The Online Video Game: How to Get Started

One thing SEO practitioners will tell you is that to truly grow your site’s traffic, you need to appear on multiple top-level domains (TLD's). In other words, don’t just show up on the first page of results – dominate it.

The world of Web 2.0 offers lots of ways to accomplish this, including creating a Facebook fan page, a MySpace page, or a Twitter account for your brand (and we’ll cover these in future blog posts). However, if you want to create buzz and attract users that are more likely to answer your call-to-action, you need to enter the video game.

Online video, while a relatively new marketing tactic, will dominate many companies’ marketing budgets for 2009, according to eMarketer Daily.

And why shouldn’t a potential new home buyer want to see a video of your new homes? Buying a home is one of the most significant events in a person’s life. You can be sure they’re going to want all of the information they can get their hands on.

Here are a few points on video search engine optimization (VSEO) to consider before entering the new home video game:

1. Your video should be interesting and/or informative. Dull, self-promoting videos won’t drive the kind of traffic you’re looking for. If you want your video to go viral (which is a good thing), be interesting, unique, funny, or very informative.
2. Video production quality should be as high as you can manage. Amateur, shaky videography on low-end consumer-grade cameras may work for skateboarding videos, but they don’t work very well at representing your company or your products. If you don’t have the time or the budget to produce high-quality videos, allow me to make a quick plug for BHI Media. They’ve been producing top-notch videos for 3 years, and their prices are extremely competitive.
3. Optimize your video with keyword-rich descriptions, titles, and tags. Whether you’re posting on YouTube, Revver or Vimeo, you want to make sure users can find your video. Engage them with a catchy title, and include enough keywords to make sure you show up on relavent searches. Some people will even provide a transcript of the video to make sure there is enough keyword coverage.
4. Distribute your video to more than one site. It’s easy to think that you only need to post your video on the dominant video site, which is and has been YouTube. Don’t forget that your best viewers may be on other sites, such as Revver, Vimeo, Motionbox, Yahoo! Videos, Google Videos, or MySpace Videos.
5. Optimize your video on each site you upload it to. While you can use tools like TubeMogul to distribute your video to all of the major players in the video game, you really should modify the title and description slightly on each site to avoid running into duplicate content issues. … Why is this important? You can increase your odds of showing up multiple times for searches in Google and Yahoo!, thereby increasing your video’s exposure.

These are just a few tips to get you started. There are more advanced tips for fully optimizing your videos, but you have to be in the game first.

While VSEO is simple in theory, it can become quite time-consuming. If you want someone to handle your production and video search engine optimization (VSEO), contact Brad Smith at bsmith@builderhomesite.com or to go http://www.bhimedia.com/.

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Keith Goode is the Search Engine Marketing Manager for Builder Homesite Inc. and can be reached at kgoode@builderhomesite.com

BHI Digital Experience: Create Once, Use Everywhere

Did you know that BHI can create 3-D renderings animations and videos at a fraction of the cost of traditional media agencies? The BHI Digital Experience provides a single source for all digital assets including:

• Floor plans (Static / Colored / Interactive)
• 3D Architectural Renderings (in a wide variety of styles and presentation options)
  Elevation Options Visualizer
• Community plat maps
• Virtual fly overs/throughs (community animation)
• Interior renderings
• Virtual tours
• Video on Demand

To speak with a Digital Media Consultant, fill out a contact form now.

Fulton Homes Realizing Great Results Through Envision!

Jason Knott, editor of Techhomebuilder Mag, visited Dennis Webb (VP, Ops) at Fulton Homes to talk about their unique approach to their buyers through the use of technology.  Fulton has taken an interesting approach to the downturn in the market, as they are investing in technology/systems to ensure they are poised for the new buyer mentality.  And you gotta love that ‘box o nails’ comment regarding ROI on Envision!  Dennis also has some great advice for his competition—make sure you stay through to the end of the video.

Live from Inman Real Estate Connect 2007: Part 5

Sellsius Real Estate took the long way to Inman Connect 2007. They toured the country in an RV, visiting 30 cities along the way. In each city, they hooked up with local real estate bloggers and documented their travels, culminating on stage at the last day of the conference. Check out their blog and video below for the whole crazy story.

Real Estate Video by - Real Estate Blogger

Interview with John L. Scott: Using New Technologies to Sell Homes

There is some excellent information in this video interview from Inman News. John L. Scott is a large brokerage in the Northwest. They are very web-focused and are always among the first in the industry to utilize new technologies such as interactive mapping. In this interview, they talk about the importance of building a long-lasting relationship with the consumer, and why technology is so important during real estate slumps. They also mention that video, blogging, and social networking are some of the themes they will be addressing in future product releases.

Real Estate Television: The InmanTV vBlog

Inman News has just launched their new video site called InmanTV. The site is interesting in a number of ways:

• It is a Blog dedicated to video content. This is referred to as a vBlog. Online video has proliferated rapidly, and vBlogs are becoming more and more common.
• Users are encouraged to submit video content. Anything real estate related can be submitted for review. The best videos will be posted on the vBlog.
• Users can subscribe to an RSS feed of the vBlog. This is common functionality for blogs, and a big advantage over traditional websites. Users are notified whenever content is updated.

The video content, coupled with the high level on interactivity that a Blog allows, equals a highly engaging site that encourages user interaction. The blog format also enables content syndication via RSS, giving the potential for mass distribution of the video content.

In summary, we expect video content to rapidily become the norm, both in Blogs and on websites in general. Stay tuned for some cutting edge video-related products to be launched by BHI.

Marketing Mix: Imprev CEO Speaks on Inman TV

Imprev CEO Renwick Congdon gives a good overview of Real Estate Marketing trends,and talks about the importance of a balanced and integrated marketing mix including print and online.

Wellcomemat.com Video Home Listings

Wellcomemat.com was nominated for an Inman Innovators award this year. Their goal is to become a portal for real estate professionals to search for videographers. They are also building a directory of real estate video advertising. This is a good example of a video home listing. Check it out...

Former home of Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple Computer); A fusion of post-modern design and whim - West Valley Home Tours, provided exclusively by JW Photography - Los Gatos, CA 95032

Google Maps: Cool new driving directions feature

Google Maps has once again launched a new feature that makes creating customized driving directions easy AND fun. You can now click and drag on a driving route on the map to re-route around highways, along a coastal route, or to a intermediate destination. You no longer have to build a multi-step route by typing each step individually. Check it out...