Are FREE Real Estate Advertising Websites USING YOU?

Are you being used?

Another Free Website for you Listings. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You really need to know what you are giving up in the name of FREE.

Most FREE or (real cheap) Real Estate Websites generate their revenues from product advertisements placed strategically on their websites. Those that “click-through” on these advertisements generate income from the product advertisers, paid to these FREE websites.

So it’s Free for you. That’s good. Or is it really?

Who is the real customer on these websites? Is it the Realtor® Agent or the product advertiser? What difference does it make? A lot.

You must consider what you want to gain from your Internet Marketing. There are long and short term benefits and or detriments in knowing and acting on the following facts.

Most of these so called FREE real estate websites do not promote your listings into Google. Many use Click Trackers to block Google from following the link to your site. Many others actually place “no-follow” code in the links to tell Google to not bother with your website. Why would they do this? Because they need the traffic from your Listings. They USE your listings and you for “Google ranking” to boost to sell more product advertisements. Driving buyer or renters to you is far down the list of priorities in their business model. They must control the visitors coming to their website. They must be able to show statistics that all the traffic is coming to their product advertiser pages (not property pages) to support higher priced ads and more of them. If they do not get the traffic to these product advertisements, they don’t get paid.

So, if you don’t get many Listing Page Visits or Quality leads……well it’s FREE, so what?

There is a BIG “so what” here.

Today the most important results you are striving for is to get your Name, your Website and your Property Listings into the Search Engines; specifically Google. Why the Search Engines? We now know that 90% of searchers start with Google to find a match with whatever they are looking for. You want buyers and renters; they want properties you are offering like (homes, condos, commercial offices, land and so on). Being dependent on the real estate marketing websites to get your listings found means knowing what you are getting from these websites and what you are not.

Consider the choices for Internet Real Estate Marketing these days. Who do you keep, who do you add? Making informed decisions and not merely based on “FREE or FEE” services, requires that you know the basics about the real estate websites business model you are considering. Be sure to ask the right questions or know what to look for.

Here are some valuable questions that will protect your investment of both time and or money;

Q. Does the real estate marketing website claim to promote your Listings to Google and the other Search Engines? If so, require some provable results you can see and understand. For example, expect to be able to enter search words into Google that a real buyer or renter will use in Google to produce results that when clicked display the specific real estate agents listings. Getting a list of hundreds of properties or a “featured agent” screen is NOT what a buyer or renter wants to see when they click on their Google search result link. Remember, the more the link result matches with what the searcher desires, the better chance they will call or email you. That will be is a valuable lead.

Q. Does the real estate marketing service offer additional “links” for you to enter your website URL or even multiple “links” for you to use? These Links are vital to get Google to find your website or blog to store information it finds there about you and your specialties, credentials and customer testimonials you have to offer. These Links have the added value of getting those viewing your Ad Listing to click through and visit your website, your Blog, Facebook or wherever you promote yourself and your business.

KEY- Knowing who the real estate marketing website is being paid by will give you some immediate insight into who they are driven to serve. Free or really cheap realty websites make their money by using YOU and your LISTINGS by standing on your shoulders to support them.

Check the services of PropertyNut.com or companies like PropertyNut that truly serves you above their own website traffic desires. You can recognize them as they will have over 90% of all Links they post to Google, Craigslist or wherever, displaying your good name and listings when found and all traffic will lead back to your Full Page Listing and or one or more of your business websites.

Here is a Summary of your purpose when you engage an Internet Marketing service.

1. You must “Stand on the Shoulders of these Giants”. Be sure the Giants are NOT standing on yours.
   
   
2. “All roads must lead back to Rome” (Rome being you and or your Website). Be sure these FREE real estate marketing websites are being used by YOU to drive prospects to your specific advertised listings that are marketed there, and not to the other advertised products or companies paying to be displayed.
   
   
3. Quality Leads come from Quality Services - listing or syndicating on 10-20 or more websites is of little value if the “Googler” does not click through to what they are looking for.

Determining who these websites are serving is not that difficult.

Hopefully the website you consider will openly provide the evidence we are speaking about here. Look for the proof on the Home Page or in the Testimonials of their current Agent advertisers. You can Google listing or others listings if your listings are not yet on their website. How? Google any Agent listing on the real estate website being considered. Try several listings. Take keywords from the property listing title or descriptions of the Ads. Google something like; 4 bedroom home for sale Mesa AZ or in home for sale in Santee CA or Denver Co. You will find the Google search results links that you click on will seldom land on the actual property listing page for the free real estate websites. Not true with PropertyNut or other sites that serve the Agent interests first. You will further find that many of the links go to a page on these websites to begin a real estate search from scratch that is normally filled with product ads. Rarely if ever do the Google search results lead directly back to your Listing and YOU.

Well what’s the harm? Maybe someone will find me on this free website eventually.

Consider that maybe you currently have or will have a website you want to promote so that “someday” buyers or renter will find YOU and your listings without Standing on the Shoulders of others to drive them to you. The rule I use is; if you have others Stand on your Shoulders you are feeling most generous or I suggest you get paid. You are hurting your chances of moving you and your website up the list to Page 1 of Google. It’s certain that Seller and others that have the home inventory you wish to sell for them are going to require the Agent, the Team or Office selected for the job to be able to provide reasonable evidence of their web presence. This is now and will be even more a factor in selecting who they believe will have the highest probability of getting their property sold, rented, leased or otherwise disposed of.

Choose wisely, your marketing partners.