Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD February 12, 2008
…is some kind of SEO contest.
The prize looks kind of bogus to me.
“First place winner receives ummmm lets see - Ok a free REW template website ($740 value) Free hosting for a year on the new V 2.0 REW platform ($480) and throw in our $2500 CORE IDX and the $360 yearly fee on top of it - that works out to ummmm - let’s see about $4080 for first place - how’s THAT for a prize :)”
How do you read that prize?
I’m seeing the winner gets to pay at least $480 to them for hosting the “prize” for every year after the “free” year. The winner also gets to pay them another $360 a year ad infinitum for Core IDX services.
Who exactly is the winner in the long run?
******UPDATE****
It is my understanding that as a result of this post, the prize has been changed to include free hosting indefinitely.
***UPDATE***
I have a special request to update this post. I generally don’t do that, but at someone’s urgence that I expand the initial topic, I will.
Search Engines are trying very hard to serve a purpose on the internet. That purpose is to seek out and display good and valuable content. That is good for everyone, if allowed to perform its function.
However, some will try to trick the Search Engines into thinking that they have good and valuable content. They think this is a smart thing to do. Some even think it is great to charge people money to help them trick the Search Engines. This is a sin against not the Search Engines, but the general public, who rely on the internet to perform well. When someone searches a topic they are happy to find good and valuable content as the Search Engines intended. They are not happy to find a trickster who fooled the Search Engine into thinking they had good and valuable content.
Gaming the system is not good.
Check out these related posts:
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Article Tags>> Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World
- Posted in : General Real Estate, Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World
- Author : ARDELL
Comments»
Maybe it’s late, but I don’t get it. What’s the point of the contest? To win the prizes? To be “the” site that comes up when someone googles, “greatest real estate agent in the world?”
Who talks like that?
I thought SEO worked better if we use natural language.
I don’t really hear people saying “Jane Smith is the greatest real estate agent in the world,” or, “you know, the greatest real estate agent in the world is Jane Smith.”
I mean, I know Realtors have big egos but that sure would be a lot to live up to.
Wouldn’t I (as a buyer or seller) just want the greatest real estate agent in my neighborhood or city?
I looked at some of the comments in the blog post and some people just like to “win”. I think they want to win so much they haven’t figured out that “the prize” is going to cost them, so they should decide if they want to buy that prize or not, after the first year.
Hi Ardell;
You are totally correct about the prize having some cost in year 2. I (for one) am not competing in this for the website, although if you saw one of them, you might change your mind (grin). It is a REALLY nice gift for winning. I am going to be donating it (if I win) to a REALTOR in need of it…and I will make sure that it is not going to be something that they regret. (read: they won’t be paying hosting unless they are making enough off of the website to MORE than justify that expense.) I will personally guarantee that with my own checkbook if needed.
Full disclosure: I am not an REW customer (never spent a dime with ‘em), but have served as a moderator on their forum for awhile. I can attest to the quality of their work.
Believe it or not, this is not about promoting REW or anyone else…others in the RE community (Wannanetwork, for example) have thrown in prizes as well. The quest is for understanding on how to gain exposure on the search engines and how to promote a site online.
@Jillayne- you are 100% correct that this is a “not searched for” term. That IS the point. You learn in a laboratory. A little used term in competition with folks you know and communicate with is a great way to understand the principles of how search works. If the term was “Seattle Real Estate” that the contest was for, it could actually damage someone’s livelihood and that certainly wouldn’t be good. I think the intention was to learn in an “environmentally friendly” way.
You are also correct about egos..(smile)..Sometimes you have to appeal to that side of the brain to get people to take action…if not for that, luxury cars wouldn’t exist (grin).
Best to all of you..(an avid reader for years)
Eric Blackwell
I already have an REW website. I look at this as a good way to learn how to market online for our clients and for our own personal business. I certainly can attest to the idea that this will not cost you money in that the website will MAKE YOU A LOT OF MONEY. Far more than the second years hosting cost.
Since real estate has become more of an online experience for consumers, this contest can help all who participate learn more about what will and what won’t help them improve their online presence. So yes, after the first year, you would have to pay hosting on a website valued at about $5,000 along with another prize where someone will begin to help you get some solid content on that site. If you think this is a cost then so be it. I myself see it as an opportunity to get for free something that many people cannot afford or would pay for otherwise.
Incidentally, your post ranks quite well
Personally, I think the guys over at REW have a GREAT product. I have not personally made the investment in their site design but I do plan to at some point in the future so this contest would ultimately be a good thing to win for someone like me. It would save me the initial outlay to put the site up and I would have to pay ongoing anyway so it’s not a bad deal if you like the product as much as many of the REW site owners I’ve talked to.
The contest is a little self serving but aren’t ALL contests self serving in some way?
Eric,
Well the contest is causing me to remember Mohammed Ali fondly, and that’s not a bad thing
Ryan,
And that is my point about SEO…sometimes it just happens and toying with it is unfair somehow.
Ron,
I’m reminded of someone who won a really big prize once, and then couldn’t afford the taxes on it
I like Eric’s commitment to whomever he gives the prize to. A commitment like that turns the whole thing into a positive, and his feeling the need to do that should say something to the contest sponsors.
Ardell,
I don’t disagree with that point at all. I do think that it’s an opportunity to learn and in this case, it means that it’s worth looking at some of what you guys do here.
I drop in and read what’s going on in the great northwest at least once a week myself and whatever you guys do seems to work quite well.
I’m just looking at the opportunity to improve and this seems like a reasnoably harmless way to do it…
Ryan,
To the best of my knowledge, we don’t DO anything for SEO purposes except to try to have good, consumer focused, content.
To me, doing things for SEO placement is like using a fake photo in a dating service. Search Engines are looking for good content. Why manipulate a system that functions to the reader’s purpose by trying to bend it to your own purpose?
That’s why I regularly read here. It seems to me to be as much about the content and value we bring to the table. The reward for that is people like it and link to it.
Ardell;
@ Mr. Ali- I live in Louisville..his hometown… could not agree more.
@ My commitment–I am pleased to provide insurance where I KNOW there will never be a claim filed–grin. That’s hopefully the message that is getting sent…but I understand your point…When I was a kid, I remember watching the Price is Right, and thinking the same thing.
Best;
Eric
Unless my Dad was pulling our leg, Ali had a home in Wynnefield, PA when he was Cassius Clay. We used to drive by it at night at Christmas. My Dad liked it, but it was one of those with one Green spotlight, one red one and one white one. Seemed pretty boring to us. We liked the gaudy ones better.
Seems to me I remember it being a big sprawling rambler.
This looks like classis link bait to me… and a publicity stunt. But I fell for it hook line and sinker. A little competition is fun, especially in the seo world.
I’m personally hoping to win my client that package… but then again, it limits the field of competition because how many people actually need their services?
-Justin Smith
Tomato Coach
Justin,
Don’t you think you might be spamming the Rain City Guide with some anchor text spam to your entry? Hmm….and I thought we were all trying to play fair…
I don’t need to win no stinkin’ contest to know who is the Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World.
It’s Francy Thompson, bar none.
Happy Valentine’s Day dear!
And would you want a site from someone who believes in link bait and spamming for SEO…hmmmmmm
Jay,
I’m getting all kinds of Dear Ardell email today from friends who apparently “hold me dear” to them. Kinda cool!
Hey Ryan,
I don’t consider using the name field spam since I identified myself in the comment. Especially since I disclosed that I am a part of the contest.
I don’t get why people think using anchor text properly is spam…
Ryan,
Spam is anything done with the alterior motive of increasing SEO for their own site. Are you spamming? Only you know your intent.
Some spammers are getting so good at it, it’s getting harder to tell whether or not to delete a comment as a spam comment. Not referring to yours, as it is on topic. But one guy runs around making fabulous “off topic” comments, and you scratch your head and ask “Is that spam, or is the guy a psycho?”
Hey Ardell,
I do believe that off topic comments with keywords stuffed into the comment section and anchor text is spam…. because it’s obviously just a tactic to increase links etc… it may as well be a robot, which it is in many cases. And I admit, my comment was on the border of being out of line.
But, if you have something real to add to the conversation, what is wrong with including your keywords in the anchor text for your name (assuming you still identify yourself?) I’m not talking about using something like: “orange county realtor, orange county real estate, newport beach homes for sale”. That is clearly out of line, and disrespectful to the author. But what if you used something like: “Ardell - Seattle Real Estate Expert”
Seriously… what is wrong with that? You are identifying yourself, and still getting the anchor text benefit.
Honestly not trying to start an argument here. I respect your position, I’m just trying to understand it. Because what you seem to consider spam, is a part of every day life in the seo industry. Same with linkbait. Maybe you have a bone to pick with SEO people in general, I don’t know… I’m just trying to point out that there is an entire community out there that doesn’t classify spam the way you do.
I hope this comment doesn’t bite me…
Same as what’s wrong with a big Jesus Cross where your photo or logo belongs. LOL!!!!!
I don’t expect everyone to agree on “right and wrong”, Justin.
The SEO industry is in and of itself…spam by definition. When the intent is placement, and fighting the natural course of placement, that is trickery. Agents who use trickery for SEO purposes, might also use it to make money by using trickery on their clients, don’t you think?
It’s like my post “What does Bait and Switch blogging say about you (as an agent)..
So hiring an SEO expert is like telling the world “I’m an agent who believes in trickery to my own purpose.” Not a statement an agent should be making to the world.
First of all, thank you for providing some extra exposure for the contest and allow such an open forum as you have.
I wanted to start off by saying, that this contest (As my Blog posts states) is not an REW initiative, or a link bait scheme (At least not for me) - it was in fact proposed by one of our community members Eric Bramlett, who thought it would be a really fun thing to do, and a great learning experience. The reason I was the one to announce it is because I have the loudest microphone so to speak, so Eric asked me to Blog about it, so it upped the reach a bit, and made for a more challenging competition.
I think it is a great idea and seems like a lot of fun (I am not competing btw) and more importantly I see merit in the education this kind of exercise provides. I was not asked to provide a prize, I just thought it would be a good idea to have something (Other than increased knowledge and bragging rights) to compete for - every competition needs a prize right?
As for the prize - I can certainly see from an outsiders perspective how this might appear as a bait and switch - (I thought I was being generous) - to be honest, the web hosting fees we charge are to cover costs, not to make $ - REW makes our money in the fee for service side of web development (Custom design, programming, content writing etc) - Even if there were a profit margin to speak of in hosting, it would take a hell of a lot of monthly hosting fees (Many more customers than we have or will have any time soon) to cover a 35+ person web development staff, building and Rackspace servers (Not cheap) etc - we would go broke very quickly if our model was based on hosting profits.
Even so, I suppose by the same argument, we don’t stand to loose much from offering 1 hosting account / IDX free service lifetime, so in the spirit of not tainting what I truly believe is a fun contest and a great idea, I will amend my offer so that the platform and IDX hosting costs will be covered by me for as long as the customer would like to use the site.
Hey guys! Glad I found this blog - looks like you guys have a thriving community here. I’ll be up your way in June for SMX - I’m looking forward to visiting Seattle for the first time.
I just wanted to pop in and confirm that this whole contest is really all in good fun, and for educational purposes. As Blackwell stated above, we’re going after a non-competitive phrase for “bragging rights” and Morgan was kind enough to throw in a VERY nice prize. Even if he wasn’t offering the free hosting, the site + IDX is something that people line up to pay big bucks for.
With that said….GAME ON! We’d love to have you guys in the competition - everyone should come out a winner.
” I will amend my offer so that the platform and IDX hosting costs will be covered by me for as long as the customer would like to use the site.”
Cool!
Hello Ardell,
Great Blog and popular topic right now. As others have said it’s not about the website that Morgan has graciously offered, but more of a fun contest and learning experience that Eric Bramlett came up with, for a keyword phrase that is definitely for fun only. Well SEO bragging rights too.
Now the website does add more excitement to this contest, even if Morgan had not offered the additional hosting.
Anyway you may as well consider yourself in the contest because right now I see this Blog in the #1 spot on Google.
Of course you would have to make a change here that you probably have no intention of changing,… oh well.
Ardell,
You know the winner doesn’t have to accept the prize being offered by Morgan! This contest, started by Eric Bramlett, is supposed to be fun and educational!
Good luck to all!
But I think if the winner doesnt accept the prize, they are crazy!
If you guys don’t think I entered the contest, in my own way, well…LOL!
Not only did I enter, but I got Morgan to up the prize by entering in the manner that I did. Pretty cool, I think.
Game on!
Here is one perspective on why it may not be the brightest idea to participate.
Well, other than write a blog post about it…I’m done. Like I said. We don’t have “tricks” here. We just write.
[...] February 14, 2008 by Dustin …the greatest real estate agent in the world contest! [...]
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“To the best of my knowledge, we don’t DO anything for SEO purposes except to try to have good, consumer focused, content.”
Come on Ardell, then what is the Linkation page, the Real Estate Blog links, and the Seattle Neigborhood Blog links all about? Sure it’s consumer focused, but did you always have Chicago consumers there in the Rainy City? Morgan is consumer and content focused too. I just think the pot is calling the kettle black here or your outbound linking would not be nearly as voluminous. Your page name purports to be a site about Seattles Rainy City Real Estate, Morgans is focused on Real Estate Webmasters. Why would G algos find your Seattle real estate guide relevant to The Greatest Real Estate Agent In The World from this one page of mention. I just respectfully don’t think that you “don’t DO anything for SEO purposes except to try to have good, consumer focused, content”. And I am not being negative and I am positive it is all white hat, but I have been around long enough to know that people doing the talking like to be heard and usually step up to the podium and often must take steps (well intentioned and ethical) to get themselves to the podium. I believe you propel yourself to the podium when given the chance too.
As far as the prize, I find it interesting you now have your eyes on the prize after your initial post.
Good luck, you are #1 today.
Cal
Cal,
It’s not my site. I just write here.
Does that mean that by simply writing a post, the person who already had the highest SEO would win?
I know we turn down people who want to link with us every day, and many offer to pay for that privelege. I know because sometimes they email me by mistake and I forward the requests to Dustin, but answer myself first.
They may have very high ranking, and linking to them would clearly benefit our SEO standings, but we still “Just say no” to inappropriate linking.
If it is inappropriate linking that would help, then it is spam.
What was appropriate at one time is not now. What is now won’t be in the future. But I see nothing wrong with a contest for an unusual term and still believe that we all seek to get on the podium to be heard in our own way. Some will walk to the podium, some run, some may be pushed in a wheelchair, and others will stand on a soapbox at the back of the room.
I doubt that “by simply writing a post, the person who already had the highest SEO would win”, isn’t that constantly in flux? After all, why is everybody blogging in the first place?
[...] raincityguide.com [...]
What I find sort of amusing is all the folks putting “The greatest real estate agent in the world” as their linked user name here.
RCG has nofollows on comments. All you are doing is adding those keywords to Ardell’s post. Your link isn’t being followed.
Check the source, you’ll see rel=’external nofollow’ on all comments…
Ardell,
“The SEO industry is in and of itself…spam by definition”
…is a terrible, ignorant definition.
I’m going to reference Wikipedia, which even though might not be THE authoritative source, is known for rebuking SEO’s/spammers for manipulating the site to their own advantage, so should be considering mostly neutral if not even a little against SEO’s/spammers. Interestingly, they rank very well for the terms SEO and Search Engine Optimization…;)
SEO: “SEO considers how search algorithms work and what people search for. SEO efforts may involve a site’s coding, presentation, and structure, as well as fixing problems that could prevent search engine indexing programs from fully spidering a site. Other, more noticeable efforts may include adding unique content to a site, ensuring that content is easily indexed by search engine robots, and making the site more appealing to users. Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that tend to harm search engine user experience.”
You should see that there’s a noticable difference between SEO and spamming.
Spamdexing:”Some consider it to be a part of search engine optimization, though there are many search engine optimization methods that improve the quality and appearance of the content of web sites and serve content useful to many users.”
So, SEO - REALLY - is defined as improving the user experience and helping search engines and users find the content or information they’re looking for. Quite the opposite of what you’re suggesting.
What you’re saying would be like someone claiming “Realtors are leeches by definition.” Probably true for a subset of the population, but not really an accurate assessment of the group as a whole, no?
BTW, in order to make this comment exceedingly long, the link dropping for Greatest Real Estate Agents in The World URLs is probably crossing the line over to comment spamming, or very near to crossing that line. Although I should point out to everyone you’ve got nofollowed comment links, to they’re not passing Page Rank or anchor text weight.
Thanks for entertaining a differing opinion.
Ardell, I think a lot of people still need to read the rules on Morgans Blog. To qualify in this contest these comments must be do-follow and they are currently no-follow, that is why I made the comment above in #27.
By the way I currently see Justin Smith at #1, but believe me before its over it will get things will change more.
Where is the Edit button
That would be;” but believe me before its over things will change more”
Mike,
I choose to be ignorant to SEO tactics…so thanks. I’m just a girl in the world who knows about real estate and writes about real estate.
It’s the age of be who you are and let the chips fall where they may. Be your best at what you do best and what your clients NEED you to do best…and for me, that’s real estate.
As to anything else…I’m just a girl in the world. Have fun with the contest though.
If more agents worried more about learning their “craft” and being an expert at home valuation and all things real estate, instead of SEO and getting people to “find” them…they wouldn’t need to be “found”. Their good and happy clients would spread the word, not a Search Engine.
P.S.
I don’t need no stinkin’ rules
“I don’t need no stinkin’ rules”
As soon as I saw something about “Ardell” and “rules”, I thought to myself… “they don’t know Ardell very well”.
Like Ardell is going to get under the hood of RCG and start doinking with comment nofollow code. I suspect she neither knows, or more importantly cares, how to do that.
Still, I hope she “wins”!
“I don’t need no stinkin’ rules”
I love this. Can’t wait to see Ardell “win” but have the egos behind this disqualify her because of their “rules”. What if the the top 5 or 6 results don’t qualify? Do they crown #7 the winner? Too funny.
Ardell,
“I choose to be ignorant to SEO tactics…so thanks.”
That’s fine. I’m ignorant about a LOT of things, just like everybody else. That doesn’t preclude us from being experts in something, or even just helpful, good people.
IOW, don’t mistake my comment as my assessment of YOU; it’s just my response on your comment about SEO.
“If more agents worried more about learning their “craft” and being an expert at home valuation and all things real estate, instead of SEO and getting people to “find” them…they wouldn’t need to be “found”. Their good and happy clients would spread the word, not a Search Engine.”
1. Agree that an agent’s first concern should be doing their job well. I don’t think SEO would fall under the fiduciary duties of an agent.
2. I also don’t think you can blame someone for specifically trying to be ‘found,’ even if they already do a great job as an agent. I would suggest that postcards, advertisements (print, radio, online, etc), open houses, and blogging are all efforts to be ‘found’ - even if not exclusively so. If an agent does that with SEO techniques, I think that’s just fine - just like it’s fine if they choose NOT to…
As far as the contest goes, I haven’t entered, but I think I probably will. I do think it would be fun.
Thanks again.
As long as it is be good first, and be found second, I’m OK with that.
But like my post earlier this week with the crappy photo of the home, better to present the home well first…and then worry about vFlyers.
As long as the priority is at the consumer level vs. the agent level…OK
Consumer First, Client Second, Agent, Third, Company Last.
It’s my motto. Consumer First means do it for the benefit of upgrading the industry and the knowledge of consumers generally.
P.S.
Just so you know where I’m coming from, I think the HUGE industry of selling things to agents increases the cost to consumers generally with regard to real estate commissions.
I hope agents will be more selective of self promotion expenses, and then pass some of that savings on to the consumer.
Just want to clarify something about “the rules” - there is nothing in the rules of this contest that state comments on your blog must be do follow, that is not what I said at all. Nofollow / Do follow is something every webmaster has the right to choose and should choose wisely if they are allowing user contributed content in any volume that makes it hard to moderate.
The actual rule is this: You must write at least paragraph about 1 thing you learned from someone else’s entry. You must provide a link to that entry with a no follow (And you cannot request a link back, this is not about building link networks or reciprocal links)
Why implement such a rule? Because in having to find, read and report on quality search engine practices you are being forced to learn while you compete - this is the basis of the rule.
Why nofollow? Do dis-spell some myths and break some habits. Nofollow is for outbound links that you do not trust, or cannot vouch for, it was never intended to help SEO’s conserve page rank, nor do I think that Google wants every webmaster creating pagerank sinks.
Reference the paragraph above and think about it for a second - you had to go out and find a web page that you #1 have read, and #2 respect enough to link to due to the quality of it’s efforts - this should NOT have a no-follow because it is an earned link. It also provides some great motivation to write / create the best (Most likely to be respected) entry in the contest due to there being an advantage to those who truly put effort into the quality of the content of their entry.
Oops, there is a typo above it should have read “You must write at least paragraph about 1 thing you learned from someone else’s entry. You must provide a link to that entry without a no follow”
> Just so you know where I’m coming from, I think the HUGE industry of selling things to agents increases the cost to consumers generally with regard to real estate commissions.
Blogging, SEO, online syndication of listings, etc, are great ways to drive costs DOWN, IMO.
I’m sometimes amazed at what an individual pays for SEO services…in most cases, it’s just not necessary. In highly competitive markets or for larger brokerages, perhaps…but for most individuals: just DIY, or at least be smart about to who and what you pay for SEO.
Morgan: Glad you clarified that; that’s the way I was interpreting the rule, but it’s good to clear up the confusion.
The rules assume that there is something of value to be learned from these contestants. Effort and quality are relative and subjective. What I have seen so far is pretty basic. Ardell simply wrote a post on an authority site and it out ranks most of them.
She is schooling them.
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World February 15, 2008 Sometimes I feel so inclined. But mostly I just do’t get why. [...]
“how do you read that prize?”
Back to the original topic of the post. After thinking about it, I do think the prize is kind of silly… think about it. The people that are competing right now already have websites, and if they are in the running, you can assume they probably have some kind of idea of what they are doing… why would they need a package for a new website???
What I’m seeing now is a bunch of jockeying from people that already have multiple domains. I even saw that someone created a new domain name: greatestrealestateagentintheworld.org I guess someone forgot to tell them that 15 days isn’t a whole lot of time for a brand new domain name to rank well…
You can count me out.
Justin Smith wrote: “…I guess someone forgot to tell them that 15 days isn’t a whole lot of time for a brand new domain name to rank well…”
The contest ends May 1st not March 1st!
lol… oops. guess I misread that.
2.5 mos. still isn’t very much time for a new domain.
Anyone else notice that the number of results has increased on Google for the search phrase? When we started, there were 570,000 results found. This morning, there are 756,000…
I find it hard to believe that there have been 86,000 new web pages created in the last couple of days relating to “greatest real estate agent in the world”.
Nice job shooting up to the top
Sounds a bit like when you win a free home alarm system.
Michael,
Kind of funny. If the google THE Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World, I’m #1 in Google, but when you drop THE, I’m second.
[...] So Step 2 for me is to hire a professional photographer to take view shots. For the cost of $400 to $500, Harley will come over on the day HE feels best, to take those view shots. Don’t leave photos of the view to chance. Get the photographer set from the beginning, and also snap photos on your own, at every opportunity. I already know that while I may be theGreatest Real Estate Agent in the World…or not , that Harley is much better equipped to take those view shots. Mother Nature may not cooperate when you get to the day you need those photos. So get the photographer in gear now, even though he likely will have to come back again when you are ready to list the home, for the inside shots. Give him a key to the house and say “Come by whenever you think it’s a good day for those view shots.” I have a West facing view, and I also want night shots. So the cost might be double at $800 to $1,000, but money well spent to highlight your #1 Home Feature. [...]
Yeah, it´s like winning a free night in a hotel in Maui if you make it there on your own.
I find the contest a unique way to test my personal SEO skill against many that have far more experience and probably resources to achieve the #1 spot. I just want to see how well I can compete on a scale like this where every agent will be blogging about how great they are. Like many I don’t need hosting or prizes but seek the intrinsic feeling and value of a job well done…hopefully I understand the rules before belching some text on a webpage
Toby!
Best of luck to you. Don’t take too long to belch on the webpage though. When it comes to search engines, sometimes “aged” and earliest is more important than better and later.
Google Winner of Project Blogger and see what I mean. I declared Kevin Tomlinson the Winner of Project Blogger before the contest was over. To the best of my knowledge, he’s still the winner as far as Google is concerned.
No he’s not! LOL. Well, as they say, the Truth Will Out Itself. Still…like someone said, could take a lot longer than this contest has to run for that truth to out itself.
Could be that I used different keywords, just like this contest with my being 1st if you google THE Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World vs. Greatest Real Estate Agent in the world. One little word can throw everything out of whack.
But “the rules” don’t interest me. The WHY of rules interests me a lot more than the rule itself.
Justin, I have multiple web sites and recently closed one down because I just don’t have the time. However, there are others that do have the time (and outside help) to continue creating multiple niche sites and getting a nice website as a prize would suit them just fine.
I’d give up the template to get the custom IDX which would go quite well hand-in-hand with my VOW - actually, as a lead-in to my VOW. You see, in Northern IL our IDX has been opted out of by many brokerages so is quite lacking.
I could offer the IDX without registering while trying to let them know if they want all of the active listings they have to register for the VOW.
Anyway, I think it’s a great prize, even if one doesn’t need or want every part of it. I’m on Eric Blackwell’s team, no time to do this on my own (& no chance to win).
I do have to say that since joining in, at the least I am finding new blogs and sites and networking. It’s been fun.
Getting back to the original post now that the “bait and switch” angle is moot - a potential way to summarize Ardell’s intent with the post could be “what is the motive behind Real Estate Webmasters offering the prize. We said our goal here was to learn, so perhaps some readers hoping to become web savvy marketers will learn something from what I am going to post below.
The thing I want to say, is that me offering the prize has absolutely nothing to do with any potential SEO benefits I may receive from being referenced as the “generous guy offering a great website for free for life” in blog comments, or web pages discussing the contest - to be perfectly honest Real Estate Webmasters has so much viral momentum that a few low quality links from blog posts would not amount to a hill of beans in terms of our bottom line.
So what is the motivation? The answer is simple greater reach and even more advancement in our awareness campaign.
The fact of the matter is, there are still tons of real estate agents out there that don’t know about Real Estate Webmasters, our websites, or any other facet of our company. Having this prize referenced in places we otherwise may never have been mentioned (Like here at RainCityGuide) allows for us to increase overall awareness of our company and social networking portions of our site. More specifically, it causes people to evaluate the “prize” - there are those that may have heard about us, but never took the time to closely examine our template product - now they will.
It’s just smart marketing
Do I want the backlinks? - Well I’ll take them, I’m no fool, but it’s not the point at all
Do I want the $480 a year for hosting, platform fee? Cmon guys, that wouldn’t even pay the salary of the CSR staff to support it.
Do I want literally thousands of real estate professionals and potential business partners to become aware of Real Estate Webmasters? YES! This is the point of the prize - sure it costs me the labor to set it up and host it, but can you think of a single advertising campaign that would reach as many potential “targeted” customers for such a low cost? Probably not - if you put some thought and some effort into viral marketing campaigns, you will find that the ends justifies the means.
PS - if there are still those of you who think - “Yeah right, I still think it’s a bait and switch and you are going to be upsold” - The poster above Judy Orr won here Real Estate Webmasters website years ago in a member referral contest, and we have NEVER attempted to sell her anything. It just comes down to misunderstanding or underestimating the big picture.
So was this a waste of time for those participating? Not for those that just had a “lightbulb moment” with respect to the potential scope of viral marketing online. Sure some might poo-poo it, some might say “well I already knew that” and that is fine - but for those of you who take this concept and are succesful with it, feel free to keep the viral thing going and mention you learned it at Real Estate Webmasters
I don’t think that there is a prize. At least not one worth investing any energy over. The contest is a competition between real estate webmasters. Nothing more, nothing less.
Nice to see so many familiar faces on top.
Including this blog.
I predict 500 comments by the time the contest is over ( @ least)
Mike Dammann
At the moment I have 4 of the top 5 spots in Google. I’m 1,2,4and 5. Haven’t spent much time doing that, and it clearly can change as we go forward. But doesn’t seem like much of a contest if I can get 4 of the top 5 spots without trying.
It has little to do with trying. I put up a thread on Digitalpoint and it went to number 4. It has to do with using authority sites to post on.
Most webmasters still underestimate the importance of growing authority to their sites and rather focus on getting links with keywords in them.
No, you are not trying, at least not as hard as most people, but you are also not getting your very own sites ranked, are you?
Ardell, you are a great writer, and that helps a lot with ranking. And I wished more people out there would realize that you sometimes have to go where the business and traffic is rather than wondering when it will come to you.
If you put this effort on a regular basis onto a blog of your own, there is no doubt it will be a huge SEO success.
Nice to see you have no tunnel vision.
Sorry if I came off the wrong way, but I have friends who are trying very hard to win this thing, and hopefully we will all learn a lot from this.
The 4 and 5 spots are my original blog. I didn’t go outside of where I normally blog. Was the idea to start a new blog for the contest?
I honestly don’t know the rules, nor do I really care. I’m just saying I am amazed how I got a thread on Digitalpoint to shoot to place 4.
I’m also apparently seeing different results than you here.
On my end I have
1) RCG
2) The Hoser
3) Real Town
4) Digitalpoint
5) seegeorgiarealestate
Interesting how we see different screens. I’m not good at screen shots, but I’m seeing RCG as one and two and my blog at Real Town as 4 and 5.
Different Google data centers can show different results, especially when there are a lot of new pages being indexed as there are in this contest.
I don’t think the intent was to create a new blog. My understanding is “whatever it takes” (within the limits of acceptable SEO practice of course) to get a result to #1.
I see lots of folks creating new pages, utilizing press releases, Squidoo lenses, AR, linking to their entry from other web sites, asking for link backs, etc etc.
Contests are fun. The prize is nice. Hopefully folks will learn. I don’t have the time or energy to spend on it. I’d rather sell a home.
Here’s what I am seeing:
Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A …Real Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market.
http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ - 75k - Cached - Similar pages
Rain City Guide | A Seattle Real Estate Blog…Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World is some kind of SEO contest going on over on this blog. The prize looks kind of bogus to me. …
http://www.raincityguide.com/ - 70k - Cached - Similar pages
Greatest Real Estate Agent in the WorldReal estate agents try and prove they are the greatest real estate agents in the world showcasing their spammin’ and jammin’ skills.
http://www.gregboser.com/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ - Similar pages
The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World : ARDELL’s Seattle …The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World is just a silly contest, an SEO one at that. But it makes me stop and think about the Greatest Agents that I …
http://www.realtown.com/Ardell/blog/relocating-to-seattle-area/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world - 22k - Cached - Similar pages
Tags and Keywords | Real Estate BlogsTagged with: greatest real estate agent in the world. Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World. Permanent Link | Comments (1) | Write a Comment | Send Link …
http://www.realtown.com/blogs/tags/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world - 76k - Cached - Similar pages
More results from http://www.realtown.com »
Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … - 4 visits - 7:45amReal Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market.
http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ - 75k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World - 7:36amReal estate agents try and prove they are the greatest real estate agents in the world showcasing their spammin’ and jammin’ skills.
http://www.gregboser.com/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ - Similar pages - Note this
The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World : ARDELL’s Seattle … - 2 visits - 7:12amThe Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World is just a silly contest, an SEO one at that. But it makes me stop and think about the Greatest Agents that I …
http://www.realtown.com/Ardell/blog/relocating-to-seattle-area/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world - 22k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
The greatest Real Estate agent in the worldThe greatest Real Estate agent in the world (from General Chat)
forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=706510 - Similar pages - Note this
Greatest Real Estate Agent In The WorldFind The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the world Here,find the winner of the Greatest Real Estate agent in the world contest here.
http://www.seegeorgiarealestate.com/Greatest_Real_Estate_Agent_In_The_World.htm - 5k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Jay, hire someone to sell the homes for you and spend all day playing around online. The spotlight is on you. If you have managed to make it to this blog, you belong online and need to build a sales force taking over your leads.
Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … - 4 visits - 7:45amReal Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market.
http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ - 75k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World - 7:36amReal estate agents try and prove they are the greatest real estate agents in the world showcasing their spammin’ and jammin’ skills.
http://www.gregboser.com/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ - Similar pages - Note this
The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World : ARDELL’s Seattle … - 2 visits - 7:12amThe Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World is just a silly contest, an SEO one at that. But it makes me stop and think about the Greatest Agents that I …
http://www.realtown.com/Ardell/blog/relocating-to-seattle-area/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world - 22k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
The greatest Real Estate agent in the worldThe greatest Real Estate agent in the world (from General Chat)
forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=706510 - Similar pages - Note this
Greatest Real Estate Agent In The WorldFind The Greatest Real Estate Agent in the world Here,find the winner of the Greatest Real Estate agent in the world contest here.
http://www.seegeorgiarealestate.com/Greatest_Real_Estate_Agent_In_The_World.htm - 5k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this
This is what I see. I also see a lot of Digg, Myspace, Furl and such.
Blogs, forum threads and such.
On a sidenote:
If anything, this contest will teach average spammers (non real estate) a lot.
Now I see something completely different.
http://firetown.com/cool/?p=162
REW urls are moving up.
Makes more sense than having a Digg “story” which doesn’t even have one vote.
Fire Town - I’ve got what I consider a pretty good online presence. You’re more than welcome to stop by http://www.PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com and let me know what you think! I also contribute to GeekEstateBlog and HomeGain’s blog as well.
I spend quite a bit of time in and around the “RE.net”. Just ask my wife (also an agent and the one that does most of the real sales work while I try to bring in the clients via the internet)
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … - 5 visits - 8:37am [...]
I’ll check it out, Jay. Feel free to come by our entry in the contest. Great group of people, no one from Phoenix yet.
http://www.ericonsearch.com/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world-your-name-here
It’s a long contest….where any of us are right now may not be a good indication of where everything ends up.
For what it’s worth, I have this at #1, my entryy at #2 and Jay at #3. I’ve jsut finished my first year of blogging and havew much to learn from you 2 and quite a number of other great real estate bloggers around. I hope that we can keep focused on the learning part. At least that’s a big part of it for me.
“I spend quite a bit of time in and around the “RE.net”. Just ask my wife (also an agent and the one that does most of the real sales work while I try to bring in the clients via the internet”
Jay,
I have the same story. I do most of our online marketing which actually keeps four agents busy with all of my leads, my wife being one of the agents. I hate showing homes but love spamming messageboards
Did I mention that I personally know the greatest real estate agent in the world?
Hey, are you guys pimping my blog post?
Seems there is trouble in the wind if there are different views when each of us Googles it. Plus it seems to be quite volatile on an hour to hour basis.
ARDELL-
There are NATURAL difference that occur between datacenters of Google but it sounds like you are looking at your personalized search (which would skew towards where you have been). When you Google, look at the upper right hand corner on your screen. If it says “sign out” then click on it and it will sign you out of the personalized search.
I know I have not commented much since the beginning here…but have had fun reading! (Glad to see Jay Thompson out there may to go!) And Ardell you cracked me up with “Rules? We don’t need no stinkin’ rules!” Too funny.
Best
Eric
Eric,
I just commented over at Cal’s post on AR that referenced you post. He’s using “The” Greatest, and I think that might hurt him. Mine was coming up as “The” too until I fixed that. I don’t think the contest recognizes placement with the The in front, but double check that for Cal.
Thanks.
Greg Boser now comes up first if you put “the”. I don’t think, Eric, that it has to do with where I have been, as I haven’t been to Greg’s post.
If anyone can clarify regarding what happens when the is in front of greatest in the final results, I’d appreciate it. In hindisight, I’d think “The greatest real estate agent in the world” would have been more appropriate, but I don’t think that is what they did unless they changed it.
It is probably too late to change the key phrase folks are optimizing for, as most that are competing in the contest have already been optimizing without the ‘the’ in the phrase. Heck, we can always have a second competition for the ‘the’ entries!
Let´s stick with one contest and heat things up!
[...] I hear that Ardell DellaLoggia is winning the lame SEO contest for “greatest real estate agent in the world” and it got me to thinking. Why is Ardell DellaLoggia the greatest real estate agent in the world? (if nothing else, please read the last line of this post) [...]
[...] Other “Great” Posts: Jay Thompson - Phoenix Real Estate Guy ARDELL’s Post on Rain City Guide (P.S. She is winning this little contest so far…) Ryan Ward’s Atlanta Real Estate Blog Greg Boser’s SEO Consultant Blog See Georgia Real Estate Real Estate Webmasters VIP Realty Info [...]
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … Real Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market. http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ 88k - [...]
Rerevealed- you state on your blog
“I use social networking sites and blogging to learn more about other people, their ideas, their business practices”
This is exactly the type of behavior we are trying to encourage with this “lame” contest. Your comment about code manipulation is kind of off base - Great SEO is NOT about code manipulation at all, it is about building true relationships, gaining respect and authority (Such as Ardell has) and many other things that are more about networking than most people trying to learn SEO realize. Whether you realize it or not, you are already participating and helping others learn, so thank you
I think blogging in general is about people telling stories. Of course, we all want to be heard, and so SEO is just one of many ways to spread the word. A lot of SEO techniques, are also about improving the user experience. For example, this blog (rain city), uses SEO friendly URLs, but another way of putting that is that this blog uses human readable URLs. I think most people are happy that this blog has been ‘optimized’ to make their links more human and search engine friendly.
Milan,
I do see many bloggers using numbers in their urls. Like post 4563. Not sure why they do that? Is it just a default mechanism they haven’t bothered to change for user friendly urls?
ARDELL- yes, the Worpress default URL for a post is BlogURL/?p=post number
It’s a matter of two clicks to change it to a date/name based URL (ala RCG) or customize it to whatever. I use name/post_ID. Simply becasue I often have wordy titles I excluded teh M/D/Y.
If running on WP, the “All in One SEO” plugin is nice as it allows you to have different post titles and URLs. So I can take those lengthy post titles and condense them into a shorter URL for the post.
Jay,
Why do you think BHB is using the numbers instead of SEO keyword and consumer friendly URLs?
ARDELL -
Greg posted about it here
I think the gist of it is he doesn’t think it matters, and he finds the shorter post ID url’s easier to link to. Something about it reducing mistakes. (which I don’t get as I copy/paste internal link URLs, as would most people I assume).
I disagree with him on this. Not only are “SEO friendly” URLs, well, SEO friendly, but I also like being able to see a link and have some idea what it pertains to (without having to interpret the link anchor text).
But maybe that’s just me.
[...] Anyway, the person who is currently top, before the competition started, and therefore possibly does have a claim to the title the greatest real estate agent in the world, is a lady called ardell dellaloggia. [...]
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … Real Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market. http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ 103k - [...]
Oh God, and there’s voting!
Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World | Top 30 Results Tuesday Feb 19thDaily Results February 19th, 2008
1. Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A …
Real Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market.
http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ 103k -
The above trackback reveals today’s results for the contest. I clicked over and OMG there is voting. Vote for who you think will win. Is there a prize for guessing that right too?
http://www.greatestrealestateagentintheworld.org/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world-top-30-results-tuesday-feb-19th/
Should we all run over and vote for ourselves now? Should we email all of our friends and say “please vote for me” because if I win I promise to make the Blogosphere a better place, free of spam, for all mankind and or geekdom?
Maybe I can put a big button at the bottom of my post that says “VOTE FOR ME HERE” lol. Those buttons are a panic, aren’t they?
Voting seems rather silly. What is the point in that?
What I find funny / interesting / ironic that you are in 1st, and I’m in 4th and between the two of us we did nothing but post it on our blogs.
I see people building new pages, teaming up, pleading for links, linking from every other site they have, submitting press releases, and more. All quite interesting, and possibly educational, but isn’t it rather telling that #1 and #4 simply blogged about it?
Hi Jay!
It’s interesting that you have blogged all over the real estate galaxy (not just the world). I have admired you from afar and know that you constantly build new pages and team up in the blogosphere through commenting. I doubt you need to plead for links at all (and like myself you probably never would). So, since you have spent the last few years building quality and relevance through links you should find it neither funny, interesting, or ironic that you and Ardell rank so well from a simple single post. You know your bread is buttered by incoming links that were well earned and you shouldn’t make others feel “silly” from your comments for seeking to do exactly what you and Ardell have been so successful at doing. It is funny that the ones that have really mastered their trade find it so easy to poo poo other persons efforts to discover what you already know.
I have been watching you from your very first posts at point2 and know that you did not get where you are without much time, effort, and trial and error and I also know that a simple blog post did not get you where you are for a select keyword phrase.
Like I told Ardell in an earlier post, the pot is calling the kettle black here.
I continue to admire your work and learn from it and whoever created the vote site should not have to suffer the indignity of a great internet power house like yourself calling him silly.
Keep up the good work!
Cal
Cal -
First, thanks for your kind words. Means a lot to me. I don’t know about “great internet power house”. I’m just an agent with a blogging problem ;).
I didn’t mean to imply whoever created the voting site was silly. I don’t even know who did it. I do think the *voting* is silly, but certainly not the creator of the site (there is more there than just the voting). I think it’s neat that someone is taking the time to update a “leader board”. (and in hindsight, the voting is just a fun thing and there is certainly no problem with having a little fun.)
“funny / interesting / ironic” wasn’t well stated. Let’s leave it at just “interesting”. Interesting because what it shows is exactly what you pointed out. That a post on a blog with some “authority” can rank well for some search terms without using any of the usual “SEO methods”. (ie: linkbacks to that specific post, tons of key words, etc.)
Of course getting a blog to that point of authority is not an insignificant task. It takes time and effort. It doesn’t just happen.
I hope people do learn from this contest. What I *really* hope they learn is there are no shortcuts, and that it’s not necessary to employ “trickery” to get good search positioning. (note: I’m not saying anyone currently in the contest is employing trickery / black hat or even gray hat techniques).
I am absolutely no fan of reciprocal linking, and I’ve never employed it on my site or blog. The only time I’ve ever asked for links was during two non-real estate related fund raising efforts. I’ve seen people spend an extraordinary amount of time asking for and maintaining recip link pages. I’ve also seen people get into trouble with them. It’s just not necessary and as the results Ardell and I are getting show, it really isn’t needed to get “authority” and subsequent good rankings.
Thanks for your comment and for keeping me in check!
JT
Thanks for the follow up Jay!
Your response was just what I have come to expect from you, thoughtful, informative, and educational. Keep up the good work!
Cal
Is it just me or is it getting old watching people complain about spam. What is spam and what isn´t? Is there really a need to differenciate?
What makes it funny is seeing so many of those who complain about spam come up with some of the most creative ways to do just that … spam.
Seriously, guys. Lighten up and stop throwing stones.
And yes Morgan, networking is the key. In real life as well as online.
May the greatest win!
Dustin and I get tons of link requests. They would do better to say “please look at my site as I think it’s content might be of interest to your readers” than “Hi I have an X ranking and would like to trade links. We promise it will be worth your while.”
The point isn’t that we don’t link to things. We do. The point is that the purpose of the link is for the readership, not for our ranking.
Linking should not be because we “traded links”. It should be because it was worth linking to and of interest to me or to the readers. Sometimes my links are there because it makes it easier for me to go read those sites, as I prefer that method to RSS feeds. So it is for my personal ease of navigation to my favorite sites/people.
Mike,
If you don’t know what spam is, you may be doing it. So it clearly is worth knowing about. There were a couple of brothers running around spamming everyone for awhile. They were like streakers running through naked. No reason to be there except to drop a turd.
Spam is real…and if you don’t know what it is, you should.
Ahh yes, that is the kind of spam I hate, but I am talking about all the little tricks some of the top ranked guys are using. Some of it, if asking Google employees, would be considered spam as well.
But no, it´s not the annoying drive by type of spam.
That´s the spam of those who don´t know any better.
No, I am not planning to spam. But then again, if I see someone do something that is creative and works, why not get some new ideas. Anything in moderation. :);)
[...] Greatest real estate Agent in The WORLD Greatest real estate Agent in the World is some kind of SEO contest going on over on this blog. The prize looks kind of bogus to me. “First place winner receives ummmm lets see - Ok a free REW template website ($740 value) Free hosting for a year on the new V 2.0 REW platform ($480) and […] [...]
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … Real Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market. http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world - 108k - [...]
How did you get back up there?
Are you talkin’ ta me!? LOL I’m not doing anything. Though I may when the contest gets to the last few days. If something is happening, I’m not causing it to happen. I’m busy with other stuff at the moment.
Me , too. So if I did nothing and YOU did nothing, then what the heck happened?
My email notification for this post reminded about something that I wanted to say yesterday…Some people have called this contest this or that and griped about it, and, I suppose anyone can make whatever they want out of it. I for one am happy that I threw my hat in the ring because I had the opportunity to personally get to know Ardell - from way down in Atlanta. That in itself is something I might not have otherwise had the good fortune to do. After all, the point here is about blogging, learning, networking and getting to know some of the other people that hover around in the RE blogosphere.
That also reminds me that I owe you a phone call tomorrow Ardell.
So for all of the poo pooing that I have seen, I for one have had the good fortune to actually take something productive out of it and I hope everyone else does as well…
This is a fun thing to do.
By the way, nice to meet you, Ardell.
Been reading your blogs off and on for a while.
But still, you need to leave the top spot.
Or you will not get rid of me.
OK honestly, this is pretty interesting. You went from number 1 to page 4 and suddenly came back. Maybe Google just has the hick-ups.
Mike,
My post dissappeared and then cam back as well…
Ryan,
375 straight up it. This way they get they people looking 350 to 375 who are missing them now. But don’t do it until you get better photos in there. In that price range the break points are in $25,000 increments. They can’t compete in the up to $500,000 group unless the new photos reveal something that can’t now be seen, and I’m pretty sure they will given the remodel noted in the remarks. 15 photos…use all 15.
It was great talking with you. You don’t have to call me unless you want one of my guys to check it out in person. I’ll even go with them for you. If you do, the seller has to call direct.
Best of luck.
Mike,
I think Google doesn’t like the shenanigans. I’m not toying with them. I’ll do an end run in the last few days, but I don’t want to anger the Google Gods by toying with it for weeks every day.
Looking forward to the end run
I certainly have never underestimated Ardell’s power to drive traffic and attract google juice!
I will watch Ardell from now. No, not in a stalking way, more like a WWGD (What would Google do?) observant sort of way.
Dustin,
I’m thinking of creating my own keywords and having my own personal contest
One that interests me, which would be if I do the same things on RCG and my blog, can I get to the top of MSN vs. Google, which is more my objective.
I haven’t focused on the MSN activity for quite sometime, and need to get back to that, since I’m about done my 6 month stint as Broker of BRIO.
Now to decide what I would want those keywords to be. It certainly wouldn’t be #1 Agent or Greatest Agent, as they are agent-centric and it would have to be Consumer-Centric.
Looking forward to spending some time with you at the end of March. If Kev comes, we’ll both come to the Orange County show. I’m thinking April 1 or 2 might be the best time, after you are done that show, to come over to your side of town and spend the night so I don’t interrupt your getting ready for the presentation time.
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A … Real Estate Blog to discuss the Seattle real estate market. http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world/ 111k - [...]
[...] Greatest Real Estate Agent in The WORLD | Rain City Guide | A Seattle …Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World is some kind of SEO contest going on … link dropping for Greatest Real Estate Agents in The World URLs is probably … raincityguide.com/2008/02/12/greatest-real-estate-agent-in-the-world [...]
Hiccups big time Fire - just as this came and went, seams many are doing it, almost hourly.
I think your blog is going to become a trackback graveyard.
That made me think about how many trackbacks got dumped into the Askimet Spam Filter. I fished a few out.
[...] Real Estate Agent in the World February 24, 2008 Greatest Real Estate Agent in the World contest is getting a bit testy. Apparently my comments regarding “credibility” werepersonalized by the contest sponsor. I love his comments “you think you can walk into someone else’s house and tell them to start moving the furniture around because YOU aren’t close enough to the TV” [...]
Anyway i’v just found a really cool website about real estate http://www.world-estate.com
Askimet must be asleep.
Either that, or Akismet has just added a couple of folks!
Perhaps some MODERATION is called for? I received these same spam comments this morning on my blog…since I hand moderate, I submitted them to akismet…
Looks like they got to Ardell first.
and probably found us thru her.
lololol- but some do not believe in moderation….;) too ironic.
Spammers get clicker, like askimet once you approve someone’s post, they can submit more posts and they get approved automatically.
I don’t know a Suren from a Mike or a knox. Many of the comments are equally nonsensical, so how would I know if Suren and knox are not equally spamming?
Anyone who doesn’t add to the conversation and is just being mean spirited is generally deleted. But in this contest I can’t tell the spammers from the contestants.
Ardell;
My point is / was that you rode Greg Swann and Morgan both pretty hard, claiming that moderation ruined the user experience and yet the next day, here comes the spam and lack of moderation seems to ruin the user experience.
My personal opinion is that moderation (done in moderation -smile) is a good thing when building an online community.?
Thoughts?
Eric
I assure you I am a real person, as MANY of your comment posters know, and was only thinking exactly as Eric mentioned afterward. Now, I must be a pretty itelligent BOT to do that.
“Anyone who doesn’t add to the conversation and is just being mean spirited is generally deleted.”
Wait a second, isn’t this moderation? ermm HYPOCRISY?
Morgan,
You just have your panties in a twist, so I expect there’s no opportunity for a real discussion. But just in case there is, I’m referring to someone who runs in and says “You Realtwhores all all going to be working at McDonald’s!” Which does happen from time to time.
You refuse to GET my point for whatever your reason may be, which is that the comment gets posted without moderation prior to it being posted. The many who come who are not jerks are then better served and are also not questioning the rationale for moderation. When the moderation is visible and not often, vs. in secret, then there is less room for wondering what the criteria may be for said moderation.
The “credibility” issue is the reader wondering if you (not you personally but generally) are only allowing comment through that agree with your point of view.
It’s a general discussion many places around the internet and anyone who blogs has had this discussion many times. Why it makes you so irate is what doesn’t make sense. I’ve never seen someone get irate over this blogtopic in the past, and have seen it many times.
Calm down and stop freaking out and attacking. It doesn’t look good on you.
BTW, Lord knows the prize, if it is coming from you, has been tainted by your behavior. I would think you would me more worried about that than the credibility of moderated comments issue.
Rhonda,
Do you remember why you discontinued the “your comment is awaiting moderation” setting?
Here, the conversation flows and it is easier to sometimes respond to someone while they are still “in the room” if we happen to be able to pick up on the comment fairly quickly after it is posted.
Wow, if someone said this about you I’m sure you’d cry foul. For your readers, refer to:
http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=2645#comment-68239
and
http://www.realestatewebmasters.com/blogs/morgan-carey/4307/show/
to understand the hypocrisy.
And if this is “moderated out it will strengthen the point.
You actually owe it to Morgon, I’ve never (as many) even heard of you until this contest.
I checked that first link and would be happy to repost it here for our readers.
Ardell said (on BHB)
“I won’t say we’ll agree to disagree, because I do not disagree with you, as it is your perspective and I have mine. We each are entitled to have our own.
I will say that you move with your head and I move with my heart. My heart wanted you to budge just an inch. Not to be sorry for your actions, but sorry for the pain those actions may have caused those who misundertood/misunderstand you.
I offend all the time. I am quite sorry for those who are hurt by things I did not do as they perceived it. That will not change me much as I can only be, as you have aptly put it, Ardell. But I can be sorry that their perception was so ill conceived that it caused them pain. I am sorry for their pain, not my actions. Can you join me there?”
Is there something bad about that comment, Knox? I thought it was a heartfelt plea for Greg to give an inch in the Marc Davison debacle.
What is offense in that?
You guys are starting to remind me of that movie about the cute little animals you aren’t allowed to feed after a certain time that turn into cute little bad boys.
I seriously think you guys just don’t get the point about moderated comments. It truly is not this big of a deal, so where’s the real beef coming from?
“so where’s the real beef coming from? ”
Have you forgotten the post these comments are in response to?
LOL
You’re very condescending. Offended? No, amused. You enter other homes, tell them they need to change things and when they don’t you say they have lost credibility.
Took you a while to find one quote from the two blogs I mentioned that was flattering, but readers can see it in context if they go there.
Ardell - you have lost credibility.
Knox,
I clicked on the link that you gave and that is what came up. I didn’t search at all…it went straight to that comment.
Mike,
What’s wrong with the post? I thought it was a valid point and obviously so did Morgan, since he adjusted the prize accordingly.
Is that what this is all about?
Can’t see the whole thing?
http://www.bloodhoundrealty.com/BloodhoundBlog/?p=2645
And on Morgon’s, scroll to the last few comments.
Good night.
Ardell,
Do you know what a red herring is? You keep saying I don’t “Get it” regarding moderated comments. I am certainly capable and willing to listening to your point of view regarding moderated comments but that is the issue you would like to make this into, as opposed to what my issue with you actually is.
So if you truly want to “understand” where I am coming from and start over I am completely willing to do so. So please do me the courtesy of reading this comment in it’s entirety.
This blog post was the first time I had even heard of you - when I came here and read it I thought to myself “wow that isn’t very nice I was trying to contribute a prize that I thought others would appreciate and she is ripping me a new one for it” but I tried to be objective and see it from your point of view, and certainly I can appreciate you not being familiar with REW websites (Or the very high demand for them) might assume the worst and may just be on the looking for your own - so I ammended the prize so that it met with your approval. Instead of a “wow someone who can actually take criticism and instead of getting upset with what could be seen as an attack, instead takes measures to address the issues being discussed” - perhaps you may have spoken to soon here? Perhaps the correct thing to do would have been to append an update to the article itself, or change it altogether as the entire premise was moot, but I am in “your” house currently so will not begin to start telling you what to do, especially because you never asked me to.
The next time I encountered you, was your comments on my blog.
Here is IN order what bothered me about your comments:
#1: Hijacking: For clarity purposes I will define this for you as it applies to REW forums and blogs. Hijacking is when an individual attempts to “hijack” a thread, post or series of comments with a subject completely unrelated to the article being discussed or the subsequent comments that follow. Characterized as “off topic” “low quality / relevance” and “negative / unprofessional” - I still fail to see what my choosing to moderate comments on my blog (Only for non registered members) has to do with the contest or any other part of the discussion.
#2: Negativity: For the second time out of 2 that I had encountered you, you had nothing constructive to add to the conversation and you seemed to be choosing to focus on a negative to draw attention to yourself. If you make your first comment