This is too important an issue to take lightly
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 03:45PM I am somewhat surprised at the mindset that diminishes the importance of Google search to local real estate agents. No one is deying there are many avenues to marketing success, and Google search in some areas may not be important to marketing, but in Savannah Ga, and in many many other cities, I suspect, it's critically important.
I can only speak to Savannah Ga and my business with authority, but here and in my business I KNOW what's happening. I don't have to do any consumer polling, it's what I do everyday. Aside from my investment deals and the few listings I take, my main business is buyer representation. I get 5-7 leads a day from Google search -- some days it's 2, some 8, but most days it's around 5. I get none from Zillow and Trulia. I get 5 or so a month through my website. I don't know of any direct leads I've received from magazine ads. I have not received any leads from Facebook, Activerain, Myspace or any of the social media avenues -- but I haven't utilized them fully, either. I have utilized Zillow and Trulia the best I know how.
I get about 5-7 referrals every year from past business and associates. No much, I know, but I had a two year absence from direct real estate business a while back and I've had to build over.
Google is my lead generator. I get 80% of my business through Google. Could I put more energy into other forms of marketing and replace the Google business -- perhaps so, but it would be expensive -- Google is not expensive -- it's time consuming to work all the SEO, but it fits a small company budget.
I totally disagree with David G. that Google search is not important and used only by first-time buyers or buyers who are not knowledgable. I've met the buyers coming through Google to my business -- I know. They are experienced buyers and the average home price of the sales is over $300,000.
I state all this again because I'm perplexed by the denigration by some of Google home-buyers and the role they play in my success as a real estate agent. How David described Google buyers and Google's role in my business is totally foreign to the reality I deal with day in and day out. If anyone has any insight into this that I'm missing, feel free to jump in.
I KNOW there are other means -- what I'm saying is that it's working for me, and if wasn't working for others there would be no discussion at all -- it would be a dead subject.
Mike Farmer
I just received this through Google reader -- http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/05/15/iac-ask-deal-tech-internet-cx_ag_0515techask.html
As companies compete and perfect the complete question market we will all be better off -- I see this is as the way it's going, and once it's perfected the best results will be available to enhance the move toward personalization and context.
The move is toward a consumer realization that real estate services are changing and that spam and pressure are dying modes -- the transparent agent, local and informative, willing to let time take its course will be found through the questions that are most efficient and effective.
Reader Comments (6)
Mike -
It seems we've misunderstood one another. I certainly do not believe that google is not important. The opposite is true.
I do not however believe that google is the only marketing game in town. Maybe I just need to figure out where you stand on that. In "Thinking myself out of business" you concluded that all good leads will ultimately come via google. In this post you say "No one is deying there are many avenues to marketing success." You seem to contradict yourself here but if the latter statement is what you believe then we're on the same page.
I think what I said was that there are different avenues to marketing but Google is vital to my success.
The argment from several people has been to immediately say that Google is not be all end all of marketing -- I'm ssaying it's the largest part of my marketing -- without it right now, I would be on my way out of business.
Let me explain this way -- I just got through answering emails, so it's fresh on my mind.
Today I got 4 leads through Google and 1 lead through my website (which most likely was through Google)
Two of those leads emailed me separately from the IDX notification I get that they had filled out a listing notifier -- one is looking for a golf community -- the other is looking for arts and crafts bungalows that are in a midtown location.
These two are good leads because we have started the communication process -- I went into the MLS and further personalized their search and we have sent two or three emails back and forth -- one will be here in two weeks, the other in a month -- they represent a potential $15,000 to $18,000 in commission.
Their two searches were focused on, respectively, golf communities and a midtown neighborhood that I show up prominently on.
David, THIS is why Google is VITAL to me.
On top of that, I got a call from a lady who lives in NY and has rental property in the Starland District -- she found me googling real estate in the Starland District -- do you know about the Starland District?
She wants me to manaage the property and sell it next year.
This is the real life stuff I deal with. It's my lifeline.
One more and I'm finished for awhile --
I don't care that Zillow.Trulia etc compete for Google placement, but consider it competition -- I will fight with everything I have to get top placement, because it's direct and effective -- I don't want the effect watered down by being one among many on an aggregator site.
I will be on aggregator sites as long as i think it's useful, but no longer than that. I want to do direct business with homebuyers coming to savannah. That's my business. If you can help with that so that I can do it more directly, then let's talk. If not, then let's compete.
Mike, just wanted some clarification. When you say "Today I got 4 leads through Google and 1 lead through my website" what is the difference? Leads from Google -did they find you through organic search and where did that search take them to-your Point2 site, or blog? When you say "1 lead from the web site" -how did they find the web site -wouldn't it be through Google as well? Where are the searches resulting in leads landing, i.e what's the best source for the leads: Point2,Idx, etc?
I meant that one came through P2agents placement like in featured listings --
you are right though, it's all through my website placement, but 4 were through the work I've done on SEO. The best source is placement I get with pages i created, and they go through IDX, mostly.
P2 has done a good job of getting placement for P2, but most of my leads come from SEO for Mike Farmer Realty.