This issue of "Notes" will be an important one even though most of my discussion will NOT be about web or net technology.
Now that you have your toehold in cyberspace - your web page - let's talk about how to get people to look at it, and how to get your web page to work for you. The most important things to do are not in Cyberspace. Let your web provider take care of the search engine stuff for now. YOU MUST DO THE FOLLOWING IMMEDIATELY!
Push/Pull is a newer model for e-business that relates to information delivery. Roughly put, a PUSH is information that is directly delivered to you. Direct Mail and E-Mail are good examples of PUSH information, delivered right to your mailbox. A Web Site is an example of PULL information, for anyone to view as they wish by browsing the address.
Combining these two forces is very effective in delivering your marketing message. You PUSH your Web Address via your business cards to a prospect who goes home and PULLS up your page on their computer. By PUSHing your Web Address properly in your e-mail signature, anyone who receives that mail can usually just "click" to PULL up your web page.
When you have a web site on-line that shows your listings, personal brochure, and marketing presentation, you have the ability to make a One-Word Pitch anywhere - it's your Web Address! Consider the billboard that just says WWW.YOU.COM in 10' letters. Put your "pitch" in EVERY classified. Why do you think you see so many web addresses at the bottom of TV ads.... IT WORKS!
Many Realtors spend $100's or $1000's on homes magazines, display ads, and shoppers. Now you can add your entire Internet Marketing Campaign for no extra cost just by listing your web and e-mail addresses in the same space! DO IT!
One of the little sayings I have about Net marketing is that visitors (prospects) "just wanna look at houses." We should never lose track of the power of the Net for viewers looking at the MLS and browsing for homes themselves. That's why it's imperative that you are LINKED to your MLS or various Listing Databases so that the viewer can find you from there. Normally, you must pay a fee to the Database service or MLS to have your addresses listed. DO IT! Make the Calls. Work through your Association to keep these fees reasonable, they can be a huge cash cow if the vendors aren't reminded who supplies all those listings.... :)
The ideas above are very basic, but very powerful in creating traffic on your website. Remember, YOU are primarily in charge of net marketing. Don't assume that it can be done on-line. My next "Notes" will explore some of the electronic marketing ideas, but do your homework first!