THIS ISSUE: Help Google Help YOU / Check The WANT ADS! ARCHIVES: www.privatelist.com/newsletter.htm 1.3 billion documents indexed - and 29 million daily searches - have given Google (www.google.com) the same status as a search engine that Yahoo! enjoys as an internet directory: No. 1! Although search engines have brought us buyers from Germany, Taiwan, various American states and across Canada, PrivateList considers them just one of a wide variety of means to get the word out about your property: lawn signs, classified ads (paid and free), highlight sheets and word of mouth can be just as important, if not more so. Nevertheless, a strategy you should already by employing - scheduled use of FREE-classifieds web-sites - meshes very nicely with a basic ranking technique employed by Google (and some other search engines), and is therefore worth emphasizing. Here’s how it works . . . Essentially, a web page’s ranking through Google results from a combination of 1) its content and 2) its popularity - the latter being calculated from the number of links to it from other pages. Google even goes so far as to consider the content of the pages that link to yours, including the text that they use in the actual link: if their subject matter seems highly related to yours, the link is considered of greater quality and contributes more heavily to the ranking. So here’s a firm recommendation: bookmark our Inexpensive Classifieds page and start using the recommended web-sites on a regular basis (these sites are also reviewed in our Nov 1/00 newsletter). When you write your ads, be sure to include the key words or phrases you'd like the search engines to find, eg. "Nova Scotia", "for sale by owner", "waterfront", "acreage", etc. And - most important - link back to the first page of your full PrivateList display! Not only will buyers have a chance to find you through each online classified ad you post; you'll also increase your full-colour display’s search-engine visibility! Did you know that PrivateList maintains a page where private buyers can post free notices describing the type of property they’re looking for? These free “WANTED:” ads, arranged by province and date of posting, remain on the page for six months, and indicate preferred location, style, number of bedrooms, price-range, etc. Phone numbers are NOT displayed: sellers with matching properties can contact PrivateList for the buyers’ contact information (ideally, this allows us to weed-out realtors!). If you’re selling privately, why not bookmark www.privatelist.com/wanted.htm and check it regularly! FRIENDLY REMINDERS . . . Are the thousands of dollars you'll save by selling privately worth, say, an hour each week-end, spent reviewing your progress to date and mapping out your continuing campaign? It's important to maintain an active marketing focus until your property is sold. Therefore, each e-mail version of this newsletter links to a series of reminders, tips and tools that lead to a sale! To access these resources, press here.
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