CLASS Leasing: Google Rankings

We just recently began working at a property in Arizona that had a very minimal amount of content when we arrived on-site. There was neither a property website, nor was the community listed on any ILS (i.e. Forrent.com; Apartmentguide.com). Therefore it became first priority to establish some sort of presence online, so that if a prospect were to search for the community, there would at least be some sort of relevant material to appear. In a matter of weeks, we were able to get the Google Place Page established, as well as work the SEO of the Facebook Page to the point that it is currently the first website recognized as relevant when the property name is searched (Itom A'e Apartments, Guadalupe, AZ; Great job Kimberly!)

This brings me to the larger point of this example in that we were able to create a Facebook Page for a property and have this page move up the Google rankings system...but how?? There are many layers to this question that neither I, nor really anyone else, other than those who have written the Google algorithms, know the real answers to. Obviously, a great first step to take when trying to get a website up the rankings is to make a website/page that is going to have relevant information of interest to readers. After establishing your webpage with substance that individuals are actually going to read, there are a multitude of steps that can be taken from this point forward. Social Media Examiner lists a thorough explanation of 7 detailed steps one can take to get a website up the ranking list of Google.

Enjoy!

CLASS Leasing

CLASS Leasing: Resident Blog

If you're looking for a great way to get information out to your residents that is interactive and unique, then a resident blog may be just what you are looking for. A resident blog is a spin-off of the staple community blog in that it allows residents the opportunity to actively communicate with one another on an open forum. This forum is still subjected to office maintenance, but it is a much more convenient way to hear and spread pertinent information amongst a community. In order for the resident blog to be benefecial, an office staff must make the blog known to residents via flyer, newsletter update, or any other convenient announcement means.

The resident blog is where an office staff can learn of resident concerns, as well as post community events to receive feedback from the residents about their thoughts and needs. Of course, if you are a member of the office staff where a resident blog is instilled, make sure to monitor the comments. The reason is that once the blog begins to become regularly updated and starts to receive comments from residents, the acivity of the blog will generate relevancy in a Google search, thereby making it open to potential prospects searches. You always want to make sure that prospects are not turned away from a property as a result of seeing something online that could have been addressed right away.

Here are a few examples of some apartment resident blogs I was able to find:
Mountain View Crossing
Shea Apartments

Enjoy!

CLASS Leasing

CLASS Leasing: BlogGlue

Writing a blog gives users the ability to share relative information about any aspect of business they choose. The added benefit of a blog is that there is no one format to follow when it comes to constructing a daily post. Where the challenge comes in for a blog creator is getting individuals to actually read the information that is put together daily. Obviously in updating a blog regularly, the SEO of the blog will eventually lead it to the top of a Google search in being relative to a specific title search, but how do people find it if they do not know the exact title?

BlogGlue is one such site that exists with the sole purpose of expanding the amount of views that a blog is able to draw-in. BlogGlue essentially does "all the work for you" once your blog posting is created by dispersing the blog through multiple venues of social media. BlogGlue will actively post your blog to Facebook and Twitter, will partner the blog with previous blogs written by the user and will link all your blogs in RSS feeds. In spreading the blog throughout the different social media sources, the traffic views will be increased, thereby boosting any potential revenue streams desired from creating the blog.

BlogGlue does offer a free route for their services, but if you are in fact a regular blogger that is looking to benefit from blog revenues, then it may be worth the buck to pursue an active partnership with BlogGlue.

Enjoy!

CLASS Leasing

Are you on ApartmentRatings?

Just how important are consumer reviews these days? You can look at the power of sites like yelp.com and kudzu.com, or you can type in "Apartments in any town USA" into Google and see how high sites like apartmentratings.com land on the search. Whether we are looking for a restaurant, a resort, or a place to call home, consumer reviews are driving the purchasing decisions of the modern consumer.

The old way of thinking was to avoid apartment review sites at all cost. As most people in the industry will tell you, they were nothing but venting forums for disgruntled and evicted residents. But now all of that has changed. Not having reviews readily available to prospective residents puts you at an extreme disadvantage. Prospects want to see CGM (consumer generated media) prior to deciding where to live. They do not trust traditional advertising, including your website.

Solicit Reviews! What happens when we solicit reviews rather than sit around and wait for them to appear? We usually see a much more positive response. Maybe it is because our residents appreciate the fact that we are asking for feedback? Maybe it is because without a reminder to review our properties, only the disgruntled residents are motivated enough to post on their own? I don't have the answers, but I do know that when you ask for feedback, the response is overwhelmingly positive.

Take for example Dental TLC in Atlanta GA. I recently went there for the first time based on the high number of positive reviews. When searching for them online, I noticed that they have 283 reviews on Yelp, Kudzu, and other rating sites, giving them four and a half out of five stars.

Upon leaving my appointment, I was handed a water bottle, toothbrush and toothpaste, and this card.




I asked the receptionist about the review card and she said that a majority of their business comes from their online reputation and word of mouth. She credited the fact that their patients are great about writing online reviews. Talk about bang for your marketing buck!

Get some feedback from your residents. It will not only help with resident retention, but it is becoming a necessary marketing piece in order to capture today's renter. If you don't have any reviews, rest assured your prospects are searching for a property that does!

CLASS Leasing: Facebook Losing Users??

As Facebook nears the 700 million mark of users globally, there has been a slight setback occurring amongst its American population. In the last month there has been a drop-off of nearly 6 million American users of Facebook and this was the first time that Facebook had seen a monthly decline of any kind in a year! What could possibly be leading to such a huge amount of individuals just simply leasing Facebook? There is no clear defined reasoning as to why such a drop-off occurred, but its left many people wondering if Facebook is just starting to lose its luster, or if people are just becoming tired with the constant changes. On the flip side of that, maybe its that people are becoming tired with the lack of updated changes and are bored by the website. Could it possibly be that people are becoming more weary of the intrusive nature of Facebook, especially with the introduction of the Face Recognition software to the website?

Regardless of what the reasoning may be, Facebook is continuing to add users abroad and is even making potential headwind in the country where Facebook has been banned for years...China. It will be interesting to see where Facebook turns to keep up its title as one of the most successful websites of all time.

Enjoy!

CLASS Leasing

Great news for owners!

What happens when multifamily housing starts all but vanish for 4 years? The answer is a drastic increase in demand for rentals! After biting the bullet of falling rents over the past 4 years, apartment owners and operators are now leveraging the decreased supply of rentals into the beginning of the much forecasted increase in rents.

Here is a great article from msnbc that talks about the nationwide increase in rents. The challenge owners now face will be to re-acclimate their residents with an increase in renewal rates. We are sure to see some shock at first, but going back to the pre-2008 landscape, residents all but expected an increase at renewal. It will take some time, but it appears that our ability to push NOI on properties is becoming much more feasible.

-Danny Soule

CLASS Leasing: If You've Ever Had Someone Object To Price...

It is basically an understood notion that the number one objection any leasing specialist will find at their respective community is price. Regardless of if the property has rents equivalent to every other property in the region, someone will complain about the price for rent being too much. I always joke that the rent for an apartment could be free and there would still be someone to say that it costs too much! A great way to look at the price objection is that it is something that will always be brought up, but at the same time, there is always some other property that probably is dealing with a price issue on a more grand scale. Insert One Hyde Park Apartments here. One Hyde Park Apartments just opened in January as the most expensive apartment building in existence. Although they are considered to be more of condominiums, they are still classified as an apartment community and value at about $9500 PER SQUARE FOOT! The details of this London-based community are absolutely jaw-dropping and almost seem like a fairy tale when you read what amenities come with being a resident at this community. This just goes to show once again that if you ever think your community is a little pricey, think again!

Enjoy!

CLASS Leasing