Frantic website and blog owners have been hitting up outsourcing platforms and freelancers this week in a panic after receiving notices from Google. Why?

As announced a while ago on the FortuneBuilders’ blog Google has been making new changes to hunt down those spamming the web with masses of junk, spun content and amassing tons of junk backlinks. Unfortunately there have been many real estate investing pros who have gotten themselves caught up in these practices, trying to take short cuts and attempting to fool Google.

Sometimes trying to go too cheap ends up costing far more in the long run and doesn’t even produce results. Now the operators of these real estate investing websites have to try to take down the hundreds or thousands of articles, blog posts and links they have out there and have paid to have written and submitted and pay for their removal. If they can’t get them down they won’t just be relegated to the search engine abyss, dozens of pages deep but will likely be de-indexed and banned. Plus of course then this means re-creating all content from scratch and losing months or years of lead time.

The search engines have made no secret of the fact that they are on a witch hunt and are at war with those who are trying to cheat the system.

Real estate investing pros cannot afford to underestimate the importance and value of high quality original content. If this means producing less of it then that is preferable to spinning unreadable copies of junk that has been posted 1,000 times already. However, content will continue to separate those who win a real estate investing and those who struggle. Posting daily and multiple times a day when it comes to social will make a huge difference in search engine rankings.

1. They Carry Less Stuff

They aren’t weighed down by a bunch of junk. They may have a gadget or two but actually enjoy their freedom. Plus they can buy whatever they need wherever they are going. Sometimes those trying too hard to impress with their toys are the ones in real financial trouble.

2. Like In Person Meetings When it Counts

The super successful are also super-efficient but they also like to know who they are doing business with when big money is on the table. Don’t be pulled into meetings but when it means $1 million then it may be worth the flight.

3. They Watch Less TV

They have better things to do than wasting their minds in front of the television.

4. They are hard to Reach

This doesn’t mean you should be too difficult to be reached when it means cutting a real estate investing deal but someone who is always available probably doesn’t have too much else going on.

5. Shorter Calls & Emails

Their calls and emails are often screened but when you do reach them or over hear them they are usually quick to the point and quickly on to something else.

6. The More Social Followers They Have

With a few exceptions like marketers and CEOs who value their privacy the most successful people, especially those in real estate investing have big social followings. People want to hear what they have to say and will drop what they are doing to read their updates.

7. The Less Time They Spend in the Office

They’ll work from their homes, do business over dinner or lunch but are rarely in the office trenches where there are too many distractions, low level nuisances and time wasters. When they do walk in you’ll probably over hear them whining about how terrible the new Porsche or Benz is.

8. They are Calm under Fire

This is especially true of the most successful real estate investing pros. They don’t sweat the small stuff and panic. It’s all about finding a quick solution and moving on.

9. They Travel More

Maybe they are more successful because they travel more and are more inspired or get to witness how other people do things and incorporate the best ideas in their own businesses or they simply get to travel more because they are successful and let systems run their businesses versus letting their businesses run them.

What investors need to know…

While many may think that recent events would leave a bad taste in the mouth of home owners and have generations swearing by renting, quite the opposite appears to be true.

According to a new survey by Coldwell Banker:

• 94% of homeowners say they are still glad to own a home
• 91% of Americans still say owning a home is part of the American Dream
• 95% of parents and guardians said it was important ofr their children to own a home, with 74% saying it is ‘absolutely essential’

Buying a home is still a top priority for the vast majority of Americans and now one that isn’t so easily taken for granted. People now better understand the many additional benefits of home ownership besides buying as an investment. This gives a lot more leverage to real estate investing pros who know how to wield good copy and marketing. However, the types of properties which are going to be most in demand by Americans is changing.

Expect more interest in smaller urban units as well as a trend towards more families and young couples choosing rural areas with more acreage. Those flipping houses to investors will find turnkey rentals remain hot but international buyers will still be seduced by luxury condos and buy in resort areas on emotion.

With a wide disparity in direction of different markets and perhaps too much confidence in some areas, causing the nuveau riche to over pay for fancy new construction homes it is essential for investors to recognize fads as they fluctuate and where potential mini bubbles and pops could occur.

On the downside the new post-recession mentality is making it harder to motivate some homeowners to sell. They are afraid to move and aren’t interested in fast cash. If real estate investors are going to close the deal on this group they are going to have to get good at showing how much it makes sense with the math in black and white.

Most real estate investing companies still have their social strategies all wrong. This is good news for those reading this post that have a short window of opportunity to get ahead.

Microsoft and Facebook have both broken character in the last few days and have divulged inside insights on how real estate investing companies can see better results from their campaigns.

Some of the direct tips that can be put into practice starting today include using more original videos and photos as well as asking more questions to encourage engagement. After comparing the productivity of different brand’s campaigns recently Facebook has also confirmed something which we have been telling real estate investing pros for a while, that is more direct pitches and calls to action need to be incorporated. You may have read otherwise but the proof is in the metrics. You absolutely need to offer valuable info too but perhaps fewer posts about what you had for breakfast or which sports games you are going to and more about the real estate deals you have and how you can help.

With Facebook and all social now critical for good search engine rankings all profile pages and posts need to be optimized and the frequency definitely needs to be there, especially with the new timeline look.

Quality of pages is definitely important. Some real estate pros have even turned their Facebook pages into entire websites. If you aren’t getting out what you had hoped perhaps you aren’t putting enough in. Social isn’t free. Did you know GM has been spending $30 million just to maintain their Facebook pages and another $10 million in Facebook ads? Maybe you can’t compete on that level yet but if you are only spending $300 a month you get the picture.

Final Tip: Get all of your team member and contractors liking and interacting with your social pages too.

Investors who want a shot at low priced acquisitions for flipping need to move at lightning speed. True real estate investing pros will have specific criteria laid out for evaluating deals and have an intimate knowledge of their area so they can make offers immediately when opportunities arise.

You’ll have to be able to beat out the real estate agents who are swarming all over homeowners out there, slashing their commissions, boosting their direct mail campaigns and throwing cocktails to seduce would be sellers into signing listing agreements.

Many homeowners are still paralyzed with fear even though foreclosures are looming closer, some are holding out in hope of rising prices and others still are just digging in their heels and deciding to stick it out where they are.

This doesn’t mean talented real estate investing pros can’t close these deals and negotiate great prices on them, it is just going to take the right pitch and often coaching them with the hard math which clearly shows the time to sell and move is now.

Those who are underwater are running out of time to take advantage of the cash back and tax incentives of doing short sales which could cost them many tens of thousands if they wait. Plus they need to recognize that while home prices are still falling on a nationwide level rents are rocketing by close to 13% a year in many areas. They need to get out now, grab what cash they can and lock in a good lease until they can buy again.

Those who do have equity need to be made aware of just what a huge opportunity they are missing out on buy not trading properties now. This is the opportunity of a lifetime to upgrade or even downsize. In some cases it may mean taking ‘one step back to make two steps forward’, which can be hard to swallow but it’s the truth.

Waiting for their equity to bounce back is nonsense in most cases and some just don’t understand the disparity between the percentage homes have dropped and the length of time it will take for equity return even at the same digit percentage increases. Show them the difference and how they need to make the move to get back on track and enjoy the booming equity their neighbors are now.