Much ado about Galen Ward’s Truliamazing Tricks of the Trade! Greg has already written a fantastic post about the reaction, so I won’t spend any time rehashing. An interesting side note that has been brought up by a few commentators is why Trulia is really kicking butt in the SERPs. It’s their Truliamazing Trojan Horse(s)!
Linkbait is one of the most powerful tools a white hat SEO can come up with. It can come in the form of interesting content (ahem, BHB,) controversial content, and neat tools that include a link back to the creator. Linkbait is by no means a bad thing. It’s part of what makes interesting/cool sites rank highly in the search engines. Google like-a-da-linkbait!
However, linkbait can definitely be a bad thing to you – in your market. If one of your local competitors cooks up some tasty linkbait, and you happen to repost it, and link to them, you’re helping your competitor rank higher than you in the search engines.
Trulia is truly kicking butt in the SERPs (for big time terms, and for long tails) because they’ve cooked up some solid linkbait in the form of widgets.
Let’s focus on one widget, and why it works – the “Trulia Stats” widget. (Oh, let’s also completely ignore how terribly inaccurate this widget is.)
Take a look at the bottom links that are included on the Trulia stat – “Austin Real Estate” which links to their Austin page, and “Trulia” which links to their main page. When you post this widget, you effectively tell Google that Trulia is the authority for your market, and then you give them another vote to their index page, which helps them kill it in the longtails.
So….what to do?
I would recommend not using the widgets at all (did I mention they’re really inaccurate?) However, if you want to be a “Truliamazing Agent” and act just like Trulia, then you can go ahead and post the widget, and either delete the link, or add the rel=”nofollow” tag. After all, you just trust their data – you don’t trust the source, right?
Here’s the (slightly modified) code for Trulia Stats:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:300"><tr><td style="text-align:center;" align="center"><object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=8,0,0,0" width="300" height="323" id="sample" align="middle"> <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /> <param name="movie" value="http://widgets.trulia.com/300_short.swf?rand=12926937" /> <param name="quality" value="high" /> <param name="wmode" value="transparent" /> <param name="FlashVars" value="place1_nhood_code=&place1_nhood=&place1_color=526131&place1_city=Austin&place1_state=TX&place2_nhood_code=&place2_color=&place2_nhood=&place2_city=&place2_state=&show_price_tab=true&show_volume_tab=true&bg_color=F0F2D8&header_bg_color=526131&header_text_color=FFFFFF&link_color=62A1D1&text_color=000000&price_type=Average&custom_text=Local+Real+Estate+Trends&show_search=true&rand=12926937"> <embed src="https://widgets.trulia.com/300_short.swf?rand=12926937" quality="high" bgcolor="#FFFFFF;" width="300" height="323" name="sample" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" wmode="transparent" FlashVars="place1_nhood_code=&place1_nhood=&place1_color=526131&place1_city=Austin&place1_state=TX&place2_nhood_code=&place2_color=&place2_nhood=&place2_city=&place2_state=&show_price_tab=true&show_volume_tab=true&bg_color=F0F2D8&header_bg_color=526131&header_text_color=FFFFFF&link_color=62A1D1&text_color=000000&price_type=Average&custom_text=Local+Real+Estate+Trends&show_search=true&rand=12926937" /> </object></td></tr><tr><td style="text-align:center;" align="center"><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.trulia.com/TX/Austin/"><font color="#000000" face="arial" size="1"><u>Austin Real Estate</u></font></a> - <a rel="nofollow" style="color:#62A1D1;" href="http://www.trulia.com"><font color="#000000" face="arial" size="1"><u>Trulia</u></font></a></td></tr></table></td></tr></table>
Do you see the big, red rel=”nofollow” tags that I added? Just add those to your Trulia widgets (anywhere after the “a” and before the “href”,) and you’ll make sure that you’re not helping Trulia beat you in the search engines. Or you could just not use the widgets. Please email me if you need help.
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Bob Wilson says:
Thanks for posting that Eric. That is the intelligent compromise.
May 6, 2008 — 10:54 am
Doug Quance says:
Before all is said and done… Trulia is going to wish they had handled this better…
May 6, 2008 — 10:57 am
Ryan Ward says:
Dead on Eric.
I’m actually quite surprised that Trulia didn’t just add the nofollow themselves. they certainly know how to use it. 🙂
In any event, a solution to the widget problem may provide useful and continued light on them is what is needed. They are set on controlling the markets in organic results all the while providing much less and less accurate information than any agent with an IDX.
In all honestly, search engines excluded, how can an inadequate source for information be considered an authority? The answer is simple. Give the widgets to agents who think they are cool and do it for free. The public sees the widgets on agent sites which helps to confirm their legitimacy of being an authority to the public.
Oh yeah…local relevant links from those agents is critical to high rankings.
May 6, 2008 — 11:06 am
Wayne says:
Ryan made a very good point about giving Trulia not only links but credibility.
May 6, 2008 — 11:37 am
Eric Blackwell says:
@Doug- Yes, I’d agree with that. I plan on posting around the RE.web some myself.
@ Bramlett- Great info and well explained.
@These “free” widgets…I believe in one of my recent comments I said as much,,,that they are not free. I am now kicking myself a bit for not being more clear sooner. I danced around the subject and I should have waded in instead. Nothing is free–only a matter of who pays and now it is apparent to many REALTORS that the price is higher than they are willing to pay.
I will go one step further than Mr. Bramlett. If anyone wants help with either turning the Trojan horse into a gelding or putting him down altogether, I will happily do it (as time allows-I only have so many hours in the day) for you at no cost.
I consider it a service to return the favor to those who will not link to you.
Eric (in my new found role of large animal veterinarian)
May 6, 2008 — 12:01 pm
Bob Wilson says:
That argument won’t fly once the RETS feed is standardized and listing agents are given the option of having their listings uploaded from the MLS to a variety of 3rd party sites.
May 6, 2008 — 12:21 pm
Eric Bramlett says:
I’ll pick up the giant scissors alongside you, Blackwell. Anyone who needs help using the trulia widgets w/o helping them beat you in the search engines, just give me a buzz.
May 6, 2008 — 12:49 pm
Sue says:
Interesting post…I will need help with this one.
May 6, 2008 — 12:55 pm
Eric Blackwell says:
No problem Sue…the veterinary offices of Blackwell and Bramlett will be in touch with you shortly! (this evening OK?)
May 6, 2008 — 1:11 pm
Michael Fisher says:
Thanks for this heads up. I immediately cut the widget off my homepage. I forgot there is no such thing as a free lunch. If Trulia has a nofollow on listings I can’t use their widget that only helps them beat me in a local search.
May 6, 2008 — 1:40 pm
James Boyer says:
I find it extra interesting the Rudy from Trulia is no longer going around commenting on these various articles trying to defend trulia. I guess they figured the more they defend the more we get stirred up about it. They know they are in the wrong but just will not come to the realization that they are caught and they should start being honest with their content providers as well as with the search engines. Trulia is most deffinatly not the real authority real estate website. Perhaps everyone should start informing Google of that though spam reports.
May 6, 2008 — 1:42 pm
Eric Blackwell says:
No, Thank you, Michael. Can you do us a favor and pass the word along in your area? Others in your location who have the widget are harming your search engine aspirations as well.
May 6, 2008 — 1:43 pm
Eric Bramlett says:
Michael –
If you like the widget, shoot Blackwell or me an email – we’ll edit the code so that you’re not hurting your own rankings.
May 6, 2008 — 1:44 pm
Ryan Ward says:
I wonder if it is against the terms of service to use them after altering them:
“Under Copyright and License:
D. make derivative uses of the Site or the Materials;”
May 6, 2008 — 1:59 pm
Eric Bramlett says:
Oh…I’m sure they wouldn’t care about a little ol’ nofollow. Nofollow’s are no big deal – right?
May 6, 2008 — 2:11 pm
Joe Hayden says:
I suggest someone with a prominent account post this to ActiveRain. It seems like a good way to get to a wider audience.
May 6, 2008 — 8:36 pm
Hi, I'm Rudy from Trulia.com says:
Oh well, I guess I must like abuse….so it’s worth clarifying a few things:
1. Yes, widgets help Trulia’s SEO
2. Yes, you can add nofollows, but if you are tinkering with the code anyway, it might be easier to just pull the links out
3. We get tons of requests for widgets from agents, so we build them and offer them for free.
No secrets, no Trojan horses, no malicious campaign. By the way…..interested traffic on Trulia is passed to your listings – not your competitor or some other IDX site – helping sellers sell their homes.
May 6, 2008 — 8:45 pm
Thomas Johnson says:
Rudy: then pass the juice, please.
May 6, 2008 — 10:05 pm
Bob says:
>Trulia is most deffinatly not the real authority real estate website. Perhaps everyone should start informing Google of that though spam reports.
They are not spamming.
May 6, 2008 — 10:23 pm
Awesome Investigative Reporting says:
Hey guys, have you confirmed that Trulia isn’t also engaging buying links from domain squatters and other long tail websites? That’s another very effective, behind the back tactic in the SEO game.
May 6, 2008 — 10:46 pm
John Sabia says:
Great Post Eric – I think we should all pass this along to anyone in our market using the Trulia widget.
May 7, 2008 — 5:35 am
Broker Bryant says:
Hi Eric, How about I give you some link love over on ActiveRain later today?
May 7, 2008 — 11:07 am
Eric Bramlett says:
Absolutely – shoot me the link & I will send it around to friends to comment on. eb(at)ericbramlett.com
May 7, 2008 — 11:32 am
Dan Nappi says:
Hey Eric, Great info a lot of agents just aren’t aware of this and don’t understand why it hurts them in the serps.
May 7, 2008 — 12:58 pm
Linda Slocum says:
I think you’re missing the key point here: When someone clicks through on the Trulia widget, they’re being taken to Trulia. Unless you have a gazillion listings in your market area, I honestly can’t see why this would be helpful to a Realtor.
When a buyer clicks away from your site via a Trulia widget, they go there:
Without leaving bread crumbs to follow so you can create a lead out of this search; and without retaining your branding or contact info.
In other words, your hard-earned lead has just been handed over to another agent as a freebie.
If you’re in my market area, by all means use the Trulia widgets – I appreciate the free leads! Otherwise, find yourself some other widgets that link to your own website.
Hint: Grazr and others can create widgets with the RSS feed from your IDX.
May 7, 2008 — 1:18 pm
Eric Bramlett says:
I don’t think anyone’s missing the point, Linda. I do think you just illustrated another excellent point about widgets, and why they’re not in our best interests.
May 7, 2008 — 1:27 pm
Missy Caulk says:
Thanks Eric and thanks to BB for sending me here. I honestly didn’t know this but I do have a Trulia widget on my blog. I will go play with it. Didn’t realize it sent people to Trulia in general and not my 14 listings.
May 7, 2008 — 5:34 pm
Eric Bramlett says:
Missy –
You’re loaded up w/ Trulia widgets! Let Blackwell or me know if you’d like some help turning those widgets into nofollows so that you won’t have to worry about hurting yourself in the search engines. You can still use them, you just have to modify them slightly.
May 7, 2008 — 5:39 pm
Paul Francis says:
Eric,
Nice post and well written on exposing the trojan horse method of providing something “free” and getting something much more valuable back in return.
And Rudy — “By the way…..interested traffic on Trulia is passed to your listings – not your competitor or some other IDX site – helping sellers sell their homes.”
Not entirely true with the deal cut with the largest company selling franchises for listing information, is it?
And I always love how third party sites throw the “helping sellers sell their homes” bit to try to turn the table for getting exposed on the real intentions.
Luckily, there are agents out there like Eric and a growing number of others that are learning more and more about internet marketing and freeing themselves from some not so truthful intentions.
I certainly don’t mind Trulia or all the other sites because you have every right to do what you are doing in the way you want to set up business… but don’t spin the facts with a PR campaign when you are called out.
Anyways — nice post Eric and hopefully more REALTORS read it.
May 7, 2008 — 5:44 pm
Paul Francis says:
Oops.. I meant to say agents like Eric and others teaching REALTORS more and more about internet marketing…
May 7, 2008 — 6:00 pm
Hi, I'm Rudy from Trulia.com says:
Just passing through 🙂
As I mentioned to others:
Yes, our widget has links to Trulia to show the content attribution. However, many companies that offer widgets include links for content attribution as well. I won’t name them but I see them on your sidebars all the time. It’s not hard to guess you know.
By the way, the term Trojan Horse is usually associated with viruses, something we clearly do not do.
Overall, we love everyone’s feedback! And yes, we’ve been listening, as we always do…………………..
Thank you,
Rudy
Social Media Guru at Trulia.com
P.S. In case you did not hear, we won the 2008 People’s Voice Webby Award for Real Estate yesterday 🙂
http://www.truliablog.com/?p=394
May 7, 2008 — 7:33 pm
Bob Wilson says:
I don’t like the no follows, and I have no issue with altering widgets, but the piling on here by those who aren’t innocent and are still profiting in the serps on questionable SEO tactics (re: contextual links) is just a bit amusing.
May 7, 2008 — 9:22 pm
Ken from Chicago says:
“2. Yes, you can add nofollows, but if you are tinkering with the code anyway, it might be easier to just pull the links out” (Rudy)
Now that is the second best way to go IMO. The heck with the nofollows, just remove the link all together.
Naturally the best way is to not use the widgets in the first place. All you are doing is showing the public that you are not the authority and they should go visit Tulia for the data. Isn’t the goal of your websites and blogs to make YOU look like the authority, not your competitor?
May 8, 2008 — 10:34 pm
Rob Lingle says:
The nofollow attribute was devised to take the benefit out of spamming blog comment. Using a free tool that you find valuable and then not returning the favor with a little link-love seems a tad slimy. On the other hand, not giving visitors to your site useful tools (that you surely won’t be able to build on your own) is sabotaging yourself.
The fact is, individual Realtors aren’t likely to grab the highest search results for broad terms. If you’re going to market online it would be best to start understanding the long tail (google it :))- find your niche, learn how to use free or cheap tools to help your clients, and learn how to disseminate your information widely instead of piling it up in one place.
May 15, 2008 — 7:14 am
Eric Bramlett says:
>>>The fact is, individual Realtors aren’t likely to grab the highest search results for broad terms.
Incorrect.
May 15, 2008 — 7:31 am
Eric Bramlett says:
>>If you’re going to market online it would be best to start understanding the long tail
Trulia is taking over the long-tails, as well.
This isn’t about being slimy. Trulia asks for listing data, and then nofollows the agent link who provided the data – this is returning the favor. Beyond that, our #1 rec is to simply not use the widgets.
The widgets are extremely inaccurate & provide little to no value to the consumer. Many agents are impressed by “shiny things” and they don’t understand the implications of using them.
May 15, 2008 — 7:34 am
Rob Lingle says:
If the widgets are inaccurate then I certainly agree with your recommendation to avoid them altogether. It seems that as data becomes more available with the opening of the MLS there are bound to be a proliferation of truly useful tools. I’d hate to see people shunning good tools because they’re afraid of sharing link cred.
After reading through Galen’s post it does sound like Trulia may be behaving badly. I don’t think nofollows (for non-spam) or Google-deceiving redirects are particularly good ‘net citizenship.
May 15, 2008 — 8:38 am
Ken from Chicago says:
“I don’t think nofollows (for non-spam) or Google-deceiving redirects are particularly good ‘net citizenship.”
Rob Trulia’s use of no follows for data (that would be your listings) from “trusted partners” (agents) goes way beyond poor net citizenship.
May 15, 2008 — 2:46 pm
Arow says:
Even though this post is a bit old and somewhat inactive, I figure it can’t hurt to pose the question:
Hmm… and trulia has co-conspirators?
An interesting page in EveryBlock.com:
http://chicago.everyblock.com/real-estate-listings/about/
BTW, Mr. Bramlett I really appreciated your posting this particular bit of… let’s just call it an emulsifier, ok?
July 11, 2008 — 3:24 pm
Skinner says:
Very nice post. I explored linkbait before and did not realized that I might helping the competitor if I used. Thank you for making us aware of it.
December 5, 2008 — 4:29 pm