A practitioner in the science of search, John Erickson will share his expertise on real estate search-engine optimization during the Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco, which runs from Aug. 5-7, 2009.
Erickson is vice president of search-engine optimization at LeadQual LLC, a company that seeks to assist real estate professionals in generating, qualifying and converting online leads.
He has previously served as senior vice president of technology and strategy for online real estate marketing company HomeGain and developed that company’s SEO program. He has also served as a tech consultant, entrepreneur, manager and programmer.
He responded to a set of questions posed by Inman News:
What do you see happening in the real estate market in 2009?
The market will bottom out in 2009, but real recovery won’t start until 2010.
What advice do you have to help real estate agents and brokers get through this market?
Make yourself visible, especially online. With the market down you need to get more leads and work them. Make sure your Web site and blog are visible, get active in social media, and promote your Web presence every chance you get.
What made you join your current company?
I joined LeadQual because it is a great concept and because I enjoyed working with LeadQual’s founders, Andrew Coleman and Glenn Houck, at HomeGain.
What’s been your biggest challenge in running the business?
Keeping up with growth, finding the right people to hire, and helping customers survive tough times.
What new features are in the pipeline?
We continue to add features and capabilities to our lead-qualification call center, and increase our search marketing and lead-generation tools and techniques. …CONTINUED
Can you share any future plans, goals?
We’ll continue to grow our business and help our customers grow theirs.
What lesson did you learn in the last year?
That you can still grow a company in a down economy. Tough to do but possible.
What would your second career choice be and why?
Full-time dad. For obvious reasons.
What is the biggest problem in the real estate market today, and how would you fix it?
Oversupply. People still think that more housing starts means progress. It may be heresy, but I think we need more incentives to invest in existing homes than build new ones.
What do you most enjoy about working in the real estate industry?
In our world of online real estate, it is ever-changing and always challenging, which keeps it fun.
Tell us something we don’t already know about you …
I love skiing, bicycling and backpacking.
Hear John Erickson speak during a session titled "Real Estate SEO: How to get it right, avoid the snake oil, and measure results," during the Real Estate Connect conference in San Francisco, which runs from Aug. 5-7, 2009.
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