"Just follow these easy steps and your path to Internet riches is assured!"

A decade after the Internet took off, boomed, banged, and rebuilt, the goldrush is still on. Or so it seems, considering some of the current bestselling books out there. Here's some down and dirty facts about the web you might appreciate.

Build it and they won't come

The web isn't a mall. People don't walk by websites. They don't even know they are there, unless you advertise them. The web is littered with beautiful websites no one visits. Beware.

They'll come if you send them yourself

If you have plenty of business, and just want to show your prospects and clients you are 21st century, by all means build a pretty website to send them to. Your mission is clear: "The web is my online brochure."

SEO it and they might come

The error everyone makes is assuming the search you do is the same search everyone does. "I entered 'my town real estate' and my site came up." Great. What about the million other searchers? Search results are ever-changing, for everyone, in any and every moment. Sometimes things flow your way, sometimes not. Great SEO (Search Engine Optimization) gets them flowing your way more often than not, but there are no guarantees. Ever seen a search engine guarantee they'll keep your site on page one, or anywhere for that matter? Nope. Won't happen. There is a reason for that. Do your best on optimizing for search, but put your eggs in a basket you control: advertising you pay for. You know your business won't disappear tomorrow because some search engine decided they didn't like how many times you put a key word somewhere.

Advertise it and they will come

If you want to generate leads, and you don't want to rely solely on the ups and downs of search, you'll have to advertise. Most businesses understand investing in advertising is part and parcel of how to function. Why would it be any different online? If you are spending a $1000 per month in print, you can probably generate more leads than you can handle just by converting a third of that online. I know agents spending $1000s every month. Some are building multi-state empires.

Advertise your listings and they will come

Everyday a new listings website comes online. Should you put your listings on them? "Why wouldn't you?" is what I would ask. As long as your name, phone number, and preferably a link back to more information about the property on your personal website is part of the deal, it's all win win. It's a great smack-down in listings presentations: "I'll advertise your listing on 25 top websites."

Don't forget the carrots

So you've advertised your site, your listings, and made your site juicy for search engines. You are getting visitors. Now what? Carrots. You need carrots. Reasons for visitors to fill out forms. I don't abide by the philosophy you should give everything to visitors and ask nothing in return.

In fact, they'll do just that: Not return. They'll end up filling out a form on a competitor's site, or some national lead generation site, instead of yours. So if you've got the MLS on your site, or a dozen photos for each listing, or top of the line school reports, or whatever else you can come up with, ask them to fill out a form to see it. It's basic marketing.

Published: December 21, 2006

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