Some of Arizona’s most Successful Agents call John Hall & Associates home.

Tag Archive: internet marketing

Facebook and Superlative Open Office Meetings

by on Mar 19, 2010 | Careers and Training, REALTOR® Marketing, Technology

Instead of scheduling 1 on 1 meetings to answer technology questions that I receive, we’re going to try something brand new! Based on the feedback from this open office post we are going to answer the questions in the bullpen or conference room of the Paradise Valley branch.  Come one come all.  It doesn’t matter which company or industry you’re apart of – everyone is welcome. Yes you.

Question 1: Can I make a facebook fan page for my subdivision?

Answer 1: Yes, it looks like there are already a couple of fan pages for your subdivision, but they appear to be automatic-posting hubs, which means there is no real value.  Take a look at facebook fan pages for real estate agents.  I’ll be happy to meet with you in order to get it set up.

Facebook Fan Page Open Office Meeting: Monday March 22nd @ 11am

Question 2: Will you help me figure out how to edit my Superlative website?

Answer 2: Yes, what would you like to know?  (Insert questions about importing google maps, slideshows, and calendars. Install a live chat link, feature blog posts, and team bios.)

Superlative Open Office Meeting: Tuesday March 23rd @ 10am (or after the regular PV office mtg)

Invite you friends. Bring your computers. Let’s work together!

Cool Google Tools – John Hall & Associates Success Series

by on Oct 21, 2009 | Careers and Training, REALTOR® Marketing, Technology

I had some fun yesterday with a classroom of agents interested in using some of the free google tools.  The class went through the why’s and how’s of some of my favorite google tools.  The next time this class is offered is December 3rd at the Tempe office – check the intranet calendar for times and to RSVP.  Enjoy!  (Sorry slideshare strips the animation.)

Straight from Google: SEO advice for real estate agents

by on Jul 22, 2009 | REALTOR® Marketing, Technology

I don’t need to explain why search engine optimization (SEO) and real estate agents should be friends.  Based on some of the questions I get asked, agents already know that showing up on page 1 of google’s results for popular search phrases will drive traffic to their lead generation systems – aka websites.  What I do need to explain is how real estate agents can improve their rankings/show up higher on the results page.  Since there are lots and lots of other people that know a whole heck of a lot more than I do when it comes to this search engine optimization concept, I’d rather find one of them to explain it to you, maybe an employee from google perhaps?

So there I was, dorking it out hardcore last night, watching a bunch of videos that google has posted to their webmaster help youtube channel when I ran across this gem.  In this video one of the google employees (Matt Cutts – thx @maxchirkov) answers this ever popular question, “How does someone begin to SEO their site on a small budget in an overwhelmed industry such as real estate?” Perfect – just what every real estate agent with a website wants to know.

Now that you know starting with a smaller niche is the main secret to seo success on a budget, read this Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide google has published.  This will enlighten you with the best practices moving forward.  It’s a 20 page pdf that is designed to get everyone up to speed on some of the basic concepts of seo.  You don’t have to be an expert, you just have to pay attention to the fundamentals.  It really isn’t rocket science, you just have to know which details to pay some attention.

If you listen to what Matt says in this video and understand the concepts of the starter guide, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to move your real estate website higher up on the results page for your particular niche.

Comment Marketing

by on Apr 30, 2009 | REALTOR® Marketing, Technology


That’s the title of a session I got to attend at RE Bar Camp – Phoenix last week. Tyler Hurst lead the discussion and talked about this interesting marketing method I had not previously heard of – Comment Marketing. The premise is simple – leave comments on blogs to drive traffic to your website. However, there are a few steps you should know in order to be as effective as possible. Let’s talk about leaving a comment, having your picture/logo display next to your comment, and making it easy to find articles about subjects you are interested in.

Typical fields when leaving a comment on a blog
This image shows the comment field for a typical blog. You have the opportunity to leave your name, email, website, and of course – the comment. Be sure to fill in all these fields. One piece of advice – use your name. Don’t type in “Phoenix Real Estate” or “Scottsdale REALTOR®”. It comes across as spammy and reduces the likelihood of the publisher allowing your comment to be displayed. In the event you don’t have a website, but you still want to leave comments – I recommend using an online profile from linkedin, twitter, or facebook. I’ve also seen agents sign up for the free Diverse Solutions website and use the unique URL that comes with it. And now to the actual comment. You must contribute to the conversation. Prove that you actually read (at least some of) the article. Agree or disagree with points made, share a true life story, converse with the other people leaving comments. Don’t simply say – Good post – on every article you come across.

Blog comments with and without picturesHow do you get your picture to show up next to your comments? By signing up for a globally recognized avatar – aka Gravatar. All this takes is an email address and an image. Very simple and free. Once you get signed up, your picture will start to display next to your comments automagically.

Tyler mentioned that he uses google alerts/reader to monitor activity on the web about specific subjects. It’s the only way to go so you’re not searching the internets aimlessly for content about your subject. Google alerts are free to set up and they give you an RSS feed (it’s just a link) to copy and paste into google reader (also free). Get in the habit of checking google reader and all the articles google finds for the designated terms will be displayed in one place. Some examples of google alerts for a Phoenix REALTOR® might be Phoenix, “Phoenix Real Estate”, “Arizona Real Estate”, “Phoenix Real Estate Market”, “Real Estate News”. Make sure you use the quotation marks for terms otherwise it will bring results for each individual word.

Now get out there and leave some comments! Just think, if you leave 10 comments a week after a year of doing this there will be 500 links pointing back to your site.