RISMEDIA, February 11, 2009-Occasionally, changes in technology occur that greatly impact the real estate industry. In a webinar presented to EXIT Realty associates recently, Tom Emmendorfer, co-founder of the company behind EXIT e-Listings said, “I see two major changes occurring that will impact your real estate business as much as the Internet itself. The first change is the way major search engines are beginning to perform searches.”
This new breed of search known as Universal Search, knows exactly what each home buyer has searched for and yields results based on that user’s previous searches. This technology will also soon know the exact location of the computer or ‘smart phone’ performing the search, and deliver results based on that location. Rich online media content such as tours, listing websites and online videos could rank up to 50 times higher than standard text and photo listings on these new search engines.
“The second major change is the smart phone itself,” continued Emmendorfer. “Smart phones with Internet connectivity saw an enormous rise in 2008 and that trend is likely to continue 2009. Millions of new smart phones will be activated this year. It is essential that agents and offices understand and react to these rapid changes.”
EXIT e-Listings is state-of-the art technology with which EXIT Realty agents can build narrated Internet tours, listing websites, call capture lead generation, webcasting and several other multi-media products with one online entry, all Universal Search-ready.
To assist web developers in understanding Universal Search Engine Optimization, ProspectMX, an Internet Marketing company, tapped the minds of industry experts to create a chart which highlights some of the key issues in this next generation of search. Heralding “It’s not just about content anymore!” the author goes on to say, “As Google incorporates Universal Search into its results in 2009, all types of web content will begin to appear on page one – not just web pages. Before you know it, whitepapers, images, news stories, products and videos will permanently infiltrate search results.”
You can download the chart here: http://www.prospectmx.com/internet-marketing-2009-universal-search-optimization
In a market where every website visitor and lead counts more than ever, these and other changes could greatly impact the success of real estate agents and offices. Don’t be left behind.
