Real Estate Topsites

[BigP]

Hey Everyone! One of the best marketing techniques around right now is the use of real estate topsites to promote your real estate site. We've just developed a topsite program and would like to invite everyone to join up! It's FREE, and a great way to get your site seen!

Real Estate Investing Topsites (http://www.biggerpockets.com/topsites) :D

See you at the TOP!

[MaxSinclair]

BigP, how does it work?

[BigP]

Max - just add our button to your site so we can keep track of your statistics. Your site will appear at the top of the rankings based on traffic stats.

Investors who see our button will know that you're affiliated with one of the top Real Estate Investing Sites around!

When our users look at our topsites, they'll see you there. :cool:

[Jiany]

Hi guys how does one get into a real estate topsite.
What website can I go to to see an example of a topsite button.

[HHI Golf Guy]

"Topsites" was a name that someone came up with for this type of database web application. When a topsites domain is set up properly (static outgoing links, spiderable pages, consistent theme, etc.) they offer they same benefit as good directory. Usually, topsites owners request that you put an image/text link on the home page of your site to the topsites domain. Some owners are OK with a link from an interior page.

When they are poorly engineered and run, they are nothing but an FFA (link farm) site.

I am not passing any judgement on the site above (I have not even looked at it). I'm just giving you an overview of what a topsites list is all about.

[BigP]

Here is the button:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/topsites/images/bigptopsite.gif

[HomeSurfer]

When I first set up our "Top 100" years and years ago -- I modeled it after the old "HitBox" site (except it was a 'poor man's version'). HitBox (before it got so commercial) was a really cool program that ranked sites in different categories all across the web.

The first company to do anything similar focusing in real estate was realestatepros.org. We were second, though I was probably working on it at the same time they were. Since then, there have been numerous (and I mean numerous) versions of it.

The reason for the required graphic link is because it is a graphic that remains on the server of whoever is hosting the Top 100 or "TopSites" -- (provided they are actually ranking you by traffic). Every time a visitor goes to a page with that graphic, the Top 100 host can "count" when the graphic is pulled.

More sophisticated programs can use cookies to determine who is a unique visitor, and so on. Some of the programs (and I won't mention any names) actually use the graphic to insert spyware into your site and visitors' browsers.

Here is the current incarnation of our Top 100 button.
http://www.realestateabc.com/realtorsearch/images/top100.jpg

It doesn't even mention our web site on it's face, though there is a link back to realestateabc.com in the graphic. That was the whole point, just as it was the point for HitBox. Back in the "olden days" of the web (Pre-Google), graphic links were a way to get traffic without paying for advertising. Nowadays, sites use it to build their PageRank.

The problem with HitBox was that they started turning the graphic into ads and they became very commerical, increasing the size of the graphic until it was very large.

Anyway, that is a quick lesson in Top 100 Sites. I believe Mike Wong at Reals is the first one to use the term "TopSites" in reference to his program.

I think time is running out on Top 100 sites, so we quit promoting ours years ago (though it is still running). One of the filters Google may institute would assess penalties against "run of the site" links, and you perform better in Top 100 programs when you post the graphic on every page (Most Top 100 programs count page views, not unique visitors).

[Jiany]

Can we get blacl listed from having any affiliation with topsite?
Have a good week

[HHI Golf Guy]

Can we get blacl listed from having any affiliation with topsite?
Have a good week

As I said earlier, there are some very good topsites out there. The only way that you MAY be penalized is if you link to a topsite that one of the SE's deem to be a link farm.

Of course, that is true of any site that you link to.