There is a profound idea that escapes most who seek to design a Marketing Solutions using the Internet; it is in fact a simple idea with broad ramifications – Niche Marketing on the Internet is Global Marketing.

This idea is difficult for many because the paradigm they have operated in for years is what is called Channel Marketing – the ideas that is you place your advertising in channels with Global Reach and you have the eyeballs of many – think Television Advertising, National Radio Campaigns, and even Large circulation Newspapers and Magazines.

It is not really the Internet that changed all of this – it is the ability to Search that has empowered customers.

In fact I do not like terms like ‘Internet Marketing,’ ‘Search Engine Optimization,’ ‘Pay per Click Marketing,’ etc… they are too abstract; the cleanest phrase that I have come up with to resonate this is: Organic Search Marketing.

Think about it:

a. Customers could care less what the name of websites are – there are too many; they rely on the referee of Search to get them to where they wish to go.

b. Even if you are an established major website like Amazon.com consumer will still shop you around by using Search.

c. Search means Power to Consumers – that includes Real Estate!

So let us now see how Niche Marketing is really Global Marketing – in fact I will prove it to you:

1. What is Niche Marketing?: Simple; it is the process of a broker website being found on Page 1 of Google organically for local terms, such as ‘Lexington SC Real Estate,’ or ‘Brevard NC homes for Sale.’ etc… Paid Marketing can be counted into this equation but it is not as powerful as Organic Ranking.

2. Zillow, Yahoo Real Estate, Trulia, Realtor.com, and all the large Real Estate Aggregators are using Niche Marketing to grow their Global Marketing; How do they do that you ask? Simple; they allow Brokers, Agents, MLS Boards to Syndicate their listings for additional visibility. Of course they do this for “Free” – and those who understand the concept of Free Marketing understand deep down there is nothing given without something being taken; the First Law of Thermodynamics, or the Conservation of Energy, teach us that!

3. Have you noticed that when you search within a Niche Market, say ‘Raleigh NC Real Estate’ all the organic places are filled by the Yahoos, Realtor.com, Homes.coms, Zillow.coms, Trulia.coms, etc…? This is called ‘Niching’ one local market at the time and they do so by using these massive databases that are filled with data from Brokers and Agents who syndicate to them.

Let me say this another way:

“These Website Aggregators are using your listings to grow their Niche Markets one locality at the time – which gives them a Global Reach, which they then turn around and charge you to be apart of it by buying advertising and paying referral fees.”

And Yes they get paid whether you Sell Real Estate or Not – You only get paid when a closing occurs.

I personally do not have a moral problem with this – but let call it for what it is.

This simple idea has yet to be absorbed by the majority of brokers, let alone agents; but we cannot continue on the path of ignorance by trying to fit the Square Peg of Traditional Marketing into the Round Hole of Organic Search Marketing.

Like my friend George says: “ They don’t know what they don’t know and they keep squabbling on the margins!”

Happy Blogging – Key Yessaad, Real Estate SEO Trainer

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