Use Backpage to get to the Front Page
As a software developer and real estate investor I can tell you that the hottest Real Estate is Page 1 of Google. Whether you are trying to sell a wholesale deal, or rent out an apartment, or trying to get a motivated seller to call... you want exposure! The more people who see what you are trying to accomplish, the more likely you are to accomplish it! Nothing will get you more exposure than being on Page 1 of Google. I read that when it comes to search engines Google has 75% of the market share (in the US and UK) and 84% of searchers never make it past Page 2!! So how do you get to the top of page 1? I will tell you that it is a lot easier than you think! The key lies in Backpage.com .... That's right! A free online classifieds site that is very Search Engine friendly has pushed a lot of my deals to the top of Google! You dont have to pay thousands of dollars to get to the top... You can do it all for free! Here's how...
Step 1 - Pretend you are your potential customer. What would you type into Google to find your service? As an example, lets say we are trying to find motivated sellers in Columbus, OH. We would expect motivated sellers to search for something like sell house fast columbus oh. These words will be your "key phrase". Think of another key phrase or two.
Step 2 - Go to http://backpage.com and click on "Post an Ad" for your selected city
Step 3 - Using your key phrases create a Headline for your ad. In between key phrases I like to place a dash (-). to go along with our example I would make my headline read sell house fast columbus oh - we buy houses - avoid foreclosure
Step 4 - In the body of the ad describe your service, and try to work in your key phrases at least once or twice. Make it seem natural! Dont forget to give them a way to contact you!
Step 5 - Submit your ad Now I can't guarantee that you will be at the top of Google that day... or ever. I have had backpage ads push me up to #1 within 2 hours, and I have seen ads take me to the top 3 weeks later. I have had a bunch of ads never show up on Google. It can be unpredictable, but be patient. I have gotten a bunch of good calls from these ads. Keep in mind that you also have people looking through backpage.com that you could sell to. Other important (free) online classifieds for real estate investors
- Craigslist (http://craigslist.org) - This is probably the most popular, but isn't very Google friendly. There are tons of people buying stuff over craigslist so do not forget to post your ads here. In 2008 I sold my personal home over craigslist so fast that I was "homeless" for a while.
- MyNextRehab (http://myNextRehab.com) - This is a place for investors to post their wholesale deals for other investors. Rehabbers, landlords and wholesalers who have joined the VIP Investors Club ask to be notified about deals in their selected cities. After a wholesaler has posted a deal it is emailed out to the VIP Investors for that city. Similar to craigslist with an email twist.
- Oodle (http://oodle.com) - The more I mess around with Oodle the more I like it. It is a clean and more updated version of craigslist.
Comments