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20 websites to help you through a recession
In tougher market conditions, it is the category leaders that win. As UK estate agents tighten their belts you won’t see
Rightmove.co.uk go out of business. It’s the number five and six players in the UK portal market that will suffer as agents reign in “non-essential” spending.
According to
For Sale Sign Analysis, the best agent where I live, in Crystal Palace in London, is
Streets Ahead. It’s no surprise to me that this is the agent who regularly gives out flyers at the train station, has balloons outside his branch every Saturday and has just opened a café on our High Street.
What have Rightmove.co.uk and Streets Ahead got in common? They both know about marketing. Streets Ahead may not be running multi-million pound television campaigns but I’d put money on them surviving the hard times ahead.
As Dragons Den entrepreneur Theo Paphitis said in a recent interview with CIM’s
The Marketer magazine: “It’s all about marketing. It is the most important part of any business.”
There are some great marketing ideas, case studies and insights available on the internet for those willing to learn. The trouble is finding relevant sites you can trust. Here is a list of 20 sites that have had an influence on me over the last twelve months.
Overseas Property Market
In the overseas property industry, good marketing is not just about promotion, it’s about understanding your market and sourcing property buyers want. Our list therefore includes resources for researching and sourcing overseas property deals:
- OPP. The industry read for the overseas property industry. I know an agent who routinely gives his sourcing team a hard time after reading it each month: a sign it has real place in people’s working lives. The website breaks daily news but most stories are only available to print subscribers. Subscriptions start at £55 a year.
- Global Property Guide. If you need comparative data, this is arguably the best source of comparables on the internet. Run by a team based in the Philippines, it’s currently free but the owners plan a subscription service.
- Property Secrets. If you want to understand UK and Irish investors investing in emerging markets, look no further than the Property Secrets Forum. It’s £7.99 a month for full access which includes lots of statistics and market reports. There’s a 14 day free trial
- Property Investor News. Monthly publication aimed at UK property investors. Has significant coverage of overseas property and is a good source of ideas. The website has free “news” but is not as up-to-date as in could be.
UK Property Market
- Bob North in Estate Agency News. There are a number of titles that cover the UK estate agency sector but Estate Agency News has the most useful website. If you are marketing UK property to domestic buyers, Bob North’s column and monthly statistics on property portals is worth reading.
- E-consultancy Property Blog. Provides information and training on best practice in online marketing. Has a property section on its blog which mainly covers UK issues but has some international posts.
- Essential Information Group. Not strictly a marketing website but it does have the biggest database of property auctions in the UK. If you are looking to source UK property below market value, this is a great site. Operates a monthly subscription model.
US Real Estate Market
The US leads the way in online marketing. There are lots of real estate marketing resources in America but three of my favourites are:
- The Future of Real Estate Marketing. Looks at the impact of the web on real estate internet marketing. Good for practical tips as well as trends.
- Inman News. Independent US real estate news service with a strong bias towards technology. Has a good directory of realtors and blogs and offers subscription services for access to trends, data and archive services.
- Active Rain. Social network for US real estate industry. Helps agents form relationships with each other and provides a platform to exchange ideas.
Search Engine Marketing
These are not specific real estate sites but for the information can very easily be applied to the property sector:
- SEO Book. Aaron Wall is probably the most influential man in search at the moment. His daily blog and 400+ page e-book provide useful strategic insights into how to get to the top of the search engines. If you are new to search, it’s worth buying the book.
- Search Engine Land. Website by Danny Sullivan, the Godfather of Search. Can be a little difficult for beginners but nonetheless a useful source for emerging trends and opinion.
- Seth Godin's Blog. This is a very readable blog that focuses as much on business strategy as search. His insights into the music industry have parallels for property portals and web publishers.
- SEOMoz. An internet consultancy based in Seattle. They have a great suite of analysis tools for $49 a month
- Sphinn. A social news site focused on internet marketing and search. A great place to keep up with the latest trends.
- Google Adwords Traffic Estimator. The best source of reliable comparative keyword data. Want to know whether “property in Cape Verde” is bigger than “Cape verde properties”? Find out here.
- Dosh Dosh. Internet marketing site with a focus on social media. His list of 47 social media sites is really useful.
- SEO Fast Start. Run by consultant Dan Thies. He has a number of introductory videos for search beginners. If you learn visually and want to find out more about search, this is a good place to start.
Technical sites
If you have the right technical skills, it is possible to fool the search engines and get away it. It’s risky, but it can be done. If you have technical people in-house, they should be familiar with these sites but be very careful before you implement any of these “black hat” techniques:
- BlueHatSEO. Some great tips and tools but if you’re not technical, it will send you to sleep.
- SlightyShadySEO. More accessible and readable than BlueHat but can be hard going.