ActiveBlogs – Link Love and SEO

Many AR members have been creating and setting up their outside ActiveBlogs on ActiveRain.  I’ve had the pleasure of helping some, but also know that there have been a ton of these created that I and others have missed.  Driving visitors and traffic to your new Blogs is essential in getting them Active and all over the search engines.  Here’s a great chance and way to do that.

Please take a moment to visit these members Blogs, see what they’ve done, and drive them some SEO love.  It would be great if you could leave them a comment too.  I’m sure they will all do the same for you.

• Bill Gassett 
• Virginia Hepp
• Jodi Bakst
• Missy Caulk
• Richard Weisser
• Bo Kociuba
• Connie Watts
• Kevin & Monica Ray
• Connie Harvey
• Lesley Lambert
• Carolyn Tann Starr
• Alexander Harb
• Mara Hawks
• Terri Adams – Scott
• Steve Mattison
• Jennifer Allan
• Kathy Nielsen
• Todd Clark
• Vickie Nagy
• Judy Greenberg

There’s a wide variety of styles and Blog types from our various Industry Professionals, everything from REALTORS®, Stagers, Lenders etc.  I’d love to have some examples from every AR Category below.

[ Real Estate Agents ] [ Loan Officers ] [ Mortgage Companies ] [ Inspectors ] [ Appraisers ][ Title Companies ] [ Escrow Companies ] [ Real Estate Attorneys ] [ Real Estate Auctioneers ][ Virtual Assistants ] [ Home Stagers ] [ Real Estate – Others ] [ Account Execs ] [ Mortgage Processors ][ Real Estate Brokerages ] [ Builder-Contractors ] [ Real Estate Medias ] [ Real Estate Trainers ] [ Notaries ][ Commercial Real Estate Agents ] [ Environmental Services ] [ Commercial Lenders ] [ Business Brokers ][ Property Managers ] [ Real Estate Sales People ] [ Architectural Designs ] [ Financial Planners ][ Insurance Broker or Agents ]

Be sure to take a second and leave us a link to YOUR ActiveBlog in the comments so we can add you to this list.  There are probably 700 – 1000 of them out there right now, and soon there will be thousands more.  Let us know about yours, or add a link here when you get one setup, I’ll try and help pay it forward.

We’re also looking for some ActiveBlog examples to feature on our AR landing page.  This is for when other members are interested in finding out more about creating their ActiveBlogs and want to see what you have done with yours.  If you’re interested in being on that page, again, just leave your link below.

Disclaimer: This post is exempt from the AR terms of service and community guidelines regarding spam or hijacking by leaving your links in the comments of another members Blog post.  I’m soliciting them.  🙂

                        ActiveRainTeam                                                         ActiveRainGuide.com

The New ActiveRain Badges

The new RainMaker Badges are here!  You will notice today that scattered all through-out the community, there will be many different types of Badges and Avatars both on member profile photos and in the comments left on members posts.  It comes as no surprise that our tech team has once again beat me to the scene and this announcement of yet another enhancement in the rain.  Badges!  First off, I’d love to hear what you think about them and secondly, I’ll explain what each image represents.

Pictures In Comments and Badges – How Do I Get Mine?

The Rainmaker Badge: For members who have upgraded to a Rainmaker account, have a “new” outside ActiveBlog, currently sponsor at least one Localism community, or have spent at least $10 on a listing router campaign in the last 30 days.  In addition to the new badges, we also now display product icons below a user’s comment image that will show how they’re using and supporting ActiveRain. 

(your photo will show up in the comments if you’re using at least one of these ActiveRain products or services)

Badge Legend / Representation:

  = The RainMaker Badge

  = The Listing Router Badge

  = The ActiveBlogs Badge

  = The 300K Point Member

  = The Localism Sponsor Badge

Here are some samples of members badges that were selected from comments in my last post.
             Coming soon to members near you, the “NEW” Ambassador Badge, which I’ll save for another post…

ActiveRain's NEW RainMaker Membership Plan

ACTIVERAIN – The NEW “RainMaker” Membership Plan

EDITED 7/10/2009 

Click Here – for the most recent and up to date information regarding RainMaker memberships

We are implementing some changes in our membership structure on ActiveRain for NEW MEMBERS.  We believe the NEW membership plan will be beneficial to both our existing members and to our “New” members joining the Community.  We want ALL NEW MEMBERS to reap the same benefits and rewards that existing members have created and experienced in the past.  The time has come for us to make a change.

Since 2006, ActiveRain has been hosting members Blogs for FREE.  Many AR members have contributed fantastic content, and as a result has driven visitor traffic and SEO over the top.  (Over 2,000,000 visits monthly)  These members, along with our team, have worked hard and long to achieve these results.  It’s been a wonderful partnership and the rewards and success stories are simply amazing.

ActiveRain has hit a certain level of maturity and any new members signing up are in a position to receive tremendous benefits and value by doing so.  Our founding members have had to invest much more time and effort when they signed up and got started here.  The amount of consumers visiting the site is dramatically higher and the potential to learn, interact and share are all exponentially greater than they were two years ago.  ActiveRain has become a very powerful network and useful resource to the Real Estate Industry.

The Network has clearly reached a point where participation here provides an undeniable tangible value to our members in the form of on-line marketing, networking, and as an educational forum.  There really is no other Network or Community that compares to ours.

The ActiveRain New Membership Structure and Plan:

• Members who have already setup accounts and have existing Blogs on ActiveRain will continue to benefit from their FREE access to the community and network. (nothing changes for current AR members with Blogs)

• A “Basic” ActiveRain account will still be available to new members for FREE, however these new accounts will be limited to “Members Only” postings.  This means that any new members will still be able to benefit from the networking aspects of ActiveRain for FREE, but will not be able to tap in to ActiveRain’s huge consumer reach unless they sign up for the “New Membership Plan.”

• The New ActiveRain Membership (For New Members ONLY) will cost $39.00 per month, and will include an Outside ActiveBlog along with a unique domain name that allows them the ability to post content that will be visible to both consumers and search engines. 

• Any member accounts that were created before February 16th, 2009, but have NOT yet produced at least a single Blog post will continue to have access to the network and all the tools that they’ve utitlized up to this point.  If those members wish to activate their account so their Blog posts will be viewable to consumers and search engines, they’ll be required to sign up for the New Membership Plan at $29 per month. 

All New and Existing ActiveRain Members will also receive:

• Listing Router “Wholesale” pricing, with clicks being delivered to the highest bidder on an auction basis.  All members will have the opportunity to pay the same price as bulk wholesale buyers.  This represents a 70% per bid price reduction.

• The NEW Rainmaker Badge: If you currently utilize any AR product (Listing Router Campaign, Outside Blogs, Sponsored Localism Communities etc.)  the new RainMaker VIP Badge will appear when leaving comments and wherever the member profile picture is currently displayed.

• ALL Outside Blogs will now have the ability to add multiple users/authors.  The pricing will only be $19 per month for existing AR members going forward. (This includes Individual and Group Blogs)

• Premium technical support will continue for paying members.  Non paying members will only have access to email based support.  These changes will be rolled out over the next few weeks and will be automatically applied to member accounts.

• Weekly ActiveRain Webinars and On-line Training will also be made available to ALL ActiveRain Members.

All current members will be given ActiveRain Founder Accounts.  You have gotten us to this point and your contributions have been the fuel to mature the network.  Again, nothing changes for our existing Active AR members.

This new membership plan goes into effect at 5am PST on Monday, February 16th, 2009.  Feel free to contact any of the ActiveRain staff or team if you have any questions or concerns.  We are looking forward to the continued growth and success of our network and YOUR business here on ActiveRain. Thank you for your continued support, your contributions, and your allegiance.

Sign Up Here – AR RainMaker Membership

ActiveRain Headquarters – The Heart and Transmission of ActiveRain

Next month is my one year anniversary working for one of the greatest companies I have ever been privileged to be part of and employed with.  The funny thing is, I have been working here all this time and have never been to our Corporate Headquarters located in Washington State.  Today, I am sitting in our main office with the rest of the ActiveRain Staff, and while they are all working hard to keep things up and running, working smooth and efficiently, I’m hiding in the conference room writing this post!  Hey, I’m working hard too… lol~ 

             

Bob Stewart has asked that I disclose that these photo’s above are not of the entire ActiveRain Office, just the building where we are located.  If you look close behind the handicapped parking sign, you’ll see Bob waving from the window of our little section of this gorgeous structure.

It was very exciting to walk into the office for the very first time.  My first impression was WOW, there really is an ActiveRain Office!  Within moments, a very surreal feeling came over me…  this is the place where the heart and transmission of the entire network is housed and controlled.  These are the people who make it all happen on ActiveRain.  I’m actually here now with the staff TEAM who have not only built the most powerful Real Estate Network in the Country, but soon I’ll be having lunch, answering phones, and working right along side with them.  Up until today, I have only spoke to them on the phone or via email.  It’s a great feeling here of being “home away from home.”

              

Today they are letting me pick where we’ll be having lunch.  This is an ActiveRain tradition in the office.  Each week, someone gets to select the lunch menu and chooses where they’ll be dining for that day.  Since I am here, I get the honors.  Tomorrow, some of us will be heading over to the REBarCamp at Zillow’s Headquarters.  It’s going to be a great event packed information, experience and ideas from some of the greatest folks in the Industry.  Did I mention it’s FREE?   If you’re in the area or within 1000 miles, I recommend you come join us.

I’ll be flying back home on Valentine’s Day to be with my sweetheart, and it will be a Happy/Sad Day.  Why?  Happy for obvious reasons, and sad because I have already become attached to our office here in Washington.  The Big Screen in the conference room, lunches with the staff, the synergy in the air, and the fun and laughter that is shared along with the hard work these guys (and gal) deliver daily.

                

                

I have come to appreciate this Network not only as my place of employment, but as a place where PEOPLE with HEART makeup the environment that we have all come to know and love.  It is one of the greatest experiences in my life to be part of this team of dynamic, creative, and down to earth people.  If you ever get the chance to visit the ActiveRain Main Office, you’ll know exactly what I mean. 

I hope you ALL know how hard these guys work to make your experience on ActiveRain an enjoyable one.

Google Local – Register Your Business and Blog

Last week, Jon Washburn published a great post about 7 SEO Secrets to Dominate Your Local Market. 
I’ll start with the first one, registering your ActiveBlogs and Businesses on Google Local.  There are many benefits to doing this, an important one is just being found and getting some of that additional SEO.

It only takes a couple minutes and it’s FREE.

You can create and upload your Office and Blog or Website information individually, or if you have a Company or Office with multiple addresses, you can upload an excel spreadsheet with all the locations and watch Google Local work it’s magic.  You’ll find both of these options really easy to use.

Enter your business information as shown below.  Your listing will appear to the right. This is just a first step. After this has been completed, you will be able to upload photos and videos, specify categories, payment options and business hours and much more.

       

Next you can add multiple categories, office hours, payment options, photos, video, and additional details you may want consumers to know.  You can include up to 5 different videos. Final step is the validation which can be completed over the phone or by postcard.  I used the phone verification method below.

The process is completed and you’ll show up on Google Maps within one business day.

Why not take a couple minutes, register your Business and site on Google Local, and see what benefit it brings to your business?  Provide all you can to the traffic, visitors, and those searching Google by the millions every day.  You have nothing to lose except the 5 minutes it will take to complete these steps. 

The next step is to get your clients and business associates to write a quick review.  Here’s a link to our ActiveRain Business Office on Google Local.  If you have an extra moment while you’re here, we’d love your review.

ActiveRain Success Stories and Testimonials

  There are so many success stories and testimonials that come from members of ActiveRain, it’s awesome to read some of what happens to people from being on this network.  Not just business stories, or lead generation, I’m talking about real life changing experiences.  Real people and real lives being affected and even changed by their contributions and efforts here on AR.

  Two of my personal greatest success stories (and I have many) are 1.) the fact that this community and members helped me through a very tough time in my life transitioning from one industry, to being a full time employee here on ActiveRain, and 2.) my brother finding me on ActiveRain after 40 years of being separated.  I was only five years old the last time I saw him.

  These stories and testimonials from our members are so powerful, touching, and life changing, that we are now going to be featuring them in the “ActiveRain Success Stories” link located on the main ActiveRain page.  Do you have a success story to share?  Whether it’s personal, business related, or just about an ActiveRain success, WE WANT TO SHARE YOUR TESTIMONIALS and SUCCESS STORIES TOO!  How has ActiveRain or the members here affected you, your family, your business, your community, or your life?

Here’s How You Can Share Your ActiveRain Testimonial

Go to your ActiveRain Profile and click on the “edit” option.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and you’ll see the “NEW” area we’ve added just for you and your story.  What you enter here will not appear on your profile, it will ONLY appear on the landing page with all of the other AR Success Stories HERE! 

  You can also access this landing page from the main ActiveRain HOME page. 

  Please keep these few items in mind when adding your ActiveRain Success Story or Testimonial:

• You’ll receive 500 points for creating and contributing a testimonial or success story.

• The success story is about success achieved because of, or on ActiveRain – not just life successes.

• Having your Success Story on this landing page will be significant for your SEO results.

• Please DO NOT use this area for self-promotion or advertising, if so, it will be removed.

• Your testimonial must be at least 20 words or more to qualify for the 500 Bonus points.

  See what others have added as their success story or testimonial.  ActiveRain Success Stories.

Sccess can’t be spelled without “U”

New ActiveRain Widgets for ActiveBlogs

He won’t admit it, but Rich Jacobson is addicted these little things so I have to keep testing them out and requesting them for HIS Blog!  This isn’t the first time I’ve written about Widgets and Rich, and it won’t be the last.  haha!  Those who know me well, know all about my Widget World fetish.  lol~

Seriously, while most of you were sleeping and the other late night Bloggers were posting…(like me), our AR Tech MASTERS released another update for the Outside ActiveBlogs.  I had said earlier that these were coming and when I heard they were here, I just couldn’t sleep.  Then when I saw this, I just couldn’t resist squeezing out a quick post.

Widgets for ActiveBlogs.  This feature is limited to our Outside Blog users who have Individual or Group Blogs.  Although these widgets will display in all browsers, Internet Explorer 6 is not a supported browser for “managing” your new AR Widgets.  We suggest that any IE6 users Upgrade Your Browser. 

We’ve added a topic/category widget and support for some third party widgets.  Be sure your posts each have a topic/channel or this widget will pull up blank results.  (I would go back and edit posts if need be)

Screen shot of the “Edit Widget” mode on your Outside Blogs.  Next, is one of the coolest Features yet…

Members can now reorder their widgets with just a simple drag and drop process.  WOW! These guys are good!  This is the coolest Widget Feature ever! 

No more code, no more embedding, no more errors, and no more wasted time trying to figure out how to install these little gizmo’s on your Blogs, just a simple user interface which allows you to add what you need to customize and get the maximum “Widget” power from your new ActiveBlogs.  But wait, there’s more…

I saved the best for last:

ActiveBlogs & SEO

SEO Upgrades for ActiveBlogs. (Again, limited to Outside Blog users)  The high point is our automatically generated Site-map which helps Google (and other search engines) more quickly and accurately index these Blogs.  Now with the ability to search Local posts, topics and categories, and add widgets, this altogether will  make these Blogs ROCK.  I know where you’re going next…

Be sure to stop by Rich Jacobson’s Blog, I’m sure he’ll have every “Widget” available right on his sidebar. That is, if you can get your computer to stop crashing from the lag caused by his widget-happy blog page!

Related Posts:
10 Easy Steps To An ActiveBlog 
5 Important Tips for ActiveBlogs
The ActiveRainGuide