Greatest Real Estate Agent In The World

Trying to compete against the some of the SEO veterans that are dominating this contest is really humbling, and also a great learning experience. The contest provides a living laboratory for what works and what doesn't when it comes to SEO. Right now, at least on Google, my site falls into the category of what doesn't work :( This is dissappointing, but it offers some great lessons, even though the limited time frame required by the contest does make some aspects of the experiment unrealistic.

I don't know why my first contest entry to the greatest real estate agent in the world contest has fallen on hard times, but I think it tripped a Google filter. I am guessing that this is one of the filters related to gaining too many links in too short a span of time.The result is that my newly created blog, the Greatest Real Estate Agent In The World blog, has disappeared from Google's index. Hopefully this is only a temporary thing, but in case it's not, I am creating this page as an alternate contest entry.

This setback is a great example of the challenges of developing a new domain or subdomain. Even though the site I created is a subdomain of wordpress.com, which is one of the top Authority sites on the Internet, it still seems to have tripped a Google filter. Additionally, in this case, none of the links to the site came from particularly spammy sources such as web directories; they were all from REW blog posts, forum posts, and comments made on other contestants entries.

In light of that, I am hoping to test a theory with this post, which is whether this page is less prone to being filtered because this blog post is a page on realestatewebmasters.com as opposed to a new subdomain at wordpress.com. If that is what's holding my blog back, then I may be better off trying to compete with an REW hosted blog post, like this one, then on a wordpress subdomain. Of course, at this point in the contest, the competition is so stiff that I am more focused on learning what I can from the results than actually winning the contest.

Another theory that I have been wondering about, is whether pages that have lengthier content and a greater number of words have a tendency to get higher rankings? Thus, I've created a list of 36 qualities (and counting) that the greatest real estate agent in the world should possess, in no particular order:

1) Love real estate like no other.

2) Be an oustanding member of the communty.

3) Serve their clients with the greatest customer service imaginable.

4) Hold their duties of agency with the highest regard.

5) Always be honest.

6) Act with integrity, and alway be true to their word.

7) Communicate skillfully and effectively.

8) Ease the stress of those around them.

9) Amazing negotiator, yet done in such a way that all parties are satisfied.

10) Knows everything there is to know about mortgages.

11) Not afraid to to kill a deal or advise against a purchase when it is not in peoples best interest.

12) Brilliant marketing skills.

13) Love showing homes.

14) Vast knowledge of architectural styles and history.

15) Hires the best home inspectors.

16) Guru of neighborhood information.

17) Provides guidance on all aspects of homeownership.

18) Credit score and repair expert.

19) Is the life of the party.

20) Shows homes every weekend, and still has time to pickup the kids.

21) Holds every credential and certificate known to Realtors.

22) Has an encyclopedic knowledge of neighborhood demographics.

23) Develops lifetime client relationships.

24) Masterful at staging and interior design.

25) Great team player.

26) Provide clients the security of working with an experienced professional.

27) Understands real estate law better than the lawyers do.

28) Calm like the rock of Gibraltar.

29) Has a smile that makes the Mona Lisa jealous.

30) Dreams of solutions to the world real estate problems.

31) Answers all phone calls and e-mails personally.

32) Never lets commissions get in the way of client satisfaction.

33) Knows peoples real estate desires better than they know themselves.

34) Mastered the art of convincing clients to do what is in their own best interest.

35) Has the right vehicle for every real estate occasion.

36) Can map an address better than Google, Yahoo, or Mapquest.

Update 4/30/08: In honor of Eric Blackwell who has been the contestant to watch for some time now.

37) Gifted at the art of networking.

38) Supports charitable organizations.

That's why he gets my vote for the greatest real estate agent in the world contest.