way, Trulia and Yahoo are nipping at my heels at the neighborhood (short tail) level and at the top of the food chain (long tail) on Google, because others in my area are contributing without knowledge. <br><br>Also, I did a search of my site and found all outgoing links to these and other large sites and I disabled them. Every time you link to one of these sites you are telling Google that the site you are linking to is more important than yours. You all should know that when I did this, I jumped back up on some of my keywords and those that were linked to dropped down a little. It worked. <br><br>Nothing is more important than YOUR site if you are a Realtor. <br><br>I do answer questions at T....a - occasionally. I don't answers questions that could cause potential legal situations and am VERY careful about the advice that I dole out. Realtors should understand that their E & O insurance covers them while they are in a transaction, not if they made a mistake on one of these sites. I feel shame for the agents who are in there answering every question, and doing so very badly. They should stop, the consumer thinks they are idiots. <br><br>Consumers call me direct from T....a all the time. Most of them will tell me that I am one of the few voices that seems to know what they are talking about. It is important to respect the intelligence of the consumer when answering these questions and remove your ego. Quantity will not win over quality. <br><br>I know I have run on here but this is a subject that I feel very strongly about and hope that others will as well. It is more important than most of you realize. Never give up your juice!<br><br>Make a note that while I was writing this comment I took special care to keep the keywords down to a minimum as it relates to these sites. Once you get into the habit of deciding where the juice goes, it gets easier. Large sites, like you have mentioned here, are powered up by the listings that they aggregate and the content that Realtors contribute. By sheer volume, this level of content guarantees them top placement on the engines. With so many of them now in existence and more on the rise, how are Realtor blogs and websites going to compete for those cherished positions?

Isn't it bad enough that the big brokers have aggregated agents listings to these sites without considering how they were going about it? But agents contributing to these sites should know a few things.

When you contribute your local keywords you are aiding in the rise of that site.

For instance, if an alleged consumer is asking a question about Long Beach and you answer using the words Long Beach and then go on and mention the neighborhood name a few times, you have added to the relevance of the site in Google's eyes in Long Beach.

Solution: They already know you are discussing Long Beach, so say LB. Instead of giving up the name of the neighborhood, say, in the area you are asking about. Don't use the abbreviation of a state, they too are keywords.

I think the real solution is to look at the question, go to your blog, write a post that answers the question and powers up YOUR site, then go in and just say something very nice and explain that you have addressed this in an article they might be interested in checking out and leave the URL.

Keep your keyword contribution down to an absolute minimum. Remember that the words; real estate, home/s, condo/s, property/ies, are all nation wide keywords as well and contribute to the problem.

So far, I have been successful at this for most of my keywords. Even with handling it this way, Trulia and Yahoo are nipping at my heels at the neighborhood (short tail) level and at the top of the food chain (long tail) on Google, because others in my area are contributing without knowledge.

Also, I did a search of my site and found all outgoing links to these and other large sites and I disabled them. Every time you link to one of these sites you are telling Google that the site you are linking to is more important than yours. You all should know that when I did this, I jumped back up on some of my keywords and those that were linked to dropped down a little. It worked.

Nothing is more important than YOUR site if you are a Realtor.

I do answer questions at T….a – occasionally. I don't answers questions that could cause potential legal situations and am VERY careful about the advice that I dole out. Realtors should understand that their E & O insurance covers them while they are in a transaction, not if they made a mistake on one of these sites. I feel shame for the agents who are in there answering every question, and doing so very badly. They should stop, the consumer thinks they are idiots.

Consumers call me direct from T….a all the time. Most of them will tell me that I am one of the few voices that seems to know what they are talking about. It is important to respect the intelligence of the consumer when answering these questions and remove your ego. Quantity will not win over quality.

I know I have run on here but this is a subject that I feel very strongly about and hope that others will as well. It is more important than most of you realize. Never give up your juice!

Make a note that while I was writing this comment I took special care to keep the keywords down to a minimum as it relates to these sites. Once you get into the habit of deciding where the juice goes, it gets easier.

]]> By: jfsellsius http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/comment-page-1/#comment-267044 jfsellsius Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:32:51 +0000 http://blog.sellsiusrealestate.com/social-network/how-to-use-trulia-voices-zillow-qa-and-interest-based-social-networks-to-build-your-own-brand/2008/09/05/#comment-267044 Ideally, your content should attract visitors to your site from the git-go, instead of your content getting visitors to trulia or zillow (& then maybe back to you). So your point is well taken vis-a-vis the link juice (even via the widget) helping TruZ build authority w/ the Google gods to outrank agents who gave them the content in the first place. The question then becomes: Can you answer questions on TruZ AND still outrank them on Google? I say you can. And if you use the blue ocean Q&A sites, I think you get a greater marketing edge. <br><br>I am a tru believer in building your own brand and standing out from the crowd and playing exclusively in TruZland or AR is not the way to do it. Not the way I'd do it. I don't want to tell a client'-- "Go see my stuff at these guys' joints". I want them to see my stuff at my joint. <br><br>Hey. maybe the way to take advantage of their high traffic forum to YOUR benefit is to answer the question by saying "Short answer is (yes or no). If you want the answer in more detail than I can provide here, click here (sending them to your Q&A page). Hmm... Ideally, your content should attract visitors to your site from the git-go, instead of your content getting visitors to trulia or zillow (& then maybe back to you). So your point is well taken vis-a-vis the link juice (even via the widget) helping TruZ build authority w/ the Google gods to outrank agents who gave them the content in the first place. The question then becomes: Can you answer questions on TruZ AND still outrank them on Google? I say you can. And if you use the blue ocean Q&A sites, I think you get a greater marketing edge.

I am a tru believer in building your own brand and standing out from the crowd and playing exclusively in TruZland or AR is not the way to do it. Not the way I'd do it. I don't want to tell a client'– “Go see my stuff at these guys' joints”. I want them to see my stuff at my joint.

Hey. maybe the way to take advantage of their high traffic forum to YOUR benefit is to answer the question by saying “Short answer is (yes or no). If you want the answer in more detail than I can provide here, click here (sending them to your Q&A page). Hmm…

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