No matter how hard I want the ePerks issue to go away, it just doesn’t. It looks like I am faced with bunch of imbeciles trying to to fight dirty. So since the fight they want the fight they get. I have been contemplating to make video posts on this blog for quiet some time. I am sure few of you are looking forward to put a face behind this Vlad, so stay tuned.

Posted in Blogging

After launching Top 100 Real Estate Blogs few months ago, Jim Cronin of Real Estate Tomato, had raised a question about Matrix Real Estate Blog and how the blog is ranked by our list. Jim’s concern had to do with what he claimed as unreliability of Alexa Rank:

Another example of how wildly poor the reporting from Alexa is… Miller Samuel’s Matrix - arguably a top 10 most trafficked RE blog has you posting an Alexa ranking of: 545,538. The data is so far off as a relative measure to reality. I’m telling you, it’s got to go.

However, after taking closer look, it became apparent that our list did not rank Matrix even in the top 100 blogs not because of Alexa. Technorati rank was the biggest problem. For a long time, Technorati had no rank whatsoever for Matrix. With the help of fellow blogger and internet entrepreneur, Andy Beard, the Technorati fixed rank for Matrix. Although our list still lists Matrix at 100+ position, I can see it rising to the top of the list with the next update.

The conclusions I can draw from this experience is that not too many bloggers are really concerned with Technorati “authority”. Besides ranking on the lists that factor that authority to rank the websites, there seems to be no obvious reason to care. However if you have submitted your blog to the list, check if Technorati is reporting these figures for your blog. If not, you can contact them to see if your blog was banned for over pinging.

If you are using WordPress, consider using Ultimate Smart Update Pinger plugin. This plugin will prevent your WordPress to over-pinging Technorati as well as other services.

Posted in Articles, Top Real Estate Blogs

AgentRank is attempting to rank real estate agents based on professional experience, home sales, endorsement from former clients and other variables.

The founders of the AgentRank are very clear that rankings can not be manipulated and if you want to rank well in their system all you need to do is to sell homes and keep your clients happy. One of the factors that will affect agent’s rankings is based on whether or not the agent publishes a blog. Hopefully it will encourage agents using the system to start their own blog.

Out of curiosity I used the system to search for the real estate agents in my area. I found 7 agents, whose rank varied from 8 to 1. I presuming that 10 is the most an agent can be ranked at.

While I did not find any familiar faces, few things about AgentRank system jumped at me. While claiming to rank real estate agents based on endorsements from former clients, there is no mechanism for that if you would like to endorse an agent you worked with in the past. Since some of the agents do have endorsements at AgentRank, it leaves me to think that these endorsements are completely under control of individual agents.

While one agent on the list is in the real estate for 230 years- a clear advantage as far as rankings are concerned based on professional experience.

To provide unbiased ranking can be a difficult task. I learning that from my attempt of ranking real estate blogs. So I am sure AgentRank is working hard to improve their website and it’s features.

At the end of the day you have nothing to loose when you decide to join AgentRank. The membership is free and you will get some extra exposure and a link to your blog. You can also follow AgentRank Blog for further news and developments. Feel free to come back and share your experience with AgentRank.

Posted in Real Estate, Real Estate Websites, Reviews