My Reno Real Estate - Website Review

My Reno Real Estate is the name of this website, focusing on properties for sale in the greater Reno, Nevada area.

The purpose of this website, however, appears to be aimed at earning income from advertisements placed on the pages. The advertisements are all from Google AdSense, and perhaps some affiliate links for things like business incorporation, and perhaps others.

But that shouldn't knock this website at all. The very website you're reading right now doesn't sell properties, but monetizes content just like My Reno Real Estate.

Visit My Reno Real Estate's website:
http://www.myrenorealestate.com

Website Review

Positives

• The website is very easily readable because of its narrow page size.



• Upon loading, my eyes moved straight to the content. This is because the content is focused on black text on a white panel, while every thing around it is in red, with photos along the top.



• Great domain name! "myrenorealestate.com" has the most important keywords in the domain which will boost this website's listings in the search engines. More importantly, people clicking this website from search engine results pages are highly likely to be interested in Reno real estate, this improving the click through rates on the Google AdSense ads.

Negatives

• There's no call to action - Actually this isn't really a "strong" negative, being that the goal of this website appears to be attracting clicks to the Google AdSense ads. Though, I'd suggest creating a link at the bottom of each page that calls visitor to action, like "Click the link below to get started". This link could actually be an affiliate link to a lead referral service.



• Search Listings Link - At the top of the page there is a link labeled, "Search Listings", which appears to take you to page that contains a list of properties. But it doesn't. This would be a great place to include another affiliate link to a merchant that offered an online MLS for Reno.



• Links are not underlined - The navigational links on the side and top of the ought to be underlined to help the visitor understand these are links. There are a surprisingly high number of people who don't know what a link looks like. However, being that the goal of this website is to get clicks on the advertisements, this may not really be a negative at all.

Note: The above is a paid review that My Reno Real Estate asked us to conduct.

Hightower Realty - Website Review

Hightower Realty helps people buy and sell residential and vacation homes in the Orlando, Florida area.

Licensed as a real estate brokerage, it's owned and operated by Realtor® and broker Denis Le Marchant-Smith. It's not affiliated with any other national or real estate franchise. Hightower Realty has been in business since 1995.

Denis Le Marchant-Smith is a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Florida Association of Realtors, and the Osceola County Association of Realtors.

Visit Hightower Realty's website here:
http://www.hightower-realty.com

Website Review

Positives:

• The first place my eye went to when I visited the site was the sales copy in the middle of the page. This happened because the homepage is filled with colors and photos all around the sides of the page, while the middle of the page contained black & white text. This contrast is what draws the human eye. You can do it with the reverse, but putting black & white text all over the page, and a colorful photo in the middle.



• The homepage, as well as the entire website, has lots of text content, great! Search engines will love it.

Negatives

The page width is too large - The HTML coding uses a table with a fixed width of 1040 pixels. Most web statistics today shows that 20% of monitor resolutions are still set at 800 pixels wide, and about 50% are set at 1024 pixels wide. So right there, 70% of the site visitors are having to scroll horizontally to see the full page. Either use a proportional table width measured in "%", or avoid table widths greater than 770 pixels.


• The homepage is too busy with information - When people are presented with so many choices on where to click, more often than not, they don't click anything. Start by figuring out the top 5 things your clients hope to find (e.g. photo of agent, background, credentials, track record, area of specialty, etc.) and put it all on the homepage. Add navigational links to other pages, but either use them sparingly, or position them so they don't compete with your key elements. People like to be led, and they like it simple!



• Low keyword density - The word "real estate" needs to appear on the homepage numerous times, at a minimum of 5 times, preferably 10. I spotted only three occurences. Also keyword density for Denis' region is low as well, such as "florida real estate" and "orlando real estate". Increasing these occurences will help with search engine optimization.



• Links are not underlined - Links need to be underlined to help people understand that they're links. You'll be surprised to learn how many people don't know that the bolded text on Hightower Realty's website are actually links. This may not be an issue with websites geared to a web-savvy audience, however, real estate websites are supposed to be written to everybody. Put your key information on the homepage (contact info, background, etc.) to minimize the need to click.

Note: The above is a paid review that Hightower Realty asked us to conduct.

Personalized Messages with Notegram

In the age of emails and blogs, there are far less personal, handwritten notes floating around. In the world of real estate, the realtor that goes the extra mile to personalize their service will have happier customers. Realtors looking to send personal handwritten notes while on the go should take note of a new system called Notegram(TM) by Talario, LLC.

"The handwritten note has long been one of the most effective ways to build personal relationships, and now for the first time a significant amount of the hassle of sending them has been eliminated." ~Tim Aughenbaugh, Talario's President

Notegram is a quick, easy, affordable way to send handwritten notes. Customers write at their convenience on a pad of Notegram notes with a digital pen. Later, they dock the pen in a USB cradle on their computer, and the Notegram software retrieves the notes. The customer then specifies to whom the note should be sent, when it should be delivered, and the form it should take - an e-card format, an embedded HTML message, or a physical mailing. The Notegram service takes over from there, and delivers the note in the manner and time requested. Notegram notifies the customer when the note has been sent.

To find out more information on Notegram including pricing and ordering information, visit http://www.notegram.com.

VuPOD - Virtual Home Seeking

We've all been there...searching for a new home, driving from listing to listing. That could all change with the introduction of VuPOD. VuPOD is "a real estate immersion room" where 360-degree images of every livable area are available. Unlike traditional "virtual tools" that provide a limited view, the VuPOD immersion room allows home shoppers to be surrounded by a 360-degree image of the home projected on the walls around them. It's the next best thing to actually being in the home!

The VuPOD sounds great, but you'll have to wait until this service is available in your area! Valley National Realty (www.valleynationalrealty.com) in Phoenix will have the VuPOD available for market testing in 2006 and a national release will follow in early 2007.

Visit www.redi-usa.com for updates and further information on the VuPOD.

Real Estate Blogsites

Real Estate Blogsites™ and MyST Technology Partners, Inc. introduced "MyST Blogsite™" that combines blog stories and detailed information about real estate properties for sale. This format allows blog content to be combined with property specific details such as address, price, and number of bedrooms in a structured format that is more accurately seen and indexed by search engines and in turn more easily discovered by prospects.

"Blogging about properties and communities is an excellent way to enhance online visibility for agents as well as the seller's property, however, the addition of structured information catapults visibility," remarked John Helmering, founder and CEO of Real Estate Blogsites. "With this new feature, real estate agents and brokers will be able to share their information more readily with Google Base which provides extended discoverability for properties in Google Real Estate."

To find out more about Real Estate Blogsites, visit their website, www.realestateblogsites.com.

Free Cars with New Homes

Who ever thought that they could get a new car at the same time that they finally make the move to homeownership? Granite Financial Group is changing all of that with their Octoberfest for renters. When renters buy their first Michigan home from Granite Financial Group they will get a new Jeep Liberty - free.

Darrick Scruggs, of Granite Financial Group has set a goal to empower 1,000 new homeowners over the next 36 months to live the American Dream of becoming an homeowner. With thousands of sellers lined up for somebody to buy their home, this is the easiest time to go and get a great deal.

"I sat and saw a good two dozen dreams fall apart in front of my eyes when a first time home buyer could not get their dream home, only for a lack of a couple thousand dollars," said Scruggs. "Well, I got a bunch of people with tons of equity."

Darrick works exclusively with several real estate investors, who have bought bank foreclosures, renovated them and then sell them for a profit. Since they are not your typical mom and pop sellers, they have equity, and Michigan renters buying a house from them can get all the help they need to get the keys to their dream home.

Granite Financial Group has gone above and beyond providing entertainment & gift bags for the children while their parents get qualified, get approved and pick a new home with the color of their new Jeep Liberty SUV.

Darrick Scruggs is the creative genius behind Granite Financial Group, a full service Michigan Lender based out of Madison Heights, MI. He has been involved in the mortgage industry in Michigan since 1998. He is widely regarded as a leading expert on "Creative Real Estate Financing".

Yummy Perks for Vacation Home Clients

What’s better than buying an Orlando vacation home...buying an Orlando vacation home from a real estate agent who will send you scrumptious baked good recipes every month.

Carole Caborn, real estate agent associate for Vacation Capital Real Estate, Inc. shares "the warmth of her home with her current and prospective buyers" by sending them postcards with recipes for yummy treats. “People seem to really like them,” said Caborn, who has been sending out the recipes for about a year.

The postcards with recipes also offer suggestions for beverages to serve with them. Caborn said the recipes evoke a sense of what Orlando is all about—something warm, inviting and especially appealing to kids.

"Vacation Capital Real Estate offers luxury condos and town homes in family-oriented communities just minutes away from Walt Disney World and other world-famous Orlando attractions. Unlike timeshares, vacation homes give families ability to receive higher return on investment as well as freedom to visit the country’s most popular vacation destination anytime of the year."

To receive more information about the Orlando real estate market (and let your taste buds reap the benefits of delicious goodies!) contact Caborn at 407-797-4471.

Billion Dollar Agents

Ashley Leigh, a premier Realtor in Northern Virginia, was recently recognized as a Billion Dollar Agent in an upcoming book, Billion Dollar Agent – Lessons Learned. Out of over 1,000,000 Realtors in USA, Billion Dollar Agents make up about 1 in 10,000. Ashley Leigh has been a Realtor for about 10 years and sold more than $180 million in 2005 and 401 homes in 2004.

Ashley is just one of many agents that were interviewed for the book Billion Dollar Agent - Lessons Learned. This book is to provide information on agents such as background, aspirations, marketing, and sales; as well as demonstrate how they built their teams and grew their business. The goal of this book is to help the top 20% of agents who make $100,000 or more learn how to grow and run a business to achieve $200,000-$500,000.

This book is scheduled to be avaialble in late 2006 and additional information can be found at www.billiondollaragent.com. This book can be a great learning tool for agents who are closing a significant number of deals each year, but could do a lot more.