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"The first page of Google" is a phrase that sickens me. For more than 10 years, I've been bombarded with so-called experts who promise this forbidden phrase as actual results in exchange for exorbitant payments. What's really crazy is that potential clients actually listen to them.
What we are talking about here is Search Engine Optimization or SEO. The idea is simple, an outside company will perform some type of service on your, as in your possession, web site and you'll suddenly be the first result for the keywords you are targeting.
It's amazing how you can take someone and feed them such little information that they become so lost that they will listen to anyone who proposes a solution to them. One expert had the audacity to quote 250K to a real estate agent I used to work with. Their service was to do a bunch of amateur videos and post them on YouTube and embed them in the web site. I always said that if people really go for this, then I'm in the wrong business.
Another expert I came in contact with charged large sums of money on a monthly basis. Their service was nothing more than creating public profiles on every known source possible; Facebook, Twitter, Google+, FourSquare, LinkedIn, etc.
It isn't that these are bad actions. It's that the actions they are taking are something that anyone could do and they are price gouging for their services all the while spreading disinformation.
There is no First Page of Google
So in light of spreading accurate information, let's come to terms. First of all, there is no first page of Google. Google doesn't have pages the way a book or a magazine does. It's simply a search engine. You can liken it to a librarian at a massive library. You are asking the librarian for information on XYZ and she is bringing back results.
How the results get there
So how do the results get there? Well, for starters, there is no submission to Google per se. It isn't a matter of you submitting your web site to Google on a regular basis or else your site falls off the results, as I hear repeated incorrectly so many times on so many levels including professional levels.
The results get there because that what Google does. It searches the web. The name for this is "crawling" like a spider. In fact, they call them spider robots or spider bots or bots just for short.
There is no submission to Google. There is no formal document. There is no payment necessary. Google will do the work all by itself, without your help.
Showing up in the results
Showing up in the results isn't difficult. Let's say someone is searching for XYZ. In short, as long as you have a web site name that closely matches XYZ and the content on the web site is talking about XYZ, then the site should show up in the results somewhere.
The order of results
It's the order of the results that the librarian brings back that is important. This is probably what is meant by, "the first page of Google." So let's look at the order of results.
Google algorithm
The order of the results are determined by an algorithm or a fancy mathematical code. This algorithm is not a simple equation that you may have had in algebra class in high school. It has many parts to it, thousands of parts and is only known in full to a few people in the world and is locked up tightly. No one knows what the actual algorithm is but through history and through logic, people have been able to determine a few items that Google thinks is important.
Algorithm changes
Just when you think you have it nailed down, Google makes changes. How many? On average, about a change a day. So even if you were to conquer the Google algorithm in your own world, it wouldn't last very long. The brainiacs at Google make changes without warning, at their own will and sometimes the changes have significant impact on results.
Known factors
I could go on to list out the items that are known to make a significant impact but this blog is geared towards the average real estate agent and broker. The best way to do SEO is to not try and do SEO. Over the long run, this seems to be the best advice for the average agent. This advice is giving by people who used to work at Google and by industry experts.
In other words, they are trying to calculate something through mathmatics that can only be done by person, judging a web site for what it is. If you focus on creating a web site and making it useful, you will not have to focus on making sure your site is used.
You can focus on making your site usable by following Google's official guidelines here.
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A brand is formed by the entire experience of a customer's interaction with you. In other words, you are the star. Go forth, star. Perform. Be the brand.
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Regional MLS, who serves the greater Palm Beach county, has added recently added 3 public fields to IDX for web sites. They are as follows:
- Allow Address Display = allows the address to be publicly displayed
- Allow Value = allows a value of the property to be publicly generated
- Allow Comments = allows comments to be publicly added
REGIONAL MLS RECENTLY ADDED 3 FIELDS These fields are added to address issues arising from listings from the Regional MLS showing on public web sites such as Realtor.com, Trulia.com and Zillow.com.
The Regional MLS (and other MLS's across the country) have a terrible habit of changing items without notifying their constituents. This causes issues with web sites that use IDX, or direct feeds from the MLS. These changes caught us off-guard and caused a few hiccups with our IDX web sites.
Since there is no forewarning of changes happening, the issue becomes that we don't know there is a change until it actually happens. In our experience, Regional MLS usually has issues implementing these changes causing a disconnect between MLS and the IDX. The Regional MLS RETS server becomes unavailable for various reasons. It usually takes Regional MLS a few days to hammer out these types of additions.
In this case, the IDX went offline sometime on Wednesday, June 10 at night/early morning due to incorrect metadata (there was an error in the XML file). The RETS server came back online Friday, June 12 around noon.
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INTRODUCTION
IDX is commonly referred to the transfer of information from the MLS to other places. Brokers want to tap into this information for natural reasons; most likely this is going to be for web sites (both internal and external) but it may also be for internal applications such as Transaction Form applications and recruiting applications.
IDX information rules and regulations vary from MLS to MLS across the country. The IDX options available for one MLS doesn't hold true for another MLS. Each MLS is separate and independent.
In the greater West Palm Beach, FL area, the largest member MLS is the Regional MLS. Regional MLS typically covers an area from Broward County in the South to St Lucie County in the North.
For Brokers, there are few IDX options for Regional MLS split into two main categories; either directly from the Regional MLS or through a third party.
DIRECT REGIONAL MLS IDX OPTIONS
There are two direct Regional MLS IDX options, data that comes directly from the Regional MLS;
- a nightly FTP feed.
- or a periodic RETS feed.
The direct Regional MLS IDX options are only available to head brokers and are not available to individual agents (including Broker-agents).
Both direct Regional MLS IDX options come in a RAW DATA format. This means that the data, untouched, is unusable for any practical purpose. Raw Data means the info looks similar in fashion to this (stay with me here):
123 Main St|100|5400|||||||||1|||0|86|West Palm Beach|CBS|Central,Ceiling Fan,Electric|PALMBEACH|||Lt 4 Floors||Snack Bar|8|8|||I95 W on PGA Blvd ||Refrigerator,Range,Dishwasher,Elec Wtr Htr,Disposal,Microwave,Smoke Detect||||Ceramic Tile|||North|1|Unfurnished,Furnishd Onl|0.0|PB232|Condo|||1|Central,Electric|Mandatory|367|Month|Cust Mirr|8|8||| Condo||549,900|738|18|14|||Common Area,Exterior Maintenance,Lawn Care,Pest Control,Pool Service,Parking,Security,Roof Maintenance,Manager,Building Insurance,Cable,Elevator|87|Com Tub/Shr|15|13||||R1234567||||||||630,000|00123456789012340||||||No|||No|||At Close|||||Adult 55+,Buyer Apprv,Tenant Apprv,Intervw Req,Lease Ok,No Pets|Comp.Shingle|Glass Porch|Entry Card,Gate-Manned|No|||No|Sold As-Is|Active|Condo or Coop|Pool,Boating,Tennis,Elevator,Lobby,Exer Room,Comm Laundry,Commun Room,Game Room,Library,Sauna,Shuffleboard,Spa- Hot Tub,Sidewalk,Billiards,Cabana,Courtesy Bus| Village|694|2008|County Only||738|2|||Corner,Ext Cat Walk||3-Phase Elec,Public Water,Public Sewer,Cable,Underground|||Pool,Garden|||None|No|Blinds,Drapes,Verticals|1983||33400|1766|RES|
As you can see, it doesn't make much sense unless you decipher what the data is. In addition, this example is only a single property. Now imagine this multiplied by more than 35,000 properties (average amount of properties in the Regional MLS IDX). A broker who gets the info in either of these two manners, nightly FTP feed or RETS, will need the help of a web site experts, such as Regional IDX, to help make the data meaningful.
The advantage of a Direct Regional MLS / IDX option is that the broker can customize the information and has almost full control of what happens afterwards.
For example, a broker can sift through the data to display broker-only listings in a certain section on a web site. Or a broker can integrate the listings into a map, like google maps, to automatically show the map on the broker web site rather than leaving the site.
Nightly FTP Feed
The Nightly FTP Feed (FTP feed for short), means that the ACTIVE data is downloaded once a day into a computer system usually at around midnight. The FTP feed is actually provided by ThreeWide Corporation (a national company who also provides ListHub) and not Regional MLS. A broker typically pays for a key for the information. Once a key is obtained, the broker can use the key (on one system only) to download the Raw Data. It is left up to the broker to get the FTP Feed working, manage the FTP Feed, secure the FTP feed and decide what to do with the data (display on web site, integrate into something else).
RETS Feed
A RETS Feed is a technical feed that downloads a set amount data at set time decided by the broker. For example, every 24 hours or every 12 hours or every 15 minutes. Again, it is decided by the broker. The data is usually any data in the MLS, not just ACTIVE. However, in the Regional MLS, only ACTIVE data is supplied by a RETS feed. Therefore, a RETS feed is more powerful than an FTP Feed but requires more setup, management and technical skill. A RETS feed is nearly impossible for an individual broker to handle by itself and again requires the help of web site experts, such as Regional IDX, to help make the data useful and meaningful.
Regional IDX has successfully implemented both FTP Feeds and RETS feeds for multiple clients across the Regional MLS. We specialize in successful setups and management of the Regional MLS data in a variety of formats. Where national companies have unsuccessful attempts, we have successful projects. If you would like to join our happy clients, feel free to contact us.
THIRD PARTY IDX OPTIONS
Third Party IDX companies have options that are available to both brokers and agents. Typically the IDX options provided by Third Parties are in a set format and not customizable by the broker or the agent in any fashion. Third Parties typically sell their products by monthly fee. Regional MLS has a list of national Third Party companies that service Regional MLS customers. It is left to the broker to research the options and see what is best but we will provide two examples below.
Third Party Example
It's important to note that the Florida Association of Realtors, FAR, is one of the Third Parties that provide IDX information to brokers and agents although they are not listed by Regional MLS. Brokers and agents pay FAR by payment of the yearly dues to FAR. FAR uses a portion of the dues to provide a state-wide IDX.
The FAR IDX can be found at FAR's web site, www.planetrealtor.com (or fl.living.net). The client can integrate the FAR IDX into their web site by framing in the search.
The IDX looks like this:
As you can see, it doesn't look very pretty. Not only is it complex, it also isn't customizable in any manner except for colors. In addition, you're stuck with the look and feel they give you. This means that buyers have to select through more than 30 options just to submit a search including a multitude of cities across the state. So someone looking for property in Jupiter is also subject to property in Alligator Point. This doesn't make much sense.
The argument from agents is that they want to show as many properties as possible on their site, hoping they can get a referral for properties out of their area. The real situation is different. We have never heard of a story where a referral actually happened because of the FAR IDX. In reality, when buyers see a complex mess like that, they disappear to a different site in about 3 seconds (not joking).
Both brokers and agents should be looking for customization of the data to define where they specialize.
A second issue with a framed in solution like this comes to the fact that the broker or agent site doesn't get credit for visit or the searching. Rather, the solution provider gets credit, in this case, FAR gets credit. This hurts web site statistics because the activity of searching actually doesn't occur on the broker or agent site, it occurs on the FAR site. So rather than having 1000 hits recorded, the site may only receive 100 hits. The issue grows as this also diminishes web site placement in a search engine like Google because Google uses the number of hits on a site to determine whether the site is high or low on a list. In short, the more number of hits factors into placing higher on Google.
A Second Third Party Example
Regional IDX also serves clients with IDX information from the Regional MLS. Rather than a set search and display like the previous example, we work with the client to customize the search. This means that a client that specializes in property in Jupiter can create a search of properties that only have a Jupiter address. Pretty nifty.
Rather than 30 options like the FAR IDX, we customize the search to be as easy as possible and only forcing a few options and in certain cases, no options at all. A customized Regional IDX search looks like this:
The advantages of a customized IDX solution like this stems from the fact that the properties are truly integrated into the broker and agents web site so that the site receives full credit. This results in more hits recorded and high Google placement.
Also the search doesn't subject the visitor to many options. In this case, it's ony 3 options: price, beds, baths. The city option is locked into Palm Beach Gardens. It shows for visitor convenience but it isn't necessary.
There are more advantages but these two begin to show the difference of why a customized Regional IDX solution is superior.
EXPIRED OPTIONS
There used to be an option for IDX data download from the Florida Association of Realtors (FAR) but in November of 2008, Regional MLS discontinued the membership and the data is no longer available.
CONCLUSION
IDX is commonly refered to as the transfer of data from the MLS to other places. For Regional MLS, IDX is obtained either directly through Regional MLS or through a third party.
No matter what situation you are in, Regional IDX helps clients with IDX information coming from the Regional MLS.
If you want to get independent consultation of IDX information and web services, Regional IDX is the company to ask. Our service experts have a history of different types of situations that commonly arise from dealing with IDX data and implementing it in a useable manner.
Regional IDX builds customized web sites with customized property searches to simplify the process of having IDX information on your site. In easy terms, we say it like this, Regional IDX automatically shows your listings on your web site.
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https://schema.org/SingleFamilyResidence
- Thing > Place > Residence > SingleFamilyResidence
Compare this to:
- Thing > CreativeWork > Movie
- Thing > Event
- Thing > Product
Hmmm... Interesting
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It's been a wild ride over the course of the past few years with the local MLS data-wise. They system is in a constant state of flux. What's funny is that it's fluxing back to its original state.
In the latest change, MLS status of ACTIVE-CONTINGENT is being renamed to just CONTINGENT. Which is the way it was years ago. But it's taking the long way around to get there.
While this isn't that big of deal on the outside, on the inside this is a totally different status code. So originally with MLXCHANGE/FIRST-AMERICAN, the status was just CTG. Then with FLXMLS/FBS, it changed to something incoherent like AWC_15429SGZYQIT but would show as ACTIVE-CONTINGENT. I suppose the AWC was supposed to be Active-With-Contingencies.
Now with the recent change, it is changed to move all the AWC to PENDING. So now it shows as something like PWC_15429SGZYQIT. I suppose, it is supposed to be Pending-With-Contingencies.
Then later on this month of NOV 2014, AWC will be renamed as CTG. I'm sure another status code will be created.
The issue with using something incoherent is that it is incoherent. What's the point of structured-communication, like English, if you're not going to use it?
Here's an idea. Use what was originally intact:
- ACT
- BOM
- CTG
- PND
- SLD
- CAN
Most people won't even need a reference guide to figure it out.
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Connections to the MLS can happen in only one way these days. Looking back it's fun to see the progression through time since the beginning via FTP and SECURELINK.
After a connection is made, there are different theories on how to download the data. This can happen in a few ways.
One way that we connect monitors the data relatively closely. It keeps track of a multitude of items concerning the data. These items would be considered METADATA since it's data about the data.
Recently, on 03-03-15, the METADATA for the BEACHES-MLS/SOUTH-FLORIDA-MLS/REGIONAL-MLS (they are all the same data-wise), changed. Significantly.
In researching why, it was discovered that FLEXMLS, the company that provides the database for the REGIONAL MLS, changed to allow MLS's across the country to provide SOLD DATA to their partners. This is demonstrated by their announcement here:
http://www.flexmls.com/blog/announcing-sold-listings-settings-flexmls-system/
So even though FLEXMLS provides the database for the BOARDS and their members, FLEXMLS does not make all data available to the BOARDS and their members. The change is allowing access to some of the information that previously was inaccessible.
While the article claims that "Consumers get a real-time view of what’s happening in the marketplace and, can make their decisions based on fresh, reliable data from their local Broker and Agent," the reality is much different.
The truth is that the data is only as good as the people that maintain it; the agents and (ultimately) the brokers.
While you won't find any hard documentation, it's been reportedly-known that agents do not mark a property SOLD in the MLS until forced to, despite MLS policy. This force could be by tax records or by broker policy or by a forceful hand from another agent/broker.
The idea is simple. Having a listing as ACTIVE or PENDING or CONTINGENT is free advertising for the agent and pads their number of listings to be higher than it actually is.
For example, if a property is actually SOLD in real life and is marked as PENDING in MLS, two items are happening. The first item is that it shows that the listing agent has an extra property for sale. So while the agent may have 4 listings for sale, on MLS it will show that they have 5.
Secondly, it is both possible and probable that an inquiry could be made on the property. If the interested party is not working with a real estate professional, the following magical words may come from the listing agent's mouth, "I'm sorry that property is unavailable but I have another one just like it."
Ahhh... the magic of real estate.
What's inevitable is that this SOLD data will eventually wind it's way into the wrong hands of which the data is not intended. It's intended for agents and brokers. It reportedly will end up in the hands of Zillow and similar companies who will use it to re-sell back the agents and brokers.
UPDATE: Well that didn't take long. Zillow is moving to get direct access to MLS data. This article from FLEXMLS sums it up:
http://www.flexmls.com/blog/death-by-thousands-of-feeds/
I concur with their attitude towards the move. It is a move that will result in, "no one really knowing where or who is using it [the property data] or for what purpose."
Pretty much game over.
I can hear it now in someone's head, "Why would I get my data directly from MLS when I can get all data from all zombie MLS's from ZILLOW? I'll just combine it with the MLS source when I can and use the ZILLOW source when I can't. No one will ever know. Will they?"
You are correct. No, no one will ever know.
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Great leaders ask great questions. Personal. Organizational. So on and so forth.
What Do Great Questions Do?
These questions do three items:
- reveal values
- reinforce values (along with stories)
- reinforce behavior
You see, your questions are revaling what's important to you. It communicates to the person what's important to you.
Repeated questions are related to repeated behaviors.
What Questions to Ask?
Questions like:
"What am I doing personally to make it better?"
"What would a great leader do?" (Even if you don't consider yourself a great leader do.)
What Does it Accomplish?
It raises the standard of our leadership.
It weeds through the fog of emotion.
Reveals motive and shows personal agendas.
It reveals weakness.
Aspire you to reach beyond your limits.
Conclusion
Great questions help you get beyond your comfort zone do what the situation requires. It gives a glimpse of what could be and what should be in your life and in your organization.
In the end, ask the question. Ask the question even if you are going to follow through or not. This way at least you know what the answer is.
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Bold leadership is clarity around and unreasonable commitment to what could be and what should be.
An example of this is a middle-school aged girl pursuing a new iphone. They will ask Dad, then they ask Mom, then they barter, negotiate, maybe ask grandparents, ask for Christmas, ask for birthdays, ask for any reason that they could think of. This is bold leadership.
Bold Leadership Caveat
Consequently, bold-leadership does not allow the question of "How?" to kill an idea. If you ask the question "How?" too early, then the idea gets killed too early.
If someone on your team or your family comes in with a crazy idea in which the results are good, come back with "Wow!" instead of "How?" Talk about what should and could be rather than talking about how something is possible. There is a time and place for the "How?" but at the beginning, it's more important to focus on the "Wow!"
Two questions that can be used to help with this are separated into two different categories; a head question and a heart question.
Head Question
Joel Barker's "Future Edge" or "Paradigms" has the first question, the head question. "What do I believe is impossible to do in my field but if it could be done would fundamentally change my business?"
The reason this is important is because you or someone on your team may actually solve this. Another reason is that you will become more sensitive to the people who are trying to solve this.
In many companies, this comes down to the idea that two items are needed; great leadership and great communicators. A great leader doesn't always have the capacity to be able to hold a crowd's attention for more than 10 minutes without putting them to sleep. Conversely, a great communicator doesn't always have the leadership skills required so the organization is poorly lead.
In a growing company, the point person is often a great leader and great communicator. The problem becomes that the organization is limited by that person. As the person goes, so does the company.
If you could solve how to have great communication and great leadership then the problem of growth for most companies would be solved. If the branch manager or remote office manager is a great leader, they don't have to be relied upon for great communication. That layer can be handled by the main office communication.
Example of Head Question
An example of this is Steve Jobs re-entry into Apple. His focus upon return wasn't how to make it faster, it was how to make it easier. He solved the problem for many people in the world who had a difficult time using computers.
Heart Question
The heart question is this, "What breaks your heart?" Most non-profits began with a broken-hearted leader but also for-profits can gain from this as well.
For example, Toms shoe company gives away a pair of shoes for every pair of shoes bought.
Another way to ask this question is to ask, "What would you like people to thank you for at the end of your life?"
Conclusion
Again bold leadership is clarity about and unreasonable commitment to what could be and what should be.