In the world of Internet marketing, the word "hits" seems to mean a lot, but as far as the bottom line goes, it means nothing at all. In fact, focusing on hits can skew your marketing efforts so far in the wrong direction that you will wonder why you ever bothered to market on the Internet at all.

In the mid-90's, when the Internet was young, and lots of Realtors had hit counters on the front page of their sites, hits were the pop currency. Hits, many believed, illustrated how well a site was doing on the Internet. This misconception was fueled by the belief that hits equal the number of visitors to the site, and/or that hits equal leads.

"Don't be swayed by number of hits when analyzing publicity," warns Barbara Ling, author of the The Real Estate Pro's Internet Edge. "A hit occurs every time your web server does something like download a graphic. If your web page has 10 images, it will register as 11 hits, and all of these may be associated with just one visitor."

More significant than hits is where your traffic is coming from. Your web host can provide you with a tracking device in which you can see whether your visitors are coming from search engines, your company's site, or whether they are keying in your site to their browsers, perhaps from a business card or an ad. You can then use this knowledge to help you market more effectively.

Michael Russer, a.k.a. Mr. Internet, and author of a new Internet training manual for Realtors, e-Power:The Book, says, "The use of sophisticated server log analysis software and "cookies" is a much more accurate way of tracking site activity."

Even with those tools, you may find your visitor traffic is misleading. You may attract visitors to your site with powerful marketing tools, search engine placement, website partnering and other means, but those sources won't account for the many visitors who simply arrive by accident. Other visitors may be competitors who are visiting your site to check you out. That means that you can't even count on visitor traffic as a means of qualifying your site.

So, instead of hits and visitors, what you really want to track are leads.

Russer recommends putting features on your site with which visitors can interact, including forms. "Web forms are a powerful way to interact with visitors to your site and the only way you can obtain a visitor's email address," explains Russer. "When using Web forms to gather information about a visitor, give them something of value for their time and effort, otherwise they are not likely to bother."

Don't use forms as a gatekeeping device or lure. Remember that there is so much free content on the Web, that visitors will rarely fill out forms to view listings, community information or other content that can be found ungated on other sites.

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Published: February 3, 2000

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Blanche Evans is the award-winning senior editor of Realty Times, the Internet's leading independent real estate news service. She is featured daily on the Realty Times Video Network in the "Realty Viewpoint" segment. Blanche has been named one of the "25 Most Influential People In Real Estate" by REALTOR Magazine, and has been twice recognized as a "notable." In 2005, she was named "Top Reporter Covering the NAR" by Delahaye-Bacon's. Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. To contact Blanche, email her at . For more articles by Blanche, click here.