What makes you unique? I’m not referring to your eleventh toe or your ability to recite the Arabic alphabet backwards. That’s not unique – that’s plain odd.
Why do clients want to work with you? What makes you better than the rest of the pack? I ask this question based upon the comments I received in my last past.
Simply because you may rank first or second in a Google search does not make you unique – it makes you visible. Now that you’re visible, what is the value you bring to the table?
I did a search on an address of a property I’ve listed, sadden to see that my SEO wizardry had failed me – Trulia and a whole host of other sites beat me to the punch – but honestly, I don’t care. My client’s property is well represented in cyberspace. It’s visible. But visibility is not value in and of itself.
Now – say you use the fact that you rank first, maybe second on the list of the Google search you ran, specifically on the property’s address – or maybe even on the property’s characteristics – terrific!
But wait – as a consumer, I see your site and perhaps Trulia, Redfin or another local broker’s site with the same property – and a slew of other sites with the same information. It’s visible but it is not specifically clear to me as a consumer why I would choose your site versus another. Perhaps I choose your link because it’s first on the list. Not a bad choice, but it was relatively arbitrary – it ranked first – not necessarily best.
If you’re marketing yourself as the best professional to sell a client’s home because you own the ranking of their property in a search result, you’re kidding your client – but mostly, you’re kidding yourself.
Greg Swann nailed the value proposition as to why high visibility on the web is a key differentiator: he’s visible – but he also sells his clients’ listings in less time than comparable properties in his market. Like almost 50% less.
Your high visibility facilitates your ability to sell more faster – if you don’t have the facts to back it up, it doesn’t make you unique. Many consumers don’t understand that visibility doesn’t equate to added value.
Providing a true value proposition that demonstrates to your potential seller that the investment you made in creating higher visibility, thus translating into better marketing statistics relative to your competitors makes you truly unique.
Kim Hannemann says:
I rank first on a Google search for my name! Does that help?
Probably not.
April 1, 2009 — 12:24 pm
Andrew Olson says:
Kim, thats great! I believe it definitely helps. But what Thomas is pointing out is that once they visit your site, why should they work with you? What makes you “stick” while the other candidates are forgotten.
A great follow up to this post is a book called Purple Cow by Seth Godin, discusses how to make yourself / your business “remarkable”
April 1, 2009 — 1:27 pm
Tom Hall says:
@Kim – thanks for your comment. It matters however if you are hanging your marketing message on the fact that you rank first, it isn’t enough.
April 1, 2009 — 1:36 pm
Kim Hannemann says:
Appreciate the feedback. However, I must say that my comment, though true, was contextually sort of a snarky self-deprecating joke. It is April 1 after all.
I’m not much for SEO – mostly I just work the content and honesty angles. I find it embarrassing to write text such as, “When you are looking for a home in Springfield, Fairfax, Burke, Kingstowne or anywhere in Northern Virginia, be sure to use a great real estate agent. Your Springfield, Fairfax, Burke, Kingstowne or Northern Virginia home purchase will go much more smoothly and you will get your best deal.”
April 1, 2009 — 2:50 pm
Al Lorenz says:
A successful business, or marketing plan is all about creating a value proposition for the customer, and getting that value proposition seen by the customer. Thanks for reminding us to look at the forest while we are focusing on that SEO tree!
April 1, 2009 — 3:27 pm
Thomas Hall says:
@Kim – why limit yourself to NVA? 😉
@Al – remember – as Smokey always says – only you can prevent forest fires. 😉
Thanks again for the comments.
April 1, 2009 — 6:21 pm
Dave G says:
I rank pretty well for my keywords and always first for the property address but that dosen’t mean that the content on the site is good. You have to make sure that you get the people looking at your site interested and have a lead capture system to get their email name and number. CHEERS!
April 2, 2009 — 3:29 pm
Dylan Darling says:
Its all about content and being user friendly. I’ve had many clients pick my site over higher ranked sites because of the content and ease of navigation.
I got a listing last year from my site and one of the clients reasons for picking me is because my site isn’t all about myself. I don’t plaster how good I am all over my home page. Consumers these days want information, listings, and a site that they can navigate with ease.
April 2, 2009 — 4:54 pm
Dan Connolly says:
Kim the text you said you didn’t want to write has nothing to do with SEO, in fact that kind of keyword stuffing will send your site to the sandbox pdq. Write for the consumers in a natural, interesting and informative way and you will nail the content aspect of SEO.
April 3, 2009 — 9:15 pm
Jamie Colucci says:
Don’t knock SEO too hard; it has its place when it’s done well. It will help gain that visibility on the search results page but it won’t keep a potential client on your site. To turn a browser into a client, you’ve got to wow them with an interesting, informative and visually stimulating site that’s easy to navigate. Virtual tours, interactive floor plans, slide shows, excellent communication tools — those will make your site unique.
April 6, 2009 — 2:10 pm
Thomas Hall says:
@Dan / @ Jamie – thanks for your comments. I’m not knocking SEO – it is absolutely powerful and can provide greater visibility. You can’t build a marketing message based solely on the fact that you have mastered the SEO game.
SEO is merely the mechanism. Once they land they’re better be a darn good message.
April 7, 2009 — 8:34 am