Voice chat coming to a Facebook near you!

Facebook, one of the most popular social networking websites on the planet, was in the news this week for having 300 million users, which is almost the same amount as America's population last year (304 million!) and Facebook is also releasing Facebook Lite. Facebook Lite is a slimmed down version of Facebook that doesn't include some features such as Facebook chat. It has been designed for users that have a limited internet speed and has, so far, had a positive response.

Facebook chat was released on the 23rd of April 2008. The feature allows users to communicate with each other through instant messages. A feature that is very popular but there have been some problems, including chat buddies that keep going offline, maintenance and messages not being delivered.

That aside, Facebook has also announced that users will be able to converse with their friends through the power of speech. The new feature, which will probably be called 'Facebook Voice Chat', won't be powered by Facebook but a third party company called Vivox. Vivox is a company that designs voice communicating chat for online games such as Everquest, Second life and Star Wars galaxies.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques, predicts that 'Facebook Voice Chat' will be popular; 'Millions of users will be able to chat to their friends, for free, on Facebook. All users have to do is install a plug-in [an extension of your browsers computer program] and they'll be able to speak to their friends across the globe.

Troy Stanley continues "With Facebook being so popular, I wouldn't be surprised if other online voice services such as Skype saw a dip in usage. It will depend on how reliable the service is."

Resource Techniques is an IT provider for property professionals specialising in web design for estate agents, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services and estate agent software. Click to view our portfolio of estate agent website design or contact us for more information.

Resource Techniques is an IT provider for property professionals specialising in website design for estate agents, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services and estate agent software. Click to view our portfolio of estate agent website design or contact us for more information.

Europeans search more than anyone else in the world

Are you a search fiend? Do you search for almost every question presented to you? Well it seems that you are the majority. A report by ComScore stated that Europe takes up 32.1% of all the worldwide searches, while Asia Pacific was a close second with 30.8% and North America third with 22.1%.

Not only that, but search activity jumped 41% between July 2008 and July 2009 to a massive 113,685 million searches for the whole of the internet. This means that there are roughly 311 million people searching through search engines daily. This is a clear sign that more than ever, people have integrated the internet into their daily lives.

This is another warning sign that estate agents need to embrace this cultural change. Estate agents that have a website positioned at the top of search engines will benefit from this huge amount of traffic. Getting people to access your estate agent website is half the battle. Once on your estate agent website, estate agents have 3 seconds to impress with the latest design, features and usability. Any hurdles, errors or technological faux pas will ring alarm bells and users will simply click off onto another website.

Search Engine Optimisation or SEO is a requirement if estate agents want their website to be at the top of search engines. SEO is the process of changing the estate agent's website design so that it obeys the search engine rules. This is also known as 'White hat SEO'. Interested? Read 'Which hat should estate agents use? Black or White?'.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques, is intrigued at the recent statistics. Troy Stanley commenting: "It'' superb that Europeans have embraced the internet more than any other continent in the world! Not only that, but search engine activity has jumped an enormous 41% in one year. This is the internet golden age."

Troy Stanley continues "Estate agents can profit from this, as users are constantly searching for local property or local estate agents. 'Estate agents in...' or 'Property to buy/rent...' and their local area is one of the top search terms used by internet users searching for property."

"Resource Techniques is a specialist when providing IT services for property professionals. We have 20 years of knowledge and experience in website design for estate agents,SEO services and in-house software for estate agents. Estate agents should not accept anything other than an industry specialist." - Troy Stanley.

The best estate agent websites

The best estate agent websites

Producing quality estate agent websites, combined with state-of-the-art Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and estate agent software is what Resource Techniques do best. Over the years we have provided some stunning websites that impress the public on a daily basis. Therefore Resource Techniques has decided to share with you some of the best estate agent websites.

Homepage

Penyards Estate AgentsResource Techniques's flagship website. Penyards is a stunning website dealing with country estates in Hampshire. First entering the website, users are greeted by a striking animation then the eye is drawn to the prominent property search button. Estate agents, remember that 95% of people accessing an estate agent website go straight to property search. Visit www.penyards.com to experience it yourself!

Colin Bibra Estate AgentsColin Bibra, an estate agent in Ealing, deals with renting and selling houses and flats while also providing a highly-rated service in lettings management and residential estate management. The website is just beautiful. The blend of large imagery and vibrant red makes this one of the best estate agent website designs.

Colin has also embraced social networking with both arms. Visit his Facebook profile or Twitter profile to see prime examples of estate agent social networking.

Hennings Moir Estate AgentsHennings Moir is a team estate agent selling and managing properties in South East Cornwall. This 'Blue Sky' website is team's branded website for members of team. A beautful sky mixed with vibrant colours and clear 'Call to actions. This is a favourite for team members! Go to www.henningsmoir.com to view their magnificent properties.

Julian Reid Estate AgentsJulian Reid is an independant estate agent in Stoke Newington specialising the sale and purchase of property.The website has a very modern feel to it, again with 'Call to Actions' that guide the user through the property search process. There are individual colours that catch the eye. One example is the blue from the logo, this is present throughout and is utilised in the property search button.

There are common elements throughout each of the estate agent website designs. Each one has large imagery, clear 'Call to Actions', and the organisation of the elements have a clear structure. Quality websites like these only come through an in-depth knowledge and experience from an industry specialist, estate estates should not accept second best for their websites.

Websites are more than just a homepage. Property search, the latest viewer technology with high resolution pictures, Google Street View, Google maps, printable property particulars should be a nessessity for every estate agent website. If property portals are able to offer these features, why shouldn't estate agents?

Property search using Google Maps

Google Maps

A Google map that is embedded directly into the estate agent website is a modern requirement. It gives users even more interactivity than ever before. Local amenities such as school, doctors or vets can be plotted by the user to give them an idea of the surrounding area. Not only that, but it looks very pretty!

Outstanding individual property details

Julian Reid Esate Agents

All property details should look like this. Large imagery, user-friendly interface, clear contact details, and all organised so that it is visually stunning.

High Resolution photos

Resource Techniques - High Resolution Photos

All photos are embedded into the website with the latest viewer technology. One simple click on 'Close' on the top right hand corner or off the photo brings the user directly back to where they were. No pop-ups, no extra tabs. Website designers call this 'sticky' which is the ability to keep users stuck to the website.

Embedded Google Street View

Resource Techniques - Google Street View

Google Street View was released in the UK in the 19th of March this year. Within two weeks, Resource Techniques was able to provide to any of its customers. Are you interested in Google Street View? Read ‘Do you have Google Street View on your website?'.

Embedded property particulars

Resource Techniques - Property Particulars

Many estate agent websites only have a 'printable version’ of their property particulars and customers are able to get hold property particulars from the post or directly from the estate agent showroom. Being able to download, save and print property particulars at any time is useful for the user and it also saves estate agents time and money!

Embedded EPC and Floorplans

Resource Techniques - EPC Resource Techniques - Floorplan

Like all every other feature, the EPCs and floorplans are embedded into the website and a simple click of 'Close' or on any other part of the website brings the user straight back to the property that they were looking at. This, as mentioned before, is the latest viewer technology. Companies such as Sony and the BBC use this technology on their websites.

Large, Clear icons.

Resource Techniques - Clear Icons

Not always a feature when reviewing websites, but is just as important. Large clear icons give the user a whole range of features from saving properties and email alerts to emailing a friend about that particular property whilst being clear and concise.

Resource Techniques is an industry specialist in estate agent websites, our experience and knowledge of the field puts the company at the forefront the industry. Each year Resource Techniques invests heavily in new technologies to guarantee that we continue to stay at the top. We are able to provide this whilst keeping our prices affordable for today's modern estate agents.

Request a Website Review or visit Contact us for more information.

Bing launches new visual search that will keep users coming back again and again

Bing is in the news today for launching a new feature called visual search. Visual search is escalating the competition between the two search giants and the clear winner will be the consumer. Currently Google is still the giant in the UK, conducting 91.44% of all searches in the UK, whilst Bing has a market share of 2.68% (statcounter.com Sept 2009).

Estate agents, and general Bing users, might have trouble finding visual search. Visual search does not feature on the Bing homepage so users have to search for 'visual search' in Bing's search bar. Once on the results page, users will see news about visual search at the top of the page with the required link below. To help users find Bing's Visual search, Resource Techniques has provided the Visual search link.

Once you've on the visual search link, users are required to download Microsoft Silverlight which is a graphics system that is supported by multiple browsers. The download takes a minimal amount of time, but once past these two hurdles, users are able to fully enjoy what the feature has to offer.



Currently, there are 47 available galleries ranging from Popular Books to the FBI's most wanted. The 5 different galleries are; Entertainment, Famous People, Reference, Shopping and Sports and these galleries have the full range of choices available. For example, under 'New Cars', there are 357 cars to view. You can sort these results by; Most popular on Bing, Safest, Most Expensive, Best Highway MPG, Hybrid, Sports or SUV and users can narrow each result by type, make, base price, and fuel type.

Options like these will prompt users to use the feature more as a point of reference rather than something pretty that they can use. Once the feature is used as point of reference, then users will keep coming back to see which mobile phone to buy or which dog breed that they saw that day.

Resource Techniques provides a similar feature on our estate agent web sites, in which users are able to use as a point of reference. Our enhanced mapping allows estate agents to map the local amenities on their Google Map search. Not only is the feature embedded into the website (not in a pop-up or external, but users do not have to download any files to view them!



This is a very popular feature with users! Local amenities from schools to restaurants are able to be plotted alongside properties for sale or rent which means that users can plot their children's route to school or even the nearest train stations to get to work. Features like this, and visual search, keep users coming back again and again. Click to view our portfolio or contact us for web sites for estate agents or SEO for estate agents.

On the 12th August, Resource Techniques talked about 'The end of newspaper advertising? Many estate agents ask this question.' With that shift in marketing, journalists also have another attack on the very fabric of their industry; free online news. Why should the public go out their way to spend money on something that they can get free? Do you read free online articles or pay for it?

Google News was launched in April 2002 as a beta release (testing by users before its official release) and then officially released on the 23rd of January 2006. In March of 2005, the French paper 'Agence France Presse' sued Google for $17.5million for infringement of copyright. In 2007, there was also a court case in Belgium that ruled that Google News is not allowed to publish links to Belgian Newspapers.

The relationship been journalists and Google has been described as 'frosty' to say the least. Journalists are wary of Google news whilst Google News is aware that its very existence depends on Newspapers publishing their articles online.

Time for a change.

In a possibly brave move, Google is proposing a micropayment system to change the way people access its online content. An 8 page PDF response by Google has been published by the Nieman Journalism Lab shows that Micropayments are only part of an overall plan to help newspapers make money from their online content. The 8 page PDF included 5 important features that will be part of this system. They are:

* Single sign-on capability for users to access content and manage subscriptions
* Ability for publishers to combine subscriptions from different titles together for one price
* Ability for publishers to create multiple payment options and easily include/exclude content behind a paywall
* Multiple tiers of access to search including 1) snippets only with "subscription" label, 2) access to preview pages and 3) "first click free" access
* Advertising systems that offer highly relevant ads for users, such as interest-based advertising

Estate agents, would you pay for online news? What if there were free news sites but you had to pay for articles from major newspapers, would you pay then? Let us know on Twitter or Facebook!

25 captivating Google Internet Stats for estate agents

Google has just launched its own webpage on the latest industry facts from third parties. Resource Techniques has narrowed these stats down, for estate agents, to 25 of the most interesting facts.

Some of these stats will shock you and some of these will be signs of things to come. Overall, internet, mobile and social networking usage is on the increase and many consumers research any service or product online before they buy it. Estate agents must now take their online presence seriously as we are amid a digital golden age.

Mobile

Nearly two million people in the UK use their mobile phones for a growing number of services, from text alerts that confirm when they have been paid to transferring money between accounts.
Times Online, February 2009

24% of mobile phone users in the UK have watched mobile TV and/or video.
QuickPlay Media Inc., February 2009

UK mobile search increased from 3.2m in July 2007 to 4.3m in July 2008.
eMarketer, December 2008

Paid mobile search spend worldwide is forecast to grow from $260.60m in 2009 to $2,977.30m in 2012.
eMarketer, March 2009

Social networks

Social networks have a penetration of nearly 75% among European Internet users.
Comscore, February 2009

Social media use has taken off in the UK. eMarketer estimates that 39% of UK Internet users - more than 15.4 million people - will use social networks at least once per month in 2009.
eMarketer, April 2009

20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
YouTube, May 2009

Although men and women follow a similar number of Twitter users, men have 15% more followers than women.
HarvardBusiness.org, June 2009

5% of all time online is spent on Facebook.
Comscore, April 2009

Of the 282.7 million European Internet users age 15 and older who went online via a home or work computer in December 2008, 211 million visited a social networking site - representing a penetration of 74.6%.
Comscore, February 2009

eMarketer estimates that 39% of UK Internet users - more than 15.4 million people - will use social networks at least once per month in 2009. By 2013, the social networking population will reach 21.9 million and represent 50% of UK Web users.
eMarketer, May 2009 >

Globally, social networks have enjoyed a 25% growth in unique visitors in the last year. Some sites have doubled their user base.
Comscore, August 2008

In May 2009, YouTube reached 15.4 million unique users in the UK.
Nielsen, May 2009

41% of Europeans claim to have changed their mind about what brand to buy as a result of researching choices online, according to EIAA's latest Mediascope survey.
Mediascope Europe, November 2008

Search engines

In May 2009, Google had over 4.0 billion search page views in the UK.
Nielsen Netview, May 2009

41% of shoppers use search engines to identify new websites.
Verdict Research, May 2009

Over half (51.0%) of consumers are using the Internet before making a purchase in shops, educating themselves on the best deals available.
Verdict Research, May 2009

Over 8 million people used the Internet for arranging the purchase of a new financial product in 2008.
GFK, February 2009

There are 1.5 million business searches daily on YouTube, making it the second-most-visited destination for business searches, behind Google.
Google, Forbes, BtoB, June 2009, June 2009

In May 2009, Google had over 4.0 billion search page views in the UK.
Nielsen Netview, May 2009

76% of UK adult Internet users find out about local services online.
Ofcom, August 2008

51% of Internet users purchased a new Financial Services product in the past year.
GFK, February 2009

Media

There are 22,471 TV channels in the UK, and yet the BBC maintains a 30% share of viewership.
BARB, June 2009

Over 30% of our leisure time is now spent online, according to a TNS survey in late 2008 across 16 countries.
TNS, December 2008

Over 90% of online merchants are planning to add rich media and social networking functions in 2009.
Internet Retailing, February 2009

Resource Techniques supplies IT services for estate agents. These include SEO services, estate agent software, web design for estate agents and web sites for estate agents. If you wish to discuss any of these facts, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Estate agents that get involved, get the problem solved

This news feature, like many before, is on Twitter. Many estate agents have now set up their Twitter account and are now being faced by the daunting task of using Twitter to their advantage. Have they completed this task? A small few have, many haven't. Twitter is like any other new social network, it is intimidating at first, but like anything other tool, instrument or device, it takes practice to get it right.

Firstly estate agents with a pristine profile will start to look for people to befriend or follow. If you are stuck at this stage, add us at www.twitter.com/RTechniques or go to Twellow.com for a yellow page of Twitter users.

Once estate agents have a stream of twitter messages or 'tweets' on their homepage, they find that many messages will be continuous self promotion on a large scale. Estate agents should not be deterred by this, behind all the self promoting messages are still people that are tireless sending out promotional messages. Buck the trend and send them a message. You'll find that they'll message you back, and with enthusiasm.

What these 'Tweeters' forget is that social networking is about creating connections between people. They see it as another advertising medium where they can send out message after message or estate agent promotion after estate agent promotion.

All it takes is one message a day to one person. Introduce yourself and ask what they do. Estate agents will be surprised at the variety of responses that they get back. Not every message will produce a lead but taking that first step to start contacting people it will kick-start the networking that estate agents are craving for. Try dedicating 5 minutes a day or 5 minutes a week and estate agents will be surprised at the responses that they get.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques is on Twitter! Follow us @ www.twitter.com/RTechniques. Do you have any questions on social networking, website design for estate agents, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services or, software for estate agents? Get the ball rolling and send us a message!