In conjunction with our latest campaign '3 seconds 2 impress', Resource Techniques has been providing estate agents with a free, no obligations web review. Over 50 web reviews have now been completed and every single estate agent has benefitted from our expert view. The web review, which is tailored towards each individual website, covers 3 main areas; Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) performance, Functionality review, and a Design and Usability review.
Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques commented in July, 'putting our money where our mouth is we are offering a totally FREE (without obligation) website review, this review will look at your existing website from both a design and function point of view as well as how well it performs in terms of SEO, pointing out where appropriate where the site could be improved and, being honest, where a website designed and built by Resource Techniques would outperform their existing site, and it's totally FREE.'
Now, Troy Stanley has noted, 'The web reviews have helped estate agents enormously. They [estate agents] have been able to see their own websites from the eyes of a third party IT specialist. Back in our article 'Resource Techniques' conclusion from our free website review for estate agents' we mentioned that there are generally one of two types of websites. One has good SEO and bad functionality and the other has good functionality but bad SEO.'
Troy Stanley continues, 'Estate agents can have the best website in the world but unless they are found in Google, there's no point in having it. What we do is provide a facility so that estate agents can see what position that they are in Google without them having to crawl through hundreds of search pages.'
'The web review will be able to point out the weak points that need improvement as well as parts of your website that are excelling. What’s important is that estate agents are able to see beyond the interface and see their own website from the eyes of an IT specialist company with over 20 years experience.' - Troy Stanley
Do you feel that your estate agent website isn't performing as well as it could be? Resource Techniques is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience. We provide web design for estate agents, SEO for estate agents, web sites for estate agents and software for estate agents. Contact us on our Twitter page, Facebook page or on our contact us page.
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
Monday, 28 September 2009
Damn good reasons why estate agents should invest time and effort into social networking
For those estate agents that are unsure, Google (the UK's largest search engine with over 90% of the search engine market) scans the internet for web pages that it can use in its SERP (Search Engine Results Page) and good news is that this includes your social networking profiles!
A recent statistic said that 5% of all internet usage is on Facebook. Facebook allows users to create personal profiles, Facebook 'pages', groups and applications, all of which is indexed by Google. Another recent fact, for estate agents considering a Facebook page, is that Google has indexed 503 million pages. Estate agents should not take this social network lightly when trying to gain online exposure.
Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments, 'Estate agents now, more than ever, need to be on Facebook. Facebook has over 300 million people worldwide, which is almost the same as the U.S. population and the UK has approximately 20 million users, meaning that 1 in 3 people, in the UK, has a Facebook account.'
Troy Stanley, continues, 'Facebook is a great way for estate agents to support their online presence. Estate agents do not need to spend as much time as users do, but they [estate agents] need to start regularly updating and expanding their profile by spending 5 minutes or-so a week.'
Troy Stanley confirms, 'Spending more time will benefit the estate agent's website and the estate agent's online presence in two ways. Firstly Google will is more likely scan a webpage the more it is updated and estate agents can use certain Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) techniques to improve their ranking. Fill your Facebook page with as much information as possible and use related keywords.'
'Once your page has filled out with all your business information, estate agents must then post content that property searchers will be interested in reading.' Troy Stanley reveals 'Users will be interested to know your latest properties for sale as well as the estate agent's latest events, socially and officially. Colin Bibra, an estate agent in Ealing, has an excellent online activity on both Facebook and Twitter.'
'Don't forget that this is not taking into account the possible communication between you, the estate agent, and members of public looking for property online. Giving them an opportunity to start an online conversation has become more attractive than ever before.' - Troy Stanley
Twitter expanding at an enormous rate and is the 27th most visited website in the UK. A large amount of estate agents and users 'do not get' Twitter yet it is still expanding. Some high profile celebrities use Twitter in the UK including; Steven Fry, John Cleese, Jonathan Ross, Philip Schofield, Russell Brand and many more.
Estate agents can use Twitter to their advantage, by 'Tweeting' a link to the latest properties on their website, estate agents can boost traffic to their own estate agent website.
Troy Stanley comments, 'Estate agent should think Twitter as not just a social networking site where they can directly communicate with members of the public, but a type of media that is free. Again, estate agents do not need to devote an enormous amount of time using Twitter, but a few minutes a week 'Tweeting' their latest properties for people to access firsthand. 'Setting up a social network profile only takes 5 minutes. Estate agents can call Resource Techniques on 0208 457 4777 for free advice on setting up and utilising their social networking. - Troy Stanley.
Resource Techniques is a specialist in providing IT services for estate agents. Services include web design for estate agents, SEO for estate agents, SEO services, web sites for estate agents and estate agent software. Visit our portfolio page for our estate agent website designs or contact us page for more information.
Friday, 25 September 2009
Minesweeper and Solitaire - the hidden education from the misunderstood demon
When people first started using GUI's (Graphical user interfaces), they needed something that will help them easily pick up the basic functions of something that modern PC users take for granted; the mouse. This is where Minesweeper and Solitaire reared its ugly, counter-productive head...
Invented by Robert Donner and Curt Johnson, two Microsoft employees, Minesweeper has been installed with every Microsoft Windows since Windows 3.1 in March 1992 and has been used to waste time in offices all over the globe. Minesweeper, for those estate agents who are unsure, is a game where a tiled board hides 'mines', that when clicked on, end the game. The aim of the game is to left click on all the spaces between the mines and 'flag' (by right clicking) possible mines.
The roots of Solitaire's history cannot be exactly pinpointed. It is known to have become popular in France around the 19th Century and then spread to the UK and the US in the end of that century. Again, for those estate agents who are unsure, the aim of Solitaire is to sort 7 increasing sizes of card piles (the first pile containing 1 card to the 7th pile containing 7cards) into the 4 different suits in ascending order with the remaining deck of cards.
Countless office hours have been whittled away on these games. In fact in 2006, one man was fired by the Mayor of New York City (Michael Bloomberg) after he saw an open game of Solitaire on the man's work computer. But was the purpose of these two games to reduce the worldwide productivity? One article entitled 'The most successful game ever: a history of Minesweeper' suggests not.
The article suggests that the two games were intentionally built to train or educate users to fully utilise the mouse. Minesweeper was designed to help users master the point-and-click element (users have to point and click to a particular square they believe to be a space or a mine) and solitaire was designed so that users could become skilled at dragging and dropping cards from one point of the screen to another. Both of these functions are now used in everyday for clicking on buttons or dragging and dropping files from one place to another.
Even today these basic functions are used in modern estate agent websites. Take the example of embedded and enhanced Google maps on one of Resource Techniques estate agent websites:
Users and estate agents use the point-and-click function to not only choose the local amenities that they want displayed but also to click on a house that they will be interested in. They also use the drag and drop function to navigate around the Google map to see the houses for sale in the surrounding area. Functions like these are integrated into everyday life without users and estate agents even realising. Maybe the next time you are on an estate agent website and using enhanced Google maps, you'll think of Minesweeper and Solitaire.
Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments, 'Point and click and drag and drop is now second nature to users.'
Troy Stanley continues, Simplistic features, like the enhanced Google Maps with local amenities on estate agent websites, are completely user friendly. Users are able to view a properties location and surrounding points of reference in Map, Satellite and Hybrid view from a simple click.
'An Estate agent website hosting online properties has evolved. They are no longer a long list of properties with limited amount of information; they are places where users can users can view high resolution photos, receive email alerts, print high quality property particulars in a pdf format, see embedded EPCs and HIPs and even view from the property from a satellite to viewing it on the street.' - Troy Stanley.
Resource Techniques specialises in web sites for estate agents, including website design for estate agents, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for estate agents and in-house software for estate agents. contact us on our Twitter profile, Facebook Page or through our contact page. Resource Techniques also provides a free, no obligations website review.
Invented by Robert Donner and Curt Johnson, two Microsoft employees, Minesweeper has been installed with every Microsoft Windows since Windows 3.1 in March 1992 and has been used to waste time in offices all over the globe. Minesweeper, for those estate agents who are unsure, is a game where a tiled board hides 'mines', that when clicked on, end the game. The aim of the game is to left click on all the spaces between the mines and 'flag' (by right clicking) possible mines.
The roots of Solitaire's history cannot be exactly pinpointed. It is known to have become popular in France around the 19th Century and then spread to the UK and the US in the end of that century. Again, for those estate agents who are unsure, the aim of Solitaire is to sort 7 increasing sizes of card piles (the first pile containing 1 card to the 7th pile containing 7cards) into the 4 different suits in ascending order with the remaining deck of cards.
Countless office hours have been whittled away on these games. In fact in 2006, one man was fired by the Mayor of New York City (Michael Bloomberg) after he saw an open game of Solitaire on the man's work computer. But was the purpose of these two games to reduce the worldwide productivity? One article entitled 'The most successful game ever: a history of Minesweeper' suggests not.
The article suggests that the two games were intentionally built to train or educate users to fully utilise the mouse. Minesweeper was designed to help users master the point-and-click element (users have to point and click to a particular square they believe to be a space or a mine) and solitaire was designed so that users could become skilled at dragging and dropping cards from one point of the screen to another. Both of these functions are now used in everyday for clicking on buttons or dragging and dropping files from one place to another.
Even today these basic functions are used in modern estate agent websites. Take the example of embedded and enhanced Google maps on one of Resource Techniques estate agent websites:
Users and estate agents use the point-and-click function to not only choose the local amenities that they want displayed but also to click on a house that they will be interested in. They also use the drag and drop function to navigate around the Google map to see the houses for sale in the surrounding area. Functions like these are integrated into everyday life without users and estate agents even realising. Maybe the next time you are on an estate agent website and using enhanced Google maps, you'll think of Minesweeper and Solitaire.
Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments, 'Point and click and drag and drop is now second nature to users.'
Troy Stanley continues, Simplistic features, like the enhanced Google Maps with local amenities on estate agent websites, are completely user friendly. Users are able to view a properties location and surrounding points of reference in Map, Satellite and Hybrid view from a simple click.
'An Estate agent website hosting online properties has evolved. They are no longer a long list of properties with limited amount of information; they are places where users can users can view high resolution photos, receive email alerts, print high quality property particulars in a pdf format, see embedded EPCs and HIPs and even view from the property from a satellite to viewing it on the street.' - Troy Stanley.
Resource Techniques specialises in web sites for estate agents, including website design for estate agents, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for estate agents and in-house software for estate agents. contact us on our Twitter profile, Facebook Page or through our contact page. Resource Techniques also provides a free, no obligations website review.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Humour for estate agents - lovelylistings.com
http://lovelylisting.com/category/england
Run by Sara Lorimer, an America author who has written 'Boot': Girl Pirates on the High Seas' and 'Pregnancy to-Do's: A Book of lists for Mom-to-Be', has noted on the about us page that: 'I'm just trying to keep myself sane while we decide if we should move, remodel or make do.'
Estate agents, are you bored at work? This website will tickle your ribs!
The website posts photos and listings that are disastrous, humorous, or just downright weird. Users can view posted listings, vote on upcoming listings, submit listings or view listings from their own country or U.S state. One listing that Resource Techniques found highly amusing was listed as an 'Open plan' studio apartment in Kilburn...
Notice that the 'studio apartment' was described as 'cute' and 'great for singles'! Estate agent code: Tiny and great for people that don't like entertaining!
Looking for a new website? Demand an industry specialist. Resource Techniques has been an IT specialist for estate agents and property professionals for over 20 years. We specialise in web design for estate agents, SEO for estate agents, SEO services, web sites for estate agents, software for estate agents. To get more information, visit our portfolio page for our range of estate agent web site designs or contact us.
Run by Sara Lorimer, an America author who has written 'Boot': Girl Pirates on the High Seas' and 'Pregnancy to-Do's: A Book of lists for Mom-to-Be', has noted on the about us page that: 'I'm just trying to keep myself sane while we decide if we should move, remodel or make do.'
Estate agents, are you bored at work? This website will tickle your ribs!
The website posts photos and listings that are disastrous, humorous, or just downright weird. Users can view posted listings, vote on upcoming listings, submit listings or view listings from their own country or U.S state. One listing that Resource Techniques found highly amusing was listed as an 'Open plan' studio apartment in Kilburn...
Notice that the 'studio apartment' was described as 'cute' and 'great for singles'! Estate agent code: Tiny and great for people that don't like entertaining!
Looking for a new website? Demand an industry specialist. Resource Techniques has been an IT specialist for estate agents and property professionals for over 20 years. We specialise in web design for estate agents, SEO for estate agents, SEO services, web sites for estate agents, software for estate agents. To get more information, visit our portfolio page for our range of estate agent web site designs or contact us.
Estate agents, what's your social networking policy?
Many estate agents around the UK will have to, at one point or another, decide their social networking policy to determine whether they want their staff to have full access to social networking, limited access or no access at all. Should estate agents (knowing that their business is a social one) allow their workforce full access so to unlimited usage of Facebook and Twitter or should estate agents run a dictatorship where social networking is banned to out of office hours?
Businesses are currently split on the issue.
Some estate agents see social networking as a distraction from work where people whittle away countless hours and it offers no leads whatsoever. The extreme view believes that social networking is a teenage fad that is alien world to them, phrases such as 'tagging' or 'tweets' will never be used in the workplace.
The estate agents on the fence allow their staff members limited access to social networking. Many of estate agents in this category choose to only allow employees access to social networking between 1pm and 2pm or in their lunch break. These estate agents see social networking as something that they shouldn't ban but it's still a disturbance to their work and it still doesn't provide any leads.
Lastly, some estate agents embrace social networking with open arms and open internet browsers. They see that social networking will benefit their estate agency in three ways. It raises staff morale, bonds staff members closer by giving them an extra platform on which to socialise and communicate, and it provides leads by having an increased online presence.
What it boils down to is... trust in people. Estate agents need to clearly think about how much they trust people to have the option of procrastination but still choose to work. Do you think they'll use social networking as a platform in which to create more and more business by networking online or will staff members use the time so that it is counterproductive to the business? Let Resource Techniques know your views, contact us on our Facebook profile or Twitter profile!
Resource Techniques is a company that specialises in IT services for estate agents and property professionals. We provide the latest website design for estate agents, estate agent software and Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) services. Do not accept any website designer, demand an industry specialist!
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
The best IT resource for estate agents
I have been working for Resource Techniques for 6 months now and I absolutely love it. The staff are enormously friendly and are genuinely dedicated towards providing the best service for estate agents. Including services such as web design for estate agents, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for estate agents, software for estate agents.
in reference to: Resource Techniques — Web Site Design and SEO for Estate Agents (view on Google Sidewiki)The crucial SEO secret that has been overlooked - by almost everyone
Estate agents must be careful, once this Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) secret has been revealed, your estate agent website will never be on Page 5 or lower again. This secret has been stated by Google over and over again but no one has listened.
Web masters and SEO consultants all over the globe have been telling estate agents that their Meta Tags must be optimised, proper headings must be used, site maps must be built etc... (These tips do help, Resource Techniques isn't telling you to stop using SEO techniques!) But there is still one secret that either has been ignored or web masters just don't believe it to be true.
Are estate agents ready for this? Remember that this secret has been declared before...
Content.
That's the big secret.
"Content is King".
The best way to get to number one in Google is to produce compelling and relevant content. Once your estate agency website has content that people want to read, people will start to automatically link to your content. So what does this mean for estate agents?
A news section, with local and national news, is the easiest way to have relevant content on your estate agent website. Ideally this local news can include local building work, local new developments, or estate agents can write about national news that will affect property searchers in the UK will want to read. The main thing here to keep it relevant, creating content that is related to the property industry means that property searchers will want to access and read your estate agency website.
Do not fall down at the first hurdle. A few estate agents have outsourced their news feature to countries such as India where the quality of the content will be significantly lower than what is required for your website. Try writing estate agent and property industry news first hand. Firstly try to create content with your visitors (online UK property searchers) in mind then try your utmost to create content that you will want to read yourself. Once you have mastered the art of creating content that users will want to read, you will find your estate agent website teetering at the top end of Google.
Looking for a new website? Demand an industry specialist. Resource Techniques has been an IT specialist for estate agents and property professionals for over 20 years. We specialise in web design for estate agents, SEO for estate agents, SEO services, web sites for estate agents, software for estate agents. To get more information, visit our portfolio page for our range of estate agent web site designs or contact us.
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