Re: Search Engine Optimization

From: Mark Hayden <mhayden_at_eRealty.com>
Date: Fri 12 Jul 2002 14:37:43 -0500

We have made Overture much larger part of our marketing effort where we
manage over 700 keywords in house. There used to be a software that
allowed us to manage those keywords quickly, automatically and often.
With the recent changes initiated by Overture, this software is now
obsolete and Overture has its own product out that doesn't work nearly
as well. In addition, the bidding process isn't as clear-cut as before:
it used to be that if you wanted a position, you'd bid $x.00. Now, we're
still trying to get a handle on what it takes to get the most out of our
money in the bidding process. If you're managing under 100 keywords,
doing so manually through Overture's Account Manager makes sense, but if
you're managing a high volume of keywords (and spending a lot of money),
it's more difficult.

In terms of conversions, we enjoy a healthy 11% conversion rate from
click to registration on Overture. I'd rather not say what our cost per
closed transaction is, but right now, we're paying on average, about
$6.00 per registration. I think our conversion ratio is so high because,
at registration, we're not asking our prospects to part with any money.
We just want them to come to our site and commit to us when they decide
to buy or sell a home. I think it also has to do with our company
listing which effectively "pays off" the keyword, so the searcher knows
that if they click on our link, they'll get what they're looking for.

Buying a home is a timely and complex process that involves a lot of
people and our business model is based upon bricks and clicks. The
clicks bring the prospect into the process to help in the shopping where
our prospects just want to look at homes on the MLS and see what they
can afford in a specific area. Then when they're ready to buy, our
Realtors, who are connected to the backend of our systems are ready to
help them there. Overture does a great job getting them to the site, but
the closing is ultimately up to us.

Overall, I would recommend Overture simply because they generate the
highest volume of pay-per-click search engine leads via their partner
programs. If given an opportunity to get the same volume with easier
ranking management capabilities, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Mark Hayden
Director of Marketing Communications
eRealty Inc.



Received on Fri Jul 12 2002 - 14:37:43 CDT