Being the Local Expert

The top websites in the world are (you can find these on www.alexa.com):

#1 – www.google.com
#2 – www.yahoo.com
#3 – www.facebook.com

Why is that? The answer is simple – these websites are experts in their respective fields.

You go to Google because it’s the expert at searching the internet. Yahoo.com is the biggest information portal in the world because it’s the expert at syndicating news, finance, photos, and other information. Facebook is the most popular social media website in the world, and comes in third.

These websites do what so many do not – they provide expert value to visitors.

The first of the month is a big day in the real estate website world – it’s the day that almost everyone with a blog plagiarizes the latest real estate figures from the major news sources. There’s a good chance you’ve already posted this month’s official release from NAR or your local MLS on your real estate website blog, right?

The fact is that posting market statistics is easy and will contribute to the value of your website; but there’s a huge opportunity that 9/10 Realtors® are missing – being THE local expert. Why not invest a tiny bit more time and add something to your post that your customers and prospective customers can’t live without. Here’s what I mean:

Let’s take Calgary. Here’s a quote from April’s news release from the Calgary Real Estate Board:

“MLS® sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 1,290 in the month of April 2009, showing an increase of 19 per cent from 1,086 sales in March 2009, according to  figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®). This was a decrease of 5 per cent from April 2008, when single family home sales were 1,363.  The number of condominium sales for the month of April 2009 was 579, an increase of 30 per cent from the 446 condominium transactions recorded in March 2009, and a decrease of 0.3 per cent from April 2008, when 581 condominiums changed hands. “

Great – now you’ve got what hundreds of other Realtors® will have on their blogs – hopefully your customers are only checking your website, right? Not good enough. It’s time to become the local expert:

Downtown West Side Calgary Real Estate Statistics: April, 2009

“With specific reference to the Downtown West Side, the picture is even more optimistic. Check out this graph of pricing for the last two months:“

Downtown Calgary Westside

“The last month is showing a recovery from the flat-lining we saw towards the end of 2008 and early 2009. More encouraging still is the healthy distribution of listing aging:“

Downtown Calgary Westside

“Remember – you can access statistics like this for every neighborhood and area in Calgary through my website.“

This will accomplish several things:

• Provide more insight than the real estate board and everyone else plagiarizing the same article
• Showcase some of the features of your website (if your website doesn’t provide trending like this, then contact us)
• Achieve better ranking in search engines for certain sub-markets in your city
• Answer your customer’s #1 question, WIIFM (you’re giving them something that’s not available anywhere else)

Becoming the local expert is the BEST way to offer something unique and special to people visiting your real estate website. It’ll mean more returning visitors to your site, better search engine ranking, increased credibility, and more MONEY in your pocket.