Real Estate SEO and Technology Blog

Make more sales with your website at one quarter the cost.

That’s the definition of an “investment”. How many times do I run into people that say they have a website, but when pressed say they don’t have it optimized under either SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or PPC (Pay-Per-Click). Who would even think of buying business cards and then keep them in their drawer? Who would make yard signs and keep them in their garage? Who would take a listing and then keep the marketing of it a secret?

That’s what you do when you have a website that it not optimized. It’s like building a shopping mall in the desert. It may look pretty, but nobody will know about it.

But, you say, buying a website and doing real estate SEO is expensive. Oh really? And what’s not expensive. Most agents say classified ads. Well let’s do a little math and compare the two.

What is the “investment” of classified advertising?
One 1 column X 3 line ad (average min. cost) $30.00 (Mediabids.com)
Running that ad Friday/Saturday/Sunday         $       90.00
Running that ad 4 weeks                                  $     360.00
Running 3 listings this way                               $  1,080.00
Annual “Investment”                                         $12,960.00

What is the “investment” of an optimized website?
One Average template website cost             $   800.00
Average monthly hosting fee X 12                 $   480.00
Average SEO fee (upfront + service fees)      $2,900.00 (most service fees drop after first year)
Annual “Investment”                                      $4,180.00

The classified ad cost of almost $13,000 was for advertising only 3 listings at a time. Compare this with your optimized website that is advertising ALL your listings FOR A THIRD OF THE PRICE!

NAR now states that 82% of all home purchases now include the Internet. Why in the world would you “invest” in classified advertising which is dropping in effectiveness each year? If you want to know where the money is being made, you need look no farther than doing any search in your location as if you were a buyer. Who comes up on the first page? I can guarantee you that it wasn’t an accident.

You have the choice. Waste more money advertising fewer homes ineffectively, or invest less money advertising more homes effectively. It seems like the choice is easy… given the facts.

All My Best,
Randy Eagar, CRS
WebsTarget SEO