Published By Julie Lane, VP of Legal and Compliance
Provided By KW Blog
Google may have emerged victorious in Viacom’s landmark $1 billion copyright case over infringing YouTube videos, but don’t misinterpret the ruling. YouTube was under a Safe Harbor provision of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
FACT: Cutting and pasting articles for use in your real estate marketing efforts don’t fall under that Safe Harbor—and it could get you sued. Recently, there had been an onslaught of lawsuits filed against individual bloggers and companies with websites that copy material from newspapers.
To protect yourself and your company from liability, never display, reproduce or distribute copyright protected works. This rule applies as equally to blogs, website articles, and social media postings, as it does to good, old-fashioned written and printed material.
In a nutshell, state and federal copyright laws protect original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression. So, the copyright owner has the exclusive rights to reproduce the work, create derivative works, distribute copies to the public, and display the work publicly. The creator of the work owns the copyright whether or not the copyright is registered or whether a copyright notice is included in the work.
The proliferation of electronic media has made the transfer of information from one person to another easier and more efficient than ever. This does not mean that because we have the physical ability to copy and paste news articles, that we can do so legally.
Do not think that by giving the particular newspaper credit for copied materials that you are protected from being sued in a copyright infringement case. Any copying of work, whether it be from a news source or otherwise, is prohibited without express written permission from the creator of the work. Keep these rules in mind as you continue to build your business online!
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label blogs. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
SEO-Making the Most of Page Titles and Meta Descriptions
Published By KW Blog
Written By by Cary Sylvester, Executive Director of Technology
Now that you understand how to pick keywords that will help your target audience find your Website (from my earlier post), it’s time to move on to the next phase of your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts: creating page titles and meta descriptions.
Peppering keywords in your content is important, but it’s not good enough to get the attention of search engines that drive targeted traffic to your site. Once you understand the importance of page titles and meta descriptions—and once you learn to use them strategically—you’ll be well on your way to increasing your prospects.
What Is a Page Title?
A page title appears in the browser at the top of each web page. It’s important to choose your page title wisely because Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines put an emphasis on the keywords in your page titles when they crawl your site. Your page title will also appear as the link for that page in search engine results. That makes page titles a critical aspect of your SEO efforts.
Page Title Dos and Don’ts
Do use natural language in your page titles.
Do make your page titles interesting and engaging.
Do include a strategic keyword in your page titles.
Do use your keyword as the first word of your page title, if possible.
Do make your page titles different for every page.
Do include your brand name at the end of the page title.
Do not underestimate the importance of page titles.
Do not stuff your page title with keywords.
Do not write page titles longer than 67 characters.
Good, Bad and Ugly Page Titles
Need some examples of page titles? Keep the dos and don’ts above in mind as you review the page title suggestions below. You can adapt these for your own market.
(Good) South Beach Real Estate
(Bad) Your Best Realtor
(Good) Condos for Sale in South Beach, Miami Beach, Fischer Island
(Bad) John Doe (Don’t use your name unless everybody knows you.)
(Good) Real Estate/ Foreclosures/ Fort Lauderdale
(Bad) Experienced Real Estate Agent
What is a Meta Description?
Also vital to your SEO efforts, the meta description puts the power in your hands to tell Google how you want them to describe your web page. In other words, it’s the description search engines pick up and run under the page title in the search results. Not all search engines use the meta description, but Google does.
Meta Description Dos and Don’ts
Do include your keywords in your meta description.
Do write a compelling description that entices visitors to click.
Do maintain credibility and honest.
Do place your most important keywords near the beginning of the description.
Don’t use the same meta description on more than one page.
Don’t use more than 160 characters.
Don’t replicate copy from your page title or your Google Adwords ads.
Don’t use your keywords excessively.
Good, Bad and Ugly Meta Descriptions
Still not sure how to translate all these dos and don’ts to your meta tag descriptions? Here are some models you can adapt based on your market—and some you should never use.
(Good) “Looking for condos for sale in South Beach? Professional real estate agent Max Jones specializes in high rise and luxury condo sales in Fischer Island, Star Island and Miami Beach.”
(Bad) Call Max Jones of Keller Williams Realty. Max Jones is a real estate agent licensed in Florida and Georgia. He has been in the industry for five years.
The key difference between the good and the bad (we’ll skip the ugly) is that the good offers locally relevant information and descriptive keywords like condos, high-rise and luxury. It still mentions the words “real estate agent” and offers the agent’s name, but the focus is on what’s most important: location, location, location.
Written By by Cary Sylvester, Executive Director of Technology
Now that you understand how to pick keywords that will help your target audience find your Website (from my earlier post), it’s time to move on to the next phase of your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts: creating page titles and meta descriptions.
Peppering keywords in your content is important, but it’s not good enough to get the attention of search engines that drive targeted traffic to your site. Once you understand the importance of page titles and meta descriptions—and once you learn to use them strategically—you’ll be well on your way to increasing your prospects.
What Is a Page Title?
A page title appears in the browser at the top of each web page. It’s important to choose your page title wisely because Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines put an emphasis on the keywords in your page titles when they crawl your site. Your page title will also appear as the link for that page in search engine results. That makes page titles a critical aspect of your SEO efforts.
Page Title Dos and Don’ts
Do use natural language in your page titles.
Do make your page titles interesting and engaging.
Do include a strategic keyword in your page titles.
Do use your keyword as the first word of your page title, if possible.
Do make your page titles different for every page.
Do include your brand name at the end of the page title.
Do not underestimate the importance of page titles.
Do not stuff your page title with keywords.
Do not write page titles longer than 67 characters.
Good, Bad and Ugly Page Titles
Need some examples of page titles? Keep the dos and don’ts above in mind as you review the page title suggestions below. You can adapt these for your own market.
(Good) South Beach Real Estate
(Bad) Your Best Realtor
(Good) Condos for Sale in South Beach, Miami Beach, Fischer Island
(Bad) John Doe (Don’t use your name unless everybody knows you.)
(Good) Real Estate/ Foreclosures/ Fort Lauderdale
(Bad) Experienced Real Estate Agent
What is a Meta Description?
Also vital to your SEO efforts, the meta description puts the power in your hands to tell Google how you want them to describe your web page. In other words, it’s the description search engines pick up and run under the page title in the search results. Not all search engines use the meta description, but Google does.
Meta Description Dos and Don’ts
Do include your keywords in your meta description.
Do write a compelling description that entices visitors to click.
Do maintain credibility and honest.
Do place your most important keywords near the beginning of the description.
Don’t use the same meta description on more than one page.
Don’t use more than 160 characters.
Don’t replicate copy from your page title or your Google Adwords ads.
Don’t use your keywords excessively.
Good, Bad and Ugly Meta Descriptions
Still not sure how to translate all these dos and don’ts to your meta tag descriptions? Here are some models you can adapt based on your market—and some you should never use.
(Good) “Looking for condos for sale in South Beach? Professional real estate agent Max Jones specializes in high rise and luxury condo sales in Fischer Island, Star Island and Miami Beach.”
(Bad) Call Max Jones of Keller Williams Realty. Max Jones is a real estate agent licensed in Florida and Georgia. He has been in the industry for five years.
The key difference between the good and the bad (we’ll skip the ugly) is that the good offers locally relevant information and descriptive keywords like condos, high-rise and luxury. It still mentions the words “real estate agent” and offers the agent’s name, but the focus is on what’s most important: location, location, location.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
3 Tips to Improve Your Blog Now
Published By Keller Williams Realty
Guest Contributor: Mariana Wagner, Realtor® – Broker – Trainer – Coach, Wagner iTeam at Keller Williams Hope Realty, Colorado Springs, Colorado
If you are a real estate blogger, you will always be inundated by things that you “should” be doing with your blog. This can be quite overwhelming! So, let’s just break it down to 3 things that you can do – right now – to improve your real estate blog.
1. Calls to Action
Does your blog have a call to action? Just like your website, your BLOG should also make the best out of using “calls to action” to capture more business.
If your blog does not have a built-in IDX system, then link over to the IDX page on your website. Need an IDX provider? Consider using Wolfnet, Diverse Solutions or 1ParkPlace.
2. Maximize your Social Media Profiles
Most real estate agents have a profile on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Make the most of these sites by linking to your blog in the profile section. Also, consider adding your RSS feed to these sites.
3. Write TO Your Target Audience
You have a much better chance at getting “found” when you know who you want to FIND you. Your audience could be:
If you can implement these three tips NOW, you will be many, many steps ahead of your competition and on your way to an even MORE successful real estate blog … and career!
Mariana Wagner, Realtor® – Broker – Trainer – Coach
Wagner iTeam at Keller Williams Hope Realty
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Find Me: http://www.marianawagner.com/
Our Blog: http://www.coloradospringsrealestateconnection.com/
Guest Contributor: Mariana Wagner, Realtor® – Broker – Trainer – Coach, Wagner iTeam at Keller Williams Hope Realty, Colorado Springs, Colorado
If you are a real estate blogger, you will always be inundated by things that you “should” be doing with your blog. This can be quite overwhelming! So, let’s just break it down to 3 things that you can do – right now – to improve your real estate blog.
1. Calls to Action
Does your blog have a call to action? Just like your website, your BLOG should also make the best out of using “calls to action” to capture more business.
- Place a link to your IDX and CMA at the bottom of each blog post.
- Place a link to your IDX and CMA in the top section of your sidebar.
If your blog does not have a built-in IDX system, then link over to the IDX page on your website. Need an IDX provider? Consider using Wolfnet, Diverse Solutions or 1ParkPlace.
2. Maximize your Social Media Profiles
Most real estate agents have a profile on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Make the most of these sites by linking to your blog in the profile section. Also, consider adding your RSS feed to these sites.
- For Facebook, add your Blog RSS feed to the notes page of your business fan page. (Adding it to your personal profile may be a violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service.)
- For LinkedIn, Add your Blog RSS feed to your profile page.
- For Twitter, consider using a service like TwitterFeed to automatically update Twitter whenever you publish a new blog post.
*Make sure that your auto-posts are not your only posts on Twitter. Twitter only “works” as a business tool when your auto-posts are used as a supplement to your human, one-on-one interactions.
3. Write TO Your Target Audience
You have a much better chance at getting “found” when you know who you want to FIND you. Your audience could be:
- geographic (ex: neighborhood, town, school district),
- demographic (ex: first time home buyer, first time seller, empty nester),
- property type (ex: condos, tri-levels, land, luxury) and/or
- market of the moment (ex: foreclosures, bank owned)
If you can implement these three tips NOW, you will be many, many steps ahead of your competition and on your way to an even MORE successful real estate blog … and career!
Mariana Wagner, Realtor® – Broker – Trainer – Coach
Wagner iTeam at Keller Williams Hope Realty
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Find Me: http://www.marianawagner.com/
Our Blog: http://www.coloradospringsrealestateconnection.com/
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