It's relatively straight-forward to frame an IDX solution into a blog. Certainly not the best for SEO, but it gives the readers what they want. My IDX search on the blog gets 3x the traffic the IDX on the main site gets (due in no small part that the blog itself gets 3x the traffic the main site does.)

And my IDX provider provides search "modules" that can be embedded directly into individual blog posts. Readers love them, and I can write a post about a specific subdivision, embed a search for the subdivision, and a year later when someone comes across it, the search will be active and current. That's pretty powerful stuff...

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Jay Thompson
web: ThompsonsRealty.com
blog: PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com

Simply put, the consensus seems that the ability to have both a static site and a blogging platform is the best way to go. What I am seeing more and more are the blogs (mainly wordpress themes) that have static sites built around them. Many people are starting to cater to this trend and design themes that are built to be websites i.e "The Revolution Theme" from Brian Gardner. This is just one example of what you can do with a blog now. There is a brokerage in Austin that has done this and has been quite successful with it ( www.singlepointerealty.com ). He is also an author for agentgenius.com I believe. The simplicity behind these sites and the fact that they are really great for SEO allows you to give the consumer just about everything they could want in a website. Wouldn't agree with the comment that these style sites will replace the traditional website, but they will give them a run for their money....

**The above listed URL is not for promotional purposes, rather an example of the topic at hand.

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Gatlinburg TN Real Estate | Pigeon Forge Real Estate | Sevierville TN Real Estate

Great info Agnafl. I have come across Brian Gardner themes before and they are real nice.

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Brandon Florida Real Estate
Tampa Real Estate Blog
Tampa MLS

I agree with Ryan. A combination is the way to go.

The blog platform is better for SEO purposes but we have to keep conversion and bounce rates in mind as well. When I put on my fictional home buyer hat and go to some of these real estate blogs there is too much emphasis on a bunch of crap I don't care about. Initially, I am there to see homes for sale and want to find those homes easily. If I can't find the property search within a few seconds of hitting the home page I am gone and looking at the next site.

IMHO the best combination is a static site with a blog rss feed on the home page for SEO purposes. The blogs can come across as too disorganized for the average joe who just wants to see homes for sale. I believe blogs come into play later when the consumer is deciding on who to work with.

Nevertheless, the blog platform is very powerful from an SEO standpoint.

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Marc Rasmussen
SKY Sotheby's International Realty
Sarasota, FL Real Estate
Longboat Key Real Estate

I have better luck with actual web sites. You do not need to update as much.

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flat fee mls | flat fee mls connecticut | flat fee mls new jersey

I think blogs are nice to look at with and also handy for SEO's but I think I would prefer to have traditional websites still be in used. Because even if some websites are not that useful online still the way they look serves as something nice to surf with, also its a free world so seeing each others uniqueness will always be there. Creation and ideas will never be 100 percent alike.

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Real Estate | Leasing | Foreclosure Samaritan Partners Specializes on Residential Real Estate, and Foreclosure Options for quick cash and other financial needs.

Not "blogs" per se, but more generally dynamic content-management type schemes.

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Amortization calculator , Calculate the net present value of an income stream

ugh. i certainly hope blogs don't supplant websites. I like blogs for the updates and current content, but they kinda suck for organization and content that should and does remain the same for long periods. IMHO.

Joe

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Austin Texas Real Estate | Coldwell Banker Austin | Austin Texas Real Estate

I think the blog will eventually start to overshadow the "website" due to the fact that the blog can and will keep people coming back for updates and opinions. Many of my clients read the blog regularly those same people would not go to my "website" where little changes month to month for info, so I think the blog from a client building perspective is much more powerful then just the standard static website.

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-Michael Oliver

Michael Oliver is a Tucson real estate agent serving clients in the Tucson, Oro Valley, Catalina, Marana, Sahuarita, and Casa Grande areas. Please feel free to search for homes in Tucson and read current updates on the Tucson Real Estate Blog.