Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk

We read,worry and obsess so much over SEO,(Search Engine Optimization) but is it necessary?

Here is a fantastic video I found by Matt Cutts, Google WebMaster that cuts to the chase on optimizing your sites.

It was just published in April 2011 so up to date information and hopefully will take your stress level down a few notches.

I’ve been blogging since 2006 and honestly I have never worried to much about it. I use a few little things to enhance my blog posts and when I teach I share them. Thanks to Karen George who coached a few of us on Activerain, a few months into blogging in the rain I learned a few little techniques and have stuck with them.

If you haven’t read Karen’s blog who passed away a few years ago from breast cancer you should read every word she has ever written.Michael her husband now blogs under her profile .

When I teach on blogging, I want folks to walk away with only a few things to make their posts more SEO friendly and that is IT.

• Key Words not too many
• Anchor Text
• Alt Tags
• Call to Action

If as Matt Cutts says in his video Google looks at On Page Content and Off Page Links. (backlinks)  If you want to know more about this read Katerina Gasset, a wonderful blogging coach.

Now go have some fun…

Ann Arbor Area Home Sellers is your home getting exposed?

www.SearchAnnArborHouses.com

Be Saline is a place where people say hello with a smile. Saline is a place where you can raise your children without lowering your expectations.

BeSaline is a web-site where you can go to find out all the events happening in Saline, Michigan.Currently you will find all the Halloween Events, Candy Checking, Concert at the United Methodist Church and Trick or Treat times.

On October  29, 2009 Kristen Judge, Washtenaw County Commissioner and Sheriff Jerry Clayton are presenting a FREE  ”Cyber Safe” class at 3:00 to 5:00 P.M. for businesses and 6:30 to 8:00 P.M. for home and family. Dr. Peter Fonash, Director of National Cyber Security, US Department of Homeland Security will be the speaker.

The Cyber Safe Class will be held at the Saline High School auditorium. Saline High School is located at 1300 Campus Drive.

Looking for things to do in Saline, look no further as there is always something fun and exciting to do, never a dull moment. There are great places to eat in Saline, fun places to shop, and great parks and entertainment for families in Saline.

The Arts in Saline, is where you can find great entertainment from the Saline Fiddlers, Saline Big Band, Fiddlers ReStrung, the New Horizon Band, and the Two Twelve Arts Center.

The City of Saline launched BeSaline web-site as a comprehensive web-site for all things around Saline. You can also follow them on Facebook.

If you like to twitter about Saline, I also have a site where you can add your twitter feed. Just use the #(hash tag) #a2bnsaline and it will automatically post your information.Check it out and you will find our Superintendent and many principals tweet.

Think you would like to live in Saline, begin your home search here.

Check back often to BeSaline for all the latest and greatest.  Come join us!

The Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors added the “Short Sale” and “Bank Owned” to their MLS search today.

Having been a Director on the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors for 7 years, and  MLS Committee, we have been working on getting this update for years. Searching for homes that are being sold “short” has been a welcome addition in how we search for our clients in the MLS.

Many times a client will call and the first thing they say is, “I want to buy a short sale or foreclosure.”

We would have to dig through the remarks to see if the listing agent had mention it there. Now short sale is a search field and we are better able to serve our clients by getting the data quickly.

If the home is selling as a short sale this will now become a required field for all NEW listings. It is up to the listing agent to update that one field in the MLS and make it searchable. We changed all of our short sale listings today.

If you are looking for a short sale or foreclosure make sure you are working with a Realtor that understands the entire process.

In this market their are many great opportunities for buyers to purchase a short sale. However, you must be patient. The average short sale takes a minimum of 12 weeks and beyond to close.

Here is a list of Short Sales and Foreclosures in the Ann Arbor Area. Since this is the first day, I am sure many agents have not had time to update all their listings so if you need help or want us to send you a list for a particular area, just give us a call or email and we will send them to you.

It is much easier to help you now and get you the information you need quickly.

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Ann Arbor and Saline residents, you know we are going through a lot of changes. This is a great little video that puts life in perspective.

Although the video has zip to do with real estate, it does have to everything to do with how we communicate with each other and the people looking to buy or sell in Ann Arbor and Saline. Make sure you hire a Realtor that is going to market your home where the buyers are looking.

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Missy Caulk, (that would be me), just co-authored and released a book, “Profit from Technology”.  I have found many if not most Realtors don’t understand the importance of new technology in the 21st Century.

My goal in contributing to this book was to help Realtors around the country learn how to increase and grow their busines through the use of practical technology.

Each of my colleagues  took a certain topic and expanded upon it. Some of the chapters include:

• Technology: Nemesis or Redeemer?
• 100% Online Lead Generation
• Using Internet Tools to Serve the Seller
• Speak the Language of Today’s Internet-Enabled Client
• Through the Eyes of a Real Estate Industry Social Media Blogger
• Virtual Assistants- The Future of Real Estate Support
• Organic Searchs vs.Pay Per Click
• Building a Profitable Custom Website
• How to Avoid Burn Out or Addiction

You can get both a download version and a hard copy if you order by June 30th.  The price is $19.95.