The issue of "hits" and "targeted hits" needs addressing once
more as agents, web designers and search engine positioning
companies frequently use the whole subject in ways that can
confuse and cause agents to make poor decisions, have
unrealistic expectations, and wonder why they have lots of
"hits" but no business.

Aside from the fact that "hits" are frequently confused with
"unique visits" (When analyzing server logs, a "hit" is actually
a request for a file from that server, so merely viewing a
single page containing lots of graphics can register dozens of
"hits" even though just one visitor viewed one page.) there is
also the issue of whether or not the visitors are coming to your
web site for the right reasons.

A "targeted hit" or "targeted visitor" is the one you are
looking for - one that has come to your web site looking for
your real estate expertise and is therefore more likely to do
business with you at some point.

To get those targeted visitors your web site must place well in
the major search engines for the keywords used by searchers
looking for real estate services and not those just looking for
general information not related to the services you offer - and
this is where the problem lies!

Whenever it is brought to my attention that a Realtor has made
it known that they get a bazillion hits to their web site (i.e.
a number outside of what I know to be the norm for real estate
sites) I do a little checking.

What I always find is that their site places well for general
search terms that are searched for far more often than specific
real estate terms. Such general terms would include their city
name, city and state name, or restaurants in their city, etc.

Sometimes I am fortunate enough to actually come across their
actual search engine reports or traffic reports prepared by
their web site provider as these are often stored in the same
directory as their web sites and are picked up by search engines
where they can then be found.

These reports reveal lots of traffic and good positioning for
general terms but this is achieved at the expense of specific
terms like "your city real estate" so all that traffic leads to
little business - often less business than a site with a
fraction of the traffic that places well for targeted keywords.

Sometimes this lack of keyword targeting is not done out of
ignorance but is done because web designers and search engine
position companies know that agents often measure their site's
success first by the amount of traffic they receive rather than
the amount of business they do from the site.

Many in the web site and search positioning industries build
their whole business around the lack of keyword targeting and
this can be very costly for an agent who falls into the trap of
using such a web site provider or search positioning service.

Some Search Positioning Services use a pricing scheme whereby
they only charge if the site places in the top 10 or 20 for a
keyword. This is a practice you should scrutinize before signing
up for such a service.

They usually recommend (or accept) a long list of keywords that
include general terms and those that on the surface seem to be
what searchers may use but in reality are seldom searched for.
These terms are easier to place in top positions than the actual
targeted terms used by searchers because there is less
competition in the search engines for these terms.

To place well for a long list of keywords requires the
production of many doorway pages and search engines have been
aware of this strategy. AltaVista has been actively banning
sites using multiple doorway pages and Inktomi (MSN Search,
HotBot, AOL, etc.) has been actively seeking out such sites. If
they find you have more than one doorway to the same page, they
will consider it spam and the site is penalized up to and
including removal from their index. This is not a good thing to
happen to your web site!

If that wasn't enough, merely running the search engine reports
for multiple keywords, which has to be done for billing purposes
by position companies employing this system and by web designers
who use multiple keywords as a way of convincing customers of
their prowess, can get your web site removed and banned from
Google's index. Since Google has become the internet's most-
talked-about search engine this is definitely not a good thing
to happen to your site!

Sites using web designers and search engine positioners who
base their business around the use of multiple keywords are
rarely able to place a site well for the targeted terms that
really matter but agents feel good about placing well for "all
those keywords" and/or all the traffic they receive and readily
recommend such services to their friends.

When you receive such a recommendation make sure you scrutinize
the service and remember it is not the quantity of keywords or
"hits" but the quality!

---------------

RNC Internet Services has a proven record of producing
effective web sites that place well in the major search engines
for targeted keywords and may be able to help you make the
changes to your existing site and improve it's search engine
positioning. Check out http://www.results-net.com/rnc/search_engine_positioning.html
for more information.



[This message has been edited by doug (edited 08-02-2003).]