Bandit posters are a very popular advertising medium for real estate investors looking for a motivated seller. But his days are numbered. They can not only be expensive, but also a time-consuming way to “get the word out.” Not only that, but in most municipalities there are strict laws governing the use of bandit cartels. Are we now living in the age of internet bandit cartels? Some say “YES”.
According to recent studies, the average search engine user is more likely to use search engines to find local vendors and retail outlets than ever before. Increasingly, offline purchases are being preceded by online searches. The trend is shooting up sharply as we close out the decade.
Starting in 2004, major search engines like Google and Yahoo have developed solutions to help people find local vendors and suppliers. People want to do business with their neighbors, and search engines fill this need through technological advances such as geolocation of IP addresses and GPS-enabled phones.
Of all the business verticals, real estate professionals should pay close attention to these local search trends, considering how geocentric real estate is. But what do investors and real estate agents need to know before plunging into the world of internet bandit cartels? The three key points of interest for real estate professionals should be the national market of leading brokers, hyper-local directories, and relatively new local options within Pay Per Click platforms like Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search marketing.
The National Lead Broker Market is a virtual war in which national aggregators of motivated seller leads sell exclusive access to leaders by territory. The options for buying such leads are innumerable and a little due diligence can go a long way before doing business with such top brokers. The advantage of working with leading brokers of this type is that their business model requires them to maintain the top position in search engines at all costs. Since it is so highly competitive, the cost of maintaining the top position can be astronomical. Another advantage of working with major national brokers is that their “internet bandit signs” usually send contacts to your email address rather than to some page on your site, meaning you can do business without having a site of your own. As long as you have an email address, you can receive leads. The main issue with adding these brokers to your portfolio is knowing which companies actually provide the most qualified leads and understanding the dominance of each company locally, which can vary dramatically from market to market.
Hyperlocal directories are sites developed to serve only specific areas. They typically rank very high in search engines for very specific, locally targeted keywords. Many of them accept trade submissions for free or for a small fee for premium placement.
Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising provides the greatest amount of control and accountability for any internet bandit signal initiative. Platforms like Google AdWords and Yahoo! Search Marketing now provides ways to geo-target your advertising and track not only costs, but lead conversions as well. Using geo-targeting within these platforms gives advertisers valuable data about their local and surrounding markets. Getting into the PPC game can be expensive if not done correctly. Effective PPC advertising requires knowledge of keyword research programs, copywriting, and at least a basic understanding of how a virtual lead generation funnel works.
Numerous studies show that local businesses are failing to keep up with local demand from internet-savvy consumers, proving that local search can be a viable niche for real estate professionals as the competition is falling behind . As time goes on, major shifts in local search awareness will create overt and obvious demand and possibly prompt local businesses with deep pockets to weed out the “little guy,” unless the “little guy” gets there first. .
Sites like InternetBanditSigns.com have been developed to shorten the learning curve of local search strategies, as well as provide effective tactics for real estate investors to use to grow their business and expand their reach.