Here’s a “community tip” you may not be aware of regarding how to “SEARCH” Blogs. Active Rain is a huge wealth of members, knowledge and resources! There are so many Blog topics, ideas, instructions, do’s and don’ts, opinions and posts of information, it really can be over-whelming. This post will show you how to maximize the “Search” options that are available to you on Active Rain.
When you click on the “SEARCH” feature from the menu bar above, you’ll have 3 options and choices to search from. Profiles, Blogs, and Blog Comments. When you’re searching Blogs, it ONLY searches for posts that contain the word or words somewhere within a post? It is NOT searching “keywords” or “Tags” as you may have thought.
I tried searching for a post I had written some time ago, and I use the words “Realtor Blues.” I never found it in the hundreds of pages returned. That’s because it pulled up every post on Active Rain that contained the word “Realtor” and the word “Blues.” Be careful if you are searching for phrases, or multiple words together.
Let’s say you are searching for “FSBO”, it will actually find every post that contains the word or letters FSBO in it, but if you searched “For Sale By Owner” it will pull up every post that has any portion of all four of those words. I tried this on many searches, and had the same results every time.
What do you do if you wanted to find “Multiple Word Searches” or “Phrases” in a Blog post on Active Rain? For example: Open Houses, Short Sales, Buyers Needed, Activerain Help etc? You may get back a ton of posts that aren’t really what you are looking for. I know I did….
I have a “New” way for you to “Search” Active Rain, and it works by searching “Keywords” placed in the “Tags” box at the bottom of each authors post. You’ll love this! Try these two exercises, and see.
STEP 1: Click on the “Search” option in the menu bar at the top of this page. Open the pull-down box and change it from “Profiles” to “Blogs”.
STEP 2: In the blank box just below it, type in the words “Realtor Blues” then click search. You’ll see hundreds of post’s that come up.
Unfortunately, you will not find the post I’m referring to unless you’re willing to sift through hundreds of other posts.
ONLY 1 STEP: This time, go up to the address bar in your browser, and type this: http://activerain.com/blogs/tags/realtor blues press enter or click go, and watch what happens.
This will pull up ONLY the posts that have “Realtor Blues” in the “tags” for that post. Now you have TWO ways that you can search what you’re looking for here on Active Rain, and they are both entirely different from each other. If you are looking for specific posts with multiple words or phrases, and you want to narrow down your search results, then I suggest using this search process. It’s faster and it’s a more targeted “Search!”
Just remember this URL: http://activerain.com/blogs/tags/ and then type in anything you want after tags/ This is a great new way to search Active Rain Blogs. VERY IMPORTANT TIP: Remember that Active Rain converts all “Keywords” or “Tags” to lower case. Always use lower case when searching with this method.
Now, try searching some of your posts this way, and see why having the right “keywords” in your “Tags” is so important. As the membership here grows, so will the posts! That could make it even more difficult to find what you’re looking for here. Personally, this is the only way I like to search Active Rain Blogs anymore.
I know this is just a “SEARCH” tool, but it should save you some time and frustration! After all, aren’t we always searching for something? LOL! I hope it helps you with your “Searches” as much as it’s helped me!
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This is your Blog’s Title. Be sure to give this some thought, it is the theme of your entire Blog. This is what will appear when anyone clicks on the 
Your Blog Description. This is an important area of your “My Settings Page” and it has multiple uses and values. First, this is where you can add HTML code to your Blog. For example, I want to have the search engines come see my Blog every 7 days to check for new and fresh content.
Here is your Blogs Description. (Text Only – NO HTML Allowed Here) This is where you should describe your Blog, it’s content, and it’s value to your readers, but remember this is your HUGE SEO opportunity. You are limited to 100 words, so be direct and focused with your description and keywords. FACT: This is the most overlooked area by new and existing AR members. Want maximum SEO (Search Engine Optimization? 
Allow Non-Member comments. Be sure you have this box checked, otherwise readers who are not members of Active Rain will be unable to comment on your post. Unless all your posts on your Blog are (members only) I would make sure it’s checked!
Sharing your comments. Your comments are already shared in the posts where you’ve made them. If you want other members and readers to access “All” your comments in one easy access location, you can check this box and allow them access. It’s really a matter of preference.
General Settings. There is currently only “One” option under general settings. Let others know you are on-line or not! If you notice at the top of the page right now, you’ll see “Members: 53,842 – 
Your Email Settings. This is a very important part of Active Rain and your settings page. You have to decide how you want your email notifications to work and be managed here. Do you want to get emailed every time someone adds you as an associate? What about the comments you’ll receive on your Blog Posts? What about the groups you’ve joined, the founder or administrator can do mass emails to the group, do you want to be notified? There is even Manual Score Adjustments and Link Status notifications. This is really up to each members discretion. You can see, I like to be notified about anything that’s going on with my Blog or posts! 🙂
Your Referrals. Use the Active Rain Referral Exchange to find the best Real Estate Professional match for your clients. You can also use the associates that you have added to your personal network here. This is NOT for just advertising your listings. This area of Active Rain is for “REFERRALS ONLY!” Please review and follow the instructions when you click on this link. 
My Comments. This is where you can go back and track every comment you have ever made on Active Rain. Maybe you commented on another members post, and then had a change of heart and wanted to modify or change it, but you can’t remember where that particular post is. Use the “My Comments” link to go directly to any post you have made a comment on. Most members don’t even know this is here. 
Your Points Summary. This is a link to your total breakdown of points earned here on Active Rain. Every point you’ll ever receive will be found here. It’s a great tool to see your total points on Featured Posts, comments, regular points, inviting new members points and more. ONLY YOU can see the breakdown of individual points, keep in mind other members can see your over-all points breakdown. TIP: This page can tell a lot about you or other members. Take a look at it, or someone else’s, you’ll see what I mean! Are you about points or content? Do you comment as much as you receive? Where is your focus here on Active Rain? This link will tell!
Your Blog Statistics. How many comments do you receive? How many views do you get on your post? How many clicks are your posts getting? It’s all here at this link. Another great feature of the Statistics link is that you can see every post you’ve ever submitted on one page! I like using this page to see what’s hot and what’s not! Using the statistics page will help you determine many things about your Blog and each of the post’s you’ve written.
Your Active Rain Bookmarks. This is the link that will take you to ALL the posts you have book-marked here in Active Rain. We all get the comments from other members that say “I’ve Book-marked Your Post!” This is so you can refer back to them at a later time when posts get get moved down and buried into a members Blog. The sad thing is, just like “Toy Story” I’m not sure how many of us actually go back and utilize or read the posts we’ve book-marked. I have hundreds, and am guilty of neglecting them as I am sure you will too. 🙂
Inviting Others. Use this link to send an invitation to someone who is NOT currently a member but that you’d like to invite. When you use this link to invite other Real Estate Professionals, you will be credited for their membership and get points for everything they do on Active Rain. You will get a percentage of their points on any activity they have while Blogging here. You also will get points just for them signing up from your invitation. You can also sent an 
Links To Active Rain. This link will give you options and graphics to place on other websites and Blogs. This allows you to promote your membership here and the network. You can use the HTML codes here to on outside websites and Blogs. You will receive “Bonus” points when you add these links to other Internet pages. Here is an example of some I have added to my Outside Blog at 
Your Associates/Associations. Here are all the other members that have added “YOU” as an associate. When you add someone as an associate, don’t forget to put a comment in the box at the bottom of the page. When someone adds you as an associate, this is privilege and an honor. Don’t just add them without commenting, others want to read why you’ve added them, this adds credibility and helps them determine if they want to add them too. This in my opinion is one of the best tools on Active Rain. I use it as my Referral Network Resource and would truly refer business to those who I’ve added and who have added me.
link when you’re done making your changes. Trust Me, we have all learned the hard way!! LOL!
Feel free to modify your settings now with the hopefully, a better understanding of what each of these areas and links provides. If you have any questions on how to do ANYTHING here on Active Rain, there are hundreds of instructional posts available, or you can ask right here, I will try to answer or find the answer to your questions or comments. I hope you’ll find the same value and relationships that I have. There’s nothing quite like being a member here at Active Rain.
Can’t you do all these things on both a Website or a Blog? So why have Both? In fact, isn’t it easier to do a Blog than it is to try and learn HTML so you can keep up a Website? A Blog gives the user more control over the activities, changes, ideas, upgrades and overall site management. With a well written and professional looking Blog, you can’t tell it’s not a website! Is it easier for clients to interact with you on a Blog or on your Website? Email or phone seems to be the only way to communicate with you from a Website. Hasn’t the Website become just a one-way portal of advertising? Isn’t that why Blogging is called Web 2.0? 
One BIG advantage of a Blog is the cost! I know some REALTORS® that pay over $50.00+ per month for their Website, and they have no control of it. They have to contact a webmaster to make any changes, and they have to pay for any additional services and support. Even worse,sometimes their page doesn’t show up on the search engines, even when you type in their domain names. What about leads and referrals? A Blog is FREE and easy, and the support you get from networks like Active Rain and others is priceless. People helping people just because. The downside of the Blog is the time you need to invest. So is it worth the money to just pay a webmaster and have a Website? Should you just hire a writer for your Blog? Wouldn’t they be called a Blog-Master? What’s the difference?
Google loves Active Rain Blogs, maybe even more than some Real Estate Websites out there. I am not saying that Websites are a waste of time, money and effort, just wondering what advice to give someone who asks this question? What advice would you give another industry professional who might really need your help with this? In a time where money is tight, the market has shifted, and technology in our industry is changing, where do you suggest that marketing dollars are best spent? What’s your thought on having a Website or a Blog? I know some very successful REALTORS® that don’t have either, and some that have both! I wish I had a plain and simple answer for this one!! Do You?
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Are you looking to do more business in a market that has obviously changed? Do you want to get more out of Active Rain than just using the Blogging as social networking? Is Active Rain any different than the 
Today a client asked me, “Why should I Blog? Why wouldn’t I just use email or talk on the phone?” This was a great question, and momentarily had me stumped! “I wish I could just use my phone to Blog?” I asked, “Why wouldn’t you want to expose your marketing and advertising efforts for free using a Blog? She responded, “Because I don’t have time, I’m not a writer, and Blogging requires both!”
YOUR Attitude and mindset mean everything. This is out of the ordinary for me to share a post like this, but I feel it is warranted. If it helps just one person who reads it today, then the mission is accomplished! One of my clients shared this with me today and I want to share it with you…..Our Attitude can really determine our Altitude in life and in business.
Once you’re done, you can link or email with the URL address, or you can embed the map into your Blog or Website. The HTML code and links are provided by Google. THIS IS AWESOME!! Do I seem to be a little over excited?!? I think this new feature is the Bomb!! It’s making me Crazy all this new stuff!!
INVITATION!
The Rain Blog 