This post was originally written by Brandon Hollembeak, Product Manager – Advertising Products & Services

I’ve written before about the importance of having an overall mobile strategy, not just individual campaigns. However, through many conversations regarding how to actually execute that, I feel there’s a clarification that needs to be made to that post that might seem contradictory at first, but will help explain the best way to accomplish it. Read More

With new construction cut in half and the housing market still down, the demand for rental units has increased, while the supply has stayed the same. This situation has put the rental market in the hands of landlords across the country. Apartments.com spokeswoman, Tammy Kotula, was recently interviewed by MSNBC for their article Renters Are the Next Victims of the Housing Market. In it she gives some sound advice for both renters and property managers, encouraging both parties to discuss the option of committing to a longer lease to lock into a more affordable rate. This option will save the management company, as well as the renter, money in the long run.

Have you noticed an increase in the number of renters asking for extended leases at a lower cost?

This post was originally written by Ken Shafer, past SEO Manager for Apartments.com.

This is the first edition of our Got a Minute video series.  We are going to be tackling topics in about a minute with videos from experts at Apartments.com.  Today I am going to show you how to get reporting for groups of keywords in Google Analytics.

Let’s say you’ve been focusing your recent SEO or SEM efforts on the city in which your property is located, so you may be buying Chicago-related keywords.  Or perhaps you’re focusing on the property name itself, so you buy keywords like “ABC Apartments.”  I personally know that phrases containing the word “goddady” have driven traffic to my site in the past, so I used that term as our example in the video below.  You are going to want to know how these SEO and SEM efforts have impacted traffic to your site.  By following the steps in our video you can highlight traffic driven by a particular keyword or phrase. Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

Summer is in full swing, which means your residents are deciding what the perfect combo is for a day at the pool: 90 degrees, cute new cover up, the Oprah Book Club pick and a bottle of perfectly flavored summertime beer.  Before they get ahead of themselves, remind your residents that having glass at the pool is not safe for anyone. We want to make your job a little easier, so here is a complimentary MyMedia notice, “No Glass at the Pool”, for you to use to communicate with everyone in your apartment community. Read More

Looking for ways to convert your website traffic into leads? To learn five key tactics you can begin implementing today to ensure your website is performing at the highest level, delivering measurable results and—ultimately—more leases, read the article “Online Attraction” by Apartments.com VP of Product Management, Chris Brown, featured in the May 2011 issue of Units magazine.

Want to participate in a more in-depth discussion on the topic? Join us at NAA in Las Vegas on June 23rd at 9AM as Chris Brown and Chief Marketing Officer of Princeton Properties, Sarah Greenough, present “Building a Better Mouse Trap: Capturing Prospects with Your Website.” Click here for more information on the session and be sure to follow the discussion on Twitter using the hashtag #educonf11D1. Read More

We are happy to announce the latest moves in the Apartments.com sales team!  Big congratulations to Mary Ellis and Brian Henry, our newest sales directors, and to Rick Carbon for taking over a new region: the west. To provide even more support to all of our valued customers, we have increased our sales leadership across the country into three regions.  By strengthening our team at the top, we will provide our customers with superior service to answer their advertising needs.  Meet our sales directors…

Rick Carbon, Director, Sales
Region: West
Contact Rick Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

For most people, barbeques and Memorial Day go hand-in-hand.  I mean, who doesn’t love cheeseburgers, American flags and grills…all over your porch?  Yikes!  Even if your community has a no-grills-policy, it doesn’t hurt to remind residents when a big summer holiday is coming up that they need to keep their friend “Weber” in storage.  Because we love a clutter-free balcony as much as you, here is a free download from our MyMedia Library!  This Grills-B-Gone notice can be printed or emailed to residents as a friendly reminder.  For more customizable notices like this, as well resident newsletters, flyers, announcements, cards and more, contact your Advertising Consultant about subscribing to MyMedia.

This post was originally written by Brandon Hollembeak, Product Manager – Advertising Products & Services

You’re not alone.  However, adoption of smart phones is rapidly growing.  But don’t take my word for it, these numbers speak for themselves: Read More

This post was originally written by Kerry Sugrue, former Social Media Specialist at Apartments.com. 

We have talked a lot about tracking, analytics, SEO and reporting on our blog, which has prompted customers to ask questions about what all this means (We love questions! Keep them coming!). So I thought, who better to ask, than the experts? There are many different resources available for website tracking, both free and paid services. A well-known tool, which also happens to be free, is Google Analytics and I had the pleasure to talk with Jesse Nichols, the Partner Program Manager for Google Analytics & Website Optimizer at Google. We discussed the basics of analytics and how to get what you need to know from all those reports. Below is our interview for you to learn from. If you have any questions, please write them in the comments below. A big thank you to Jesse and everyone at Google from the Apartments.com team! Make sure you follow @GoogleAnalytics on Twitter for updates, and view this product tour for more information. Read More

On April 26^th, the name “Apartments.com” was abuzz around the country.  I know. I know. This post is well overdue, but I think it’s worth the wait to be able to include links to some of the TV segments, which takes time;) If you happened to tune into your local news while enjoying your morning cup of coffee that day, you may have seen—or heard—me providing tips to renters on how they can save money during their move.  Sitting by my side through it all as the ultimate money saver, was our very own Roommate of the Year, Andrew Prestler, to challenge others to steal his 2010 title and win FREE Rent for a Year plus $10,000 by entering our 3^rd annual contest (Don’t forget, Apartments.com advertisers can win too!). 

I could go on and on but I’ll let the clips speak for themselves. For a taste of what viewers around the country tuned into, check out this reel where we highlight seven out of the 26 interviews.  To view specific segments, click on the drop-down menu and choose any of the morning shows from the following markets. Read More