Exactly How Timely Real Estate Blog Articles Can Attract HUGE Traffic Numbers

Last year, in late June, Gena Riede, author of SacramentoRealEstateBlog.com, wrote a blog article about the locations of all the local fireworks displays throughout Greater Sacramento, CA.

She couldn’t have predicted what this simple report was going to do to her traffic count for the next week.

Around the time she wrote the article, Gena’s blog was averaging 200–300 visits a day.  However, shortly after hitting the Publish Button, these numbers were left in the dust.  Several hundred, soon grew to several thousand unique visits a day, quickly falling back to Earth by the 5th of July.

(Inserting disclaimer… I know, hits aren’t equivalent to business)

Well, the word got out, and I’d have to say that the phenomenon is not limited to the Sacramento area.

Judy Peterson gained 1000’s of uniques for her post about 4th of July in Main Line, PA.
John Bunn gained 1000’s of uniques for his post about 4th of July in Loudoun County, VA.
Roberta Murphy gained 1000’s of uniques for her post about 4th of July in San Diego, CA.
Jeremy Frost gained several 100 uniques for his post about 4th of July in Dripping Springs, TX.
Sue Brown gained several 100 uniques for her post about 4th of July in Prescott, AZ.
Keahi Pelayo gained several 100 uniques for his post about 4th of July in Honolulu, HI
And…
Gena Riede, once again gained SEVERAL 1000’s of uniques for her post about 4th of July in Sacramento, CA.

There were dozens of other examples from the Real Estate Tomato Bloggers, but you get the idea.

The lesson is that if you can predict a local event that will cause residents and visitors to leverage the internet to learn more about said event, then you can garner great levels of traffic.  The blog, when used properly, can be an amazing tool for being found in the search engines.  Couple that with a timely topic and you will witness a surge in your daily visits, for as long as that topic is relevant.  In the case of the 4^th of July, the 5^th is too late.

The events that you choose to write about do not need to be so generally obvious as ‘Holiday Reporting’. 

Here in Northern California, for example, we are suffering through historic wildfires.  A blog article covering the best news sources for the coverage, and subsequent articles about fire-proofing yards, shelter locations, evacuation preparation, insurance FAQ’s and the like would be prove to be invaluable to the community and a huge traffic attractor.

Real Estate blog authors that mix local reporting in with their real estate wisdom, advice, listings, and statistics are not only more interesting to read, but also present themselves as a concerned and connected member of the community.

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Real Estate Blog Traffic, How Many Hits Should I Expect ?

Tags: Real+Estate+Blogging, Blogging+Advice, 4th+of+July+Blogging, Blog+Training

Comments

[Karen Goodman]

I agree totally with this post.

My metro area has over a dozen free summer concert series in local parks. I was looking for a comprensive list of all of the concerts, and no one had all of them. So I wrote a post sorting the concerts by county and day of the week, and my traffic has been up every since. I expect it will last all summer, and next year I can easily go back and just adjust the dates and republish.

Most of these visitors bounce right off after reading this post, but about 20% are sticking around and reading at least one more page. I'm hoping that by the end of the summer, some of them will actually become regular readers.

[Matt McGee]

My wife and I have seen the same phenomenom, Jim. We wrote a post previewing West Richland's biggest annual summer event, and saw traffic skyrocket in the days leading up to it. And it's not only this one-time traffic burst, either -- local sites are often so poorly-SEO'd, that your blog post has a chance to land and stay highly ranked in the major search engines. Our city govt. site is so bad that our blog post holds #1 on Google for the name of the event. Probably will until our post next year replaces it. :)

Oh, and ditto on what Karen said -- we've written posts listing concert series performers, what movies are playing at the free kids summer movie series, etc., and they all bring in solid traffic.

[Ann Cummings]

I couldn't agree more! I've done this very thing a number of times on my own blog, and have seen those same spikes in traffic. Some of those posts I wrote, even though the events have long since passed, are still being found and read by others.

I think it makes great sense to mix community with straight real estate. It's boring if you don't, and consumers like the mix of that kind of info.

[Roberta Murphy - San Diego Real Estate]

Gena's numbers were amazing this year--and remain high because of her constant attention to local interests. I found numbers spiking when I reviewed Cirque du Soleil's San Diego performance and provided fire information and updates last year. The opportunities to provide real and helpful information are everywhere.

Hope you emerge from the Paradise fires unharmed. We worry about you!

[Michael Bergin - GWSleptHere]

Our area is flush with bloggers and more statistics than you can shake a stick at so we make a real effort to highlight local events and businesses. Our post on the Memorial Day "Ride to the Wall" got great numbers and a post about a (new) local butcher shop is still one of the most "Googled" items we have. And we always include lots of pictures . . . .

We're still new at this but the mix of information is definitely key in driving traffic.

Be safe Jim,

Michael and Virginia

[Gena Riede]

Jim,
The secret is out...I do so enjoy seeing those spikes. I think this year surpassed last year while reaching the highest number of 4,024 visits on the 4th.

Now, to find that same niche all during the year while balancing working.

Do hope that you remain safe and sound during what has to be a nightmare. Know that we are all thinking of you.

[Jonathan Dalton]

Not to rain on the parade, but what is the point of the spike if the traffic disappears the next day? Are these folks really going to be buying houses on the basis of "she told us about fireworks?"

In Phoenix, there were a half-dozen blog posts about the fireworks shows. I skipped it because it already had been (over)done everywhere else. And at the end of the day, I want people buying and selling real estate and not just figuring out where the firecrackers are.

[Jim Cronin]

Jonathan D,

We could use a little rain here anyhow. These fires have made life difficult here in Northern CA.

I don't know if you saw my Disclaimer in the middle of the post, pointing out that I understand that all traffic does not equate to business and even linked to an article I have written with Teresa Boardman on that exact topic:
http://realestatetomato.typepad.com/the_real_estate_tomato/2007/08/how-many-hits-d.html

But, nonetheless... the idea of the post is that Timely Posts can trigger a surge in local traffic. LOCAL is the key. Although you may be looking for people who want to buy/sell homes, do you start every conversation with them about buying and selling homes?

I'm willing to bet that breaking the ice with potential clients is usually a topic NOT about real estate. Maybe it's the weather, or the fires, or the ball game or a new restaurant... something other than "Did you realize how many homes are on the market this month?"

The point is that you never know where your next RELATIONSHIP is going to come from, and by having the savvy to bring in a TON of LOCAL traffic with timely articles may just accelerate your RELATIONSHIP building.

Who cares what brought a LOCAL audience to the site, they're going to get the message that you are a Realtor who has knowledge, wisdom and experience in the field... as well as a service to offer, should they have the NEED.

Glass half full.

[Eric- New Orleans Condos and Lofts]

Makes a lot of sense. It works just talking new real estate developements, condo projects, and things in the news as to how it affects real estate. Never ceases to amaze me how people find you on the internet and the interesting stories they have.

[Adam]

Great tip for blogging. We've been doing this on our website (posting information about local events, restaurants, arts), but haven't done so much of this on the blog. We'll certainly be expanding our blog to include this in the future.

[John Harper]

Great reminder for all of us. A couple of other areas that attract spikes - job cuts and local personalities. Our news flash on layoffs at Safewway sent traffic spiking and our conintued coverage of local newsman Mark Curtis continues to provide traffic.
http://www.theharperteam.com/blog/our-team/safeway-to-announce-layoffs/
http://www.theharperteam.com/blog/our-team/mark-curtis-danville-california/

[Landflip]

I think that it is important to post interesting facts and information on your blog. It is important to find ways to attract bloggers and interested readers to your site. With all the sites available on the web, one must be creative and find ways to attract a plethora of interests.

[Judy Peterson]

Thanks for the shout out Jim! Another tip I would offer is that as soon as I saw from my Google Analytic' s that the 4th of July Post was going to take off, I did a piggy back post about things to do over the 4th of July weekend. The two remain my most visited pages. Back to reality now as I look for the 4th of July Button :-) The good news is that someone who is the leader of a local organization contacted me to ask if I would help promote a local event in the Fall? Meeting the need is what's it's all about!

[Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice]

Jim,

Great article mainly from the evidence you pointed out. Writing about your local town and events that go on is very important and attracts readers as you saw. Local people will then tune in and can therefore be exposed to you blog in a very comfortable way. Many of thes hits that people generated for the 4th of July article were just that...hits. I think more importantly is to write about your town events. These people will generally be the ones potentially interested in real estate in your area.

[Steamboat]

I agree. Your blog should bring value to your readers. If you can consistently blog about relevant information, people become familiar with your services as a byproduct and you'll end up with more business.

[Riley Smith]

Thanks for the tip. I have been posting mostly about real estate and need to start mixing in some community stuff.

[DCL]

I bet an informal survey of home buyers and sellers would show that one of the main reasons they like and refer their agent is because of a personal connection they feel toward him/her. Of course, you want to be a good agent first and foremost. But if you can’t connect with potential clients, you’re not going to get their business. Bringing things to a local level gives clients that connection. It makes them feel like you take a sincere interest in their community and are in tune with the trends and nuances that characterize it, that you actually care who moves in or out of a neighborhood and that you’re not just there to make a quick buck. Long & Foster Real Estate encourages all of their agents to make that personal connection and it pays off. So while a spike in response to a July 4 fireworks posting doesn’t necessarily translate into new business, it does lay the groundwork for creating a personal connection with future clients.

[Sue]

Thanks for this info on blogging. Yes, its important to have a good connection with your clients, but you do have to find a way to bring them in. I'm reading more and more how important it is to write about community details and events.

[DJ Swanepoel]

Excellent post! The quote above is right on; you need to give people a reason to come to your site, and a great way to leverage that is through information that they're looking for; local reporting fills this need.

[Miami Real Estate Attorney]

Great tips! Every ready knows another, and word can spread.

[Carson Coots]

I experienced the exact same phenomenon on my local blog in Katy TX. During the 5 days leading to the 4th, so many people landed on our fireworks show article http://www.onlykaty.com/featured/july-4th-celebrations-in-katy-2008/ my daily traffic doubled and climaxed the night of the event. It really was an eye opener making me come to the conclusion this post reports.

[Riley Smith]

Thanks for the post Jim.
Beth Butler always told us to be as personal as possible, but I think I had started to get away from that recently.
In honor of your post, I wrote this one http://therealestatecoconut.com/2008/07/28/i-could-be-out-fishing/ to show a personal side to my readers.
Thanks for everything!
Riley