I see that a number of Realtors have several sites. What are the advantages of having a number smaller sites instead of one large site?



[This message has been edited by beachgal (edited 09-09-2004).]

The thinking is that if one is good than more must be better but that is not always the case.

If all of the sites target one geographic area there may be a disadvantage - at least as far as generating traffic from search engines is concerned. That is because in most cases your link popularity gets split among many sites instead of concentrating on one site. That results in no sites placing well and less traffic than could have been generated by having just one site.

In addition, directory listings that assist your search engine positions somewhat (like Yahoo and DMOZ) will only list one of your sites.

Our own system of websites (the link at the top right of the page) provides multiple sites that are not affected by either of these issues because the secondary sites are actually part of larger pre-existing sites. That way they do not have to generate their own link pop. or require their own directory listings.

Points well taken from Doug's post above!

Multiple sites work for me, because in my case it makes sense from a functional standpoint -- and not just trying to multiply a lot of search engine doorways.

First of all, I have several different geographical targets. Next, I target both upscale areas and areas with affordable housing. I have sold property in South Central Los Angeles, and in multi-million dollar neighborhoods. It might be self-defeating if I had one catchall site that targets people who can afford a $10 million Beverly Hills mansion and first-time homebuyers in Watts simultaneously. So, in this case I could justifiably have different sites.

Also, I have many sites that are portals for different communities and neighborhoods. These are genuine portals with unique content that is updated regularly. (My background is from the dot com world and I do my own sites as my own webmaster.)

With all these sites, I can position each for different targets in SERPs. But keep in mind that these are not mirror sites with the goal of having multiple SE doorways. The latter would dilute your overall position and in some cases get penalized by some SEs.



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Ruperto Elpusan, MBA, e-Pro
Broker/Officer
Beverly Hills-Malibu-Palos Verdes Real Estate
Torrance/South Bay Real Estate
Rancho Palos Verdes Home Values

I've toyed with the idea of building separate sites for the geographic areas that I serve, in particular a separate site for beach property. But I'm wondering if I'd be better off incorporating that into the site I have now and then getting backlinks for that page instead of my index page ...do you think that would work?

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www.GulfCoastHomes4U.com

I think for most agents, one site is the way to go. It allows you to focus on your SEO, as having several sites --- even if they're each unique --- could dilute your time and efforts.

My situation that I described above is more unique.

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Ruperto Elpusan, MBA, e-Pro
Broker/Officer
Beverly Hills-Malibu-Palos Verdes Real Estate
Torrance/South Bay Real Estate
Rancho Palos Verdes Home Values

Yes, it will work beachgal - and it will work even if you do not get backlinks to the new separate site sections as long as you have enough backlinks to the main domain entry and make sure your new sections are on the main navigation menu so they are readily identifiable as important pages(of course the main navigation menu has to be followable by search engines - i.e not javascript)

Thanks for the info guys :-) I struggle to kep one site up to date without having to mnage several.

Now my next question is, when I do my site make-over I want to put a large photo one the index page. Whats the best way to reduce the file size so that it wont take forever to load.

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www.GulfCoastHomes4U.com

There are many image optimizing tools out there. I personally use WebGraphics Optimizer; here's the link: http://www.webopt.com/

Here's another optimizer: http://www.xat.com/io/image_optimizer.shtml

Here's a freebie: http://www.netmechanic.com/accelerate.htm

And another: http://www.ulead.com/pi/features12.htm


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Ruperto Elpusan, MBA, e-Pro
Broker/Officer
Beverly Hills-Malibu-Palos Verdes Real Estate
Torrance/South Bay Real Estate
Rancho Palos Verdes Home Values

Large jpeg images can be compressed but if the image is exceptionally large you have to compress quite a bit and a lot of resolution is lost. In those situations you would want to use the image slicer feature of your graphics program - which cuts the large graphic up into multiple smaller graphics in a table (and gives you the html code for your web page) that all load at the same time.

That way your large graphic actually loads just as fast as if it were just a fraction of the size.

[This message has been edited by doug (edited 09-12-2004).]

Just to weigh in here a little:

Realtors might set up several sites because they are trying to optimize for several search terms. There are more efficient ways of doing that, i.e., optimize individual pages on your site! And having different URLs doesn't mean you need full blown sites, you can "point" or forward the URLs to your single site.

I don't think multiple sites is as good as having one site with many pages, you can get higher rankings due to having a lot of "content". Why not group it all together and use other tools to capture people looking for specific search terms.

In addition, I don't know how much realtors use tracking sofwtare, but general I would gues they have no idea at all where their traffic is coming from. (For example, did that postcard drive visits? Or your ad on Google AdWords?)

Most of the package web site products don't provide for tracking software, but there are some you can operate from the web. There's a site that rates all the softward out there: www.ad-tracking.com (no affiliation).

SueC

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Sue Caskey, Esq.,Realtor(R)
http://www.pa-home-sales.com
Keller Williams has Millionaire Agent Training PLUS profit sharing!
Call 24 hrs a day to hear all the details:
(800) 881-4276 x9801 (recorded message)

I believe that choice between one well-developed and multiple sites depends on your website users segmentation. The time to create several sites comes when your 1st site attracts several groups of visitors with various and sometimes contradictory interests.

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www.RealEstateGates.com - Gate to Worldwide Estate!

Estee, good point!

Case in point: I need a site to sell to clients in the high-end, multi-million dollar home market. I need another one to sell to working class neighborhoods.

I know it sounds strange, but I actually work both types of markets, although some may debate that this may not be optimal. On the same day, I have jumped in my Toyota Corolla to show a home in South Central Los Angeles, gone back home, jumped on my Mercedes SLK 32 and shown a multi-million dollar home in Palos Verdes.

So, I need a different website for each one.

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Ruperto Elpusan, MBA, e-Pro
Broker/Officer
Beverly Hills-Malibu-Palos Verdes Real Estate
Torrance/South Bay Real Estate
Rancho Palos Verdes Home Values

@beachgal - im also trying to develop beach front related site and I plan to get one domain for it. I'll just divide it into sections or regional for more specific search


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Philippine Real Estate Finder | Home Improvement Guide | Guide for Beginners

Having one site has it's benefits, but also multiple site have their benefits. One size does not fit all. First lets look at your requirements, then decide if one site or multiple sites are the way to go.

I highly support the multiple site concept IF done for the right reason. If you're going after different market segments, it makes sense for multiple sites. I wouldn't want to go to a site for 1st time home buyers if I'm looking for a $10,000,000 piece of property. And the same vise versa... If I'm a 1st time buyer, and luxury home site probably won't have the information I need.

Also, having sites for different reasons works well.

Example:
www.mls-socal.com
www.aliso-viejo--real-estate.com
www.california--real--estate.com
www.orangecountycastles.com

All for the same agent, all get very good traffic, but cater to different keywords and clientele.

Another example:
www.pasadenapropertyvalues.com
www.pasadena-mls-listings.com

Same agent, but the domain names lend a sense of authority to the domain, and gives the agent a sense of specializing and trust.

So first define what you're attempting to accomplish, then we can figure out if a single website or multiple is the way to go.