There are 50 year old REALTORS® who understand every term in the list below very well.

However, that’s not the norm – we all know it so let’s not be sensitive. For the most part – and as of today – for every year that you are older than roughly 30, you are that much further away from having been born into the tech era – and thus you are less likely to innately “get it”.

I’m 30 now, and I remember the old computer lab at my Elementary School in North Van very well. It was my favourite room. Even though it was full of these:

I remember when they added one of those new colour iMac‘s to the lab… yea just 1 of them. We would all fight over who got to play Gizmos & Gadgets (it was the only computer in the lab that could run it.) Everyone else had to play Math Blaster – in b&w, might I add.

My point is I grew up in a different time where computers, technology, the internet were not so prominent in everyday life. It was a time when you were likely to see more kids playing outside; a time when “texting and driving” wasn’t an actual thing.

I can only imagine what today’s computer labs look like – or are they called iPad labs now?

Maybe you grew up in a similar kind of time as me. If you did, chances are you were not exposed to the terms in the tech-glossary below from an early age. That doesn’t mean that like me, you haven’t studied, read, and otherwise absorbed some knowledge. It does mean that you might need some extra help or a reference.

If you happen to be a REALTOR® in their 20’s, that doesn’t mean this article won’t help you as well. I also don’t assume that all 20-29 year old agents automatically understand all the terms below. This list is for anybody who needs it, so please enjoy and let me know if you have any questions in the comments below.

Note: The list below may be updated occasionally with new terms, so please bookmark and check back regularly.

Tech Terms Defined For REALTORS® 

1. SEO

Stands for Search Engine Optimization, and refers to the practice of making adjustments to your website’s technology, structure, underlying code, content, marketing strategy & more. As a modern real estate agent, you would engage in local SEO, to improve your organic ranking on search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. We’re now officially recommending Coronation Internet Marketing to all of our customers who are in need of a reputable real estate SEO provider.

2. Online Content

A broad term that encapsulates any type of media and information on the internet. A listing photo, a floor plan, an animated gif, a real estate tour video, an audio clip, an mp3, a REALTOR® blog post, a Seller’s Guide PDF, the marketing copy written on your real estate website pages… all of this is online content.

3. Search Engine Algorithm

A proprietary formula that deciphers every search query and spits out results on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page.) The top search engines of 2017 don’t simply show you results based on the words or phrase you submitted. They attempt to provide you with the content and websites that ideally match your specific needs. They “answer the underlying question.” For this reason, search engines create (and constantly update) their algorithm to constantly provide us with better results. Their algorithm is the core of any and every search engine.

4. Website Traffic

Refers generally to the amount of visits and visitors to your website or webpages, or for a specific period of time. Website traffic can be measured for free using Google Analytics (it’s what we use.)

5. Website Visits / Unique Visitors

The number of times your website has been viewed (visits) by unique IP addresses (visitors). A person may return to your website five times from home, in which case they would represent 1 Unique Visitor and 5 Website Visits. Alternatively, a person could visit your website once from their laptop at work and once from their iPhone at home, this would result in 2 Unique Visitors and 2 Website Visits.

6. Social Media Engagement

Regarding your real estate business, social media engagement involves any interaction between the content you’ve shared on social media and the public. Whenever someone likes your listing photo on Facebook, comments on your new Instagram pic, tags you in a real estate tweet, shares your latest blog post, even when someone clicks your cover photo to see it full screen – this is all social media engagement with your brand.

7. PPC Advertising

Long form: Pay-Per-Click Advertising. Online ads where you bid on clicks (or social media engagement) and pay for them as you receive. The cost of PPC ads fluctuates based on the projected volume of search results, number of competitive bids for the same criteria and other factors. Real estate agents can employ PPC advertising on various channels, such as Facebook Ads, Google AdWords, Instagram Ads, Bing Ads, Twitter Ads, YouTube Ads and more.

8. Landing Page

A page of your website or an entirely separate one-page website that is hidden from your main website navigation, and receives traffic from one or a few marketing sources. It’s primary objective is to convert that traffic into leads, by using various CTA’s or optin forms.

9. CTA

Long form: Call-To-Action. Very important functions of any real estate website. Typically a button, but it can be text saying “watch this video” or an arrow pointing to a form, etc. The objective of CTA’s is to draw the visitor’s attention and hopefully incentivize them to click on them.

10. Lightbox

A small box that pops open on top of a website, drawing your full attention to it’s contents. Real estate agents will often use lightboxes to collect email addresses into a mailing list, or to otherwise capture lead info with a pop-up form. Lightboxes can also feature listing photos and many other types of content. They are simply a method of framing feature content, promotions and more.

11. Optin Form

Form means the same thing in the physical world as it does online. It’s a collection of blank spaces where you fill in personal information and submit it for some reason or the other. An optin form is used online to subscribe people to a list – to something exclusive… a form they use to “opt-in” to receive promotional communication from you. An optin form and a contact form are very different. If someone uses your website’s contact form to send you an email, it does not mean they are opting in to receive further marketing emails from you.