Did Google Scape my web-site?
The News was unleased on Agent Genius on this post by Paula Henry. It has over 387 comments.
Now a web-site has been set up to follow the story.
I am not going to regurgitate what has transpired you can read the posts by the writers themselves and check out Google Is Not a Scraper.com
- You can help out by signing a petition to NAR on Helping them Understand the Internet.
- You can help out by putting on badge on your blogs and web-sites. See mine over there on my side bar?
- You can follow the story and updates by signing up with your RSS feeds.
Jay Thompson was asked to join the NAR MLS Committee.
As Jay says, "I don't know who is crazier, for accepting or NAR for asking." I personally think this is great. No knows the internet like Jay and will be a great voice for us technological Realtors.
This is the time to speak up and let your voice be heard. The issue was put on hold until the November NAR meeting.
Please take the time to read the posts and understand the issue.
The last two days, I received 3 Google Alerts from my alerts on Ann Arbor Homes for Sale. Both were from Weichart Real Estate Company. They were not their listings but other local companies.
This is the exact way Paula wanted to syndicate her listings and MIBOR said, "NO".
(I don't have a problem with this but if they are having their programmers update there site to syndicate our listings like Trulia, Zillow and R dot com....we should have the same ability to do so.)
Don't ya think?
I guarantee since this issue hit the blogosphere all the big companies are out making their IDX searchs Google Friendly.
Now if you go and add the address in Google, the Weichart web site comes up on page 1 for the address.
So who will get the lead?
Not YOU!!
My good friend Matt Stigliano wrote a post on Activerain if you want to read the summary and the links to all the posts on it.
This is critical my Activerain blogging friends to know and understand the issue.
Call to Action:
- You can help out by signing a petition to NAR on "Helping them Understand the Internet."
- You can help out by putting on badge on your blogs and web-sites. See mine over there on my side bar?
- You can follow the story and updates by signing up with your RSS feeds.
Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-926-9797 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
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Missy - As you know this issue is near and dear to my heart. Thanks for the mention as well. I will probably be doing some more postings about it soon as I promised Paula and Jay that I would not let this be forgotten come November (as if any of us that were so passionate about it would!). I keep meaning to go over and get my badge. I'll have to get to that this weekend!
Missy,
Can you explain the concept of Scraper sites?
Is it a concept where search engines try to hijack your listings advertising and use them to solicit on their own websites?
I'll try to look it up also.
Thanks.
Thank you for the links to the petition and the badge. I will take care of mine over the weekend.
As for this issue, I personally think it's absurd for NAR to have taken the position they took. It just shows how out of touch they really are with what goes on in the real world! Allowing 3rd party vendors to obtain our listing information and then "sell" us a lead on that listing...thanks NAR! Time to come into the 21st century with the rest of us. I think waiting 6 months is way too long for this!
Missy - thank you for supporting this.... I hope everyone sees the big picture here! It can make a huge difference!
I have already signed the petition and the badge is displayed on my AR profile...it will be on my other blogs just as soon as I can get to it. ;-)
Thanks, Missy!! Keep up the good work!
Missy, I got something earlier today from Thesa but had not got around to signing the petition yet. It is now signed! This is UNBELIEVABLE!!
Missy- I don't see why anyone is surprised by this. Look what NAR did with Realtor.com. History speaks for itself.
Next, NAR is not in bed with the agents, they are in bed with the big company brokers. Please, don't give me the dues paying members matter. THat is a smoke screen. They get big bucks from the heavies out there and I won't name names- That are now curiously buying up all the top positions on Google.
The major brokerages that sell leads back to their own agents are so low in my book yet that is what they do. Until agents stop working for these kind of rip offs, they will continue. They want to monopolize the leads.
I have one small question. After the property is sold, how would one remove the link to the property. With a service, they just don't show up anymore when not active, but with the type of link, it looks like that link might remain indefinitely? Does what I am asking make sense.?
Hi William - Since my feed is a direct feed from my local Board, when a property pends or is sold, the property no longer appears on my site. My site is updated daily, so each property is removed and a search for the property will display a page which says, " This property is no longer available". The link may remain until crawled by Google, but not indefinitely.
I hope this provides the answer you were looking for.
How on earth can something like this happen?!? It boggles the mind that they make us pay to be members and then allow a third party to charge us for leads our own listings generated?!?