I had coffee a couple of weeks ago with Jim Guise, who used to be a regional sales manager for Auto Mart Diablo Dealer. Jim has helped us better understand and support the needs of the used car market. Jim did a great job explaining some of the inner works of user car dealerships. “Turn” and Making Money According to Jim, a used car dealer’s profits really lies in their turn. “Turn” is a term used in the industry to represent the amount of time a used car sits on the lot. In general, if a user car dealer is able to turn a used car in 10 to 20 days – they make money, if they turn a used car in 20 to 30 days - they break even, and if it takes 60 to 90 days to turn a car – they loose money.
Acquiring Used Cars Used car dealers usually acquire their cars one of four ways:

• On a trade, when a customer trades in an old car towards the purchase of a newer one
• From a user car wholesaler, who purchase excess inventory from banks and other dealers
• At an auction, where dealers pay to have the car in the auction, and dealers pay to buy used cars
• From a private party, usually through classifieds

Marketing Used Cars Once a used car dealer acquires a car, they will spend on average about $300 in marketing cost to the car off the lot. “Low Gross” dealers will try and make at least $500 of profit on each car. “Middle gross” dealers look to make $1,200–$1,500 per car. “High gross” dealers, who look to make $3,500–$4,500 in gross margin per car, are rare in today’s economy. Used Cars and the Real Estate Market The down turn in the real estate market has actually hurt the use car market in recent months. Most affected are used car dealers in previously hot real estate markets like California and Florida. For example, San Francisco bay area BMW dealers who might have sold 1,000 cars in a 3 month period last year, are off the mark by as much as 70% in the same 3 month period this year! In the past, many home owners would refinance their home and use the proceeds to buy a new or used car – those days are gone for now!

So How Can vFlyer Help?
So how does vFlyer help a used car dealers become more successful in the increasingly competitive marketplace?

• Making your Product Look Good According to Jim, “You have got to make your product look and seem better”. Jim correctly notes that potential car buyers no longer “pack up the wife and kids” and cruise down to the local auto dealer”. Instead they start their search online! The Internet has become their ‘virtual lot’ and buyer are armed with more than just the MSRP! Auto dealers have the option of having their classified ads look ordinary or extraordinary – that’s where vFlyer can help!
• Bigger is Better Jim made an interesting point that in order to capture more of the consumer’s time and attention, bigger is better! Bigger photos, more photos, more information and more options! At vFlyer we allow you to include more photos in your gallery! You can customize flyers to add more information or options. Use the premium layout to make your ads really stand out! Use enhanced HTML templates for Craigslist that feature large photos on Craigslist and more!
• Market Cars on the Internet In the past, the biggest bulk of a used car dealers ad budget went into newspaper. With the advent of the Internet, this has all changed. A medium-sized dealer these days has a monthly marketing budget of $35K-$45k and as much as 25% to 35% is being spend on Internet. Cost-effective vFlyer allow you to significantly improve online distribution without the high cost associated with other marketing options. With vFlyer, you can get your entire inventory online the same day. Unlike TV and radio, the Internet is a point of sales (POS) vehicle that can work in conjunction with brand advertising to increase customer acquisition.

Although most of the posts on our blog deal very specifically with the goings-on at vFlyer, the industries we serve, or our customers, every once in a while I like to do a “big picture” piece on some aspect of technology. One of those areas that recently go my attention was the subject of “killer apps”. I recently got a call from blogger Steven Groves about Google’s OpenSocial announcement and got into a great conversation with him on that very subject.

I also read Steve’s post on the Future of Real Estate on OpenSocial, as well as a post by Zillow’s Drew Meyers titled What Does OpenSocial Mean to Real Estate on the GeekEstate Blog. There has been similar chatter about the Facebook application platform and I myself did a post on how the iPhone can Revolutionize Real Estate.

It seems that that everytime anything that looks like the “next big thing” comes out we ask ourselves who will build the killer app for that next big thing and what does it mean to Real Estate, or finance, or fill in the blank?

The purpose of this post is shed some light and share my personal thinking on the subject of killer apps – what they are and what they are not. I think in general we put too much emphasis on killer apps and here is why:

• There is no “killer app” for the “next big thing”!
  The next big thing is (or can become) the killer app – as long as the makers of the next big thing can get all of us entirely focused on building applications (killer or not) for the next big thing – the means become the end and thus we cause next big thing to become the closest thing to a killer app. LifeDev echoes the same sentiment!
• It’s about “killer technologies” not “killer apps”
  In reality, killer apps tend to represent technologies or application classes, as opposed to specific applications made by specific companies. A couple of examples: Xerox – but how many of you use a Xerox brand copier?  yeah, that’s what I thought.  Fax – here and gone, again no brand comes to mind. Cell phones – whoa, too many brands to name. Tivo – okay, here is a brand that in a way has become yet another “Xerox”.   For example, I use a DirectTV DVR but I call it a “Tivo”, so there! The moral of the story is that unfortunately (or fortunately) when killer apps do appear they tend to benefit the copy cats more then they do the originals.
• Do “killer apps” actually exist?
  Honestly, when was the last time you actually saw the mythical beast known as the killer app.  As I made mention in my previous point, most killer apps really represent killer technologies.  That said, great apps abound and as developers improve them (as we do here at vFlyer), some have a chance of becoming killer apps.
• Is everything a “killer app” or just “killer features”?
  Anil Dash of Six Apart has an interesting perspective when he says “In social networking, we won’t see a single killer app is because there will be thousands” - which supports the next point I make. Many applications today (especially mini apps and widgets that propagate social networks) are really features – and I encourage developers to seek out and incorporate some of these killer features to create better apps.
• One man’s “great app” is another man’s “killer app” (and vice versa)
  I am a big fan of great apps, I think services like Facebook, Zillow, Trulia Voices and of course vFlyer are all great apps. I love them all! They are best-of-breed, well designed, aesthetically pleasing and even fun to use. Professionals and consumers alike need services and applications that help them save time or money, generate income or revenue, and become more productive or entertained – we should focus more on great apps we can build or improve that can become killer apps for certain groups of users.
• “Killer app” mentality can lead to bad business decisions and wasted effort
  Consider the following: Bay Area VC fund Bay Partners recently launched a investment fund for startups building killer apps for Facebook called AppFactory! Unless you are ALSO an investor in Facebook (last time I checked they weren’t), this isn’t a great idea and only fuels killer applicationitis. I would encourage developers and entrepreneurs to spend time building those great apps than imagining killer apps. Consider this: its easier to turn a great app into a killer app, than it is to turn a great idea into a killer app.  You still with me?
• So what does all of this have to do with me, you ask?
  That’s a good question. If you find a killer app, it means someone else already built it! If you build the killer app, someone else will copy it. If you figure out what the next killer app is, you probably won’t tell anyone!  Heck, just because you know what a killer app is, doesn’t mean you know how to build it! If you actually build a killer app, it is probably going to be my mistake. The closest most people will come to a killer app is talking or blogging it.  All in all, you don’t have to worry about killer apps, because they’ll take care of themselves!  Enough said.

There you have it! My arguments against the myth of killer apps. No, I am not trying to be a software development kill-joy, just a pragmatist and my advice to all is:

• Instead of looking for the next killer app go build the next great app.
• Copy killer features to make even better great apps.
• If you do find the next killer app, create a copy
• If you come up with an idea for the next killer app, immediately call me. 

One of the real estate categories we support on vFlyer is vacation rentals. The Internet in general and online classifies specifically are transforming the vacation rental market by creating a global market for vacation rentals. This has led to increased competition as well as created some new opportunities.

Another trend affecting property rentals is shorter rental periods. ‘Short term’ rentals are becoming more popular with Baby Boomers who have busy schedules. U.S. workers are taking fewer full-week vacations, opting instead for shorter stays.

Higher transportation cost is changing the way people plan vacations and is creating opportunities for rental property owners. Author Christine Karpinski in her book on vacation rentals encourages property managers to advertise on the Internet and concludes that “Americans pinched by high gas prices can still enjoy a getaway close to home by staying at a vacation rental for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room.”

vFlyer allows vacation property owners and managers to quickly and easily to promote their properties on leading online market places such as Google Base, Oodle, Edgeio, Vast and others! With ski season is just around the corner, now is a great time to create real estate flyers for your vacation rentals!

Here are some vacation property rental examples on vFlyer:

• Heavenly Valley Chalet (Tahoe, CA)
• Pine Tree Lodge (Tahoe, CA)
• The Lazy Bear Cabin (Tahoe, CA)
• The Pine Tree Lodge (Tahoe, CA)
• The Hideaway (Tahoe, CA)
• Four Seasons Aviara Vacation Rental (Carlsbad, CA)

Job Openings are one of the top five product category on vFlyer! Both employers and recruiters are using vFlyer to push job openings to vertical job search engines like SimplyHired, Indeed and Jobalot as well a horizontal players like Google Base, Vast, Oodle and Edgeio. vFlyer templates can also be used to post jobs on Craigslist!

vFlyer allows you to take advantage of trends such as increased direct employer posting, the growth in the number of vertical job search engines, and candidates increased reliance on the Internet as part of their job search. Because vFlyer automatically exposes your job openings to the leading free classified ad marketplaces, we save you time and energy and increase the size of your pool of potential candidates. Here are some job opening examples in various market segments:

Other Job Trends:
Recent reports state that over 50% of recruiters surveyed said that they either currently use or intended in the future to use online social networking as a method of recruiting candidates that’s why it’s a good idea for recruiters (and employers) to post their vFlyers (or links to the vFlyers or gallery) on social networks like MySpace, ActiveRain, Facebook, LinkedIn and others.

Finding great people becomes even more important in industries such as real estate that are going through challenging periods. Recruiter Mya Borgman of The People Link makes a great point when she says:

A growing number of brokers and lenders are using vFlyer not only for listing property and promoting services but also to announce job openings.

Technorati Tags: Jobs, vFlyer

There has been a lot of talk about the pros and cons of single property websites. Single property sites are a growing trend among Realtors where the address of a property serves as its primary URL (so a listing at 5977 Morgan Place would have the domain name5977MorganPlace.com) and become the focal point for online marketing for that listing. Some cynics argue that such sites are expensive and not valuable from an SEO standpoint – but I would like to counter these myths associated with single property sites!

#1 – Single Property Websites are more about customer satisfaction than SEO
Not everything in life is about SEO! Sellers love single property website because they makes them feel good – and for a Realtor, a happy customer is good thing! Joel Burslem at the Future of Real Estate Marketing in his post on the same subject exclaims:

I agree with Joel that single property sites probably make the most sense for high-end or unique properties. In the last couple of months, I have been tracking single property sites in my area (see my Flickr album) and almost all of them where expensive, high-end properties carried by brokers that cater to those markets in my neck of the woods (Alain Pinel, Coldwell Banker, i.e.). I think the Real Estate Tomato says it best, when it writes:

Most Realtors agree. Paul Eastwood, for example, comments on Trulia Voices:

Most prospective buyers search for a home using real estate sites and search engines like their local MLS, Realtor.com, Trulia, Propsmart and the like – they generally don’t use Google to find a home – yet another reason why its not about SEO! I would argue that a Realtor that keeps his or her customers happy is going to get a lot more business then a Realtor who only cares about SEO - after all, 44% of buyers come from referred and not SEO. The good folks at Blood Hound Realty make a similar case in their post - [a custom web sites] might not Google well — but it doesn’t have to…

#2 – Single Property Websites don’t have to be expensive
True, there are companies out there that charge an arm and a leg for single property sites – but don’t be fooled, single property sites don’t have to cost a small fortune – after all, its only the domain you should be paying for. vFlyer’s Domain Plus, for example, is only $9.95 (per year) a domain for subscribers (free when you purchase an annual subscription). Joel Burslem at the Future of Real Estate Marketing makes a similar point about the cost of single Property sites and remarks “Tech-savvy Realtors will take one look at the price and scoff. $3000 for 50 sites?”. I talked about the cost effectiveness of Domain Plus in my original post on the service.

#3 – Single Property Websites make properties easy to find
I would argue that is is a lot easier to remember an address than it is to remember the first and last name of a Realtor or the name of a local real estate firm you have never heard of before! The Real Estate Tomato concurs saying:

According to NAR, many buyers still find their home by driving-by and seeing the sign! By adding the URL to your single property site to your real estate rider you can “connect the property to the website” – allowing your property to get maximum exposure to drive-by traffic in the neighborhood! Kevin Boer of 3 Oceans Real Estate comments, after Tackling the Single-Property Website Conundrum:

#4 – Single Property Websites are about great property marketing
At the end of the day, single property sites are about great property marketing! Services like vFlyer are designed to help Realtors do a better job of marketing their listings, and using a single property website only helps to demonstrate your marketing–savvy and technology-savvy. The end result is generally a quicker sale and happy seller and hopefully more business around the corner!

Why Domain Plus?
MyTechOpinionnotes that “vFlyer is offering competitive pricing for their single property sites.” and goes on to says:

Other press and analysts made similar observations. Our goal for the service was to provide “easy to use” single property site functionality as part of our “One-Stop Shop” approach to marketing real estate listings. After receiving numerous requests from both Realtors and FSBO’s we added Domain Plus to our growing list of convenient services.

Single property sites aren’t for everyone but they are a great marketing tool you can use to better sell properties and snag potential customers. And if you are vFlyer subscriber, its a great and inexpensive add-on to your flyer or gallery!

Related Posts and Resources:

• Blog: Domain Plus - Adding Domain Names to Flyers and Galleries
• Wiki: Domain Plus – Overview, FAQ and Resources
• Examples: 1240westmain.com, 5977MorganPlace.com, 582IndianLakeRd.com
• More…

Technorati Tags: Single Property Websites, vFlyer

Two interesting reports have recently come out that deal with the current state and trends in real estate technology and marketing. These include Inman’s “State of Real Estate Marketing 2007” report and the NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology 2007 Survey. Inman’s report is based on a survey of 770 real estate professionals done through their website (hence it have a strong technology slant), while the NAR’s 2007 Technology Survey solicited responses via mail from 468 real estate professionals.

NAR 2007 Survey – Technology Trends:

• 54% of real estate professionals have spent more than $1000 in 2006
• 80% of sales agents/associate brokers highly valued the technology supplied by their broker
• 65% of sales agents/associate brokers wanted more technology from their broker
• 66% of respondents have their own real estate agent business Web site
• Top 3 Sources of Leads: Referrals, repeat business and the Internet
• 79% of respondents are not satisfied with the amount of web leads they got from their sites
• 69% of respondents who have participated with lead resellers were dissatisfied

NAR 2007 Survey – Using Technology in Business:

• 28% used Internet-enabled Smartphones, 30% plan to purchase
• 19% used PDAs, 4% plan to purchase
• 72% used Cellphones, 10% plan to purchase
• 92% uses Digital Cameras, 26% plan to purchase
• 63% used Notebooks Computers, 27% plan to purchase
• 79% used Desktop Computers, 12% plan to purchase

Inman 2007 Report – Marketing Trends:

• 58% of new agents (<5 yrs in business) plan to increase marketing spending
• 47% of all brokers and agents plan to spend more to promote their services in the next year
• 31% of agents are getting involved with social networking websites (like Activerain, MySpace, i.e.)
• 27% of agents who closed more than 20 deals in the last year had a blog
• 34% of agents who plan to spend $5,000+ on online advertising/marketing in the next year hire an Internet marketing specialist

Conclusions:
Looking at the numbers and trends the following conclusions can be reach:

• In general, little has changed as far as the overall numbers are concerned. Technology usage and planned spending has remained fairly consistent and trends upwards.
• There is a strong trend among brokers to provide enabling technology to their agents. This trend is being welcome by the agents themselves. It also probably reflects competition among brokers to attract and retain top talent.
• We see this trend here at vFlyer by the number of brokers who are starting to purchase Corporate vFlyer Accounts for all of their agents or who negotiate discounts for agents who wish to use vFlyer on their own.
• One third of realtors STILL DON’T HAVE A WEBSITE – if you fall in this category get one – if you don’t know how, consider using a service like our vFlyer Domain Plus to get a web presence up quickly and easily!
• A Website alone is not enough! 79% of respondents with websites were still not happy with the leads they got – you may need to use other techniques (blogging, advertising, i.e.) and services to generate leads!
• The Internet continues to be an important source of leads, reinforcing the value of services like vFlyer and others. Agents serious about Internet marketing are hiring external resources to help them in their efforts.
• At vFlyer, we see this trend in the growing importance of virtual assistants who use, and are becoming experts on our service. The Southeastern Virtual Assistant Group, for example, recently provided free vFlyer training to their members. Agents are also using vFlyer’s to recruit Internet talent (See example – Blog SEO Writer Wanted)
• Lead resellers are probably not the answer – 53% of respondents found lead programs useful in 2006, but only 16% participated in them while in 2007 - 69% of respondents were dissatisfied with them.
• According to Inman, 60% of tech savvy agents still aren’t involved in social networks like ActiveRain – GET ONLINE AND GET INVOLVED. The numbers here (and elsewhere) show that consumer prefer tech savvy agents! Tech savvy agents also generally generate more leads via the Internet.
• Despite what some people are calling a weak housing market, a major of brokers and agents are planning to spend more on promoting their services.

Documents and Sources:

• NAR 2006 Survey – PDF Link
• NAR 2007 Survey – PDF Link
• Inman: State of Real Estate Marketing 2007 Report
• Realty Thoughts: Inman’s “State of Real Estate Marketing 2007” Report
• Transparent Real Estate: All About Inman Week

Technorati Tags: Realtors, vFlyer, Inman, Real Estate transparentrerealtythoughtsReal Estatehousevaluestrends

A growing number of brokers have asked us about corporate pricing. Last month we started to building out a range of corporate features and began piloting corporate pricing with a handful of brokers and rental property management firms. We are going to be expanding the program in the coming months so we wanted to get the word out to the vFlyer user community! vFlyer Corporate Accounts are aimed at brokers or other firms that want to offer vFlyer accounts to 25 or more agents or sales and marketing professionals. Pricing is competitive and the discount grows with the number of accounts.

The vFlyer Corporate Account program is not for everyone. Some brokers prefer to offer agents discounts on third-party services such as vFlyer, as one of the many value-added service they offer their agents. We have several types of corporate discounts available to brokers, based on commitment levels or co-marketing act ivies and those have been available for several months now.

If you a broker, rental property management firm, or sales organization and are interested in either program, simply send us an email at: sales@vflyer.com. If you are an agent, associate broker or sales professional and would like to see your broker or organization offer vFlyer services or discounts, feel free to forward this post and give them a subtle hint.

Technorati Tags: Real Estate, vFlyerRemaxcoldwellprudentialbrokerrealtorkeller williamsreal estate

The value of a service like vFlyer is pretty obvious to most seller (or listing) agents, but it is not always obvious to buyer’s agents how they can use the service to promote their business. I recently got an email from Jim Litter who asks, “Do you have examples of how buyer’s agents can use your product?” After spending time talking with buyer’s agents that currently use our service as well as doing some informal research using Linkedin Answers, Trulia Voices and Activerain’s Q&A, I was able to compile some useful marketing resources on how buyer’s agents can promote themselves in general as well as through a service such as ours.

The 2006 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers sheds some interesting light on how the Realtor® selection process works. According to the report, referrals where the #1 source of leads for Realtors®! In fact:

• 44 percent of buyers were referred by a friend, neighbor or relative
• 11 percent used an agent from a previous transaction
• 7 percent found an agent on the Internet
• 7 percent met at an open house
• 6 percent saw contact information on a “for sale” sign

Based on this information, most of which was supported by the input I got directly from agents responding to my questions, the following are some marketing “best practices” for buyer’s agents.

• Keep a List of Database of Previous Clients. Keep your database up to date and communicate with your contacts on a regular basis. Make sure you are “top of mind” when it comes to Realtors® to ensure a steady flow of referrals. You can do this by regularly sending them flyers, newsletters and other communication and encouraging them to forward your flyers on to their friends, or simply calling them to check in.
• Market yourself on the Internet. This serves two purposes, one is to get new clients. The other, however, is to simply demonstrate your Internet-savvy! A 2004 study by the NAR indicated that 75 percent of consumers expect their agent to be Internet-savvy! Good online marketing and an online presence are great ways to demonstrate your savvy-ness to prospects. Send them to your website. Make sure to have links to other Internet marketing activity you may be involved in such as your vFlyer Gallery, your blogs or social networking profiles. Also consider online advertising!
• Host an Open House. Depending on your firm’s policies, it is fairly common practice for a buyer’s agent to host an open house. Some processes are more formal than others. In some firms, a listing agents with more than one open house or who simply doesn’t want to work on a weekend will send out an email looking for volunteers. Technically, the agent hosting the open house is really not a “buyer’s agent” until they snag a buyer, but that’s the whole point of the exercise!

The next question is how vFlyer can help buyer’s agent accomplish some of these marketing objectives? Here are some suggestions on how you can maximize our service to put the aforementioned marketing recommendation to best practice:

1. Create a Flyer Promoting Yourself as a Buyer’s Agent and Publish It
   Be sure to include information about yourself, your photo, your contact info and company info. When you publish it, your vFlyer is automatically distributed, but you an also cut and paste the HTML on Craigslist (which as a Real Estate Services section), your blog (Activerain, i.e.) or a social networking site. Here are some examples from one of my previous posts. More..
2. Email your Flyer to Your Contact Database
   You can email your flyer, a PDF version of your flyer, or a link to your flyer to your database of contacts (lenders, family, associations, i.e.), prospects and past clients. Ask them to forward it on to anyone they know who may be in the market for a home. Remember that 44% of leads come from referrals! More…
3. Mail out your Flyer to Your Contact Database
   Not everyone has an email address, but even if they do, many people are hesitant about giving it out. You probably have a list of contacts whose mailing addresses you have. I did an informative post in the past about generating PDF versions of your flyer, printing them, and mailing them out! Include more than one copy so recipients can pass them on. Consider using a customized stamp to add a personal touch and get a better response rate! More..
4. Post your Flyer on Local Bulletin Boards
   There are usually a number of local bulletin boards that allow small local businesses (aka Realtors) to promote their services. Some national coffee and restaurant chains (Starbucks, Le Boulanger, i.e.) are usually very good about allowing flyers. I suggest asking the manager for permission first but personally I have never been turned down! Local gyms, grocery stores and public centers may also have bulletin boards that can be used by the public or members for this purpose. Avoid posting flyers on public or private property without permission as this is sure to get you in trouble.
5. Take copies of your Flyer to An Open House
   Try and host a Open House for a list agent. Different firms and listing agents have different policies but as I mentioned above, figure out how the system works, network aggressively and host as many open houses as you can! When hosting an open house, consider bringing flyers with your contact information with you. Take the initiative and be creative – Mario Pindeo (Intero Real Estate Services) writes “I always make up flyers with my name on it, and put up my personalized open house signs!”
6. Always Follow Up on Your Leads
   This sounds like a no brainer but you would be surprised how many consumers complain that agents simply do not get back to them! One frustrated consumer on Trulia Voices wrote “ANSWER YOUR EMAILS! You may win a customer!” Obviously, Realtors are almost always busy but buyer’s agents must develop a discipline for following up on all their leads. Consider getting a mobile phone that allows you to check email remotely when you are way from your computer. Include alternative means of contacting you such as a phone number on your flyers – perhaps even a click-to-call service. vFlyer routes all your contact requests to your existing email address so you don’t have to look in more than one place for them. More…

Hopefully you will find some of these best practices helpful! Please feel free to share additional tips both general and even specific to our service on how buyer’s agents can more effectively market themselves and their services.

Recently I talked about online real estate search marketing trends. One of the question that comes up when talking about search marketing is the actual Cost per Click (CPC) – the price the advertiser pays when a user clicks on their keyword ad! A couple of weeks ago I played around with the Google Traffic Estimator to get a sense of what good real estate keywords cost and to get a sense of what people were searching for and what advertisers were bidding on. We regularly testing search-based PPC (pay-per-click) advertising both internally and on behalf of large clients and routinely run these types of tests. After entering a set of obvious (and generic) real estate search terms, the Google Traffic Estimator was able to tell me the following:

The most expensive estimated average CPC was in the $2.60 to $3.25 per click range for the keywords “real estate agent”. Pricey – perhaps, but the choice of keywords makes sense given 18% of consumers find their real estate agent online!

REDUCING THE COST OF SEARCH MARKETING
Obviously the trick is to figure out how to get the most clicks for the lowest CPC. So justing the estimator I decided to try a couple of different strategies to see if I could reduce cost and maximize traffic.

Location Based Targeting
Google Adwords allows you to target location by country, state, zip code and even address! You can specify an address and select the number of miles around your point of interest you would like to target your ads! If you are a Realtor you probably focus on a specific region so this makes a lot of sense. I narrowed down my search to try and reduce the price by targeting just a 60 mile radius from the center of Huntsville, AL (where my wife is from). The cost, however, remained pretty much the same and estimated traffic was extremely low. It estimated 0 – 1 hits (very low) at $2.26 - $3.06.

Refining your Keywords
Next I tried another strategy. I decided to refine my list of keywords, so instead of “Real Estate Agent”, I tried “Real Estate Agent Huntsville”. The logic is simple. Most people are looking for a Realtor SOMEWHERE – that SOMEWHERE is usually the city or zipcode they are located in or want to move to! This technique proved a little more successful. It estimated 13 - 16 hits (good) at

$1.89 - $2.58 (much cheaper).

More Keyword Combinations
I went on to try more keyword combinations to come up with the following estimates:

Based on these numbers, it looks like it is possible with some experimentation to limit your Cost Per Click to less than $1.50, which seems like a pretty reasonable target.

CONCLUSIONS
My exploration of search marketing has gotten a great response so far. We have had dozens and dozens of comments from folks using and not using Google Adwords and other keyword marketing solutions! Based on finds so far, I think its safe to come to the following conclusions:

• A majority of respondents are investing in organic vs. paid sources of traffic generation
• Search Marketing in real estate seems to work. In addition to generally available statistics on the number of Realtors using search marketing as well as empirical (non-scientific) evidence based on my conversations with real estate professionals
• There is a learning curve associated with search marketing. More needs to be done to educate Realtors about the process, the tools (landing pages), the techniques (monitoring, tracking) and the return on investment (ROI) analysis
• There are a number of great tools that can help estimate cost (Google Traffic Estimator), suggest keywords, creating landing pages (vFlyer), monitor results and more

The next couple of search marketing posts will examine the following topics so be on the lookout (you can receive these by email if you subscribe to the feed):

• The great debate surrounding organic vs. paid
• A how-to primer on getting started with search marketing
• Great tools you can use to maximize Google Adwords

Related Posts

• Using vFlyer with Google Adwords
• Online Real Estate Advertising - Are You Doing Any?

On Friday, June 29, Apple released its long awaited iPhone! Today I visited the Apple store (in Burlingame) and found that it certainly lives up to a lot of its hype! After playing around with the iPhone for 30 minutes I realized that it has the potential to revolutionize how consumers interact with real estate services and here is why:

1. The iPhone will become a consumer phenomenon and quickly garnish significant market share
   The iPod was released in 2001 and by end of 2006 it accounted for 75% of the US market! Apple has certainly “captured the imagination” with its new iPhone. I would expect similar a growth pattern with the iPhone. Prices of iPhones will fall as new and better versions come on the market. When the original iPod launched it cost $400. Today, the cheapest iPod is less than $100. The $500–$600 iPhone has a 50% profit margin, so expect to see the price drop as Apple sacrifices margin to grow market share or AT&T subsidizes hardware cost to acquire customers and service revenue.
2. The iPhone broad’s range of enabling technologies are ideal for delivering real estate applications
   With built-in WiFi, BlueTooth, Web browser and email, video, photos, maps, GPS-support, widgets, media (PDF, Word, i.e.) and audio who could ask for more? As prices drop and market share continues to grow, more and more companies will invest in migrating real estate applications services to the iPhone.
3. Consumers and Realtors are ready for next generation real estate applications and services
   Till now, it was impractical for most consumers to search for real estate using only a mobile phone - all that could change. With the iPhone’s large screen, excellent browser, high speed WiFi connectivity and support for media such as video, audio and PDF, expect more users to give it the old college try.

The iPhones comes with the the following features and technologies:

• Browser: The iPhone’s brings the web to your phone. I was able to effortlessly login into our vFlyer service and the touch keyboard work surprising well. All plans come with unlimited Internet access. The is also support for PDF, Word and Excel documents.
• Email: The iPhone also has a HTML email client that supports both IMAP and POP accounts. You can also synchronize your iPhone with Microsoft Outlook.
• Photos: Users can view photos on the iPhone’s large 3.5-inch widescreen display. The iPhone also features a built-in 2-megapixel camera.
• Maps: Users have access to a Google Maps client which allows you to view maps and satellite images, or get directions and traffic information. Consumers can view maps of real estate properties and get directions instantly.
• GPS: I have heard that you can use an external BlueTooth GPS receiver in conjunction with Google maps on the iPhone
• Video: Users can access YouTube or Apple TV videos over WiFi or the EDGE network.
• Audio: The iPhone is also an iPod and allows you to download, store and play music, podcasts and audio.
• Phone: You can make a call by simply tapping a name or number in your address book, a favorites list, or by typing it in.

Here are examples of real estate services and applications that consumers could potentially interact with on an iPhone in the future:

• Consumers could search for real estate using the Google Map client or by flicking through pictures of local properties similar to Apple’s CoverFlow viewer (RealEstateFlow – see the example below).
• Consumers could access real estate listings from services like vFlyers through their iPhone, viewing attached videos, maps and PDFs and able to initiate a call to an REALTOR by simply clicking on a call button.
• Consumer could view pictures of a home as a high resolution slideshow on their iPhone, listen to an audio tour or view walk-throughs and virtual tour videos.
• Consumers could use their iPhone to take a picture of a QR Code (barcode) on a website, real estate sign or vFlyer using a QR Code reader and automatically bring up the property in their iPhone browser for further viewing.
• Consumers could get maps and directions to a property’s location using their iPhone and a GPS could identify their current location.

A recent trend we have noticed among both auto dealers, real estate professionals and HR professionals is using RSS to syndicate their listings! The value to web-savvy consumers if obvious! Mark at Inkbots makes a good point:

The basic idea is that prospective customers can easily subscribe to your inventory (in the same way they would subscribe to your blog) using your RSS feed and their favorite news reader. Some of the more innovate auto dealerships offer RSS feeds of their inventories (Ikon Auto, Mall Cars, i.e.) and I am certain some smart real estate agents are doing the same thing.

The good news for vFlyer users is you already have an RSS feed of your flyer inventory! Just in case you haven’t noticed, each user has a gallery (See Example) – your gallery is a graphic summary of all the flyers in your account as well as your business or contact information. Subscribers can customize their galleries (See Example), while non-subscribers get the basic gallery view (See Example). All users, however, get RSS feeds of their flyer!

You will notice at the bottom right hand corner of your gallery page there is an RSS icon that points to your RSS feed. The url to your feed looks something like this:

Users can add this url to their favorite RSS news reader and voila! – they have subscribed to your RSS listing feed! For most, it’s as simple as clicking on the link. All of the new browsers have made it a lot easier to subscribe to RSS feeds.

There are also many free online and desktop RSS news readers available to users. For online users, My Yahoo, Google RSS Reader, Bloglines and Newsgator online are some of the most popular readers. You can also download and install as browser add-ons or applications desktop-based readers. For more on the subject of readers, you can visit the Wikipedia.

According to a recent data from the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) indicate that of the $7.8 billion spent on advertising by auto dealers in 2006, 11.5% was spend on online marketing and competition is on the rise! Although dealer sites received more visitors in 2006 then in 2005 (320 per month in ‘06 versus 228 per month in ‘05), conversion rates to sales dropped (from 26.4% in 2005 to 19.2% in 2006 for both unqualified and qualified leads). The most common customer gripes were slow dealer response rates and the poor quality of information

Improving conversion rates continues to be one of the most important topics facing auto dealers and online sellers alike. In the next couple of days, I will try and share some pointers on how you can improve your conversion rates using vFlyer!

It has been a busy two weeks for Trulia, one of our good distribution network partners. Last week, Trulia moved out of Beta (Pete Flint, Trulia’s President and CEO, made the prediction at our Real Estate 2.0 dinner earlier this year) and announced two great new services: Trulia Voices - an interactive real estate question-and-answer service, and HousingWidgets - a central directory of real estate widgets. Yesterday the company announced Series C funding lead by one of Silicon Valley’s best known venture capital (VC) firms - Sequoia Capital! Congrats to Pete and the team at Trulia.

For industry watchers, I think it’s safe for me to make the following conclusions:

Community is Where its at!
Real estate players are moving quickly to build communities and capture market through “accelerating” community-building. Here is why:

• Community is hard to build, and its hard to start an online conversation - but “break the ice” by allowing people to ask and answer questions (something there is no shortage of) and “viola” you have a “instant” conversation which hopefully leads to community or at least better community. ActiveRain (Q&A), LinkedIn (Answers), and Zillow (Home Q&A) have all taken a similar path to help build or enhance their communities.
• Overlay community with commerce and you’ve got a winner! The next step in rolling out community is enabling some form of commercial activity. Whether its placing ads or buying services, the process is akin to building a stadium: Build it and they will come - and then they’ll stick around and buy something! But the trick is to build community first, then introduce commerce. Pete is super smart guy so I am sure Trulia has some interesting things in the works!

Widgets Rule!
HousingWidgets is a great idea since it provides a directory of real estate specific widgets. If you are hungry for more widgets, you may also want to check out the real estate category on WidgetBox as well. Here is why people love widgets and why widget will inherit the earth:

• Widget add functionality and interactivity to your site. Almost everyone has a blog or a website today! Widgets give bloggers and site owners a quick and easy way to add interactive and interesting content to their site! (Okay, maybe not everyone, but many people). Companies like Trulia and vFlyer have a growing number of widgets aimed at online sellers and real estate agents in particular. (Examples: vFlyer Widget, Trulia Widgets)
• Widgets let you take it with you. Widgets, like vFlyer’s commerce widgets, let you take your listings, inventory and other important information with you! That means you can embed the same widgets on your blog, your social network and your website, at the same time, driving people the the same listings or content.

Just last week, the Jacobsmedia Tech Poll found that the cellphones have become an integral part of American culture, and text messaging leads the way! Not surpisingly seventy six percent (76%) of those who own a cellphone say they have utilized texting – especially 18-34 year-olds - by far the most used feature on the phone! Internet browsing on the cell phone came in at 26%.  The report adds:

There are two ways to send flyers using text messaging. When you view or edit a flyer you’ll notice that the Email tab is now the Email and SMS tab. As long as you are a subscriber, you will be able to text potential buyers a link to your mobile flyer by simply entering their cellphone number and a short message.  You can also send a text message from vFlyer Mobile. After you select a flyer, you’ll have the option of viewing it, viewing its traffic activity, emailing or texting it! So next time you want to impress a tech saavy prospective buyer simply tell them “I’ll text you a link to my vFlyer!”.