Why America blogs

The US is home to thousands of real estate agency blogs. There are no published figures on market penetration but the American realtors I spoke to put the figure at between 10% and 20%. Blog numbers increased substantially last year, partly in response to toughening market conditions and the need for realtors to do more to generate leads.

These numbers have not been replicated in the overseas property industry. Adam Samuel, Director of overseas property blog Nubricks says there are very few examples of overseas agents making a go of blogging. “Overseas agents are miles behind the US,” he says. The question is, why?

The short answer is cultural differences. The best American realtors inspire loyalty from the local community and according to Dan Hare of Phoenix PLC “are called upon to help people move in a similar way that a doctor would be when a family member is ill”. If you want to build a fan base, then writing a blog is probably the best tool at your disposal.

What are the other benefits and should overseas agents write a blog?
According to Lenny Gurvich, owner of Florida real estate agency, Tampa Florida Real Estate Finder, one of the reasons he blogs is to make his website search engine friendly. He says he gets around 120 unique users a day to his blog and an average of three leads, which he believes is good considering the state of the current market.

Search engines love content-rich, human-edited websites which are updated regularly. Blogs meet this description perfectly and can be created for next to nothing. However, there is no point in writing for search engines alone. If people find your site and are not interested in your writing they are unlikely to contact you.

Why are you writing?
The most important thing is to establish a mission. Perhaps you work in Cape Verde and want to “provide the most up-to-date guide to the Cape Verde real estate market”. For blogs to work they need to be specific and you need to have a passion for your subject. Without this enthusiasm and focus you will be more than likely to spend time creating one, then lose interest.

What to write about?
US real estate internet marketing consultant Brandon Cornett recommends creating lots of Top 10 lists around key phrases you want to rank for. So if you sell in Cape Verde, you might write about “10 reasons to buy property in Cape Verde” and “10 questions to ask your Cape Verde property agent”. The key is to write short, stand-alone articles as often as you can manage.

Finding the time
So how long does it take? Not long, according to Gurvich. He spends between three and four hours a week on his blog, maximum. This is consistent with the advice given by Brandon. In his “Triangle System for blogging your way up the search engines”, he says agents need spend only half an hour a day writing content. This advice only applies, of course, if you know a lot about your subject, as research into new areas can be time consuming.

America is different
Most American bloggers are blogging to build a fan base and enhance their local reputation. There are search engine benefits, but there are other ways to improve your rankings (online PR, buying links, writing guides for your own site etc). If you work in a niche such as Cape Verde, are passionate about what you do and are prepared to dedicate four hours a week to writing, then go for it. It’s a proven lead-generation tactic - but it’s not the only one.