REALTOR.org has a plethora of resources for not only agents but public as well. The Resources area of the site contains information on REALTORS® and Business Specialties, Association Executives, News Media, Home Buyers & Sellers and Diversified Real Estate Firms.

As of this writing, within the Home Buyers and Sellers section the public can find topics such as the daily newsletter which was on how to make the home secure with a do-it-yourself home security. In addition there was an interesting article on investing in REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts). Another article was helpful for protecting the sellers as to how to determine the best asking price. Another article was an expose on how NAR protects the public’s interests.

The Division also has a very valuable section of its website called the Consumer Resources. In it, the public can find out How to Modify a Loan: The Dos and Don’ts of what you need to be aware of. There is also a Foreclosure Prevention Resources section. In addition to all of these resource areas, several areas exist to register a complaint against a member of the Division, be they real estate agent, appraiser or mortgage officer.

One of the best things that any real estate agent can do to protect the public is to be able to give them more knowledge to be able to protect themselves from scam artists, shysters and con artists. Much of this can be done by directing them to specific articles supplied by the Division, NAR and other Boards and Associations. Within the guidelines of Realtor.org, whenever information is deemed valuable, there is typically a “subscription” capability to get updates. These are called RSS Feeds. All RSS Feeds of the entire Realtor.org website can be seen at: www.realtor.org/technology/nar_rss_feeds.

Some of the major moving companies that have great websites with good information are Allied.com, NorthAmericanVanLines.com, UHaul.com, PenskeTruckRental.com, RedmanVan.com, Mayflower.com and many others.

While getting a moving quote can sometimes best be done by contacting the moving company specifically, you can also get estimates by using a number of different services that will either give you an estimate themselves, or will have various moving companies contact you. Some of these services are MovingMatrix.com, UPack.com, MovingEstimates.com and MovingEstimates.org just to name a few.

With these services, you’ll need to typically provide your email and phone number before you can get the quote. Just for curiosity, I filled in the form from one of the services and was immediately called within 5 minutes of clicking the submit key. The company was friendly and courteous, but I explained that I was just writing an article and that I didn’t really need their services.

Whichever kind of service you use, you’ll need to provide the location that you’re moving from as well as the location that you’re moving to. In addition, they’ll need to know if they’ll be moving an apartment or home, how many bedrooms, size of the property in general and many times will ask if they’ll be moving things like boats, cars, pianos, etc.

The beautiful thing about using these online quotes is that you can obtain this information as a proxy for the public and use it in your presentation, showcasing your services and value in using you as their real estate agent.

The second most popular way that the public can get information on listed properties is by a myriad of agent/broker websites that allow the public to “Search the MLS”. While some of these sites ask/require the public to sign in, a growing number do not, giving the information out freely.

The third way that the public can get information about property listings is through national services. We’ve talked about the largest, being Realtor.com. But there are others as well. A few of these would be Zillow.com, Trulia.com, TheMLS.com, MLSListings.com and many others specific to various areas of the country. Nearly every large company and franchise also have their own “Search the MLS”.

Whereas the major Board and broker “Search the MLS” features “detailed” or “advanced” searches, the larger national MLS search websites typically only offer a “quick search” with Home Type, Location, Price Range, Bedrooms and Bathrooms.

One of the features of the Realtor.com site is the “Search Assist”. While not readily apparent, this is actually a “Subscribe to New Listings” or “New Listings Alert” feature that NAR offers. While it’s based upon a “quick search” process, the ability to get new listings sent to the public’s email is quite valuable and is very good business practice for those who use Realtor.com for their repository of listings.

While Realtor.com and many other national services offer an advanced searching capability, it’s not nearly as detailed as most Board/Association or agent/broker website searches.

So while the most ideal solution is for the agent to professionally a pricing program, sometimes the seller/buyer wants to see the data for themselves. So let’s take a look at some options.

Two of the largest national software programs that attempt to price property are HomeGain.com and Zillow.com. From an agent’s standpoint, neither are very accurate as they each have the same fundamental flaw that any other “automated” system has. There is no “human” element involved. Rather these systems attempt to average pricing per neighborhood, per bedroom, lot size, etc. They have no ability to value decorating, wear and tear, landscaping, etc.

As an example, I randomly chose a home in an area that I was well acquainted and typed in the address into both programs. Each gave me vastly different “valuations” to the property. For example, the HomeGain.com website gave me a range of $304,325 – $357,252 with the following caveat: “Information on this site is provided for your convenience only and is not intended to serve as a comprehensive analysis. This site will provide an approximation based on computer models of information available from public records and is not intended to be, nor should it be relied on, as a real estate appraisal.” YA THINK? Zillow’s value came in at $493,500. Almost 50% higher than the midpoint of the HomeGain.com “estimate”.

Just as most Boards and Associations are now sharing the MLS data, agents should be assisting the public with pricing, searching the MLS, moving info, mortgage info and more.

I often to consultations in my business and am happy to give all that I know that will help agents with their websites and their marketing. The interesting benefit of such a course of action is that by the time I am done explaining all that there is to know, the person says “I had no idea there was so much to this. How much would you charge to do it for me?”.

In this section we’re actually going to be going over all those areas that agents typically kept to themselves . . . if they knew of them. Other website services like NAR white paper researches and moving assistance do not offer any overlap with services agents offer, but rather compliment them. Nevertheless, all services that the agent can help the public with will in the end assist the agent.

Stop thinking of “getting” and start thinking of “giving”. The more you offer in the way of service, the more indebted your public will feel. The more you give openly and freely, the more trust you’ll garner from them. Once you have the public’s trust, in the truest sense of the word, you open up an entirely new level of communication.

To get started, we’ll take a look at home valuation assistance. We’ll look at both general guidelines and specifics at pricing. In addition, we’ll take a look at not only local MLS search capabilities, but also national tools as well. One area of great need for the seller and buyer that the agent can fulfill is that of moving assistance. There are plenty of moving assistance sites that will be greatly appreciated.

Many video tours can give a floor plan of the home, and show a video of that room. Click on a different room and a new video pops up.

Many video programs come packaged with the service of professional voice-overs. These video tours can be done with any video camera, copied to your hard drive and then posted to the Internet.

Your videos can now be posted on YouTube, Revver, Flickr, your own website, blog site or many other locations. Being able to put your videos on your website or blog site is absolutely huge for marketing purposes. The only caveat that I’ll give here though is to keep them under 5 minutes as viewers will find it hard to sit through a longer video (unless VERY compelling). Most people have a short attention.

Many agents are now choosing to shoot a video of their listings and then edit them with video editing software. When using video editing software, each track can be laid down just like a professional editing company with separate tracks that can be edited separately. For example, you can have video, audio, video overlay, text, music, voice and even sound effects as separate tracks.

Most of the time, video editing software is used to edit audio miscues but can also be used to add a nice musical intro with transparent text slide, soft musical background music and other effects. I’ve even seen video of homes on large lots where the sound of birds was edited into the video. Only your imagination will hold you back with this new tool.

Let’s take a look at how to video one of your listings. First, pick a house that you know shows well. Homes that are pet free, tastefully furnished, clean, light, bright, and uncluttered, work best. Give yourself a couple of hours at the house and make sure you have plenty of tape and a fully charged battery for the job. Set it up as a showing appointment and make sure the owners are not home.

When you get there, turn on all the lights and develop a plan for shooting. The benefit of video is that it helps show the viewer continuity of the rooms throughout the home so don’t shoot the kitchen, then a bedroom, then the breakfast room, then a bedroom, family room, etc. Try to shoot in a logical order – the order you would take while showing the home.

Here’s how to separate yourself from the other first timers out there. First, lay off the zoom button. Needless zooming will make your viewers queasy. Shoot as wide angle as you can. Also, don’t pan too fast. This is another contributor to sour stomachs. Gentle and steady. Next, don’t worry about talking during the filming. Nothing sounds more amateurish then you talking while walking through the house. You can lay down a “vocal track” in post-production. You’ll need to buy a microphone for this, but it will be well worth it.

If you’re feeling overzealous, shoot the entrance to the community, and any community features as well. When you’re done, pat yourself on the back, take a rest – and get ready for post production.

Getting it to your computer

If you have a digital video (DV) camera, you’ll need either an IEEE 1394 card or an analog video capture card. IEEE 1394 is recommended for the best quality results. Many new computers come with an IEEE 1394 card already installed. If not, there are a number of manufacturers that make a card that will work with your computer.

Now how about post production? That is – putting it all together. You probably have Windows Movie Maker installed. If not, you can download it for free.

Although somewhat limited in features, Movie Maker will give you a feel for how post production editing software works. Movie Maker will let you edit your footage, make some basic video effects, and some basic video transitions. It will also allow you to lay down a narrated track to coincide with your video.

But Movie Maker has its limitations (remember – it was free!) In order to truly have a presentation worthy of your client, I believe that it is necessary to have not only the vocal track done on a separate track, but also to have professional royalty free music on a third track. There really is no way around this. A video home tour without the vocal “tour” and the right music will be a flop. No one will want to watch it.

The good news is that when you’re ready to take the next step and purchase some post production editing software, there are dozens of options in a wide price range. If you’d like a little more power to your editing, I like Vegas Movie Studio for about $59 online.

Now it is time to finalize your video and get it ready for the web. Movie Maker makes it easy for you, just follow the directions.

Share your video with family and friends and ask them for honest constructive criticism. Tell them you would rather have them hurt your feelings than a client, and tell them you want the truth, no matter how brutal.

Don’t consider every little nit-pick, but if you hear the same comment over and over again, you know a change should be made. Once you pass the F&F (friends and family) litmus test and make the recommended changes – you should be able to watch your video without cringing, and with a certain sense of pride.

Only after going through all this work is it appropriate to share it with the seller. After they approve, it’s time for marketing city! You can upload your video to over 10 video hosting sites. You can also blog about it. You can get it in your local MLS. You can post it to Realtor.com. You can encourage your seller to email it to their friends and family. This will not only (hopefully) help to sell the house, but help you to pick up A NEW listing by someone who is impressed with your work!

Here’s the icing on the cake. For the uploads, you get to designate the “tags”, description, and keywords of the video, and can tailor these to market your primary website, or your blog, or to get your clients listing to pop up on search engine results for relevant keywords for “home for sale” in “your home town”.

Good luck – have fun, and remember that you’re NOT going to get it right the first (or second) time. Practice, practice, practice….. And if you just don’t have the technical stomach or the patience for it all, hire a professional full motion video virtual tour company to do it for you.

Dynamic page content is just the opposite of Static page content. Where Static page content can’t be changed by the viewer, it’s the purpose of dynamic pages to be changed by the viewer. Here are some good examples: 1. Quick Search tool 4.  Multimedia Virtual Tours, 2. Email New Listings 5.  Videos 3.  New Listing Alert 6.  Online Chat.

Because of the higher cost of many of these dynamic tools, websites that incorporate heavy use of “dynamic pages” can cost anywhere from $5,000 just to get you started with sites like these. Many of these sites will run between $20,000 and higher.

Dynamic pages are not only changeable by the viewer but are also frequently changed by the author, such as blog posts, comments and even multimedia presentations. The fact that the dynamic page changes much more frequently than the static page makes it a more interesting page for not only the typical viewer to read but also the major search engines as well.

Many dynamic pages can even react just to the mouse itself. For example in many cases if the mouse rolls over a portion of the page, more information can appear.

So why the public would be interested in dynamic website pages shouldn’t be a mystery.  It’s because it gives them the ability to “use” the site for their benefit. Whether it’s the ability to quickly look up a listing, get a new listing alert, view a multimedia presentation or video or even become engaged in an online chat, there is a world of tools and engaging actions that they can use.

One caution that should be added when talking about both “static” and “dynamic” website pages. The best website page should be a proper combination of both static and dynamic content. Too much text can make the page boring. Too much dynamic widgets will make that page invisible to the search engines. Like Goldilocks, make it just right.

There are many types of dynamic web pages. One of the most popular is Google Earth™. Most map websites are dynamic; users input the address they are traveling to, and the page returns with directions and a map to the location. When agents put this type of tool on their websites as a widget, it acts as a wonderful aid to their public. Whether it is to show them directions to their office, directions to the weekend’s open house or even a list of featured listings.

Another example of a dynamic web page is a search engine. Web site searches, where the user is looking for information on just one site, are also dynamic pages. Other examples include email websites, banking sites where users can access their personal financial information, and sites that base their information on location, such as a national weather page. Any website that offers information based on any data the user provides is a dynamic web page.

Dynamic web pages are often very simple, as far as their actual design. They offer a place for the user to type in data, and some information and basic graphics. After the user types in their data, this changes. The web page server accesses a database of information, searching for what the user has requested. Once the information is found, it is brought back to the web page, and displayed.

Creating a dynamic web page requires a certain level of previous programming experience. Having a basic understanding of a couple programming languages is essential. Javascript is a popular language to use for creating a dynamic web page. Creating a web page that interacts with users can be difficult, especially for beginners to web page design and programming. It requires understanding and being able to use complicated code, and can be difficult to work with if you do not have a lot of previous experience.

Creating a user-friendly dynamic web page may be challenging, but it provides a great way for website owners to better meet the needs of the public browsing their site. It allows people to find what they need in a quick and easy way, while keeping track of what information is being accessed, which give owners a way to access information about how their site is being used. Using this information, site owners can improve and expand their site in a way that benefits site visitors, increasing the success of the web site.

At heart, the Internet primarily still does exactly what it was first intended to do –- transfer information. The way it does it today however, is vastly different from how it did it about ten years ago. People don’t want to just read lines of text on the Internet; they want to interact with web pages and for it to be an ‘experience’.

Having dynamic pages on your website can make the difference between being “pretty” and having that WOW factor. Tools such as calculators, quick searches and even directions are now passé.

First we need to define what a “static” web page is. A “static” web page is any page in a website that’s stationary or fixed. In other words, the viewer can’t change anything on it. This is why when talking about your content pages such as your “About Me” page, your “Testimonials” page, your “Communities” pages or other such descriptive pages.
In addition, the text on many of your pages can “paint a picture” and thereby be engaging.

So what areas can you focus your content on? By using similar keyword phrases (a “keyword phrase” is a search term that is typed into the search engine) on several pages, you get multiple rankings on one search. For example, you may want to put your main keyword phrase of “Denver Luxury Homes” on the Homes page. But why not also embed it into the Business Climate, Communities, Cost of Living and Accommodations pages?

Remember that your visitor, when reaching your Home page, wants to read content of THEIR interest, not yours. So focus on why they might want to move to your area and the various amenities and benefits.

In our sample page you’ll notice that the client wanted to make sure their page got found under the keyword phrase of “Hamptons waterfront homes”. Note that this is an interior page that is always found on page 1 position 1 on Google because of its “keyword density”. In other words, it mentions the words “Hamptons waterfront homes” at least 7 times throughout the page. Other benefits to both the reader and to the major search engines is to provide the keyword phrase in both links and header formats.

To understand why static pages are so powerful, we need to take a closer look at Google and their latest algorithm Google Panda. If you know what Google Panda is,  you can more easily get your website found at the top of the very highly coveted Google search pages. So let’s take a look at Google Panda.

Google’s new “Panda,” has sent shock waves through the Internet.
Before you can figure out what you need to change, it’s probably worth looking at what got devalued. There seems to be an emerging consensus. If a site’s pages are thin on content, or contain content that has been copied from elsewhere, chances are they lost some Google love. So what is Google looking to reward?
Here is a list of defining characteristics for “useful” content. These include the ability to
1. pass a human inspection;
2. not being a copy of another document, or
3. ad-heavy;
4. being well-linked externally;
5. being created by a brand with a distribution channel that goes beyond the search engines; and
6. not having “a 100% bounce rate followed by a click on a different search result for that same search query.”

Nevertheless, there are certain things you can do if the Panda took a swipe at your rankings. A telling quote from Google: “In addition, it’s important for webmasters to know that low quality content on part of a site can impact a site’s ranking as a whole…Removing low quality pages or moving them to a different domain could help your rankings for the higher quality content.”

The message for real estate agents is to be aware of congruence. If your viewer got to your website by searching for “Sacramento homes for sale” and your content is all about yourself, not only will you be ranked low, but your content if it is seen will be frustrating to your viewers as it doesn’t meet their request about “Sacramento homes for sale”.

The third thing you can do to help boost your website, according to is get involved in social media. This way, you’re interacting with customers and potential customers outside of search. That’s a good idea regardless of whether your rankings fell with the Panda update. With Facebook alone accounting for one out of every ten page views in the US, social networking and social media is one part of the Internet that is here to stay.

In summary, Google is now actually reading your content and asking itself “Is this site congruent”? You can answer this for yourself by looking at your domain name, website title and content. Simply said, if your keyword phrases are in each area, you’ll be deemed to be congruent. If not, you’ll be deemed to be incongruent and will pay the price with lower rankings.

The Featured Listings tool is pretty basic on most websites, but it’s a must-have tool for sellers and showcasing your listings. The trick is to do it in an interesting way. The Featured Listing is the best way to capture the viewer’s attention if you use photos of the home in a slide show that fades from one room shot to the next about every 4 to 5 seconds. These slide shows should be put on the left-hand side of the website with compelling graphics on the right.

We’ve talked about the value of decreasing the “bounce rate” of your website page. The Featured Listing section is a great way to grab their interest and then continue to build it by showcasing other similar Featured Listings below the slide show.

The whole idea of using the Featured Listing slide show is the grab the attention of the viewer so that they will stay longer and interest them in the property. Sellers love these as well, and they are a wonderful benefit to be able to demonstrate the value of the property.

Many agents have taken advantage of multimedia for their Featured Listings by building a page of “thumbnail” shots of the homes with a brief description of each home. When the viewer clicks on the home, a multimedia presentation plays on the home giving them shots of all major rooms, floor plan, room description and even video for many of the major areas of the home.

All agent websites should have a Featured Listings area. One of the major benefits is to be able to bring your notebook or notepad computer with you and hook up to the Internet wirelessly. The smart agent will showcase their current listings that are shown within the Featured Listings widget or slide show. If no ability to hook up to the Internet is available, the agent can “cache” the slide show in advance onto the hard drive simply by running the slide show in advance.

Let’s take a look at how the website and Featured Listing tools can assist both the agent in obtaining more listings as well as assist the public by giving to them more up-to-date marketing methods. The Featured Listing tool is the one major feature on the agent’s website that is meant for the seller. Here’s a possible presentation scenario.

First of all, most agents do a two-step approach to the listing process. That is, they first visit the home and the homeowner, take photos, measure and get all the pertinent details.

Now after going through this step, think of taking all those photos and uploading them to your Featured Listings slide show. Effective websites have an eye-catching slide show that should be for the Featured Listing. Each shot should be created in the proper aspect ratio, meaning that it’s not stretched to fit the slide show frame. In addition, each slide should play about 4-5 seconds, fade out and then fade in with the new slide. Use only 5-6 slides as most people get bored quickly.

As an extra touch for the more techy agent, you can add text to the bottom of each slide that fades out faster than the slide itself.

Now for the coup de grace, you show up at the home owners property and go through your presentation, preferably on your computer. Then the last part of your presentation that demonstrates how you plan on marketing the home, you switch to your website which pops up with the owner’s home, playing various rooms fading from one shot to another. There is no better self-gratification or pride than seeing your home being shown online (or so it appears).

At this point in the presentation, you give the owner two options. You tell them that you would love to get started marketing their home tonight, or if they can’t make a decision tonight, you’ll have to take their home off the Featured Listing slide show as it would be false advertising.

Consider the contrast. Either I am able to go ahead with what appears to have been demonstrated as a very professional presentation with my home as THE featured home, or I say no and lose the ability to see my home as the featured listing to my neighbors and friends.

Plus there’s one other bonus. What you have created for the owner looks as if it took hours and hours to create. When in fact after you’ve done these for a while it probably only took minutes. The guilt factor is enormous and plays right into your hands.

But more than just a great listing tool, you now have a great marketing tool that is like a billboard working for the seller 24/7. With some of the communications buttons and links that we’ll be talking about later, your prospect will be able to simply click a button and either leave you a text message, voice mail or talk to you regarding the home.

Excellent examples of this widget can be found at DeerValleySpecialist.com as well as PhoenixHomes.com. Both are not only excellent examples of professional websites, but also how to lead the viewer from lead to sale.

The more important and interactive method of providing access to the listing data is the use of the “Subscribe to New Listings” or “New Listing Alerts” widget. Think of this as an automated version of the “Search the MLS” feature. Instead of having to type the search parameters in over and over again, the buyer can do it just once and the program will email daily updates for new listings or price changes. And while your competition is scratching their heads wondering how to get the buyer’s information, this is a tool that the buyer will WANT to provide their information. Why? Because it’s to their benefit!

The root of the “New Listings Alerts” widget (tool) is the IDX (Internet Data Exchange) service of which it’s a part. Many IDX services have this and the “Quick Search” widget, but many do not. Before purchasing an IDX service, you should make sure to find out all you can about what services they offer and get recommendations from those who are using their service.

The “Subscribe to New Listings” or “New Listings Alerts” is an incredible benefit to your buyers. It also protects them from unscrupulous real estate agents who call and misrepresent properties just to get the buyer to see a property. It also gives them the information directly from the MLS instead of second-hand.

Real estate agents need to become educated as to sharing their services (which means their listing data as well) rather than trying to keep it proprietary. What do you think it tells a buyer that you’ll share the MLS listings with them, but ONLY if they give you their name and email information. This creates a brick wall between you and the viewer, as they don’t want to work with agents until they’re ready.

That’s why the “New Listing Alerts” is so powerful. You’re offering a service first, and then as part of that service, it’s their option to give you their information. This not only works to the agent’s benefit but also to the public’s benefit as well. They are building a trust with the agent based upon a mutual benefit.

The only reason why this feature/widget might not work is if there is no IDX service. No problem. You can also do this manually, like the old days by checking the MLS on a daily basis for them.

Let’s break down the “Search the MLS” feature and demonstrate why it’s so popular and the amazing number of people that are misusing it. First of all, I recently did a Google search for “Subscribe to New Listings” (with the quote marks, meaning an exact search) and received over 1.4 million results. The same search without the quotes (meaning a general search) brought up 166 million results. Bottom line? There’s a TON of people using this feature.

Even when you parse out the fact that the word “listings” can mean more than real estate, the general term for the most part is used for real estate. So far, we’ve established that a large number of people are using this feature. Are you? The real question is, are you using it correctly?

After perusing through dozens of these results, and seeing hundreds used wrong in my line of work, I’ve come to the conclusion that agents just don’t get it. They don’t think like a buyer, they only think for themselves. What they want. So let’s take a look at how agents that use this feature properly, make between $50,000 to $100,000 of passive income . . . just from their website.

Step 1. You must have either an IDX system that has this widget, or purchase a 3rd party IDX, or decide to do this manually each day. Obviously having an IDX company that will continually update these searches is far preferable.

Step 2. Once you’ve decided which tool or widget you’re going to use, you’re going to need to make sure that it can be modified to work as follows. Instead of asking for the buyer’s name, phone and email first, you must make sure that you ask for their property parameters first. This is imperative and I can’t stress it enough. If you ask for their personal information BEFORE you show them what you’re going to be delivering them, you’ve lost them.

Step 3. Have a nice long “advanced” search form for them to fill out. The longer it is, the more they’ll be invested they’ll be in the outcome. It’s rather like fishing. The more you can set the hook, the more likely you’ve got them invested in the process.

Step 4. Okay, now that you’ve got them to fill out this form with everything that they want, now it’s your turn. Remember in the old Colombo shows with Peter Faulk when he’d get to the door at the end of the show? Remember what he’d say? He’d say “Oh, by the way”. And you knew he had the bad guy. By the same token, after they’ve filled in their search parameters, your form will then (and only then) basically say “Oh by the way, if you want me to keep you updated with all the new properties as they come available, I’ll need your name, phone number and of course your email address”.

This is like Search the MLS on steroids. Getting their info is no problem.