Can a Blog Post Rank with Less than 300 words?

Can a Blog Post Rank with Less than 300 words? is a post from: Eric On Search

One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind is “Which sites will be affected?” and “How much will it affect our industry?”.  My typical response to clients is that they need to build authority naturally and responsibly and that they should have nothing to worry about. The problem lies in the fact that the first iterations of Penguin, while largely successful in rooting out spam, also had some HUGE negative impacts on the real estate industry.

1) Some sites that were well maintained and good got hit with Penguin.

2) Large syndicator sites who have large budgets and purchase large ad buys from media sites gained a huge advantage over the little guy, whilst their data (homes for sale listed on their sites) is CLEARLY an INFERIOR user experience.

and 3) A number of sites were able to get through Penguin unscathed while having a large number of spammy links in their profile DESPITE  a reasonably good effort on the part of Google.

So what will Penguin 2.0 bring to the real estate industry? No one knows, but here is what we are going to do to find out.

I have selected 10 Real Estate websites to monitor PUBLICLY. They are NOT selected because they have spammy link profiles. They are selected because they have varying amounts of different kinds of links in their profile, any or all of which could lead them to be caught up in the revision. What I am going to do is to simply list the sites in an addition to this post, giving a quick summary of their backlinks and let’s watch together to see what happens.

I think that REALTORS as a whole WANT to do things RIGHT. They do not want to intentionally violate the rules (for the most part), but they want to understand what the rules are, so this is a good chance to discuss it.

OK. I will start posting updates on this post with the sites that we can monitor together. Grab some popcorn and let’s watch, k?

is a post from: Eric On Search

Life Raft (deployed)

Take a GOOD LONG look at this photo.

This life raft could be the only thing that saves your traffic in the event that you have crossed paths with a rogue wave from Google (such as Penguin). Your main site sinks. It was the flagship of your fleet and you got up every morning and look at it with loving eyes.

You built your business around it. Now your business could go down with it.

And aside from the obvious lessons about NOT doing some aggressive linkbuilding which you KNOW you should not have done long before you call me with the S.O.S, you have some practical concerns now. Your traffic is GONE. And you cannot (or you should not) simply redirect to another domain. (bad idea)

In the past, the choppy waters of internet marketing, Search Engine marketing and particularly SEO could be a little dangerous…but never more so than now. We always knew that over time as Google would evaluate SEO techniques, they would tighten the rules…and that folks would abuse rules. 30 and 60 day penalties became something that people were prepared to risk. Seriously.

2012 was the year that (according to my work on sites for people who put out the distress call to me when their sites went down) that Google started algorithmically SINKING ships. All the way to the bottom of Davy Jones’ locker.

So how to survive? You MUST have a domain that is free from potential penalties and yet has enough age and a few links to where it has some authority. Period. You can either buy it or build it, but the time is NOW (read: before you start taking on water). I cannot tell you when or where that rogue wave will strike, or even if it will.

What I CAN tell you with certainty is that having people pull down links, using the disavow tool and other means of scrambling to bail water out of the boat have not worked. Want a more certain rescue. Inflate your life raft domain and prepare to re-build it into your next search battleship.

Have a question about what is required? Call me. I will be happy to offer you assistance.

Why “Life Raft” domains are now a MUST. is a post from: Eric On Search

So how to connect with other innovators.

Step 1: Find them.

Hang out where they hang out. Learn to separate the ones that are doing all of the “talking” online from the ones that PRODUCE. This can be difficult to tell sometimes because some blowhards talk a good game, but really work at discerning it.

Step 2: Do something nice for them

Like what? Well, sending them a compliment can be something nice. A REAL compliment not buttering them up for a favor. Another thing to do is to find something that they need and provide it to them. If they are a small business, oftentimes that is as simple as giving them some positive publicity. That kind of nice this is TABLE STAKES. Not for you being able to ask them for something, but simply to start a relationship.

Step 3: Do something else nice for them

Most people these days are fairly cynical. They will tend to ASSUME that the first effort you make is just to butter them up, even when it is not. So with the second attempt, you will get a much higher response rate. Guys, if you are trying to get a girl to notice you and she does not smile and start a conversation right off the bat, do you stop there? Seriously, do you?

Step 4: Start a conversation

You can then proceed to the second part of the relationship building. Start a conversation. Often times this is as simple as letting them know that you gave them some positive publicity and then asking them how you can better assist them. This along will usually get the ball rolling and get you in the game.

Ok so now you are building relationships with other online small businesses where they can help you and you can help them. It is a good starting point.

Thoughts?

The Pay it Forward Mentality is a post from: Eric On Search

“And since he is not innovating, but focusing on copying you, he is destined to follow in your vapor trail forever.” (or something to that effect).

I stand by that statement. If you want to get ahead of everyone else and create online marketing success, you MUST be willing to innovate and test…and not simply copy others.

Let’s first think about this in logical terms. If you do EXACTLY what someone else does, you AT BEST will get what they have. And that is what sells everyone on this stupidity. “I want what he has.”  ( Ummm…no you don’t…you want to beat him, right?) While I will stipulate that imitating someone else CAN get you in the online marketing game, it will NEVER let you win long term.

People say you can imitate someone 100%. I do NOT believe that is possible. Even if you spent ALL of your time imitating someone, the BEST you could do would be a 95% original knock off. And guess what your reward is for all that imitating??

You guessed it. A really good look at the person in front of you’s rear end.

Sooner or later you MUST take the time to understand the principles and to INNOVATE and BUILD in order for you to get the #1 position. You cannot pass by following. You cannot lead by imitating your competition.

So what to do?

I WANT to succeed you say, but what can I do? Well online marketing is all about relationships. You cannot build relationships if you are in perpetual TAKE MODE. A good place to start is in paying it forward to other innovators and EARNING their respect.

We will be going  into some of the specific steps here in the coming days on HOW to find and befriend other fellow innovators, but it starts with LEARNING to give and ACCEPTING that PAYING it FORWARD is a good thing. True relationships are built when you give and then give the other person the opportunity to give back.

It IS a two way street. All good relationships are.

Ummm…Eric…Can’t I Imitate and THEN be a nice guy and build relationships and conquer my competitor?

I have been at the online marketing game for a long time. No. It does not work. If you are asking this question you are already in the WRONG mindset and it will cost you. Seriously. You do not need to imitate. Learn correct principles and BUILD. It will leave your mind and your focus more able to take in new ideas and come up with better online marketing strategies for yourself. Seriously. Stop looking at the BUTT end of the dog in front of you and look at the scenery and figure out how to pull the sled more efficiently or effectively.

Thoughts?

Why Copying others does not work in Online Marketing. Period. is a post from: Eric On Search

You might have felt pretty powerless to help, but the truth is that you are likely in a far better role to help than you might think. If you know who these agents are, you need to know that they likely do NOT understand that they are hurting the industry. They do not need to be argued with, or anything like that.

They simply need to be made aware of what this is doing to them so that THEY have the EDUCATED choice about whether to continue or not.

So how can we at EricOnSearch help?

Well for starters. If Zillow can provide FREE widgets and websites, then we at EricOnSearch can certainly do our part to help provide concerned REALTORS a FREE list of folks in your area who are (as best we can determine) currently using their products so that you (as their REALTOR friends) can contact them and help educate them. You, the concerned REALTORS can spread the information far better than we can.

Again, this is NOT meant for you to harrass or be argumentative in ANY WAY. This is an educational outreach where you can teach and inform REALTORS of their options. The people we will be sending to you are folks in YOUR MLS. They are people who you know and who know you. They trust you, and it is up to you to spread the word to them that what they are doing will only cost REALTORS in the end. These days there are MANY options just as good widget wise as many of the Zillow Trulia offerings and lots of IDX options that do not involve helping syndicators disintermediate REALTORS.

You are informed. That comes with the responsibility of helping others.

So how do you do it? Go to the contact form on EricOnSearch. Let us know what city you are in and what your website is, along with your contact information. (We will VERIFY this BEFORE sending you the information).

No salespeople calling you selling you syndicator leads and other junk. (We might actually become friends, though..)

It WILL take us a day or two to get back with you. We are a tiny company, but we want to help the industry that has been good to us.

FINAL NOTE: If you find this helpful, please share it around to other REALTORS that feel similarly. We simply want to help. We will be sending additional educational resources to help provide OBJECTIVE INFORMATION on Syndicator (Zillow, Trulia and R.com ) practices be they good or bad. We want to be objective and help the entire industry.

Want to know who is linking to Zillow or Trulia in your location? is a post from: Eric On Search

If you believe (as I do) that syndicators are your competitors, then you need to be aware that you are feeding the hand that will bite you. I predicted this several years ago and was told…it’s too late, there is nothing we can do about it.

But competitors and enemies are two different things. I do not plan on giving Zillow any help to outrank a REALTOR on Google anytime in my lifetime. I plan on educating as many REALTORS as I can against it. Places like the Real Estate Webmasters  Forum have taught members for years the truth about what is going on and that it should be avoided.

Eric Bramlett and I blogged several years ago about some of Trulia’s practices with Number 1 Expert that were in my opinion WAY out of bounds. We took heat for it. But we called them on it.

But I think the best way to beat syndicators is to treat them as what they are. Competitors. Nothing more. Nothing less. I know Jay Thompson. I like Jay Thompson. Jay is a friend of mine. And I also know who he works for. And I know that his job is to put their interests first. I am grown up enough to separate those things. REALTORS, you should be as well. Same for Todd. This is not personal. It is business.

I thought that this version of business maturity was taught best in a recent post by Gary Lundholm. Brokers, you need to start paying attention to what he writes and how he runs his business. Just Sayin. He refers to them ( Zillow, Trulia, R.com) as competitors and he adds the note that they are no different than the other broker down the street. You work with them when it is to your advantage. And you work against them when it is to your advantage.

They are not good. They are not evil. But they are competitors. And for too long, agents have fallen for the bright and shiny object syndrome and have sold their collective presence on Google for a freebie. The bills for those freebies are hitting the table. You have a choice to make, REALTORS. Are you going to stare at the shiny object and pay the bill are are you going to say “No thanks.”. You STILL have a choice.

One last note. Do you think that it is possible to outrank Zillow for city real estate related terms. The answer is that in at LEAST a few cities YES, it is. Take a look around the country and you will see them. It IS much harder than before and it is expensive in terms of time and money. And in some cases it will be REALLY difficult. Want to know the difference between the ones that are and the ones that are not? Give us a call. We will be happy to show you. 812 786-3412. Seriously.

No hype. No sales pitch. But I will happily take 15 minutes of my day to explain to you the difference and ways that you can make the most SEO wise in the area that you are doing business in.

I wish you a prosperous 2013.

What REALTORS should know about Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com is a post from: Eric On Search

We have never been about cutting corners, working in gray areas, or doing things that would put your biggest asset, your domain…at risk.

The internet has evolved, creating more and more ways for us to reach customers.

Social media has changed the game.  Blogs are important, but many people are accessing Facebook, Twitter and other means to inform themselves and drive their decision making.  Infographics are an increasingly effective way of reaching this viral traffic and authority. A successful online marketing firm must have those tools in their arsenal. And we do.

Effective today, we will be offering to our clients an expanded list of services:

• Our content marketers will  be promoting SOLID content that will build viral traffic as well as to promote the personal authority of the author
• Included in the use of this are infographics, social media, blogging and other means of promotion.
• We will provide clients with unparalleled opportunities to access local press and local businesses to work together with them to cross promote online.
• And there is more to come!

All of our online marketing offerings are based on the time that it takes us to accomplish them. No matter what level of monthly spend youhave with our organization, these new tools will be available to you.

More details coming shortly!

Content Marketing / Infographics: Now Part of what we do. is a post from: Eric On Search

We are proud to announce that Michael McKean will be joining our team full time, effective immediately. This will be a BIG boost to our content marketing and website capabilities and we are excited to start 2013 off with growth and progress.  We will be making further announcements about our 2013 and how we are going to expand our capabilities to help our clients reach their online audiences in a wide variety of ways as well as just search engine optimization.

Michael has been a valuable part of what we do on a part time basis, and it is now time to kick it up a notch! We could not be more pleased with this.

Additionally, we will be adding two more content writers this next week. Our content writers serve a valuable role in the success of our clients and we look forward to announcing them formally in the next week!

best

-Eric

Announcements: New People joining EricOnSearch! is a post from: Eric On Search

SEO these days is much more multi-faceted and is actually part of a well done online marketing program. It includes:

Time Management: Getting the right people to spend the right amount of time on the right things.

Online Asset Management: Making sure that your assets are visible to search engines and helping each other in a concerted way.

Online Media Management: Getting the right folks talking about you in media, social media and etc and making sure that you are getting them to take actions which will build your online authority.

Relationship Management: MAking sure that you maintain friendships with the right people who can and will support your online authority.

Content Management: Making sure that the content on your site is not only the right stuff, but that it is under control and that user generated content and traffic are monitored and managed for growth.

Definitely getting more complicated. But also making it much more fun…

The New World of SEO is a post from: Eric On Search