Any real estate agent with an email address is inundated with solitications from Search Engine Marketing companies promises to get them to the top of Google for a small fee. Many agents roll the dice and blindly hire these Search Engine "experts" to magically get their site to the top of the search engines. Yes, they usually are successful at putting your ad near the top of the Google, Yahoo, or MSN sponsored results. For those of you not familar with the difference between sponsored (or pay per click) results and organic results, one cost money and one is free. However, getting the free organic results may cost you money through SEO. For a descriptions of these terms, please referr to the Real Estate Web Terms Glossary.

Since many of the Search Engine magicians only ask for a flat rate or a monthly rate, many agents mistakenly think that they are not paying per click and the wizard has yield free results with his web tricks. No, he has signed up for a pay per click account with a budget less then what you are paying him and has incorporated his fee into the total price. For example, if you pay $100 per month to a search engine specialist, they are paying Google $50 per month and keeping $50 per month as profit. You choose a farm area and they set up the Google AdWords account with one or two keyword phrase. For $50 per month you will reach the top of the search engines for one keyword term, but does that yield tangible results?

The formula is rather simple: more website traffic = more potential leads = more lead conversions = more potential clients = more closed transactions

However, just driving targeting traffic to your website is not enough. Just because you have a high ranking Google Ad for "Los Angeles Homes for Sale" or "Beverly Hills Real Estate", does not guarantee a lead or client. First, the ad has to be written properly so you have a high click through rate. Does your ad standout from your competition? Is it relevant to their keyword search?

OK, someone clicked on your ad. Now where do they go? Do you you send them to your home page? Most agents to have their home page as their landing page, but it is absolutely necessary to have relevant content and lead capture tools on that page. Generally, it is a better idea to have a targeted custom landing page that caters directly to the keyword term that the visitor searched for.

Keep in mind that once you have done everything right that the lead now needs to be converted into a client. That will take time and patience. You will need a strategy for the conversion process, just as you need a strategy for the lead capture and search engine marketing. Throwing some money at an "expert" who guarantees "results" is not a strategy, it is a gamble. Getting to the top of the search engines is merely the first step of what should be a comprehensive plan to market your real estate business on the internet.