New Seo - The New Playing Field

One of the most important selling tools you have for selling a house in Thailand is the internet. Through the internet you can reach millions potentially, although sometimes it is hard to get more than a handful of people to your site everyday.

That just got harder with the new changes this April to the Google Algorithm. The change seems to penalize those who try to boost there position in the SERPS. Those who don't regularly send links to there sites are unaffected; but those who were seeing good progress in their position in Google for keywords have, in many cases, seen the carpet pulled out from under their feet. Do not panic is the old seo wisdom - the site will be back. I'm not so sure. Some of my sites have been down for the longest time. If Google preferred genuine content above you, then you would have less reason to grumble; but often that is not the case. Here is what I'm more certain about:

Good original content

1) Google is trying to find a way mathematically to discern shit from shinola. The better you can write and the more originality and value you can add to your writing the more you will be rewarded both now and in the future with good SERPS position and Page Rank.

Perseverance

2) If you just continue sending backlinks to your site or sites then over time they will come back. The key is to hit a variety of key phrases. If you just keep linking 'property for sale in Thailand' then you will be forever penalized by Google. You must spread your links over lots of related keywords and phrases related to your niche. Variety.

Aged Domains

3) The new (and not so new) idea in SEO is to fool Google by buying age and page rank. Every day valuable sites and URLs just get discontinued because someone lost interest or just plain forgot to renew their URL address. In auctions you can buy sites with 100s if not 1,000s of backlinks. You can find sites with page rank up to 5. If you buy a site with age it will soak up the links and will not be penalized so readily by Google. It may seem like starting again but you will be surprised how much difference age makes in the SERPS. You can also just move shop as it were, by redirecting your old site to your newly acquired aged domain.

Other Sources of Traffic

4) The final bit of advice is to find ways to not rely on Google. Lots of people make a good living from their sites and they are poorly placed in Google. How do they do this? The answer is through referrals. If you can get your links on sites with high traffic then you can see good traffic just from people clicking through to your site. The future is that more and more people will just pay for targeted traffic. Adwords is about this very topic.

Don't Dispair

You can make a sale. It is only a matter of time and hard work. The internet is only one way to sell your house. It is an important way no doubt and there is no reason to think that you cannot compete with 'the big boys'. The internet is a level playing field.

Marketing Tip: Pillar Content

Sometimes it takes new technology to re-discover old truths. One of these truths is that for all media people are drawn towards quality content that internet marketers now call 'pillar content'. Such is the extent to which quality drives popularity that many websites thrive not through artificial link building but from popular momentum generated by free links, bookmarks, Facebook thumbs up and so on.

Basically if you add value you get more interest. When selling something it is only a successful ploy to wave a price tag under someone's eyes if they have already decided to buy. People who type 'buy adidas trainers' into google are more than 60% of the time going to do just that online. The conclusion being that being number one in google.com for 'buy adidas trainers' allows you to just place a big picture and a link on your page and you have a sale.

From the marketers viewpoint most buyers are still in the uncommitted stage. They are turned off by adverts but turned on by information. This is why free maps with advertising down the side is a successful marketing ploy: it is pilllar content and promotion.

This is the key - pillar content and promotion. So if you are trying to sell a Thai villa or other property then you need a website that offers good information about the surrounding area, visa regulations, weather etc. This specific information by itself will generate traffic.

For a brochure, it is sometimes a good idea to include some value in the printed media to make people hold onto it. That is the thinking behind coupons in magazines and newspapers. Again a map or a timetable or a list of useful telephone numbers and websites gives the brochure an element of pillar content that makes it a better promotional tool.

In short, it is about going the extra mile and not being totally in the face of the customer that ideas of buying can take seed and maybe go from thought to reality. And then you have a sale. That's when you want to be up there for 'buy adidas trainers'.

Buying Furniture for a Thai Villa

Once you have built your Thai villa either for residential purposes or for rental then you have to find some furniture to put in the villa. This can be a difficult process because there are so many furniture suppliers to choose from.

Naturally your choice of furniture supplier will partly depend on what style of interior décor you wish for your house. You might prefer a minimal look, a Thai look or a more traditional western style. Some people go for a Moroccan theme in their Thai villa. While a Moroccan style is attractive in itself, it is in my opinion, somewhat gauche and inappropriate in a Thai setting.

If you are buying furniture for yourself because you intend to primarily use your Thai villa for your own use then you will want good quality furniture that is going to look good and last a long time. If you are furnishing your villa primarily for rental purposes then cost is a key factor. While the furnishings in a rental villa should be attractive they do not need to be top of the range. Renting out a villa to the public means the furniture is probably going to get more wear and tear then if the villa is just for your own use. Also if you are going to rent your Thai villa you should consider going for a neutral décor that has a generic and accessible feel.

It is important to remember a few things when looking for furniture in Thailand.

1)    When you order the furniture it does not get sent out immediately. Normally furniture suppliers make to order. So don’t forget to leave plenty of time between ordering furniture and making plans to rent out your villa. On average furniture will take 2 months to make.

2)    You cannot always dismiss a furniture supplier in Thailand because they have a clunky website. Although Thais are very adept in putting up websites they often make websites that are lacking in design values.

3)    The biggest areas for buying furniture in Thailand are Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is famous for making heavy traditional pieces of furniture that emphasize the beauty of the wood. Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand and has access to many rare and beautiful hardwoods. Furniture made in Chiang Mai is often cheaper than furniture made in other parts of Thailand. However, transportation costs can often negate any savings.

4)    Most furniture shops and suppliers will want a 50% deposit paid up front and the other 50% paid on delivery.

5)    If you are sending money to Thailand to pay for furniture then don’t send it in Thai Baht. 9 times out of 10 the Thai bank you are sending the money to will give you a better exchange rate than your local bank.

6)    It is very possible to negotiate with furniture shops. If your order is worth over $1,000 most furniture suppliers will be happy to offer a 10% discount and they sometimes throw in extras such as cushions and bed sheets to further sweeten the deal for you.

7)    Always get 2 or 3 quotes before committing. This will give you a much better idea of what represents good value.

8)    Good green options are furniture pieces made from renewable resources such as coconut, rattan and water hyacinth. Be careful, a lot of what is called ‘rattan’ is actually plastic in a rattan style weave.