Second level search terms -- Bouncing off Zillow/Trulia etc.
Friday, May 2, 2008 at 10:49AM Why has Zillow/Trulia not negatively affected my business too much in relation to search results? Because even if it's true that real buyers are going to these sites in droves, these sites don't offer the buyer personalization and context. Anyone reading here will be sick of these terms by now, but I believe in the real estate industry the web 2.0 model is going past the buzz, pretty pictures and inaccurate information to personaliztion and context.
If Zillow/Trulia etc. manages to get good placement on broad terms such city/state/real estate, there is no service to provide direct, accurate local information or to address the personal needs of the buyer. These Listing Sites are made of rubber and I suspect serious buyers bounce off them to a more focused search -- they are in the way of direct access, yet the buyers find their way around them. In a sense Google unwittingly makes it more difficult for it's users to get direct results, but that's understandable because the Listing Sites SEEM important. However, if a human being with real estate experience was manually pulling up pertinent, local real estate results to provide to serious buyers, they would choose differently.
The second level search is more focused once the buyer has more information and knows the right search terms to use -- and this is where I get good placement. The specific areas, the specific neighborhoods, the questions that are locally pertinent in a home search -- even terms relating to relocation and photos of the area.
Search is a powerful tool and speaks to the success of Google. Searchers are becoming more sophisticated and discerning -- they no longer rely on one simple search -- it's a process of drilling down until they've found what they are looking for -- I specialize in local real estate information and that's what they are looking for and finding. Serious homebuyers aren't looking for games and gadgets, they are looking for pertinent information -- and many are looking for service, a human being who help guide them and clarify the information. It's a shame they are blocked somewhat from reaching specialization directly but the Listing Sites need eyes for ads so they battle for generalized placement -- no problem, the serious buyer will bypass them with more specific search terms, or bounce off them realizing they need more.
However, my goal is to beat the Listing Sites on the first level search so that I catch the searchers who might not be savvy enough to focus their search correctly -- through my own efforts to get Mike Farmer Realty at the top and by utilizing a player with search clout that I think is on the right track. I have talked Louis at Homegain and I'm going to try a couple of their products. I will be objective and report back any successes, failures, strengths or weaknesses I find.
I still believe there is a chance for partnerships between RE sites and agents that can work as a supplement to an agent's overall marketing strategy, and I think Homegain might be on track to create this. I haven't sold out, but if I don't try, I won't know. And for all those who are sceptical and haven't tried, I'll be a guinea pig for you.
Reader Comments (2)
Mike
Thank you very much. What you are doing will provide real transparency. Many of our detractors have never even tried our products and merely spout what they have heard.
I will be interested to see how you do with our products
What I like about following our customers' progress is trying to determine what works and why and what doesn't work and why.
One agent might have runaway success with one product and another failure with the same product.
Understanding how much the product had to do with the success or failure is a learning experience as well as what the agent contributed to the success or failure.
Then we work to make continued improvements.
Well, my initial attempt at responding went well except for a blog post I quickly threw out that had about ten errors in it. I am going to get one of my agents help me with it because of time contraints -- just too much to do.
The system is easy to use. I'll have to get a system going where the proposals I make to leads are predesigned with flexibility to personalize each one to meet the prospects special needs.
I'll report back on responses in a few days -- after I've rested my jumbled mind.