This post was originally written by Jim Davoren, Senior Analyst, Data Products, at Apartments.com
When asked to contribute to the blog on the topic of data, web analytics and other hip, rad math stuff, I grew excited. The scholar (nerd) in me declared, Finally, a medium to engage our wonderful blog readers with insights into all things data. The average guy from the Northside of Chicago said, Make. Data. Cool? Yes, I shall make data cool. Can it be done? I mean a blog contributor that writes about analytics and numbers, what could be more exciting, right? Rest assured, before I have myself a prolonged, 10 minute, nostalgic moment about all the joys numbers bring me, I’ll instead use this first post to introduce web analytics. I’ll save strange math and numbers for another day. Read More
A compelling description engages renters with your listing and moves them closer to your leasing office. According to a study conducted by Apartments.com, a well worded short description can increase the click-through rate to your listing by 4%.
Tips for writing powerful community text descriptions: Read More
In response to the news that apartment vacancies are the lowest we’ve seen since 2001, we conducted a survey of Apartments.com visitors to find out about their moving plans for 2012, including reasons they are moving, why they are opting to rent versus own property, when they plan to move and which tools they value most during their apartment search. To help break down the results of the survey, we created the infographic below. You can click the image to enlarge it.
If you have any questions about the survey or have noticed any moving trends in your area, tell us in the comments section. To learn more about the survey findings, check out our press release. Read More
Most people know that SEO is important, but not many know how to get started. In this episode of our Got a Minute? video series, I am going to walk through the SEO and SEM tools I use every day to monitor Apartments.com. Hopefully some of these work for you, but there are lots of tools available, so you can find something that fits your needs. If you have any questions after watching the video, please leave them in the comments section below.
The social media panel discussion I participated in at the 2012 TransUnion Property Management Summit last week in Denver was astonishing for what did and didn’t happen. What did happen: The audience of multifamily professionals seemed surprisingly – if not a tiny bit begrudgingly – accepting of property ratings and reviews. They’re here to stay and there’s nothing we can do to stop it, was the prevailing attitude. Begrudging acceptance will never be confused with warm embrace, but what I witnessed was a giant leap from the outright resistance prevalent in the industry up until now.
And that’s a good thing. There’s plenty of research indicating how important reviews are in making a big purchasing decision, and there’s none bigger than deciding where to live. Read More
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we asked our 2011 Roommate of the Year, Jesse McLaughlin –who recently turned his cohabitation into a happily-ever-after by proposing to his girlfriend, Lisa Harbin–for his advice on successfully sharing space with a significant other. If you have any couples living in your apartment community, they may enjoy the following five tips to make living with their sweetheart a success:
1. Talk money before the move
Discuss finances up front, even before you start looking at apartments, to make sure you establish what each person is comfortable contributing financially. When you have this discussion, remember to include the cost for internet, utilities, parking and any other fees that may arise. Read More
Moving into a new apartment can mean so many decorating opportunities for enthusiastic residents! While hanging pictures, painting walls, putting up window treatments or even stapling the area rug in place (EEK!) might be exciting and innovative to residents, it could mean disaster for your maintenance team. Here are five tips you can share with residents to help them decorate within the guidelines of the rental agreement, ensuring a happy living situation at your community
1.) Offer to do it for them – Whether it be painting or hanging items on the wall, give your residents the VIP treatment—and avoid potential disaster–by offering up your professional services. Before a new resident moves in, ask them if they would like to pick out a new color for the apartment and offer to paint as long as they front the supplies. As a result, your happy resident will feel more at home, while you control the quality of the paint job. Read More
These days, people are accessing your website through any number of ways, including desktop computers, tablets, mobile phones and more. It’s not safe to assume they’re looking at a nice, large display of your website on a 15-inch laptop. In fact, according to Read Write Web mobile internet usage has doubled every year since 2009. Think about the differences in what a person can actually view on a screen when using any of those devices. A web page viewed on that 15-inch laptop with several paragraphs of decorative-font text and large photos mixed in is going to be a struggle to read when squished down and viewed on a 3.5-inch phone screen.
So what are some ways to simplify and optimize a website to provide the most value on a mobile device? Read More
This post was originally written by Omer Navaid, Online Marketing Specialist at Apartments.com
Here are three quick tips to help your email messages reach your subscribers’ inboxes, avoid spam complaints and maintain your status as a reputable sender: Read More
