Before you commit hara-kiri because your website is not appearing well for a few searches, or leap for joy because it's pegging the top of a search, make sure you aren't missing the bigger picture.

To help explain, I had an artist create two illustrations. Can you see yourself in one of these two pictures below?

When I start explaining Internet marketing, and in particular, how search engines really work, most agents' eyes glaze over. But when I began to use the following analogy, eyes lit up with understanding. I hope it creates a "Eureka!" moment for you, too.

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Picture a forest, where each tree represents a search result for the fictional website JackAgent.com. A big, tall tree represents a good search result for JackAgent.com. A skinny or fallen-over tree represents a poor search result. A sign affixed to each tree shows the search phrase used.

Let's say this fictional agent Jack is from Dallas. One of his search-result trees has a sign with the search phrase "dallas homes." Another has a sign with the search phrase "3 bedroom listings in colleyeville," and so on.

Now picture Jack, our fictional agent, standing in front of one of his search-result trees, head in hands, distraught. Why? The tree is cut down. Jack hasn't noticed that the forest of search results for JackAgent.com stretches out far and wide with big, tall trees. Overall his site is actually doing quite well in search engines.

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Now, picture another forest of search results for a different fictional website, JillAgent.com. Our second fictional agent Jill is gazing up at one tall search-result tree, waving and clapping her hands in satisfaction.

Jill hasn't noticed the rest of her forest of search results is actually in bad shape. Many or most of her search-result trees are fallen over, stunted, or dying. Ouch.

A recent OneStat.com study reports approximately half of all searches are now comprised of 3-7 words. Usage of single word searches has dropped 25 percent in less than a year. A growing majority of homebuyers and sellers are using thousands of different search phrases to find real estate websites. A math teacher friend of mine told me that the number of different 7 word searches you could come up with, relevant to the subject of real estate in any particular town, is over a half million. Google, not incidentally, accepts up to 10 words per search phrase.

I've seen agents kill a large forest of good search results, simply because of a few skinny or fallen-over trees. I've also seen agents fixate on a few good searches, when their overall search result forest is in bad shape, and ought to be clear cut!

The moral of the story: Don't become distracted by a few searches. Focus on growing your overall forest of search results as tall and wide as possible. The bigger your forest, the more search engine traffic you'll enjoy. Measure search success by overall traffic from search engines, not any particular search itself. One tall redwood is nothing compared to a forest of a thousand

Published: June 24, 2004

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Lawrence Schoeffler is Vice President of Dominion Homes Web Services and founder of NUMBER1EXPERT. Dominion Homes Web Services includes Advanced Access, Agent Advantage by Homes.com, and Best Image Marketing, and is a division of Dominion Enterprises. Advanced Access is the industry leader in agent websites. More agents invest in an Advanced Access website than any other. Agent Advantage is the official agent website service of Homes.com, one of the most popular real estate portals in America. NUMBER1EXPERT by Best Image offers America's Top Performing Web Sites, with traffic and leads unequalled in the industry, sold exclusively to Top Selling Agents. Email Lawrence at .