Has the darkness ended?
Obviously, if you've been on ActiveRain for more than a minute in the past few weeks, there's been a lot of talk about the dreaded downtime that has made ActiveRain an aggravation at times. I've been blogging here since late 2008 and have had an up and down relationship with ActiveRain. On one hand, I love the opportunities it has provided me and I have enjoyed the many people I have met through the network. On the other hand, I have been frustrated by the reoccurring problems and sometimes have been forced to wonder if the SEO benefits of ActiveRain are quite what they're cracked up to be.
SEO what?
A lot of you will immediately question my devaluation of the power of ActiveRain's SEO power, but my experience with Google ranking has been up and down here at ActiveRain. Sometimes, it seems the post is immediately powered through the search results of Google, other times a post seems to never quite get the rolling push it needs to become a strong ranking page. Most people's immediate response would be that I must be doing something wrong and not taking care of some of my own self-created SEO power within the post. I would counter with the fact that I do the same sorts of things for posts here as I do for my site at RErockstar.com, which has typically outranked my ActiveRain posts in terms of Google placement.
Is that reason enough to be done with ActiveRain?
I don't think so. I enjoy ActiveRain. Although I'll be the first one to stomp and shout when things are not working, I don't hate ActiveRain. I will speak out about what I see as problems, much like I did recently at AgentGenius with my post, "ActiveRain experiences growing pains, users consider leaving" (if you read that, I suggest you read Benn Rosales' followup post, "ActiveRain problems mounting, hopes apology is enough"). Although I may be critical at times, I am also supportive. I truly hope ActiveRain is able to put the worst behind them and move on to bigger and better things. I still think Localism has amazing potential (although I think it is not being utilized to its fullest by members or the staff at ActiveRain). I haven't seen much out of the ActiveRain referral system, but personal relationships have led to referrals incoming and outgoing. What I have received most from ActiveRain has been new friends, some great "food for thought," and a chance to increase the effectiveness of my blogging efforts.
I feel I was trained as a blogger here at ActiveRain (as well as AgentGenius, as that was my first writing opportunity in the real estate realm). I learned from some excellent real estate bloggers and even taught them a thing or two here and there. There is a collaborative spirit here which is a definite bonus to membership as it allows for opportunities to learn from a wide selection of schools of thought. That is something I truly appreciate. There are tons of great posts on "how to" in order to help you improve your blogging skills (as well as your general real estate knowledge and skill). It's a library that's open twenty four hours a day (yes, I see the irony in that statement). There is most definitely great things you can get out of ActiveRain and I don't feel the bad outweighs the good.
I do however have a suggestion.
You know me, I like to add my thoughts to many issues and this is no exception. My post at AgentGenius says it best, but for those of you that won't click through to it, I'd like to share what I think is the most important part of that article.
Don't be afraid to step outside of ActiveRain.
While there are many benefits to being here, they (like everything else in real estate) are not a cure-all. Expand your horizons and start your own blog outside of ActiveRain. Go where the consumers are. While they do visit here, they're also out there floating through the internet...looking for you (or your competition). My own self-hosted Wordpress blog brings in about 4,000 visitors a month. I didn't do anything special except that I made it a mission to blog constantly and to publish the highest quality content I could muster. Sure I picked up tips and tricks along the way (many of them here at ActiveRain), but I truly did little more than type out my opinions and discuss current issues involving real estate with my readers. No fancy SEO marketing that cost me a fortune, no Google AdWords, no paid links from popular sites - nothing out of the ordinary. Just content.
You can do this yourself as well. It's not as hard or scary as it may look. Moving outside of ActiveRain can work well in conjunction with your efforts here. They don't have to be mutually exclusive. Do you only market in one place? Of course not. You work to be seen in many places. Use that theory to your advantage and use ActiveRain as a tool to compliment the other tools you're using.
Dear ActiveRain...
I do wish you the best in getting this solved. Bob and I chatted briefly the other day about it all and I could hear in his emails the stress and strain that this has placed on him. I'm sure you're all overworked and getting more than tired as you work to rectify the situation and (hopefully) put safeguards in place to prevent this from becoming a common theme. I wish there has been more communication during all of this and I hope you'll take that into consideration, as it seems to be the most common complaint I'm hearing. I'm sure it's not easy to be in your shoes, but I do hope you take some time to see it from our shoes. Again, best of luck and thanks for everything. I'll see you soon.
photo courtesy of muha...
All content ©2008-2010 by Matt Stigliano unless otherwise noted.
Matt Stigliano, Realtor® | (210) 646-HOME | www.RErockstar.com
"Your all access pass to San Antonio real estate."
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Matt, I completely agree with you (which is rare because I don't usually agree with everything most folks think) However your post make great points without being combative or disrespectful. I still love Active Rain and plan to stay as long as they will have me but I am also working on a new web sire and moving my outside blog to a word press platform.
On the other hand I did read Benn's post and did not think much of the way it was written, frankly it seemed a bit preachy and very arrogant, then again maybe that is just the authors' pesonality. Let me say that was a first impression because I do not know Benn and I am not familiar with Agent Genius...
You wrote a great post here as you usually do, well balanced and objective and like you, I am embracing the idea of diversifying, but AR will always be home to me!
Matt:
Are you one of the whiners? =)
Seriously, though, you make some excellent points here. I, too, have experienced the ups and downs of the Google juice. But Nothing beats the quick power of the Rain for those who don't have a long-established website.
Stepping out of the Rain was one of the lessons that I've learned during the 'intermission'. I don't usually keep all my eggs in one basket and this was another lesson for making sure I don't fall into the trap yet again.
Matt, I had already read the two posts you mentioned in a roundabout way via Lenn's post which reblogged Maureen's post.
IMHO - I feel many REALTORS here are forgetting about their own real estate websites in their efforts to blog here. Some have combined both which is great but I feel it is imperative to keep up with your real estate site because that is where the consumer is going to find you.
My business is coming from that avenue not AR. I do love AR for the social networking aspect, and all the great information provided.
I don't blog here specifically for the SEO. I do see in my analytics that people are finding my AR blogs but through a variety of different keyword searches, some which have nothing to do with real estate. Those people are not looking for a real estate agent but that's fine.
I came here because I wanted to blog. So we keep on keeping on and hopefully with smoother ground to walk on and no more obstacles in our way.
Matt - I was one of those that was primarily only blogging on AR even though I had a website I could blog on, I just simply wasn't keeping it up. Not anymore, the past couple of weeks has made me realize that I can not and will not put all my blogging eggs in one basket.
During the intermission, I used that time to update other blogging platforms as well as establish new ones. From here on out, I am going to make an effort to keep my other blogging platforms up, which will mean a little less time here. That's ok.
I made my wordpress blog my primary site over a year ago, so while I was frustrated with the proxy errors and inability to log onto AR, I wasn't in a panic over not being able to get to my posts. That said, there is a draw here that keeps pulling me back, even if just to peek in the windows and lurk for a little while to see what's going on.
Russell - Benn can be quite to the point in his posts and it's one of the things I love about him. He likes to challenge the reader to think differently or critically of the issue. As for my post, I wanted to write something that dealt with the bad side of what's been going on and some of what I find good about ActiveRain. I am in no way a blind supporter of anything - it has to pay returns or I need to find a new solution. I do get something out of ActiveRain, that's why I'm still here even though I'm not quite as active as I have been in the past.
Aaron - Although you're smilie indicates you're being a bit funny, I actually have seen a little too much of...what to call it...name calling and sides being drawn over the issue of ActiveRain. It concerns me a bit, but I guess it's human nature.
Michael - I think ActiveRain works best in conjunction with other tools. It has obvious benefits, but so does blogging on your own.
Jenny - It's like anything else, you can quickly become too dependent on any one thing. Twitter, Facebook, ActiveRain, Trulia, Zillow...you get the idea. I think it's good to take a step back once in awhile and diversify.
Donne - The hardest part is trying to balance multiple blogs. I have three currently and am working on several more for future use. The idea is to keep each one filled with fresh, quality content. Somedays it seems like a bit of overload, but the returns are there.
Lisa - My primary, self-hosted Wordpress site is primary for the simple reason that it brings in the most visitors and inquiries - all within my control. It's also a source of pride for me.
Although Active Rain was down, the google juices kept flowing. I came to AR to learn to blog and increase the activity on my website. I'm here now because of the people and the knowledge it has to offer. I wouldn't go anywhere else.
Yeah, the dark days are over. Bring on the sunshine!