Appraiser marketing tips for Saturday, March 15, 2008
Appraiser marketing tips for Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Appraiser marketing tips for Friday, October 5, 2007
Appraisers prepare for the new Home Valuation Code of Conduct
The new Home Valuation Code of Conduct represents a drastic change in some appraisers' business models. Have you been marketing your services primarily to mortgage brokers? That's going to dry up soon. What do you do in response?
A lot of people that haven't been involved in choosing appraisers before are going to be doing it soon, and many will start with Google and Yahoo. Many will alight on the first result under "YYYY County appraiser," but many more will do their research more thoroughly. You want both types to choose you. How do you do it?
One way is to ensure your new clients can find you. Your website content must be unique, relevant, coherent (that is, not a bunch of spam keywords) and accessible from the major search engines. Achieving search engine success is complicated -- by design, so it's harder to "game the system." Google and Yahoo and other search engines are looking for sites that other high-traffic, relevant, trustworthy sites link to. They're looking for sites associated with relevant copy, both on the sites themselves and in articles and blog entries elsewhere. High-touch, professionally managed link exchanges and outstanding website copy are musts.
A lot of people that haven't been involved in choosing appraisers before are going to be doing it soon, and many will start with Google and Yahoo. Many will alight on the first result under "YYYY County appraiser," but many more will do their research more thoroughly. You want both types to choose you. How do you do it?
One way is to ensure your new clients can find you. Your website content must be unique, relevant, coherent (that is, not a bunch of spam keywords) and accessible from the major search engines. Achieving search engine success is complicated -- by design, so it's harder to "game the system." Google and Yahoo and other search engines are looking for sites that other high-traffic, relevant, trustworthy sites link to. They're looking for sites associated with relevant copy, both on the sites themselves and in articles and blog entries elsewhere. High-touch, professionally managed link exchanges and outstanding website copy are musts.
Labels: Website Copy
Appraiser marketing tips for Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Is your copy unique?
Is your template, pre-written website copy hurting your Google search rankings?
Click here or do a Google search for "Our investment in training and technology has helped our customers greatly reduce their workload." Maybe you have that phrase on your own website. See how many results come up:
(With that many results, the number of matches will fluctuate day to day; this is current as of today's date.)
More than 93,000 Web pages that say the exact same thing. Every last one of them is being discounted by Google and tamped down in the results when a client is searching for an appraiser in their area. Google thinks they're "template" sites, without anything unique to offer Web searchers. Maybe Google is right. Does your web copy have this problem?
The first site that comes up in that search above, Woodley Appraisal Group, is a shop in Owings Mills, MD. Try this. Click here or do a Google search for "Owings Mills appraiser."
Woodley Appraisal Group ranks 18th. Being on the second page of results, behind a bunch of directories and a Volvo dealer, is not good for business. Unique, great website copy won't solve all your problems, but it will keep you from being punished as a "template" site.
Click here or do a Google search for "Our investment in training and technology has helped our customers greatly reduce their workload." Maybe you have that phrase on your own website. See how many results come up:
Results 1 - 10 of about 93,400 for "Our investment in training and technology has helped our customers greatly reduce their workload.". (0.15 seconds)
(With that many results, the number of matches will fluctuate day to day; this is current as of today's date.)
More than 93,000 Web pages that say the exact same thing. Every last one of them is being discounted by Google and tamped down in the results when a client is searching for an appraiser in their area. Google thinks they're "template" sites, without anything unique to offer Web searchers. Maybe Google is right. Does your web copy have this problem?
The first site that comes up in that search above, Woodley Appraisal Group, is a shop in Owings Mills, MD. Try this. Click here or do a Google search for "Owings Mills appraiser."
Woodley Appraisal Group ranks 18th. Being on the second page of results, behind a bunch of directories and a Volvo dealer, is not good for business. Unique, great website copy won't solve all your problems, but it will keep you from being punished as a "template" site.
Labels: Website Copy
Appraiser marketing tips for Friday, October 5, 2007
Blog Your Way To More Clients
Appraisers everywhere are catching on to the blogging craze and many are seeing higher search engine rankings, more traffic, and more business as a result. But there's more to a successful blog than tossing out your opinion on global warming. Here are a few tips that will make your blog an important part of your online success:
1. Write what you know. You want to be perceived as an expert. That means writing about things you're an expert in. It also means not straying too far into territory where you're not exactly an expert.
2. Write for the people you're trying to get to come to your site. If you write about what mortgage originators, or homeowners, or attorneys care about, they'll be more likely to find your site, and stay once they do.
3. Write for the web. Lots of bullets, subheads, and nothing longer than the average web attention span.
1. Write what you know. You want to be perceived as an expert. That means writing about things you're an expert in. It also means not straying too far into territory where you're not exactly an expert.
2. Write for the people you're trying to get to come to your site. If you write about what mortgage originators, or homeowners, or attorneys care about, they'll be more likely to find your site, and stay once they do.
3. Write for the web. Lots of bullets, subheads, and nothing longer than the average web attention span.
Labels: Blogging, Website Copy
