Amazing real estate ad in News & Observer

Did you see that ad in the real estate section of the News & Observer last weekend when you were shopping for homes? You missed it?! How could you miss it? It was the one I made up to make a point.

According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 75% of people are starting their real estate search online.

So why are all the other real estate agents advertising in the newspaper? Do they think the ads sell homes? Have you EVER heard of ANYONE who bought a home they first saw in a newspaper?

Who knows! Who cares? Well, I do. My goal is to be the opposite of “all the other real estate agents”.

How am I different? Do a Google search on “Cary real estate”. (Go ahead, I’ll wait right here).

And now here is point of this article. I spend a LOT of time and energy and money to create a great online experience for people who visit my site – that includes the heavily customized WordPress blog you are viewing right now – as well as paying consultants who help me with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

We started building this website at the beginning of this year. Once we had the design figured out, we moved to the architecture (completely 100% WordPress-based). Then we installed and debugged, and then finally in approximately late July, we started writing content.

In under 2 months, we went from zero to “First Page” on Google. Ask people who know – that is impressive. I am quite proud to say this website knocked HPW.com off of first page. How did we do it? Consistent, quality (if I do say so myself) blogging, pics, interviews with local businesses, email campaigns, RSS feeds, too many miles driving around in our cars and lots of phone calls.

So when you are interviewing an agent to sell your Cary home, ask the agent what their online strategy is. A cheesy template website with *15!* mortgage calculators and a post on Craigslist is not an online marketing strategy.

Just remember, the techie from the Bay Area in California who is moving to Cary is probably searching Google to learn about the area. Oh, and he also missed that real estate ad in the N&O.

About RaleighCary

George Wilson is owner and Broker in Charge of Raleigh Cary Realty, an independent Real Estate firm headquartered in Cary , North Carolina. "In 2008, I was working for a big national Real Estate company. A client of mine who I'd just helped purchase a home two months before got laid off from his job and wanted to quickly list her home. When I charged the client less to help her out, the firm was very upset with my decision. I opened Raleigh Cary Realty shortly thereafter, with a vision that we'd always have the flexibility to do the right thing for our clients, no matter what." -George Wilson

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