To introduce myself, my name is Sean Wyld and I work for Google as the Industry Manager in their Local & Classifieds team in Australia. I’ve been reading Business2 for the past couple of months and am excited about sharing some insights into the role ‘search’ plays in the real estate industry. For my first post, as you probably gathered from the title, I thought I’d start with something seasonal.

During this time of year, most people are more focused on Christmas shopping then visiting open for inspections and with the last weekend of auctions for the year only days away, most real estate agents are preparing to put their cues back in the rack for the seasonal slow-down over the Christmas period.

However as we all know the Internet never sleeps, being available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. So with 87% of Australian home buyers/sellers now using the Internet as part of their research process (Nielsen Australian Property Report 2008), the question of how Christmas affects their usage of the Internet is something which all real estate agents should be considering.

With search being the number one upstream provider of traffic to real estate websites, along with being a tool used by 69% of active home buyers/sellers throughout all stages of the home buying/selling process (Nielsen Australian Property Report 2008), examining search trends over the Holiday period is a good indicator of the affect Christmas has on potential buyers’ and sellers’ browsing habits.

As you can see from the above graph, while there is definitely a lull in people searching for real estate agents in the days immediately preceding Christmas, the drop isn’t as dramatic as one might have thought, with a lot of people still researching buying or selling a house. Perhaps more interesting however is the spike in searches for real estate agents between Boxing Day and New Years.

So with real estate agents offices closed but buyers and sellers still active over Christmas and New Years, it poses the question… how can real estate agents continue to engage with existing and potential clients during this period?

The answer to this question is to remember that your website is an extension to your physical office and that just as the Internet is open for business 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year, so is your website! I was surprised this morning that when I visited a number of local real estate agent websites, I couldn’t find one which had their opening hours over Christmas displayed clearly.

It’s important to remember that with your office closed but potential clients still active, that it’s more vital than ever that your website contains all the information which you would normally have given to clients in person or over the phone if your office was open. See below for some of the ways you can ensure your website is ready for the Christmas period.

• Ensure your opening hours for the Christmas period are prominently displayed on the front page of your website
• Ensure you set expectations with existing and potential clients about realistic response times for phone & email enquiries over the Christmas period. This includes ensuring that you have an out of office message activated on your email.
• Include content on your website about what people should expect from the real estate market in 2009, along with tips for buying and selling etc
• Email Christmas Greetings along with your opening hours etc to your email list.
• If you are using Google AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing etc to drive traffic to your website, try using Christmas & New Years specific ad text.

I’d love to hear from anyone who has any other tips to add to this list. Lastly, for anyone who’s interested, the above graph was generated using Google Insights for Search, a great free tool which at the risk of blatant self promotion you can try at www.google.com/insights/search

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a happy New Year. Cheers, Sean

Tablet PC

Tablet PC’s are starting to become very popular in the US amongst real estate agents but have yet to take off here in Australia because of the lack of wireless broadband till recently.. but as we finally get easy access to wireless broadband their popularity will rise dramatically. Tablets are the real portable computer that laptops want to be. Try to open up a laptop behind the steering wheel of your car or maybe taking notes as the seller gives you tour throughout the house.

A tablet PC handles that easily and using the same programs available on your desktop pc, not expensive cut down versions available on handheld pc’s. With wireless broadband and a VPN connection you can even have access to your office from anywhere. When you take it back to your desk you have a normal keyboard and mouse so it looks and acts like a normal pc.

Forget the Laptop.. next time try a tablet pc. A true tablet pc, often called a slate tablet, has no keyboard at all and you use a stylus or your finger as the mouse. If you cant fully make the break from the keyboard there are models available that convert from a laptop to a tablet and back to a laptop again. They are not as light as a true tablet but are worth considering.

Smart Phones

Smart Phones are becoming smarter and smarter with many just handheld computers with a phone built in. Still there are a stack of other different styles and flavours that should fit any request.

The Blackberry and their clones should satisfy the email warriors amongst us whilst the trendy iPhone will keep the video, photo and web junkies sated. Nokia’s high end Symbian powered phones like the N95 pack a powerful package in a normal phone form factor and to top if off you have rumours continuing to run rampant on the net about a soon to be released Google Phone.

USB Flash Drives

As memory costs drop the size of USB flash drives are increasing at a rapid rate. You can buy 4gb and 8gb versions for $50 to $75 allowing you to carry around your office in your pocket. Whether you use it for immediate access to all your documents, photos and files or just use it to back up your office data every day your information is immediately at hand right on your keyring.

In fact many programs are now made portable to install specifically on your memory stick so you can run them on whatever computer you plug it into.

Wireless Broadband

Wireless broadband solutions until recently were a dismal failure however with the mobile phone companies 3G networks opening up fast access on the move wireless broadband become a reality.

Whether you own a laptop or a tablet pc you can supercharge it by giving it wireless broadband access allowing you to connect to the internet and even to your office through a VPN connection no matter where you are. Vodafone has just released a 5GB per month plan for just $39 per month so expect to see the other big players to react shortly.

GPS

Having driven the same streets over and over again you might know your way around your local neighbourhood but quite often your buyers don’t. You can use your GPS as a map to show local services, schools and business to potential buyers. High end units like the TomTom Go 720 even have bluetooth speakerphone built in so you can answer your phone without risking a fine.

Laser Measurer

Forget pacing out a room with one of these Laser Distance Measurer in your pocket. At the press of a button it will tell you the distances between two walls. Another press and you have the other measurement of the room and it will even calculate the total area of your room, quickly and accurately. There are cheaper ultrasonic versions around, but any true gadget guy would insist on the ultra accurate laser versions.

Digital Voice Recorder

Tape recorders are a thing of the past. Digital recorders give you clear recording without handling and erasing messy tapes. Throw it in your pocket or briefcase on your next presentation and then review your performance when you get home.

Digital Camera

Digital cameras have been popular in real estate for quite a while but recent advances have allowed easy access to wide angle cameras now. Next time your buy a camera insist on at least a 28mm lens equivalent such as the Fuji Finepix 480.

If the salesperson does not understand that just walk away and deal with a specialist camera dealer like Teds. The other options is the Digital SLR Camera which use to have an entry price of $3000 but you can now buy a great digital slr for around $1000. Wide angle lenses are the norm for slr cameras but you can still get ultra wide angle lens as an add on that will capture even the smallest room in just one shot with an equivalent 16mm lens.

MP3 Players

I bet this one got you thinking,,,. What would an agent do with an iPod? You have probably got a stack of training cd’s in the cupboard you never get out and listen to because in this day and age CD’s just are not portable enough. It takes just a few minutes to rip them to your computer and upload them to your mp3 player.

Most mp3 players have an FM Transmitter accessory that will output the sound to an FM radio signal so you can tune your car, home or work radio into so you can now listen to your training cd’s wherever you are without carrying around bulky cds.

Listening to the latest training cd’s will be a lot more productive of your time than some talk back radio discussion with your training library in your pocket. With the latest video models like the iPod touch you could even have training videos in your pocket.

Digital Photo Frames

They start at small desktop units like the Phillips Photo Frame and go right up to my personal favourite, the 22inch widescreen units that hang on the wall like a piece of artwork such as the models from Photovu which will display photos from USB flash drives, portable hard drives, wired and wireless networks and even the internet. Load up the desktop versions with inspirational photos, messages and pictures from home.

The larger units are perfect to hang in your reception serving up those hundreds of happy client photos you have amassed and are doing nothing with. They will be the talking point of the office and your clients will love them.