The recognition, announced by Clareity Consulting CEO Gregg Larson at Clareity’s headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, is meant to “spotlight companies that have really distinguished themselves by creating something fresh and new.” Larson added, “Recipients of the prestigious award are truly the industry’s most innovative technology breakthroughs.”

DocCentral is a simple, intuitive and cost-effective tool that allows real estate professionals to manage and organize their documents. Documents are stored on secure servers and accessible online 24/7 by agents and the clients and vendors they authorize.

By taking transaction documentation off agent laptops and out of filing cabinets, DocCentral eliminates redundancy, safeguards information, and ensures there will always be enough space for even the largest document files.

In addition, FNRES designed DocCentral to integrate with any transaction management program or MLS platform available today and likely to be introduced in the future.

“DocCentral won the award because it makes document management extremely simple for a broker or MLS to deploy, and it’s easy enough for agents to use,” Larson continued. “But, most importantly, DocCentral has an open, published API that is RETS-based. That means every broker, or even every agent, can use the transaction management system of their choice and still share in the efficiency of a common, secure repository for online documents based on industry standards we all agree upon, namely RETS. This is the reason we gave the DocCentral product the Clareity Award for Technology Excellence.”

“FNRES is honored to be singled out by Clareity for this prestigious award,” said Beverly Faull, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Fidelity National MLS Systems and Solutions. “We feel it is a landmark development for the industry and are very gratified that such an important player in real estate technology would put its stamp of approval on DocCentral as an endorsement of its value.”

“Clareity is constantly asked to recommend products and services,” Larson said. “Unlike awards that are given out frequently, Clareity typically only grants one or two awards per year, and some years does not award any.”

The system is now available to integrate into every MLS system in America, including FNRES’ own flagship MLS system, Paragon v4 MLS.

For more information on DocCentral and other FNRES products, visit www.fidelitymlssolutions.com or call 866-599-8508.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

1. Make sure the site you choose offers sales opportunities.

A lot of sites are designed to help job seekers. Instead, look for a site with actionable sales leads such as Government Contracts, and learn how to position your business for contracting opportunities with the Federal Government. Some sites have new leads every day, so it’s worth scheduling 10 minutes each day to see what’s new. That time could translate into a new agreement worth thousands - or more!

2. Determine whether you’ll learn something from the site, such as how to more effectively market your products/services and website.

The focus of marketing is people. If you’re concentrating efforts on your product/service or profit only, you’ll miss the mark. Learn to “target market” the right group of people for all your marketing efforts. The more statistics you have about that market, the more precisely you can develop an effective marketing strategy.

3. Can you augment your site with links to forums, photos, audio and video?

There are lots of ways to grow your business, but in this visual, viral age, anything that can give you an edge over the competition is worth it. For example, consumers are interested in working with companies who are going green. If you’re using environmentally friendly methods to run your business, grab your camcorder and create a video short to post online.

Source: ZANA

For more information, visit www.zananetwork.com.

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Starting today, home buyers, sellers and real estate professionals can search for properties and leverage the BeatYouThere.com social network. It will allow users to make smarter decisions faster and more confidently by gaining better insight into the opinions, details and views of a trusted real estate business network.

BeatYouThere.com introduces a unique social networking platform that allows registered users the ability to post comments on property listings as well as write reviews on real estate professionals that they have worked with (similar to the eBay.com and Amazon.com user rating system). To ensure the network’s safety and promote better quality of the reviews, BeatYouThere.com will not allow any anonymous or slanderous postings.

“We are excited to launch BeatYouThere.com and introduce our innovative social platform,” said Mark Langowski, CEO of BeatYouThere.com. “Our website revolutionizes the online real estate search and was built to be a one stop shop for buyers, sellers, brokers and real estate investors. They now can communicate with each other, post testimonials, write reviews on properties, post properties for sale and create a network of friends while having free access to our database of listings.”

Why BeatYouThere.com is different?

BeatYouThere.com offers its users the following features:

- Easy to use user interface that is simple to navigate for a beginner or novice user.
- The breadth of data goes beyond realtor listings alone, including foreclosures, auctions, for sale by owner, classifieds, bank-owned properties, rentals and commercial properties.
- Ability to search for home loans without having to provide personal information. Provided by MortgageBot LLC.
- International reach: BeatYouThere.com is expanding internationally to allow brokers from around the world to access one easy platform to advertise their properties as well as providing home buyers and investors with global property listings.

BeatYouThere.com, says the company, plans to partner with thousands of online sources to provide its users with the most breadth of listings which include pre-foreclosures, auctions, bank owned properties, realtor listings, classified advertisements and for sale by owner data for both residential and commercial property, as well as rental listings.

“It is a tremendous opportunity for us to be a charter partner of BeatYouThere.com, and we are excited to provide real-time foreclosure data to its customers,” said Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac.com, a leading online foreclosure marketplace. “Given the current condition of the housing market, it’s more important than ever for real estate consumers to have access to comprehensive and accurate foreclosure data, whether they’re looking to buy a foreclosure at a bargain price or just researching a regular resale purchase.”

For more information, visit www.BeatYouThere.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

For other real estate tips and topics, see:

• Getting Innovative in Today’s Real Estate Market  
  Moving Toward Profitability in Real Estate  
  Turning Complaints into Solutions

RISMEDIA, May 7, 2008-Everyone is shuffling to get on top of Google for real estate searches-and it is getting harder and harder to do. A simple “I am a Realtor, too” website not only cannot rank on the first page organic results no matter what is done offsite or onsite, it would also do no good if it did-afterall, no one is looking for that kind of website.

Unless you are trying to reach other Realtors, you must come up under hundreds or thousands of words including zip codes, street names, neighborhoods, schools, demographics, and, yes, city, state, real estate, and other combos.

Fortunately, that can be done by way of social media marketing.

Ranae Stewart, an Exit Realtor with nearly 200 agents, took over an empty bank building to house her agents in Pensacola, Florida during one of the toughest real estate markets ever in that area, is getting serious.

To do this, Exit Realty is positioning itself as a local news source. The company allows its agents to establish themselves by providing local news by way of community blogs (see http://floridacommunitynews.info/) which will create a local community social media hub to target a local market by providing a service online.

These multi-user Wordpress blogs allow the broker to provide a full-blown social media website to each agent so they can target niche market by reaching out into the community and listing resources, businesses, parks, recreation and attractions for the potential buyer who is researching demographics and other information online anticipating or considering a relocation move.

“By adding a user, we add a whole new website for an agent or agent team, and/or for a local business we want to do business with,” says Stewart.

Stewart will get results due to the sheer volume of locally oriented activity at such a site, and, while it is no small job to get such a venture off the ground, the rewards can be substantial. This type of website “portal” sells for an average of 27 times earnings if it is successful, and it only takes one real estate transaction per year to cover the modest budget required.

By providing an effective online marketing strategy to recruits for free, she can help to make up for a tough market, and get the best of the best recruiting from other brokerages.

For more information, visit http://socialmediasystems.com/05/02/multi-user-wordpress-with-bbpress-forums-social-media-marketing/.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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“We have a voracious appetite for technology,” said Scott. “The purchase of Real Tech provides John L. Scott with the ongoing, real time resources that we need to meet our ambitious technology goals.”

Real Tech has been John L. Scott’s technology partner collectively for five years and has been responsible for providing the development behind some of John L. Scott’s most notable web-related achievements, including the launch of Microsoft Virtual Earth, Neighborhood Wizard with Microsoft’s polygon drawing tool, and the integration of comparable sold home information with Microsoft’s interactive mapping system. Scott says that the successful partnership between John L. Scott, Real Tech, and Microsoft will continue to produce new innovations for the real estate industry in the coming months.

Real Tech General Manager, Adam Jundt, says, “John L Scott has a serious commitment to delivering cutting-edge technology solutions to their agents and the real estate consumer. Combined with Real Tech’s expertise, this enhanced partnership will fuel the next generation of products and services, continuing our role as technology leaders in the real estate industry.”

According to the company, Real Tech’s nine team members will now operate within John L. Scott’s marketing and eStrategies department which is headed by Pat Giles, Vice President of Marketing and eStrategies. Giles recently joined John L. Scott, bringing a diverse technical and management background that blends together more than twenty years of experience in marketing, IT, and Internet strategies.

For more information, visit www.johnlscott.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

For more real estate tips and topics, see:

• 4 Ways to Grow Your Market Share  
• 10 Tips to Prepare a House for Sale This Spring  
  Breaking Free of Conventional Marketing

Experienced hosts Cathy Hobbs and Jeff Appel bring eager couples, interested viewers, brokers and real estate experts together as they scan all five boroughs of New York City for the perfect home. Location and price all come into play as Hobbs and Appel give tips and tricks of the trade, ranging from the latest trends to current market values on city properties.

With real estate television programming booming, NY Residential TV sets itself apart by catering to a regional market as well as being multi-faceted in ways other shows are not. Aside from traditional house hunting, showcasing properties and open houses, NY Residential TV will also be a program that assists those who have found a home, decorate; those who need to flip a home, renovate; and those who are looking to buy or sell, negotiate. Hobbs and Appel will show viewers how to find foreclosures, as well as the best way to make your new home “green.” In addition the show will include segments on new gadgets, how to “go green,” open houses and new development launch events in the area.

While NY Residential TV can stand on its content alone, Hobbs and Appel bring credibility and charisma to the show. Cathy Hobbs, an Emmy-award winning television journalist and interior designer who was just nominated for this year’s annual DIFFA “Dining by Design” Event perfectly complements Jeff Appel, a real estate industry expert and lecturer. The two bring help and humor together in a way that’s educational and entertaining.

According to the two companies, NY Residential TV will prove to be a powerful medium for sponsors–such as builders, developers, agents and financers–that align with the show’s mission of providing great content while showcasing great properties.

In addition to traditional TV spot ads, NY Residential TV’s real estate and development sponsors will take viewers on guided tours of homes that their companies are offering for sale. This is an innovative and experimental approach to marrying the right advertisers with quality targeted programming.

For more information, visit: NYResidentialTV.com or www.sparkway.com

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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• How to Build an Effective Real Estate Team  
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“We are seeing dozens of condo communities and hi-rise developments in cities across the US become drawn together via the Internet and then organize parties and in-person gatherings where they use a club area or open spaces designed in newer buildings to have fun and socialize,” commented Matthew Goldstein, CEO for LifeAt. “It could be seen as a throwback to the local neighborhood block parties of our collective youth but these days it’s probably a catered affair rather than all the housewives just cooking for everyone like in the 1950’s.”

In places from New York to Miami and from Chicago to Washington DC, these Web-based neighborly gatherings would probably not happen if not for the means of safe, controlled and customized interactive environments offered by LifeAt.com.

“I don’t think residents have too many avenues to pursue to get to know their neighbors these days,” added Goldstein. “Everyone is so busy and people come and go so fast that it sort of passes them by in most cases. We offer a solution for that.”

According to the company, LifeAt.com continues its rapid expansion across the country and around the world. LifeAt.com is now available in several key domestic markets including New York, Miami/South Florida, Washington DC, Los Angeles and Chicago as well as in London and Australia. Dubai in the Middle East is also being charted for the near future.

LifeAt creates customized, password-protected websites for residential properties, providing a safe and dynamic exchange for people within their apartment buildings or suburban communities. More than just a social networking website, LifeAt helps create personal profiles, finds residents with similar interests, posts pictures, and offers a forum to discuss a wide variety of topics. In addition, residents can rate and review neighborhood businesses and services that cater to the interests of their community.

For more information, visit www.LifeAt.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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connectMLS is a patent-pending, MLS solution which offers a rich set of MLS features with an embedded Transaction Management System. connectMLS also provides other embedded modules such as Listing Validator, a listing Rules Checking and Management system, and broadcastLister, a listing distribution system. The connectMLS all-in-one MLS solution enhances, rather than changes, the way Realtors do business and provides online collaboration through streamline communication.

Travis Kessler, chief executive officer of SABOR and recent recipient of the Tom D Morton Award for association executive of the year said, “The vendor selection process concluded that dynaConnections provides a product and service that meets our current and future MLS needs. connectMLS runs on modern, industrial strength technology, is highly customizable, and has a remarkable response time. Furthermore, we were able to enter into an agreement with dynaConnections without an increase of MLS fees.”

“In addition to system speed,” added Linda Drever, SABOR Member Services Director, “connectMLS has built-in tutorials throughout each function which will help our members through the transition to a new MLS system. connectMLS will also easily integrate with our third party products, providing our members with seamless access to those services.”

“Our agreement with SABOR is an ideal partnership for both parties,” said Tim Ford, President/CEO of dynaConnections. “SABOR was looking for an MLS provider who could offer their membership stellar product and service, and we were looking for an MLS organization wanting an innovative MLS solution built around traditional values and business practices. We are incredibly excited by the opportunity to serve the San Antonio real estate market and look forward to a long-term partnership with SABOR.”

For more information, visit www.dynaconnections.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

For more real estate headlines, see:

• 5 Things to Do BEFORE Buying Internet Leads 
  4 Ways to Grow Your Market Share  
  10 Tips to Prepare a House for Sale This Spring

RISMEDIA, May 1, 2008-(MCT)-Although energy-efficient devices may carry a heftier price tag than their less environmentally conscious counterparts, going green doesn’t always mean that you’ll spend more money. It could mean saving money.

Energy Star, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s voluntary program that rates home appliances for energy savings, also includes computers, and that little blue label can indicate whether a PC will lower your energy bills.

In fact, computers were the first products to qualify for the EPA’s Energy Star label in 1992, said Maria Vargas, Energy Star’s director of communications. The program added tougher restrictions in July, so certified computers use 20% to 50% less energy than their uncertified counterparts. Today, there are 180 million Energy Star computers and 497 available models.

Initially, Energy Star labels weren’t required for computers. Now the logo appears when a computer boots up, and it is on product literature and packaging.

Another reason was lack of incentive. PC makers focused on government users, instead of consumers, because the federal government required all of its computers to be Energy Star-certified. Consumer PCs have historically focused on marketing speed and performance.

While an Energy Star computer shouldn’t cost more than others, long-term monetary savings aren’t substantial.

Vargas estimates that, with the newly revised requirements, an Energy Star desktop computer saves $30 to $60 on a user’s energy bill during the life of the computer. She didn’t have an estimate for laptops.

“The benefit comes from knowing the purchase is a contribution to becoming more energy-efficient,” Vargas said. “We don’t want to say that you will save enough to go on vacation. It’s just smart to do.”

According to the EPA, if every home and business user nationwide replaced their old computers with new Energy Star ones, we would save “more than $1.8 billion in energy costs over the next five years and avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to more than 2.7 million cars.”

These days, it’s difficult to find a tech company that doesn’t have a green policy, said Steve Baker, an analyst with market researcher The NPD Group.

He doesn’t believe consumers are buying computers based on environmental incentives. Companies, however, are caving in to peer pressure and going green, he said.

“It’s much more about trying to avoid the negative. Remember the hit Apple took when Greenpeace went after them? It wasn’t a positive. Apple had to tell people about all the good stuff they did. Everybody has to do this because if you don’t your competitors will market against it saying you don’t do this,” Baker said.

Energy Star’s new criteria require energy-efficiency features for all modes of operation - off, sleep mode and active and running. Also new, the internal power supply must be at least 80% efficient. A detailed explanation of efficiency standards is available on the EPA website at www.energystar.gov.

In November, more than 35 manufacturers were part of the program, according to Energy Star. Today, it’s 48 manufacturers.

Consumers interested in an Energy Star computer should look for the blue label. Shoppers also can search the program’s site, which offers a clunky finder tool at the bottom of the page.

The list is constantly changing and is supposed to include only available models. Energy Star also rates monitors, printers and scanners. Game consoles are included, but apparently none have been approved.

Another EPA factoid: For every 100 computers a business replaces with models meeting the new Energy Star specification, it will save $175 per year on energy bills and more than $670 over the lifetime of the computers.

In November, Energy Star will update its television program. Energy Star TVs will need to be 30% more efficient than conventional TVs to get the blue label. They also must save energy when turned on and off (previously, Energy Star just looked at televisions in the off mode).

According to the EPA, if all televisions sold in the U.S. met the new requirement, the savings in energy costs would be $1 billion annually and greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by the equivalent of 1 million cars.

© 2008, The Orange County Register (Santa Ana, Calif.).
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.

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According to the two companies, the partnership, which began in January with both companies adopting a new data format standard for listing distributions, has evolved over the past few months and officially took effect today, with the first listing feed of more than 105,000 Homes.com active property listings exported to Zillow. While future data discussions are in the works, both Homes.com and Zillow are focusing on the agent and consumer benefits at hand.

“As we continue to build our listings feed program, we’re excited about the addition of a leading online real estate portal, Homes.com, to our partner network,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, vice president of partner relations at Zillow.com. “By giving our users more choices during the home search process and making it easier for agents and brokers to get their listings in front of Zillow’s 5 million monthly users, everyone wins.”

For more information, visit http://www.Homes.com and www.zillow.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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• How to Kick Your Micromanaging Habit  
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ClipBlast! asked 1,000 online consumers how they get to video on the Internet. Of the total sample, 530 expressed a preference and 470 did not. Among the 530 respondents who had a definite opinion, “discovery” is the primary means that they get to video online (28%), followed closely by recommendations from friends (27%). Some 22% rely on search engines. Roughly 10% get video from people they know only online - through social networks and the like. Relatively smaller percentages receive video from unsolicited e-mail and RSS feeds, to which they have subscribed (5%, respectively).

Interestingly, as popular as YouTube and other video sharing sites are, the process of getting to video remains undefined for a substantial percentage of Americans - indeed, for nearly 47% the experience of looking for video remains new. “Even with millions of new clips coming online each day, online video is still in its infancy - and as the survey shows, habits have yet to be fully formed,” said Gary Baker, founder and CEO, ClipBlast!.

According to a new comScore report, there’s a lot of viewing going on. Web users watched more than 10 billion videos in February, and during the month, an estimated 73% of U.S. Internet users viewed video online.

“The Video Web is dictating a fundamental break from the traditional search model - a departure that represents a tremendous vote of confidence in Web 2.0,” Baker said. “It’s now about discovery and browsing and navigating in non-linear ways. Social media works more like a real community than any ‘constructed’ community the Web may have sought to create up to this point, which is why discovery and recommendations figure so prominently in the mix.

“Social media mimics the way that we interact when we’re offline - it traces the sometimes circular, sometimes whimsical paths of relationships, and follows a few tangents,” he said. “It’s clear that video consumers know at a gut level that if a picture is worth a thousand words, there’s no way that metadata will ever be enough.”

Among the survey’s key findings:

Men Asking for Directions? Discovering video is more prevalent for men (34%) than women (22%). Similarly, men are more likely to locate video based on recommendations from associates (30% to 25% for women), and to rely on existing search engines - 27% to 17%.

Gen Y Users Go Their Own Way … Discovery is biggest among the young - 41.5% of those 18-24, gradually declining among those ages 25-34 (38%) and 35-44 (37), then dropping precipitously for the remaining age groups.

… While Gen X Favors Search - and Tips from Friends. Those 25-34 are most reliant on search engines (43%); that group is also more likely to come by video through the recommendation of friends (39%) - and, by a significant margin - through the suggestion of those encountered online, via social networks (16%).

Discovery: Big in Boston - Less So in Chicago. On a regional basis, those in the Northeast are, by a wide margin, more like to both discover video (34%) and rely on the recommendations of friends (32%); those in the Midwest are relatively less likely to do so (23% for discovery, 26% for tips from friends). Those in the West are relatively more likely to use search engines (23%).

For more information, visit http://www.clipblast.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, April 28, 2008-On creating syndicated content to build traffic and search engine rankings, we see less than inspiring prose, and poorly formatted content. Here are 8 secrets for getting noticed and gaining traffic and search engine rankings with online content postings.

1. Use a ‘link-bait’ title. The most important factor in getting read is the title of the post or article. This must be balanced by the fact that the title tag on any post or article is the most important factor for getting search engine rankings; so it is also important to use keywords. For an example, type “media bomb” into a Google search, and see the article that got over 500 diggs, and crashed our server from the traffic. The “link-bait’ title had a lot to do with it, “Social Media Bomb sent from USAToday office injures thousands.”

2. Give a compelling preview to the content. If you must ramble on about historical facts to set the stage for your point, provide a compelling prelude to give the reader hope that the effort will be worthwhile. For example, this article touches on a reason to read the article-the chance that the reader may be doing a less than perfect job of posting. If the reader is interested in the subject matter provided in the prelude, they may sit through your article as you build up to your point.

3. Allow the reader to participate. Anyone can make statements, but questions are more engaging, and convincing. Are you getting a good return from your posting efforts? Would you like to get more traffic? Would twice as much return for your time investment, or a thousand times more hits interest you? I have not made any outrageous statements here, I have only asked compelling questions.

4. Repeat the keywords that are in the title in the body of your message. The search engine robots need to see that the content within the article is relevant to the title in order to achieve search engine rankings.

5. Do not over-do keyword density. While the density of the keywords matters, ‘keyword stuffing’ is bad and will result in being relegated to the “supplemental index” (IE: oblivion).

6. Lead with the sexy part, and then reveal the meat and potatoes later. While ‘secrets’ is the ‘hook’ here, the real meat is a few simple formatting issues that will greatly affect your results.

7. Insert anchor text linked back to your website, containing your keywords. Many places where you can post allow a last minute edit in the html code before publishing. Add a link to your website by highlighting your keywords and clicking “insert link.” Then, after inserting the link, click HTML or Code Edit and search for rel=”no follow,” and then remove just that part of the code. Then click publish or submit, as the case may be. This creates a pointer stating to the search engines that your website is a source of information on this topic.

8. Make it personal. I was trained to ask myself, “so what?” after everything I say. Try doing this as you write. If you answer the “so what” with the benefits to the reader, they will have reason to read on. If you take my advice, you will rank higher on the search engines and get more traffic and better links back to your site from your efforts.

For more information, visit www.socialmediasystems.com.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

This new feature is the result of a strategic partnership between RealtyTrac a leading source of foreclosure data; Reliance Network, a developer of Web-based applications for real estate companies and four independently owned RE/MAX Regions.

According to the company, in 2007, more than 2.2 million foreclosure filings - default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions - were reported on more than 1.2 million properties nationwide. This represents a 75% increase in total filings from 2006. The number of foreclosures continues to increase significantly in 2008 as millions of adjustable rate mortgages with teaser rates are reset.

RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data has been added to the comprehensive property search feature on the RE/MAX websites so that consumers can access pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties (including auctions and bank owned) in the same website as MLS listings, recently sold properties and neighborhood valuation tools — thus providing a true 360-degree view of the market.

RE/MAX has a strong commitment to facilitating the interaction between RE/MAX agents and the public. Offering state-of-the-art technology and integrating it with all of the data consumers want to see, enhances the real estate process.

“This is an exciting partnership,” said Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing at RealtyTrac. “This new search application will pull real-time data directly from our nationwide foreclosure database and provide consumers with a method to access distressed properties.”

“We are always looking to enhance our product service offering to our client’s customers,” added Mike Soroker, CEO, Reliance Network.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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RISMEDIA, April 24, 2008-After 23 years as an agent and after spending the last 10 years as a broker, Diana Russell realized her career was facing its end in November of 2007. The sub-prime mortgage mess, a suddenly somnambulant marketplace and a type of concern bordering on consumer hysteria among home buyers had exhausted her financially, emotionally and physically. Her once robust brokerage had no closings but expenses kept coming. After depleting her reserves and trying all sorts of traditional measures Russell suddenly saw the handwriting on the wall: it seemed that everything she had spent learning over the previous 23 years no longer worked. Reluctantly, she started calling her vendors, cutting back her overhead to near zero, and was planning to close shop with no idea of what she would do or where she would go.

“Real estate is all I know,” she said at the time.

Russell has had a website since 1998 and her Web experience brought her nothing but expense. She gradually migrated from one website provider to another and kept searching for professional assistance to make her site work for her, finally ending up with good professionals who put her on a one particular platform and did a total customization of her site.

Although it was a great tool when Russell made listing presentations, it didn’t provide a steady stream of leads or buyers; in fact, it hardly ever provided either. It wasn’t like she didn’t keep trying-she tried SEO (Search Engine Optimizatin) and IDX and all sorts of things-but as far as she was concerned, the Internet hadn’t shown her much.

In mid-2007 Russell decided to try using the CompassSearch subscription to see if that would produce anything in the way of sales and leads. On this particular November day, however, she wrote them to cancel her subscription-she just couldn’t afford it anymore.

To her surprise, however, they offered to continue to work with her in the hopes that all the work she and they had done would kick in. To Russell’s gratitude, in December of 2007, results really started kicking in-leads, escrows and sales started appearing on her computer screen. In January of 2008, she closed on four properties and was back in business. When she wrote to tell us this, we were delighted for her and asked if she would sit for an interview in the hopes that what she had to say could help others and us.

“As of today, I seem to be more of a buyer’s agent than a listing agent,” Diana said. “It can be more labor intensive and I would like to work with more listings this year.” We found that interesting as most agents we talk to who are struggling seem to have far more listings than buyers, yet Diana is succeeding with buyers. Was this because of where her leads come from?

“People from all over the world are finding my website,” Diana said. “They’re looking for property to buy in Utah on the Internet. I get far more buying inquiries than listing inquiries from my site. One of my goals for 2008 is to use the power of my site to gain more listings, primarily by letting prospective sellers know that when they list with me, people from all over the world looking for real estate in Utah will see their property. It opens up a whole new world of buyers: a universe not defined by the local Salt Lake City area, because Internet buyers come from everywhere and anywhere.”

“I can tell the actual place that Internet buyers who visit my site came from with my WebReporterTool (part of the CompassSearch subscription),” Russell continued, “and I also see exactly what they entered on a search engine to find me. I can see what they looked at, how long they looked at it, if they were referred by another site (such as an advertiser or place where I have a banner) and if they are a returning visitor. I had 4,699 page views in December, for example, Russell said, “and 40% of them went directly to ‘Our listings’ or ‘Search the Utah MLS.’ I averaged 130 page views a day and I had 1575 unique visitors. Only 1,298 of my page views were from Utah! I am now receiving leads from and selling properties to people from California and other states—Illinois, Florida, Colorado and Texas buyers have visited me in December—-something that could only happen on the Internet. I had visitors from 21 different countries in December alone.”

She continued: “I went from facing financial ruin and contemplating closing up to closing many homes in recent months,” Russell said.

“I went from having no one to sell to, to having all my leads come from my website. In my new success pattern, about 60% of the leads I receive from my website have converted to closings. I am not concerned with the number of leads I get as much as I am concerned with the quality of them, and I have to say that these leads from my own site are the best I have ever received as to their quality and interest.”

Diana also discussed her plans for 2008: First, to sell or list 50 properties; second, to appeal to international and distant national buyers.

“People are visiting my site from all over the world,” Russell says, “to them, our product is cheap and their money is stronger than it has ever been in terms of purchasing power. My positioning is great online; people looking for ski properties, ranch properties, all sorts of properties in the mountains suddenly end up finding me and Real Estate Utah. Whether they are looking for ‘The Greatest Snow on Earth,” 4×4-ing in Moab, rafting down Cataract Canyon or rock climbing and hiking, Utah has it all, and when they think ‘Utah’ and go online to look, they find me. I’m number one organically on Google, on the first pages of MSN and AOL and that means people come to my site. When they get there, they like it. It gives me a chance to earn their business.”

In one way, that goal has partially been met: just two weeks ago, Russell reported that she had seen a visitor from Australia visiting her site regularly. “Could this be a mistake or someone else’s statistics?” she asked. A few days later, she answered her own question. “I found out about that Australia traffic,” she noted. “A lady called me from Australia today and made an offer on a condo in Ogden, [Utah].”

I guess that’s what we mean by “expanding your neighborhood.”

Russell offered advice to any real estate professional facing dire circumstances: “First, I strongly recommend that agents commit to doing real estate as a full-time occupation; that they get a great website and real SEO technology up and running and have the necessary accessories to exploit Internet leads.”

She defined those as Magellan (or equivalent), a cell phone, voice mail, Bluetooth, a laptop with a wireless card and a camera with a wide angle lens to shoot photos of a property to post on the listing.

“It is essential that when you receive an inquiry from your website that you follow up on it immediately. I have all Web leads sent to my cell phone and what a difference in response time that makes. These people are often seriously ready to start buying a home and if you don’t get back to them within an hour or two, they may move down to the next agent on the search results and leave you behind.”

Russell wrapped up her comments with this: “When I subscribed to the search program, I was a skeptic; I’d been burned before and I thought I knew it all about how the Web was a waste of my time and effort. I know differently now and it is so great to not have to be spending hours doing my own SEO and trying every new trick that comes along on a blog: I just leave all that to my professionals, now. I owe my very existence to the reality that if buyers can find your website, it has a fighting chance to be that asset for you that you always hoped it would be: a place that generates real leads and sales on a regular basis. People are still buying and selling homes; it’s just that more and more, they are doing the groundwork on the Internet. If you’re not there because your site couldn’t be found when they went looking, you’re not going to have a chance at the business. It’s that simple.”

About the Author: Mike Parker is a principal at the Blackwater Consulting Group, Inc., and specializes in online marketing for business professionals. You can reach him by e-mail at mparker@theblackwatercg.com. To ask for a free copy of his booklet “SEO Secrets for Real Estate Professionals” by writing to realestate@theblackwatercg.com. It will be sent to you free and no one will call you. To request a free review of your website to determine if it can be found by Internet buyers and if it is search engine friendly, click here and it will be evaluated free.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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According to the company, the Opening Doors guest blogger series to date has featured industry experts Frank Schulte-Ladbeck and Craig Schiller and has received positive feedback from consumers. Schulte-Ladbeck is a Texas-based home inspector and active industry blogger. Schiller is the founder of the premier company for staged homes in metro Chicago, Real Estaging, and is one of the most widely read staging bloggers on the Internet. Both have had the opportunity to exchange opinions and information with interested consumers since guest blogging on Opening Doors.

Homescape says that its Opening Doors blog separates fact from the spin and provides consumer-driven information on the housing market. From serious commentary on real estate and mortgage news to useful home improvement tips, Opening Doors offers consumers a unique, timely and relevant overview of the trends and issues that arise in this ever-changing market.

For more information, visit http://www.homescape.com/.

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In a move significant to New Jersey, the Ocean County Board of Realtors® and Trend MLS, King of Prussia, PA, signed what they’re calling a first-of-its-kind agreement to freely share listing data between their systems in New Jersey. These two neighbors recognize the impact keeping the status quo has on the real estate professionals they serve. As technology moves forward and brokers’ geographic reach is expanded, keeping to the old ways in segregating listing content with boundaries becomes counterproductive.

Across the nation MLS administrators and real estate professionals have adopted the acronym OMD for the Overlapping Market Disorder, which is evident as brokerage needs expand in the new real estate marketplace. The Internet especially has overtaken the idea that all real estate is local by challenging the core definition of “local.” In a move to tear down artificial walls and think outside the box, the leaders of these two associations agree, as Chris Schlueter 2008 President of OCBR said, “to our way of thinking, there is no box.”

The Ocean County Board of Realtors says it continues to approach its neighbors and indeed every other MLS and Realtor association in the state to embrace the ideas of sharing information.

“This is a proven strategy that works in every state across the U.S., it is time that the industry here in New Jersey looks around to see that perhaps someone else has solved our problem already,” says Schlueter.

“Significant challenges to this process exist in New Jersey to catch up with the progress seen in other areas of the U.S. The neighboring systems here have not historically enjoyed the background of reciprocity that seems to be a pre-cursor in the collaborative evolution we see in most other regions.”

For more information, visit www.oceancountyrealtors.org.

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In this role, Lake is responsible for all technology-related activities within Obeo, including application development, telecommunications, networking and technical support. He also interfaces with services, sales, accounting and product managers to ensure all pertinent feedback is included in development processes.

Previously, Lake held several IT and development positions, including IT director for Medical Group Insurance Services, Inc.; vice president of software development for EverBank Financial Corp.; director of development and Web application engineering for OnePipeline; and development manager at CompHealth.

Also an adjunct instructor at the University of Phoenix, Lake teaches technology and business classes to undergraduate and MBA students.

Originally from Glendale, California, Lake grew up in Utah and graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in business management and the University of Phoenix with a masters of science in computer information systems.

Lake currently resides in the Salt Lake City area with his wife and four children ages 4 through 15. He volunteers through his church and has a history of volunteer work with Children’s Miracle Network and the CAMIE Awards, the highest recognition in the entertainment world for entertaining and uplifting motion pictures without offensive content.

For more information, visit www.Obeo.com.

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In a radical change of industry practice, RealtySoft’s IDX service can be obtained at no-cost. According to the company, users that enroll (a free program) in the RealtySoft Information & Referral Program, or agents or brokers that register for a RealtySoft Website ValuePak^TM will get the IDX service free. Otherwise, the RealtySoft IDX package is available for only $9.95 per month. These offers, and the advanced features of the program, continue RealtySoft’s drive for value leadership.

Using RealtySoft’s IDX feature, agents or brokers can display MLS® listings on their websites. The program conforms with all MLS/IDX standards and requirements and is provided with several advanced features that go beyond those available in typical IDX offerings. These include:

Advanced MLS search capabilities:
MLS/IDX listings can be searched by type of property, style, features, price, or location

Property details, and property comparisons are supported

Advance listing display and user features:
Property details (including photos), virtual tours and property documents can be displayed with the listing

Properties can be shown on a Google® map

Property information can also be enhanced with Monthly Payment estimates, area school information, and lead-capture forms

Lead-capture features:
Site visitors can create (or be required to create) an account that will allow them to save listings or create e-mail “alerts” for new properties that match their search criteria

Visitors can, from the Web, request and schedule property showings or communicate with the agent or broker
Easy integration with existing websites

Included free-of-charge with RealtySoft Website ValuePaks.

The company says that RealtySoft IDX will be introduced region-by-region over the next 12 months. It is now available for the MRIS MLS (Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and parts of Pennsylvania). Sandicor (San Diego), MRMLS (Los Angeles/Orange County) and RealTracs (middle Tennessee) MLS data will be available in the very near future. RealtySoft expects to add Florida and New Jersey MLS associations within the next several months.

IDX is the Internet Data Exchange Program developed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) to allow brokers to electronically share listing information and thereby increase all real estate property activity. Under the IDX program, brokers have a high level of control over what properties and information they choose to share.

RealtySoft’s Information & Referral Program is a free program for real estate agents and brokers to share information about RealtySoft technology, products, and developments.

For more information, visit http://www.RealtySoft.com.

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The four participating MLSs include 54,700 brokers and agents from 19 Northern California counties covering a market area of more than 29,000 square miles with a population 8.7 million.

Full reciprocal access data sharing allows users of a participating MLS to access the other participating MLSs and to use all of the features of those MLSs without having to pay additional subscriber or reciprocal fees. This cooperative agreement takes advantage of the unique character and rich data found in each participating MLS by enabling users to access all of the MLSs operating in their market area so they can better serve clients.

“It’s a natural progression,” said Jim Harrison, president and CEO of MLSListings Inc. “MLS data aggregation represents significant progress in providing Northern California subscribers with a single location to search for all MLS data in the marketplace, and to have a single source for data feeds, as well. Brokers and agents throughout the state have been asking for this for a long time. This partnership is an example of how MLS data aggregation can be accomplished through negotiation and the expertise of current MLS service providers.”

In addition to full reciprocal access data sharing, the agreement allows each participating MLS to maintain separate aggregated databases containing the data from all four MLSs. Users that prefer to see all of the data in a single location can use either one of the aggregated databases and avoid having to access each participating MLS separately. Another added benefit is that brokers who maintain proprietary software systems for use by their agents are able to download data from the four aggregated databases in a single data stream instead downloading data from each MLS individually.

“It’s clear that the door is wide open for more collaboration in our industry,” said Jim Fabris, CEO of the San Francisco Association of REALTORS®. “Our MLSs share the same philosophy and have the necessary experience. We also know what our broker and agent communities want, so we expect an expanding alliance.”

Brokers and agents will continue to obtain locally delivered services as they do now from their “home” MLS or MLS of their choice. The data aggregation and reciprocal access project is expected to be complete sometime in the third quarter of 2008.

RISMedia welcomes your questions and comments. Send your e-mail to: realestatemagazinefeedback@rismedia.com.

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According to NNRMLS Chief Executive Officer Merri Jo Cowen, DocCentral, which is expected to be available as a free member benefit by May 1, solved two goals of the NNRMLS Board of Trustees.

“We were looking for some way to digitize documents, which DocCentral does,” said Cowen. “But the other piece that our brokers had been asking for us was some kind of safe backup to document storage, which is exactly what DocCentral is. So, we were able to meet these two specific needs of our brokers, who want to be able to store not just their transaction documents but all their business documents in a safe off-site place. And our members were not ready for a full transaction management program right now,” Cowen added.

According to the company, DocCentral is a simple, intuitive and cost-effective tool that allows real estate professionals to manage and organize their documents. Documents are stored on secure servers and accessible online 24/7 by agents and the clients and vendors they authorize. By taking transaction documentation off agent laptops and out of filing cabinets, DocCentral eliminates redundancy, safeguards information, and ensures there will always be enough space for even the largest document files.

In addition, FNRES designed DocCentral to integrate with any transaction management program or MLS platform available today and likely to be introduced in the future.

“FNRES is excited to introduce this revolutionary solution to the real estate industry,” said Beverly Faull, senior vice president and General Manager of Fidelity National MLS. “We constantly monitor feedback from our clients and users so we can improve our products to serve them better. We are very proud to be the originators of such a powerful and forward-looking platform as DocCentral.”

Northern Nevada Regional MLS represents more than 3,100 members in the Northern Nevada counties of Washoe, Douglas, Lyon, Carson, Storey and Churchill. NNRMLS currently has over 9,500 active listings in all property classes from ranches to urban homes, undeveloped land to resort properties. Approximately 6,500 residential closings were reported in 2007 with at a volume of $2.3 billion.

Among the FNRES products NNRMLS provides to its members are Paragon^TM v4 MLS, Desktop 4.0, Tax Insight^TM, Paragon^TM Wi-Fi, and the rDesk suite of products.

“We are grateful to Merri Jo and the NNRMLS Board,” Faull continued. “Their early support of this product will help us get DocCentral into more communities where it will give agents, brokers and MLS’s an important new organizational tool to support their productivity in challenging times.”

The system is now available to integrate into every MLS system in America, including FNRES’ own flagship MLS system, Paragon v4 MLS.For more information, visit www.fnf.com or contact Karen Como at (949) 681-4773 or via e-mail at Karen.como@fnres.com.

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