Picking a Domian for an Agent Site

MainRhode publishes "agent-branded" Real Estate Search Engines and one of the first steps in that process is choosing a domain name.

For some reason, agents approach this decision with a level of stress that is more suited to watching your retirement evaporate in the markets than it is to deciding what URL you want your Web site to call home. This post is addressed to agents who are struggling with that decision:

Dear Agent:

Relax. It is just not THAT big of a deal. Honestly, the most important thing is that you like whatever name you choose because you will be living with it for a long time on your business cards and sign riders. In fact, you really only have one choice to make, and everything else will flow from that.

And here is that choice: Are you going to incorporate keywords or not?

The argument for using a domain name that has keywords in it is that it can help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search Engines like Google give a site like "RealEstateNewport.com" more love for searches like "Real Estate Newport RI".

How much more love? Like everything else when it comes to the specifics of how search engines work, no one outside of the search engine really knows and anyone who tells you they do know is lying and probably trying to get you to pay them to improve your search ranking.

We know it helps a little, but ONLY if a potential homebuyer uses the keywords you have in your name AND the content on your site backs up the name you choose.

At this stage in the game most of the obvious, general keyword domain names, like "YourTownRealEstate.com", are probably spoken for. You might as well check -- names do expire and a lot of agents have dropped out of the game with more to follow, so some of them will open up. But don't try to get too creative with it. Names like "NewportRI4Sale.com" are useless as a keyword domain, because nobody types "4 sale" into a search engine.

If you can't get a good, general domain name, don't worry -- you are better off getting specific, anyway. You can do this by adding the qualifiers people use when their general search brings back 10,000,000 pages for "Your Town Real Estate". Names like "NewportRICondos.com" or "VacantLandForSaleNewportRI.com" can help when people use those terms in their searches.

But here's the catch with keyword-specific domain names: Unless you plan to specialize in one type of property, you are going to need more than one agent site. If your domain name has "vacant land" in it, then all of the listings your Homepage features should be vacant land. Mixing in condos and single family homes will dilute the effectiveness of the name.

If you are pursuing a niche strategy off-line, then go for it. Or you can run multiple sites. We charge half price for each additional domain you set up, and concentrating similar listings under a domain name that describes them is a solid strategy.

If you can't find a good general keyword domain name, AND you don't want to limit yourself to one specific niche or support multiple Web sites to pursue several niches, then you can basically use whatever you want.

The truth is that even a good niche domain name like "NewportRICondos.com" needs to have content on the page to back up that domain name. Having the name alone makes no difference. In fact, if you went with "YourName.com" and you loaded up your page with Newport RI Condo listings and information, you would beat "NewportRICondos.com" which is owned but parked at GoDaddy.com doing nothing.

The content of your site, what it links to, and who links to it are FAR more important than the site's name. If you aren't going to go with a keyword-based domain, then my advice is to go with some variation of your name.

As an individual agent, you simply do not have the resources to compete with regional brokers and national Real Estate Web sites when it comes to driving traffic to your site from general searches in the major search engines. And with our program, you don't have to: When users find your listing on your broker's site, we switch them to your site, so let your broker worry about chasing those popular terms.

Your task is to promote your listings and yourself (in that order!). You want to drive people you meet or know to your Web site from the ground up. For example: When you are talking to people at an open house, mention your site and give people a card with the site address on it.

If you base your Web site's name on your own name, it will be that much easier to remember and your site will gain in search positions and popularity if you provide the relevant, keyword-rich content that both search engines and people want.

Its not the technology, its how you use it.

Inman has an interesting article about a report out from a consulting group:

"A new report by real estate consulting firm WAV Group suggests that real estate brokers, agents and multiple listing services are embracing technologies that can help them provide consumers with the kind of market information that makes third-party sites like Zillow a hit."

I put my 2 cents in replying to Justin who points out:

"I think real estate professionals must not only embrace technologies that can help them provide consumers with cutting-edge unique market information, but they must also be able to provide value added personalized insight."

Amen, brother! As I pointed out in my comment, people want to believe that technology is a silver bullet that will bring them leads, wealth and happiness all by itself.

In Real Estate, this belief (nurtured by vendors) manifests itself in the hundreds of "me too" Web sites that all pull their data from the same sources. Only the User Interface changes, so the race is on to see who can add the "coolest" way to access that same pile of available data. Like those neat map-search widgets that require users to view a tutorial to figure out how to use them (Note to Century 21 Corp: "bounce rate" Look it up).

There is a 30 year Gap between the average Real Estate agent and the average Gen X and Gen Y homebuyer, who also happen to be the entrepreneurs behind the 3rd party sites that are forcing the Industry to play catch up. Gen X and Gen Y have an affinity for self-service (they are the original latch-key kids) and technology: They have a huge advantage when it comes to creating self-service tools for Real Estate. Namely, they get it -- they understand WHY their audience would rather use Zillow and read Trulia Voices rather than pick up the phone to get a CMA from a real, live REALTOR (R).

But Traditional Real Estate has its own advantage, or at least the truly professional agents do, and that is that service never goes out of style.

I'm a Gen X'er myself, but I hate the self service scanners at the supermarket and will wait in a line 6 deep for a human checkout person. Maybe if its 10-deep I'll grudgingly use the damn thing, but it does nothing for my opinion of the brand that has clearly chosen to save a few bucks at the expense of jobs and my own shopping experience.

Make technology your ally by using it to DEMONSTRATE what a Real Estate Agent brings to the experience instead of just talking about it. I understand that most agents would rather talk to people on the phone, or trap them in their Lexus and point out all the great things about their town. I also understand that, to many of my generation, that experience is the same as Doobie's Taxi from "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles".

Here's the thing: It doesn't matter how you want to interact with your customers, because they are always right, right? And they want to start interacting with you on the Web. Figure out how to do that, and it won't matter how many databases of sex offenders and fast food places the technologists mash up on your Web site, you will be providing actual service.

The only catch is, it takes time and effort, and the technology won't do it for you.

John Maeda, Master of Simplicity, coming to RI

John Maeda from the MIT Media Lab is the next president of RISDI.

Ever since I got my first copy in high school, Strunk & White's little grammar book The Elements of Style is the only grammar book I have ever used regularly. I even pass it out at Web Content Development training sessions. Not bad for a book that was originally conceived in the 30's.

Maeda's book, The Laws of Simplicity, is like a Strunk & White for visual design. Its like a manual for building truly useful user experiences, as opposed to the gimmick-laden sites the traditional real estate business seems to think people want.