Internet Classified Ad Usage Doubles Since 2005

According to the latest Pew Internet Research study nearly 50% of all Internet users are using online classifieds. Forty-nine percent of online adults surveyed said they have visited sites like Craigslist, Kijiji and Oodle, up from only 22% in 2005. The study says that 9% of Internet users visit these sites on any given day, compared with 4% four years ago.

Online classifieds are particularly popular with 25 to 44 year old Internet users, more than half of whom use Internet classifieds, while just under half of 18 to 24 year olds and 45 to 54 year olds 49% and 48%, respectively use online classifieds.

Those figures fall for users over 55 with 35% of 55 to 64 year olds using classified websites, while 26% of Internet users over 65 do.

Use of classified sites also increases with income and education, with online adults earning $50,000 or more, as well as college graduates, considerably more likely to have visited them. The Pew Research study highlights the growing importance of online classifieds to Internet users and reflects the changes in the audience for classified ads in terms of those who place them and those who make purchases using online classified websites which devastated a key revenue source for traditional newspapers.
Craigslist is by far the most used website in the United States. In March 2009 all classified websites averaged 53.8 million unique visitors, up 7% from February. Craigslist alone had 42.2 million unique visitors in the month of March (out of the total 53.8 million total users). Newspaper classified revenue fell from 17.4 Billion to $10 billion over the same period with real estate classifieds down 52% since their peak in 2006. Total Internet ads revanue for newspapers in 2008 was $3.1 billion according to the Newspaper Association of America.

Just as past studies of online users have shown, adults living in households with incomes of $50,000 or more a year are significantly more likely to visit and use classified ads sites than lower earners. More than half (56%) of higher income Internet users use sites like Craigslist, compared with 47% of those making $30,000-$49,999 and 42% of those making less than $30,000 a year. In addition, online adults making $50,000 or more are more than twice as likely as those earning less than $30,000 a year to use online classified ads on a typical day.

The Internet continues to be the strong point in business and live with the numbers clearly showing adaptation by the average user.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
www.BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844 Office

Building Business through Social Networking

Nearly everyone has heard of Myspace, Youtube and the other social networking giants even if they may not yet have an account. Mentioning Myspace to older relatives instantly brings the thought of Dateline 'To Catch a Preditor' yet that is far from the actual truth as to what social networking websites are about. The Web 2.0 ideology brings to light the true social medium of the Internet connecting millions of people worldwide sharing ideas, information and products 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year.

The Internet now contains more than 500,000,000 domain names (website addresses) with hundreds of thousands more registered each week. Somehow companies continue to believe that 1 (one) single lonely website is going to be ranked high enough to reach all prospective buyers in all potential areas. Simply put one website cannot be everything to every search engine and the odds are a single website without any outside help will not be ranked well online. One option to improve the odds is using social networking websites to place the website address, company information and products or services on thousands of places worldwide.

One of the most popular business focused websites is http://www.linkedin.com/ enabling users to join for free, setup a professional profile, experience, website links, contact information and even testimonials. The Linked In website provides an online directory of business contacts, feeds content (your information and website) to search engines and functions as an online resume. Myspace http://www.myspace.com/ is typically known for teen and young adult visitors though more than 1/2 million visitors are over the age of twenty five (25). Builder Consulting setup a Myspace account years ago http://www.Myspace.com/BuilderConsulting and posts new websites launched, updated information, contacts and connects with other industry professionals worldwide.

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ or Ning http://www.ning.com/ and YouTube http://www.youtube.com/ are other viable online sources for social networking. Whenever video is used on your website use YouTube to host the video, add your keywords and embed the video within your website. This provides double duty by freeing up resources on your website and reaching millions of potential customers using YouTube. This video from Mike Brown of Brown Midwest has been viewed dozens of times on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lauDSiZ_hN0 while also being featured on the home page of the company website http://www.brownmidwest.com/.

KEEP IN MIND that unlike traditional media or marketing what is posted online tends to stay online. Search engines cache information and webpages meaning they download and store the content on their servers to provide the fastest results for search queries online. Consider how many millions upon millions of websites are online then consider how fast the Search Results are shown when using Google or Yahoo. The search is being completed within the directory of pre-searched and ranked websites stored by the search engine. A search engine does not truly search the Internet; it searches the pre-determined list of websites and rankings already stored.

Social Networking Websites tend to be free but the content is still a reflection of your company, services and products. Ensure anything posted online accurately and professionally markets a business; online users will include or exclude your company based upon the ease of use, access to information and overall feel from your website or any third party source.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
http://www.builderconsulting.com/
Building Better Websites & Online Success Since 1995
913-814-8844 Corporate Offices

Return on Investment (ROI) from Internet Marketing

In 1999 Yahoo went public and quickly became the top Search Engine used by millions of Internet Buyers worldwide. Microsoft Network (MSN) and America Online (AOL) were the top competitors with little heard about Google. Move forward to 2008 and Google has become an adjective "Do You Google?" or "Google it" commanding 60% of the online searches. Naturally businesses and Internet Marketing companies spend the majority of online budgets on Google AdWords pay per click advertising. Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft bCentral are often overlooked or ignored missing millions of potential buyers. The largest is not always the best and marketing dollars should be invested where the best Return on Investment will be accomplished. Advertisments for 'Kansas City New Homes' on Google AdWords can cost up to $3.85 per click reaching 60% of the online users. The same advertisment on Yahoo averages $1.31 per click with 18% of online users. with a mere 14% of online users Microsoft bCentral advertising will cost $1.12 per click. A monthly budget of $500 would give:
129 clicks (potential buyers) from Google
381 clicks (potential buyers) from Yahoo
446 clicks (potential buyers) from Microsoft bCentral
Others considerations for online marketing are demographics and usage - consider that Yahoo became the top Search Engine 8 years ago and remains the top destination for finance and business users. Google has the largest porportion of teenage users making it perfect for marketers wanting to sell IPOD's, concert tickets or Teen Magazine. Researching the demographics to ensure your marketing dollars are reaching the proper audience is more important than the total number of users on a specific search engine. Pay Per Click alone is not an effective long term marketing solution. Pay Per Click is effective for targeted traffic with a set budget yet will constantly cost more for less results or traffic as others bid against you for the top spots.
Developing a professional website incorporating the key aspects of design, Search Engine Optimization, navigation, usability, content, purpose and one-click call to action opportunities is the best overall solution. Investing more in expert website services will reduce the costs required for constant paid listings when your website shows up naturally online. Websites listed through pay per click that are poorly designed or ineffective are PAYING to exclude themselves from buyers!
Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson http://www.builderconsulting.com/

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Tips

When planning and executing an effective Internet Marketing and Search Engine Optimization program it is important to understand that Search Engines often change rankings within their directories. A Search Engine (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc) is simply a database of pre-approved website listings. This means that your next Google Search only shows the results of the websites that have previously been added and ranked in the Google Database Directory of websites!

When Google, Yahoo, MSN and the other search engines add new websites to their directory your website ranking will be affected. If there were 1 million new websites added to the search engine directory this month it is likely to move the rank of your website in the Search Results. Sometimes the website may rank higher while other times the addition of large numbers of new websites may bring the website rank down. When executing an effective Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing campaign remain focused on the long-term advantages and goals when the rank of the website changes each month.

Keep these 5 guidelines in mind when assessing search engine optimization efforts:

1. Content Changes on the Internet
Websites are updated, new text may be added, new images or pages may be developed and content changes on the website. Other websites are also changing and updating content to improve their rankings which may affect where your website is listed even if you make no changes. Any and all changes made to the website may affect the ranking at any time.

2. Search Engines Constantly Change and Evolve
Every Search Engine is constantly trying to improve the Search Results for users online. The algorithms or programs used to determine how a website is ranked are updated and modified frequently affecting how your website will be listed.

3. Size Does Matter Online
Websites or marketing pages with a single page and links to other websites are often ranked low or even excluded from Search Results. Since all pages of your website contain different text and content every page added over time can affect rankings. The QUALITY of the content is more important than the quantity since a properly developed and optimized website will always rank higher. When expanding the website keep your primary phrases and keywords in mind and be sure to incorporate them.

4. Inbound Links from Other Websites and Directories
In an ongoing attempt to exclude marketing websites the Search Engines have given higher rankings to websites which have more links TO the website from other websites considered to be of high value. This means that having a link to the website from website not listed in the directory or another website ranked poor does nothing while a link from a highly rated website that has been online for many years will improve the rank of YOUR website!

5. It Takes an Expert
Search engine optimization is an art developed over years of experiance and research. Knowing what search engines share data with others, how the cross linking works, what content and design affects rankings and how to properly submit a website and webpages to the thousands of directories is extremely time consuming. Search engines are constantly changing ranking methods and adding new websites which requires ongoing research and tracking by consultants and SEO experts.

Searching online may be discouraging when other websites rank higher than yours that have apparent deficiencies such as lack of content, no keywords in the title or META tags and a limited number of pages. Sometimes the rank of a website makes no sense considering the known standards used to rank and sort Search Results.

Often times the age of a website (how long has the website been online and ranked in the directory) and number of other websites with high ranking that link to the website can provide a higher rank for a poorly designed older website over a properly designed new website...at least until the new website adds creditability.

Not all websites are created equal and neither are the thousands and thousands of inferior website designers who lack true skill and understanding of the Internet. Make sure your website is Search Engine Optimized and keep the long term goals in focus as you see the webite rank differently over time.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
Internet & Technology Expert since 1995
http://www.BuilderConsulting.com

Build Your Website for the Home Buyers

Having been in business for over 12 years building over 600 websites nationally we have had numerous customers request music, audio and video to automatically play on their websites. While many website design companies do this without thought (the customer asked for it) few consider the problems this will cause the customer. Statistically speaking having music or video automatically start on websites will lose business since the large majority of Internet Users consider it annoying.

Technically having music or video on a website will keep 58% of all potential home buyers from ever viewing your website since they are still using Dial-up internet connections which cannot properly facilitate this. Many website designers fail to focus on what their customers customer is looking for when creating a home builder website nor the technical numbers.

Home buyers want a visually and cosmetically appealing website that downloads fast and is easy to navigate so they can find a new home. Anything else is a distraction that loses the customer and the potential sale on a real estate website. When Internet Users want to be entertained they visit www.YouTube.com and even that website does not automatically play music or videos until the customer requests!

The overwhelming majority of home buyers who visit your website are doing so at their office during the week. Considering this fact most of the home buyers who visit a website at the office that starts playing music from their work computer will instantly turn the website off so not to be caught. Builder Consulting spends between 20-30 hours a week (myself and our Internet Marketing staff) researching online usage trends, technical changes, home buyer studies and Search Engines to ensure the websites we build produce the proper results for the customer.

Below are a few articles and feedback on the use of audio/video on websites:

Business Community comments and information about music on websites:
www.startupnation.com/pages/community/forum_posts_SEO.asp?TID=322&PN=4&TPN=1

Nifty new service from Yahoo enables consumers to provide direct feedback and answers to questions such as music on websites:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070113153650AABqZMz

What other website companies say about music on websites:
http://www.oakridgewebdesigns.com/musicweb.htm

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
http://www.BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844 Office

Integrating the Internet in Traditional Marketing

Real estate has always been about Location and the number one location for reaching home buyers today is the Internet. Studies from the NAHB and NAR attribute as much as 86% of all new home buyers using the Internet as a primary resource when searching for a new home or builder. Less than 10% of the marketing budgets today are spent on the Internet. Integrating the Internet with traditional marketing continues to be a challenge even the largest builders or real estate companies find daunting.

Browse through any local newspaper or magazine and you will find a real estate agent with a full page ad featuring a huge self portrait, small images of homes for sale, a phone number and maybe a tiny line of text with a website address. Read a few more pages to find an ad for a beautiful new home community listing the Community Name in large print across the top, photos of the area, prices and a phone number but no readily available website address. Advertising offline needs to focus on driving buyers online to your 24 hour 7 day a week Internet Sales Center.

Most Internet Users will use a Search Line to type a community, builder or location name (i.e. Kansas City New Homes). If the Search Results do not display your website then you just lost the opportunity to sell that buyer a home. The Internet is being used to exclude as much as include you based upon locating your website and delivering it properly to the buyer. Home Buyers are searching for information online that is quickly displayed, organized, cosmetically appealing and consistent. Websites should be attractive but understand attractive does not mean effective on the Internet. Nationally only 42% of Internet Users have high-speed Internet leaving 58% with slow dial-up connections to view websites.

A pretty website designed with FLASH movies, music and large high-quality photos will never reach 58% of the people using the Internet. Internet Buyers have ADD typically waiting less than 20 seconds for content before moving on. There is nothing more annoying than to finally locate a website only to be presented with the ‘Loading’ (please wait a few minutes to see our website) screen.

Consider next the home buyer who has high-speed Internet who decided to look for new homes before bed on their laptop. With their husband or wife sleeping beside them a website blaring loud music awakens their spouse so they immediately close the website moving on to another. Many marketing or advertising methods are used simply because it is the way things have always been done not because they produce results. Billboards deliver a split second visual message which is effective for branding but difficult to deliver a message.* Home buyers were using the Internet twice as much as a newspaper by 2003 while the money spent on newspaper advertising was over ten times what was spent online. **

Old habits are hard to break; our industry will not change marketing habits overnight although you can start small and work your way into the Digital Age. Place your website address prominently on all advertising, business cards, company vehicles, signs, letterhead, community handouts and floorplans and every email you send out.

Integrating websites with offline marketing is extremely important keeping in mind that online buyers are not looking for entertainment; they are looking for a place to call home.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
913-814-8844 Office
www.BuilderConsulting.com

*NFIB 3/14/2002 “Should You Advertise on Billboards”
** NAR 2003 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers”

Real Estate Marketing: Integrating the Internet

Real estate has always been about Location and the number one location for reaching home buyers today is the Internet. Studies from the NAHB and NAR attribute as much as 86% of all new home buyers using the Internet as a primary resource when searching for a new home or builder. Less than 10% of the marketing budgets today are spent on the Internet. Integrating the Internet with traditional marketing continues to be a challenge even the largest builders or real estate companies find daunting.

Browse through any local newspaper or magazine and you will find a real estate agent with a full page ad featuring a huge self portrait, small images of homes for sale, a phone number and maybe a tiny line of text with a website address. Read a few more pages to find an ad for a beautiful new home community listing the Community Name in large print across the top, photos of the area, prices and a phone number but no readily available website address. Advertising offline needs to focus on driving buyers online to your 24 hour 7 day a week Internet Sales Center.

Most Internet Users will use a Search Line to type a community, builder or location name (i.e. Kansas City New Homes). If the Search Results do not display your website then you just lost the opportunity to sell that buyer a home. The Internet is being used to exclude as much as include you based upon locating your website and delivering it properly to the buyer. Home Buyers are searching for information online that is quickly displayed, organized, cosmetically appealing and consistent. Websites should be attractive but understand attractive does not mean effective on the Internet. Nationally only 42% of Internet Users have high-speed Internet leaving 58% with slow dial-up connections to view websites.

A pretty website designed with FLASH movies, music and large high-quality photos will never reach 58% of the people using the Internet. Internet Buyers have ADD typically waiting less than 20 seconds for content before moving on. There is nothing more annoying than to finally locate a website only to be presented with the ‘Loading’ (please wait a few minutes to see our website) screen.

Consider next the home buyer who has high-speed Internet who decided to look for new homes before bed on their laptop. With their husband or wife sleeping beside them a website blaring loud music awakens their spouse so they immediately close the website moving on to another. Many marketing or advertising methods are used simply because it is the way things have always been done not because they produce results. Billboards deliver a split second visual message which is effective for branding but difficult to deliver a message.* Home buyers were using the Internet twice as much as a newspaper by 2003 while the money spent on newspaper advertising was over ten times what was spent online. **

Old habits are hard to break; our industry will not change marketing habits overnight although you can start small and work your way into the Digital Age. Place your website address prominently on all advertising, business cards, company vehicles, signs, letterhead, community handouts and floorplans and every email you send out.

Integrating websites with offline marketing is extremely important keeping in mind that online buyers are not looking for entertainment; they are looking for a place to call home.

Robert 'Dot Com' Jackson
www.BuilderConsulting.com
913-814-8844

Sources:
*NFIB 3/14/2002 “Should You Advertise on Billboards”** NAR 2003 “Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers”