Realtors Connect with Prospective Clients Using New Blog Program

RISMEDIA, August 29, 2007-REALTOR.com, one of the most comprehensive real estate listings Web sites, has announced the introduction of Featured Blog and “Let’s Talk Real Estate!,” a new blogging program on Realtor.com developed to help Realtors make quality connections with consumers, demonstrate their local expertise and expand their client base.

“Featured Blog and Let’s Talk Real Estate! gives Realtors another way to have direct dialogue with consumers that have questions about market trends, a neighborhood, or even local community events,” said Realtor.com President, Errol Samuelson. “Through these no cost real estate blogs, Realtors can share their knowledge, build relationships, and expand their overall referral network while talking about their favorite subject – real estate.”

Realtors will find it easy to jump into the blogosphere on Realtor.com. Register for a Featured Blog and post an initial article, comment or message that can be visible as a stand-alone Web site page or within a personal Web site. Elevating the dialogue to a national forum, the Realtor.com editorial staff will select the freshest and most interesting Featured Blog posts and spotlight them in the “Let’s Talk Real Estate!” section on the site’s home page visited by approximately 6 million consumers each month, according to the site.

“Another great benefit of Featured Blog is that we’ve engineered search engine optimization (SEO) features into the platform to increase the odds that a post will get picked up by major search engines and receive a higher placement,” says Samuelson. “This means Realtors that keep their posts fresh, relevant and interesting have a better chance of attracting interest and driving traffic to their sites without the marketing costs associated with key word purchases or pay-per-click.”

Samuelson goes on to explain that while fresh and relevant real estate blogs can drive traffic, this type of information also keeps consumers on the site longer and increases the potential for contact and dialogue through posts and comments. He suggests Realtors create a more “sticky” site experience by posting information on neighborhood descriptions, local or current events, success stories, advice for buyers and sellers, and advice for other agents. He also recommends including links to local organizations and businesses, and to relevant and interesting charts, tables and maps.

Designed for non-technical users who don’t know HTML, Featured Blog was developed to be easily created, managed and “owned” by each agent or broker. They can be used as a stand-alone Web site page or within a personal Web site, and branded with the “owners” contact information, photos, links, logos, and banner image. Each real estate blog “owner” determines discussion topics and provides the main posts, and then reviews, approves and posts visitor comments back onto their blog for others to read. Only visitor comments approved and posted back to a blog by the “owner” will be visible for others to read.

To assist Realtors that are new to blogging, Realtor.com provides links to videos offering step-by-step instructions on subjects ranging from how to write a post and manage a blog to how to include links and upload photos.

“We know many Realtors want to reach out and blog but may be struggling to find the right venue,” said Samuelson. “Through Featured Blog and our national ‘Let’s Talk Real Estate!’ blog, Realtors can now jump into the blogosphere with confidence they’re accessing a quality forum with the potential to be heard by millions.”

Participation in Featured Blog and “Let’s Talk Real Estate!” is a no charge feature available only to Realtors using their NRDS I.D.

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

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