You've probably already heard of SEO, and you may even know that it's a popular website marketing strategy. But what is it?

In a single sentence, Search Engine Optimization is the art and science of helping a website show up in search engines like Google. SEO helps a website gain greater visibility within the search engines for specific keywords that are likely to drive relevant, high quality traffic to that site.

SEO matters to real estate agents because it can bring in some of the best quality leads out there. It can provide a steady stream of fresh clients to a business, and drive immense profits for real estate teams. The better a site's SEO, the more leads a site will receive, and we work with some mega-teams whose entire companies were built

If you're using lead generation software to instantly create lists of potential new clients, it's time to stop.

Sometimes people use the term "lead generation software" to refer to marketing or customer relationship management software, like REW CRM. That's software that allows you to capture and manage leads from your own site and landing pages, and it's not what I'm talking about in this post.

Instead, this post addresses the type of lead generation software that tempts you into filling out a form or handing over your credit card information, in exchange for an instant pile of leads. Some lead gen software is "free", and some isn't—either way, it's bad news.

While even just one good reason should be enough to deter you from using lead

Enhanced Listings

With Real Estate Webmasters' real estate websites, you can control your listings like never before.

Using our Enhanced Listings feature, you can instantly improve the look of your listings and reap some phenomenal benefits in the process.

Enhanced Listings allow you to take any of your own listings, and then enhance them with the click of a button. Enhanced Listings have a more stunning visual display, and allow for additional content, photos, and videos. This enables Realtors to put together a stronger listing, with more impact and better search visibility.

Here are 3 simple reasons you should use Enhanced Listings:

3. Break Free of Restrictive MLS Rules

It can be tough to market properties the way you want to,

It's no secret that Google has been encouraging all website owners to convert to HTTPS, and we also started recommending HTTPS upgrades to REW clients back in 2014. But the stakes are getting higher and Google will be upping the ante next month.

Here's the announcement Emily Schechter of Chrome's Security Team made in a recent blog post:

"In January, we began our quest to improve how Chrome communicates the connection security of HTTP pages. Chrome now marks HTTP pages as “Not secure” if they have password or credit card fields. Beginning in October 2017, Chrome will show the “Not secure” warning in two additional situations: when users enter data on an HTTP page, and on all HTTP pages visited in Incognito mode."

What Does This Mean For REW

Meta Descriptions For Real Estate Websites

The search engine results page, or SERP, can quickly becomes a monotonous sea of text.

With so much going on, how does one stand out from the rabble?

One of your most important tools for encouraging users to click through to your real estate website is a well-thought-out, engaging and eye-catching meta description. That’s the brief block of text that appears right under the main title of your page in search results.

Meta descriptions are not used to rank webpages, but they are one of the most eye-catching and information rich pieces of real estate on the search results page. You've worked this hard to get your page in front of someone's eyes, and now Google is giving you a free billboard to seal

Hiring A Real Estate Content Writer

If you've spent any time looking for quality real estate SEO services, you'll know that content development strategies are an important theme.

Today, publishing valuable content on your website is still the cornerstone of a successful SEO strategy. But not just any content will do; it needs to be valuable, informative, and enjoyable to read. Even in real estate, understanding the fundamentals of what makes good content will inform how you understand real estate SEO as a whole. 

Unfortunately, finding a reliable freelance writer with industry knowledge, local expertise, and great grammar chops can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

If you've hired an SEO expert to help you take your site to the next

Lead follow up is absolutely critical for landing new business and building relationships with potential clients. Yet, it's one of the biggest challenges real estate agents have. Today, we're going to tell you exactly what you need to do to follow up with your online leads effectively and efficiently!

It takes some time to refine a follow-up system that works perfectly for you and your team, but we find there are a few common elements in every successful follow-up system:

Step 1: Call Within 24 Hours

The very first thing you need to do is call every single lead that registers on your site. These leads should be contacted as soon as they register, or--if they sign up at an inopportune time--within the first 24 hours. Keep calling every day or

It's an exciting time for real estate technology, as we step into the world of virtual reality through 360 images and other VR experiences. As many of you know, our brand new VR website features 360 immersion, allowing your clients and website viewers to take a step into a listing or community, right from the comfort of home.

While we recommend using a professional photographer for your 360 Home page images and property listing photos, a DIY solution can work well for impressing prospective clients during listing presentations, and is a great addition to your sales pitch.

In order to bring property photos to life, realtors will need a 360 camera. 360 cameras take two or more images simultaneously, then automatically stitch them together to create a

REW sites are built to generate ROI and make you more money, but these two things can't happen until your site goes live. That's why we recommend getting your site online as quickly as possible, then refining content and pages as you begin to generate leads.

Getting started on your brand new site can seem intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. We've put together this simple guide that tells you the 8 things you need to do to get your site up and running, in as few steps as possible.

If you get stuck at any point in the setup of your site, please call 1-877-753-9893. Our friendly support team is always happy to walk you through specific steps or features you would like help with.

1. Send Your Logo & Colour Scheme

The very first thing you'll

We're excited to announce a really cool new feature today: REW Leads 1.1 for iOS now includes Lead Reminders! Lead Reminders allow you to easily create reminders for your leads and get push notifications when they're due. Those of you who use reminders in REW Backend and REW CRM will already be familiar with this feature.

Creating a Reminder

To create a reminder in REW Leads, tap on a lead to see their details. Then, scroll to the Reminders section and tap the + button.

Select a reminder type, its due date, and enter some details to explain what your future self needs to do. Then just tap Save!

If you're logged in as the admin or as an ISA, you can optionally choose to Share your reminder with the lead's assigned agent. That