Real Estate Blogs

What Is A Blog?

The technical definition of a blog from Wikipedia is:

A blog (a contraction of the term “Web log”) is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions…

The technical definition doesn’t really matter much.  There are a few  important differences between real estate blogs and traditional real estate websites that are worth noting:

• Blogs are dynamic web applications – that means they’re naturally “smarter” than typical websites.
• Blogs are integrated with web 2.0 technologies like:
  • Visitor comments
  • Descriptive page titles
  • RSS subscriptions
• Blogs typically come with a sophisticated internal link structure that makes it easy for consumers and search engines to find information.
• Blogs by their nature are typically easier to update.   They’re designed for new pages & posts to be added frequently.
• Blogs generally carry more weight with consumers.  Instead of a corporate sounding stuffy sales pitch you’d normally find on a website, blogs have a reputation for being informational.

Why Should I Have a Blog?

There are a number of reasons you should have a blog:

1. You’ll probably get better search engine placement
2. You’ll be able to engage website visitors interactively
3. Blogs are easier to use & maintain

Even if you have no desire to become a blogger or add any custom content yourself, you’re still better off having one over a traditional real estate website.

One of the biggest advantages to having a blog is your ability to cusotmize messages to different categories of consumers on the same website while keeping it organized and easy to follow using pages & categories.

When we say you should have a blog, we’re not really talking about joining a blogging network.  The technical benefits of having your own blog are what’s important.  In fact, if you’re planning to use your website to generate leads and new business, you should make sure you build your internet presence around a website that you control – especially a domain name that you own. Any blog networks you join should direct consumers to your own real estate blog.

When you own the domain you’re the one in control.  Domain names build reputation with search engines and consumers over a period of years.  You should be the one benefiting from that reputation, not some blogging service.

There are a number of places to get free blogs on the internet, but most aren’t designed to handle the specific lead generation needs of a real estate professional.  Lead generation should be the primary focus of any real estate website.  When you get a real estate website from my-real-estate-website.com, you’re actually getting a blog.  It just looks better and is more organized than most blogs out there.

Our real estate blogs are designed to get you more exposure and convert more leads.

What should I write about on my blog?

You can certainly write about anything you want on your real estate website or blog, but you’ll see better results if you focus on areas that consumers care about.  Put yourself in their shoes. Pick a state you know nothing about and pretend you’ll be moving there.  What kind of information would you find useful?

• What are local market conditions like?
• What are the average home prices?
• How are the local schools?
• What makes some cities more attractive than others?
• What neighborhoods do people love living in?
• What kind of shopping and entertainment is in the area?
• How’s the commute to work going to be?

Adding pages to your website addressing these issues will help you gain credibility with consumers – they’ll perceive you as the local expert, the type of person they want to do business with.

Don’t Let Yourself Get Overwhelmed

It’s a lot easier to build a reputable real estate website than it seems when you approach the process with a plan.  It’s a process that happens over time. Our real estate websites are designed to make that process easy for you.