To tell if pearls are real or not, chose a pearl that is not visible when wearing somewhere toward the back of a necklace and scrape it across your teeth. If the finish comes off, they are not real.
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To tell if a gold piece is solid gold and not plated, take a small file or emery board and gently buff in an area that will not be noticeable. If you see silver or copper, it is not solid gold.
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To clean out a vase that you can’t reach your hand in, fill the vase with warm water and drop in a couple of Efferdent tablets until dissolved. This will take out most of the stain.
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Store old purses, hats and linens with one or two used dryer sheets. It keeps them from getting an old musty odor.
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If you have books or magazines with a musty odor, put them out in the hot sun for a few hours and then seal in a bag with a used dryer sheet.
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If you have a smoke odor in a doll or any fabric, spray with Carpet Fresh No Vacuum Foam Carpet Refresher for Pet odors. Let dry outside and within a few days, the smoke odor is completely gone. Do not saturate in case your colors run. It is better to do it two or three times than to chance ruining your piece.
* * *
For cleaning acrylic paintings and artwork not under glass: Every once in a while take a clean damp cloth (like an old cotton tee shirt) and gently wipe the surface of an acrylic painting off to remove grime that has accumulated. This is only for artwork that is not under glass. First gently try an inconspicuous corner before progressing to be safe. Watch out for areas that are raised with little mounds of paint. Be careful that you don’t catch them with your cloth and rip them off.
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To polish brass make a paste of equal parts of salt, flour and vinegar. Rub on brass with a soft cloth. Rinse completely. Shine with a clean, dry, soft cloth.
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If you scorch a textile while ironing, rub a cut onion over the scorch, then soak cloth in cold water for one hour. Rewash and try again.
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Never polish dark antique bronze or you will destroy the old patina and lower the value of the piece.
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When storing any battery run item, remember to remove the batteries first.
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For dusting very intricate porcelain pieces, use a fluffy blush brush.
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Old steel needles found on a Victrola should be changed very often to avoid damage to the records.
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Never store waterglobes in the dark. Light is necessary to keep the liquid inside clear.
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To stop an antique leaky vase from leaking water if you are using it for flowers, roll the inside with parrafin wax and it will seal the leak.
* * *
Never store a bisque piece in newspaper. The print will rub off on it and it is almost impossible to remove.
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When storing any glass or porcelain piece with a lid, secure the lid in place with tape before wrapping. When you reopen the package, you are less apt to have it fall off and break.
* * *
When packing a hollow piece to mail, pack the inside tightly with tissue or plastic bags as well as bubble wrap on the outside. This will help protect it from shock if dropped.
* * *
To remove wax drippings from metal candlesticks, put the candlesticks in the freezer for a few hours.
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Our primary service is conducting complete estate and liquidation sales throughout north Florida , southwestern Georgia , and southern Alabama . We also do estate buy-outs, consignment sales, home clean-outs, and on-line auctions.

The loss of a loved one is never easy, and many families don’t know who to turn to for help during this difficult time. And sometimes people need to downsize their property for many other personal reasons; divorce, bankruptcy, moving into assisted living or a nursing home, moving out of state. Canopy’s specialty is selling estates on behalf of families and companies. We understand the many varied emotions our clients often experience as they deal with the process of selling the personal property of a family member, friend, or client. Let us help you manage this life event in the simplest and quickest way possible. Contact us today to arrange for a free estate analysis .

FULL SERVICE – Our complete service allows you to sit back and relax. We are fully staffed and prepared to handle every aspect of your sale. We will pull-out, clean, professionally merchandise items to stimulate buyers interest, and price each item, all to provide you with a trouble free experience. We’ll bring in extra merchandising tables, cases, and racks as needed. Prior to the sale, we will thoroughly evaluate and research all items to assure they are appropriately priced to obtain top dollar.

ADVERTISING – Canopy Estate Sales will publicize your sale to get the best possible results. We notify our established contact list of dealers and retail buyers with an email announcement of your sale. We will provide proper signage and published advertising to maximize exposure for your sale. We’ll provide pre-sale visual advertising through our website, and other affiliated websites.

STAFFING – Canopy Estate Sales provides a complete and prepared staff to conduct a professional sale. From sales staff to handle buyers questions and assist with purchases, to a cashier to control funds and record transactions, to delivery staff to handle moving larger items, to security staff to control parking and to protect the value of your property, we provide it all. Every estate sale will have a Sale Administrator on hand to assure that all aspects of your sale are conducted properly and professionally. An appropriate staff could be from 2 to 15, depending upon the size of the estate.

DETAILS – We take care of all the details such as permitting, contacting local law enforcement with traffic concerns, handling the removal of remaining goods to your instructions, providing a detailed list of items sold after the sale. After the sale, we’ll leave your property in broom-clean condition.

COMMERCIAL LIQUIDATIONS – We also have experience dealing with commercial liquidations, and have worked with bankruptcy courts to provide liquidations for merchandise, products, and equipment. Whether your estate is residential or commercial, we can help!

Get more details about our complete, trouble-free estate sale services at our FAQ page !

When an estate sale isn’t possible or preferred, we will consider making an offer to directly buy the contents. Buy-out services are offered on different levels, including buying individual or small groups of items, buying an entire estate, and providing complete home clean-out. Contact us today for a free estate analysis to see if our services will meet your needs.

Perhaps your home needs to be emptied, but is filled mostly with debris and/or other items that lack resale potential. We provide a complete home clean-out service so you can prepare the property for sale or closing. Our clean-out services include emptying all rooms, attics, basements, porches, and any outbuildings. Complete debris removal including lawn debris, food goods, building materials, appliance removal, and paper shredding of personal documents. We will arrange for dumpster delivery and pick-up, if needed. Home will be left in ‘broom clean’ condition, with all floors swept, mopped, and vacuumed, and all walls and counters wiped. Contact us to get a free estimate for clean-out services.

We’ll be happy to consider selling your item or items on consignment. We have several resources available, including many associations with auction houses, antiques and consignment dealers, and on-line auctions. We will even arrange for shipping and/or delivery of item(s). Contact us today for details on our consignment plans.

Canopy Estate Sales can sell your items through online auction sites, such as eBay. Online auction services are fee-based, and depend upon the level of service provided. Let us provide you with a free evaluation to determine the best marketing strategy for your item(s).

Canopy Estate Sales is proud to offer these professional services. We are never satisfied until you are satisfied. At Canopy, we understand that your referral is our best source for new business. That’s why we believe “success cannot be measured in dollars and cents, but in your complete satisfaction”. We encourage you to compare our services to that our competitors and make an educated decision.

Still have questions? Then look on our FAQ page !
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Who needs estate sale service?

There are various reasons people need to have estate sales. Anyone downsizing, moving to a retirement home, nursing home, or assisted living, executors of an estate, anyone who needs to sell most of a home’s contents.

Why can’t I just do my own sale?

You could, but it’s usually not recommended. Often an individual having an estate sale will under price valuable items and the less desirable items will not sale. Individuals hosting an estate sale usually have no experience in crowd control, security, local permitting, proper merchandising techniques, credit card acceptance, or how to attract buyers. When using our estate sale services you get our experience, our knowledge of what items are worth, how to sort and organize property to encourage the buyer’s interest, crowd management and security. We will fully advertise your sale to attract many interested buyers. We’ll also comply with any local and state ordinances and make contact with local law enforcement with any traffic concerns. We’ll take care of every detail.

What kind of things do you sell?

We call sell virtually anything that is safe and legal to be sold. Common estate items are antiques, contemporary and used furniture and furnishings, jewelry, artwork, collectibles, kitchen items, clothing, tools, household items, automobiles, books, and just plain junk. Almost everything has some value, and we try to attract a buyer for all items in a sale.

What should I throw out and what should I keep?

We recommend you don’t throw anything any before consulting with us. The old saying ‘one man’s trash is another man’s treasure’ is very true. Let us determine what items have resale value and what items don’t.

What if I only have a few things to sell?

We’ll be happy to consider accepting your good items on consignment or possibly a complete buy-out.

What services does your commission include?

Our services are almost too numerous to list and can vary by the size and situation of each estate. A partial list of our services include—

A free estate analysis and estimate.
Research and appraisals for all items to insure a price that reflects the current market value.
Pricing, packaging, arranging and displaying all items for optimal marketability.
Complete promotion of the event through various advertising mediums including, but not limited to, newspaper, flyers, email notifications, websites, and professional signage.
We conduct the sale, furnishing a fully-prepared staff and all supplies.
Arrange for alternative liquidation for any items that do not sell.
Clean up after the sale.
Handle delivery and pick-up arrangements with buyers of larger items.
Provide crowd and sale control during the event to protect your property.
Accurate accounting of all sales proceeds and a quick settlement.
Obtain any necessary permitting that might be required. We also consult with local law enforcement about any traffic concerns.
How much do your services cost and are there any other costs?

In most cases there are no up-front costs. Canopy works on a percentage of the total sales. The fee is deducted from the monies collected at the sale, and a settlement check is provided to you within 7 to 10 days. There are other services Canopy provides if you don’t elect to have a complete estate sale, and some of these services are fee-based.

What about items that don’t sell?

Most items will sell during the estate sale. There are several options for items that do not sell during an estate sale. Items can be donated to charity, retained by the owner, placed on consignment, or discarded at the owner’s discretion.

What do I need to do to help?

You don’t have to do anything! We do all the work. Canopy provides complete estate sale services, from beginning to end.

May I attend the sale?

Of course! We are very comfortable having you attend the estate sale. Many times family members will find it emotionally difficult and prefer to do something else.

What about clean-up after the sale?

Usually our agreement will call for the house and property to be left completely empty and broom-clean. We’ll assist you in making sure the property is ready for sale or closing.

How much notice do you need for a sale?

We recommend 2 to 4 weeks notice as our event schedule can fill up rather quickly. Usually two weeks notice is sufficient to prepare, plan, and advertise a sale.

What is the best time to have a sale?

Any time is a good time to have a sale, as people enjoy shopping estate sales year-round. Winter may be often overlooked as a good time for estate sales, as there will be less competition from other sales.

Why should I choose Canopy Estate Sales?

You’ll notice the difference when you choose Canopy Estate Sales. We take pride in offering services with the highest degree of professionalism. Some of Canopy’s unique features are…

You’ll enjoy the professional difference. All event staff members are uniformed and prepared. Customers will know who to seek out for help with questions, parking, delivery, etc. Our cashiers don’t use a cigar box or apron to secure your money. Instead, we record all transactions on a cash register to insure greater accuracy and safes are used to secure sale proceeds.
Canopy accepts major credit cards. This helps in the sale of higher value items, as potential buyers are not limited by the amount of cash in their pocketbooks and wallets.
Canopy provides all the extra display pieces needed such as tables, racks, jewelry cases, etc., and we’ll organize your items to encourage the buyer’s interest.
Canopy will promote your sale, and we don’t mean just throwing a classified in the paper and some hand-written signs put up the day before the sale. Canopy will begin promoting your sale several days in advance using many advertising mediums.
Canopy offers different levels of service. We realize that ‘one size doesn’t fit all’ and we have options for you to choose from. Canopy will suggest the service that’s appropriate for your estate sale, not what best benefits our bank account. We realize that your referral is our best source for new business.
We will meet and often exceed our estimates. In most cases, the sale proceeds will exceed our pre-sale estimates. We don’t estimate low, we just work hard to insure a successful event.
Canopy is licensed and insured. We are also members of the Chamber of Commerce and Associate Members of the International Society of Appraisers.
There are no surprises or hidden costs. Our services and costs are clarified in advance with a written contract.
Canopy works for you, no one else! When hired to sell your estate, that’s what we do! Beware of contractors who bring in outside merchandise to your estate sale. Advertising an event as an estate sale and then bringing in merchandise from outside that estate is nothing less than fraudulent business practices.
We’ll promote your property, too! Perhaps you are also selling the property where the contents need to be emptied. If so, we’ll promote the sale of your property with professionally-designed flyers available at the day of the estate sale, and also by providing a 3-month link to our website.
Now it’s our turn for a question! Are you ready?

We are ready to assist with your liquidation needs. If you are ready to put Canopy to work for you, want to get a free estate analysis, or maybe you have more questions, just contact us by CLICKING HERE!

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This guide is a new kind of resource I have developed for pickers who travel to locate best-kept secret inland flea markets, tropical flea markets, island flea markets, and world flea markets, seeking whatever beautiful, unique treasures you can find in these travel destinations. The Pickers Guide solves the problem of where to buy estate antiquities and collectibles while traveling worldwide.

Pickers traveling to Europe, Asia, and tropical islands can use this guide to find great, bargain flea markets to:

1. Get to know inland and tropical flea market destinations

2. Prepare to enjoy inland and tropical flea market shopping

3. Find great inland and tropical flea market destinations

4. Learn international flea market ethics

5. Pack and ship from inland and tropical flea markets

After shopping at flea markets, you can send your purchases home through the post office by:

Buying a box and packing your items but, don’t close it
Checking the weight of your package with the scales provided at the post office, making sure it is less than 4 pounds, which is the limit for small packages not subject to custom declaration
Checking the cost of a 4-pound package, which depends on your location and their currency
Realizing your package will arrive in about 1-2 weeks.
Ask the locals where the nearest post office is and use the scale to check the weight of your packages.

Important Points to Remember Before Departure

1. Study International Street Market Payment Options

2. Study How To Haggle Even Though You Don’t Speak The Tropical Island Language

3. Spotting A Treasure: If It’s A Beautiful Treasure, Buy It

4. You’re Too Far Away For Buyer Aware: Know What You’re Buying At Tropical Flea Markets

5. Study When To Arrive At Night Markets

6. Study The Tools You Will Need At Tropical Island Flea Markets

7. Map Your Destinations To Chase Tropical Flea Markets For Treasure You’re Seeking To Buy

8. Study How To Work A Tropical Flea Market

9. Is It Trash Or Treasure? Can It Turn A Profit Or Not? Do You Know How To Treasure Hunt Like A Pro?

10. Don’t Hesitate To Buy Anything In Tropical Paradise You Can’t Live Without

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Knowing exactly what you want to achieve with your estate sale will help you decide on a definitive estate sale company. If BIG cash is your main objective, the success of your estate sale is based on the quality of your personal property, which may not be worth as much as you think, and any reputable estate sale company is good enough.

What is your criteria? Do you have an amount of money in mind that you want to get from your estate sale? Do you want to hire a company that collects taxes? Is a contract required? Are they licensed and bonded? Does the estate sale residence have homeowner’s insurance? Do you want to remain on the premises during the sale? Do you want to participate in pricing? Do you want your items sold at high prices?

In answer to the title and above questions, read through an estate sale company’s website, and focus on Services, FAQs and About pages. Then, ask yourself questions about your goal and what you are willing to comply with or not, in terms of the company’s standards or professional business practices.

There are many professional estate sale companies to choose from, and they all want to help you solve your problem, which is to launch and manage a professional estate sale.

When selling for you, a professional estate sale company is doing their best to help you solve your problem.

Professional estate sellers are aware that you are unsure about how to do an estate sale on your own; and that is why you are enlisting their services.

When you contact an estate sale company initially, it is their responsibility to educate you as to why its service can assist you in reaching your estate sale goal — if you have not reached that conclusion from reading through their website.

An estate sale company’s main goal in responding to your inquiry for service is asking and answering questions to clarify the estate sale process to efficiently meet your objective — if your questions have not been answered from reading through their website.

In terms of who is the best service to do your estate sale, or how do you decide whom to do your estate sale is left entirely to your judgment and trust.

An estate sale company’s website should be your first stop to get a feel for the owner’s personality.

Does the information on their website raise your awareness of what you actually need?

Does it explain how they can help you fulfill that need in an intelligent and practical way?

If the website helps bring clarity to your thinking about doing an estate sale, then the decision to hire an estate sale company or review other websites mean you are on the right track.

Warning: Beware of hard sales or pushiness.

Focus on questioning to allow an estate sale company to address your needs, as well as other services required to manage your estate sale.

What Do Estate Sale Clients Really Want from An Estate Sale Company — Besides High Prices?

And with those high prices, most bulky furniture and appliances will remain to be donated after your estate sale because no one will pay the high prices you may want.

Some estate sellers are so anxious to do sales they will acquiesce when clients want to set prices beyond what the current market will bear.

In this economy, with all types of sales going on, and a market saturated with too much stuff to sell, we are all missing sales because of unrealistic goals. When an estate sale is extended — guess why?

As clients, you need honesty about the consequences of overvaluing items.

In my professional opinion, estate sales are basically about resale and liquidation value because the goal is to sell all items in one to three days.

From this perspective, if there are two or heaven forbid three sales on the same street in the same vicinity of your estate sale, the pressure to move your property full of possessions and cars is a daunting task for any estate sale company, in this economic climate.

If you consider auctioning it off, you may still get liquidation value proceeds, in addition to fees.

Yes, estate sales are booming, but an estate sale has three human components that want to benefit from it: the client, the seller, and the buyers.

I am not suggesting that your things be given away, but there are advantages in setting a fair price, to avoid donating it.

As many of you do, I too, visit many community garage sales, yard sales, and flea markets. Yet, I am amazed at their prices too, but you can’t tell them that an item that they perceive is valuable or spent a lot of money on won’t sell!

The point is: We all need a pricing reality check!

As you know, estate sales are not garage sales, but they’re not Christie’s or Sotheby’s either.

Estate sale companies are doing their best to sell high-quality items in a used item environment.

I understand why it is so difficult for estate sale clients to decide who is the best service to do their estate sale; but what I don’t understand is the unawareness of the depreciation of personal property.

Finally, estate sale clients must know exactly what you want to achieve with your estate sale and trust the judgment of the estate sale company you hire. Read through several websites and decide on one that has the potential to liquidate the bulk of your estate *(notwithstanding antiques, expensive collectibles, fine art, jewelry, etc.). That is how you decide whom to do your estate sale and sell out to the bare walls!

*Make sure that the estate sale company you hire is qualified to secure and sell your valuables.

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Most of us have learned about people buying original works of fine art and antiques at estate sales for pennies, and brag about it on Antiques Roadshow. As professional estate sellers, we need to step up our game or suffer the same consequence.

That consequence results in financial loss by improper identification and research of important items, and loss in sales to estate auctions that are in direct competition with estate sale companies.

You don’t have to be an expert to spot things of value, which is what you need to focus on to stop letting the pickers rob your estate sales and brag about it!

We all love to find things of value, but when we are representing our client’s best interest, and our own bottom line, we need to become more vigilant in how to spot things of value. I cannot stress this enough!

We are the “sellers,” therefore, it is our responsibility to document (inventory) all of the estate contents for sale, especially things that could easily be misidentified and sold as a “mistake.”

In addition to knowing how to recognize things of value, you need the right estate sale supplies to make your job easier — and help your client achieve their goal.

We are living in the “baby boomer” era, which not only means there is enough stuff for anybody to sell around the world; our children stand to inherit fine works of art, antiques, collectibles, and large sums of money.

So while we’re on the subject: Is your estate sale waiting to make someone’s day, could some of those valuables your children stand to inherit end up in the wrong hands?

More to the point, when your client doesn’t know the value of certain items in the house, and hires you to “just sell it all because they don’t have time to deal with it,” does not mean they do not want their personal property sold for a higher return.

Another way to solve this problem is to hire an appraiser to learn about the value of fine works of art, period jewelry, etc., but this is extremely costly.

However, it will benefit the client and you in the long term if it becomes necessary. Is the client willing to pay for this service? Are you?

What is a formal or certified appraisal?

A certified appraisal is a professional estimate of the value of something. People usually have items appraised for insurance purposes, tax strategies, estate planning and settlement, etc.

For legal and court purposes, there are specific things that need to be in a certified appraisal report.

An informal appraisal of estate sale items is important, which is why all estate sellers must do an inventory, which lists the assigned price, how much it sold for, etc.

Estate inventory should not be sold until it is formally or informally appraised or an opinion of value (price) is assigned to each item.

If an item is going to make someone’s day, yet cause a negative impact on the sale, it is done by under appraising (underpricing) items.

Appraising and pricing are not exact methods of assigning value to items, which is why clients don’t always agree about the overall pricing. Moreover, sale items are negotiated and sold, which further reduces prices and “perceived” value.

In some pre-estate sale consultation scenarios, clients want a written appraisal or informal estimate of inventory return; and based on that information, they may decide not to sell.

Nevertheless, an estate sale is still the best alternative to a garage sale or buyout, which is more likely to result in making a buyer’s day.

A professional estate seller should be able to educate clients on identifying valuable items, and what options are available for selling them.

In this business, you will eventually work with a client who has many things of value that they are prepared to sell.

If clients have valuables that should not be sold at an estate sale, they need a certified appraisal report that will stand up to an insurance claim and in court. For example, if a client has a Louis XV armchair that they insured for $7,000, then they will have to prove the value of that chair if it is lost to theft, fire, etc.

Personal property values fluctuate over time and insurance companies know it. Clients need to know it too if they want to protect their investment from being undersold at an estate sale.

Doing estate sales is truly challenging — I cannot lie. But, the challenge also faces the client, which is why they need estate sale professionals to help them dispose of all that stuff!

Finally, there are responsibilities of disposing of your clients’ personal property wisely, and for their benefit. The word “personal” in personal property means these items belonged to someone; so there are sentiments, emotions, and perceived high value attached to it as well.

Being able to address the value of your clients’ personal belongings will lessen their pain and more importantly: You will not be embarrassed by selling something of high net worth for pennies. Remember, an estate sale is not a garage sale. Learn how to identify valuable things, and get the best estate sale supplies to help you do it!

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How to Attract New Estate Sale Clients and Prospects to Make Your Ads Click and Phone Ring!

What is in this Estate Sales Classified Ads Guide for your business? Six simple elements to multiply the effectiveness of your estate sales and leftover goods classified advertising and promotion.

You have also just found the most valuable resource for getting your first estate sale client and growing your estate sale business.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. Classified ads don’t work—unless they’re on Craigslist.

People Buy Categories First

I am not knocking the big “C”, but it takes a lot of time and effort to muddle through those categories to find estate sale ads, which are hidden under GARAGE SALES.

To each his own, but a dedicated website for estate sales classified ads can be an enormously effective way to get quality client leads for your estate sale business and sell leftover estate sale items.

Are you using the big “C” or the local newspaper for traditional estate sale advertising and client leads, but none of them are working? Have you wasted your advertising budget and seen no results? Are you throwing money away by donating sellable leftover goods?

When it comes to advertising and promotion, you need a new strategy that contributes profits to your client and your business balance sheet.

A well-written estate sales classified ad that help an estate sale client and estate sale company solve each other’s problems using local, targeted, online classified advertising with photos and video are that powerful new advertising strategy.

The main objective of a dedicated website for targeted classified advertising is to make your ads click and phone ring!

This guide teaches you six powerful ways to make your phone ring off the hook with estate sale clients and prospects with your classifieds. You will also see examples and proven words, that you can immediately start using in addition to this new tool to earn more profits from your advertising.

First, I want to explain WHY people respond to well-written classified advertising and promotion, which will help you get target prospects to respond to your advertising including Adwords ads, press releases, and estate sale descriptions…

How to Make Your Estate Sales Classified Advertising More Effective Instantly?

Write a dynamic ad to sway your prospect’s decision from one estate sale company or leftover item to yours, that will push them over the edge and make them say “yes” to hiring you or purchasing your product.

More to the point, estate sale clients and prospects must perceive that the service they are considering will:

Before you can solve their problem or deliver your unique selling proposition, you must first know what your client leads are looking for, what their problems and desires are, and what they want to achieve from an estate sale. Ask these questions during the initial contact to elicit as much of this information as possible.

Also, the more you can relate to their emotional situation, how they feel about their problems and estate sale goals, the more you will connect with them, and the more receptive they will be to your proposition to help.

An estate sale classified ad sounds simple to write, but 95% of people get it wrong. It’s critical that you get it right.

In essence, your ad needs to be all about what your prospect can BE, DO or HAVE—because your proposition to help is all about THEM.

Ask not what prospects, clients or buyers can do for you, but what you can do for them.

When client leads read your company profile, make sure that they are focusing on what you can DO for them.

People, in general, care only about their own situation, and ignore anything that doesn’t provide an answer to an immediate pressing problem they’re facing, or an immediate benefit they’re seeking.

Therefore, rather than focusing on advertising on how professional you are, focus it on the core desires of your estate sale clients and prospects.

How to Get Enormous Results from Free Estate Sales Classified Ads?

I assure you, the minute you change your focus from promoting yourself (company), to understanding your estate sale prospects, and offering to solve their problems or deliver benefits better than any other estate sale company, you will instantly increase your client volume and income.

Here is a checklist of six elements you can use when building estate sales classified ads:

1. Every classified ad must start with a powerful, attention-getting headline.

A good headline is the single element that will make your ad stand out from the competitors and get read by the person you’ve targeted for the ad. Remember, if your ad doesn’t get seen, it won’t get read or acted upon. The headline is a two or three punch word phrase that attract your desired reader, interest and motivate them to read your ad and contact you. It should be typed in bold print on the first line of your classified ad.

2. Promote BENEFITS, not features.

Features don’t sell. In other words, hiring and buying decisions are emotional. After an emotional decision is made, people usually justify their decision with logical reasons for hiring you. Why should someone hire your estate sale company over any other company? Use power words to reveal the most important benefits of hiring your company or to sell such as: “Overcome Fear of Having an Estate Sale”, “Overcome Fear of Starting an Estate Sale,” “We Give Our Clients the Attention They Deserve”, “No More Fear of Having an Estate Sale”, “Protect Yourself with an Estate Sale Contract”, “Avoid Mistakes by Others and Protect Yourself from Losing Your Money by Hiring This Professional Estate Sale Company Now”, “Don’t Waste Your Time with a Do-It-Yourself Estate Sale”, “Save Time—We Provide Fast, Easy Estate Sale Results”, “All Estate Sale Items are a BARGAIN”!

3. Promote your client’s estate sale items as BARGAINS.

It’s unanimous! Everyone is naturally attracted to getting a good deal. What if your estate sale is high-end and upscale? What if the clients are unreasonable and want the items overpriced? The short answer is: Overpriced items don’t sell. These clients may need an estate auction opposed to an estate sale. Remember, when items don’t sell, that makes your clients angry and blames you—for everything. My suggestion is: Know what level of pricing your clients are expecting before you agree to do the sale. When you are managing estate sales with “down-to-earth” pricing, you should promote it by using words such as, “Priced to Sell Out”, “Incredible Bargains”, “Below Appraisal”, or using a headline such as, “Attention Bargain Hunters.”

What Creates Bargains for Buyers?

Almost everything in “regular” estate sales can be sold as a bargain. There is always someone who will buy it if the price is low enough. How cheaply you will price and sell is dependent upon these factors:

How badly does the client need to sell it? Are they in a money fix?
How quickly does the client need to sell it? Does it need to be removed from the house quickly?
Is there a high demand for these household items…?
Is the demand high, but the market availability saturated?
The law of supply and demand and the time you have to sell a house full of items (1-3 days) are the controlling factors. Hopefully, the client is not in love with the contents. The more desperate the seller is to get rid of their stuff, the lower you can price it for a quick sale, more profits and a sell-out! If the prices are too high, buyers will walk away.

4. Make an offer to your prospect.

Remember, prospects won’t call you without a self-serving, IRRESISTIBLE OFFER. Give them specific reasons to respond to your advertising. How do you make an offer in your classified ads? Package something specific to their situation, such as for “Free”. For example, “Free Estate Sale Consultation Reveals All About Hiring Us to Do Your Estate Sale.”

5. Make a CALL TO ACTION to your prospects.

Tell readers exactly what to do. If I never share another piece of advice with you, please take this to heart. During the first phone conversation with a prospect and at the assessment/consultation, listen carefully to what they really want in their situation. With the best solution in mind, tell them what to do in a direct and confident way, and give them meaningful reasons why it is in their best interests to do it. Clients hire estate sale companies to help them make decisions. Don’t be afraid of rejection or have the confidence to look the clients in the eye and tell them what to do! In your classified ad state, “Call Now for Your Free Estate Sale Assessment.”

6. Create an URGENCY to respond.

Many people want to have an estate sale, and know they must have one, but they don’t feel a sense of urgency. Your estate sale classified ad has to work hard to get them to click your ad and make your phone ring! How? Create urgency with words and phrases that move prospects to act such as: “Don’t Delay Your Estate Sale,” Act Now to Have An Estate Sale,” Call Today to Schedule a Free Assessment,” Call Now to Book Your Estate Sale,” “Have Your Estate Sale While the Weather Is Nice,” “Avoid an Emergency Estate Sale, Call Now,” “Have No Fear; Leave Your Estate Sale to Us.” Then test different ads until you start getting results.

You have learned six powerful elements for turning your estate sales classified ads into client magnets.

My final guidance for attracting client leads and selling products fast is to advertise and promote your services and leftover items Free! Why? In addition to helping estate sale clients and estate sale companies connect; people buy categories that contain a wealth of related services and products they are seeking.

In short, post your ad in the right category and make sure that it is a statement that addresses the following points:

Here’s what we are selling.
Here’s how much it will cost.
Here’s what’s in for you.
Here’s why you should trust us.
When you incorporate the six elements, your classified ads will get read, your website will be visited, and your phone will ring. The more calls and emails you get about your ads, the better the chances of booking regular estate sales.

Don’t miss their calls when you’re not there. Have your calls and email forwarded!

Examples of Estate Sales Classified Ads

Identify the elements in each ad and start building and posting your own.

Ad #1

Wanted Estate Sale Clients

Avoid mistakes by others and protect yourself from losing your money by hiring this professional estate sale company now! Have no fear; leave your estate sale to us. Call today while the weather is nice!

Ad #2

Overcome Fear of Having an Estate Sale

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Pick everywhere. Success or failure is in your determination to find valuable things to sell or accumulate. Do you know that you can take someone else’s junk and make a business? I did it with a service that provided FREE home cleanout and hauling for residences and businesses.

I am a picker by nature, which also helps me to identify and price items for our estate sales.

The idea of becoming a “junk dealer” came from realizing that many people need help to eliminate junk.

As a girl, I was curious when a “junk man” came to our neighborhood to collect things that people didn’t want. He was picking!

I’ve always enjoyed recycling so I thought, if a man can do it, I can too — with finesse.

I bought a used pick up truck and went door-to-door handing out flyers in upscale neighborhoods. Except for a friend helping me to hand out flyers, I didn’t have any help to get the service started.

Make Good Use Of “Free”

From the time I started that service people wrote what a great idea! Over the years, I served many satisfied clients — because the service was FREE.

The opportunities to help people get rid of stuff they no longer need or want is still virtually everywhere. The key to my success and profitability was: make good use of anything FREE.

Some people save their junk to give to charitable organizations for a tax deduction. Nevertheless, you will still get plenty of calls!

Clean out and hauling is hard work, but I loved it. And because I loved the work, it brought me all the “good” junk I wanted. Follow these simple steps for your success:

Run simple ads in neighborhood newspapers or Google Adwords to clean out and haul Estate household junk and leftover yard sale items for FREE.
Use your pick up truck or rent a U-Haul (as needed) for large hauls.
Get a couple of guys or gals to help you with the heavy lifting (they will be amazed at “the haul”)
Get accurate directions the first time, pick up time, contact name and phone number, etc.

Pack, load, broom clean the property (as needed) and go. That’s all there is to it!
I decided what I would or would not haul such as hazardous household waste, trash, etc. If you want to do that, charge at least $60/hr. for truck and two helpers. Let them know that you only pick up “good” things.

You can rent a storage room to sort and store your treasure until you decide how you want to sell/dispose of it.

Operate your service in a timely and professional manner. This makes your clients happy.

From the beginning, I shared gently used blankets, pillows, furniture, file cabinets, chairs, dishes, clothing, and much more with local churches and homeless shelters because there was so much stuff.

Some of the treasure was unopened gifts, unused money orders, gold jewelry, a rare bottle of Absinthe, 1833 Chinese Woodblock prints, Chinese bronze, photogravures, historical memorabilia, vintage cars, collectible and rare books, miniature daguerreotype photographs, shell fossils, Tiffany Sterling, watches…

This type of service is a win-win opportunity for an entire community to benefit (and for you to place flyers for additional advertising).

Initially, I published a newsletter and attached a cover letter that I mailed to prospects such as property managers of upscale (furnished) corporate apartments.

I also got a lot of business by putting flyers on cars at upscale churches during service, and from my web page.

With a little creativity, one man’s junk can become a picker’s treasure trove. This is a fun way to get good stuff free and drive competitor pickers crazy.

They’ll always be trying to figure out how you’re finding treasure and making money.

Here’s an exclusive Sample Letter To Write To Prospects. It can be modified to meet your requirements.

Dear Attorney Johnson or Mr. Johnson (Property Manager): I am writing to you concerning business referrals for the disposal of your client’s Estate junk or unwanted corporate housewares… How many times have grieving clients come to you for advice on how to dispose of Estate junk?

Did you know what to tell them? If they hold a garage sale, it only adds to the heartbreak and it’s aggravating to have to wait for buyers to show up and make pennies.

A garage sale is too time-consuming to bother with. There is a better answer — my salvage & hauling.

We clean out and haul junk contents of old Estates, garages, basements, attics, storage units… Our services include:

Remove all furniture and any other items left that are not to be moved by the owner.
Clean out all remaining items in closets, cabinets, etc. and leave apartment/house in “broom clean” condition.
Our service to you or business referral involves absolutely no money, investment, or responsibility on your part. My Salvage & Hauling can help you and/or your clients by cleaning out all of the leftover Estate junk, pack it up, broom clean (sweep/vacuum) the entire house, and haul it away — at no cost to you.

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More often than not, estate sellers whether professional or beginner, do not think they need an estate sale agreement or contract. Maybe they’re thinking about the days when all you needed to seal a deal was a firm handshake or an oral agreement — a man’s word is his bond.

I still believe that most people have the integrity to honor their end of the bargain, but when a transaction involves money, personal property and real property, both parties in the agreement need a contract.

Times have changed, so we can no longer do business without having something in writing. You and your client need a written document to protect each other’s interest in an estate sale or estate liquidation transaction.

A detailed estate sale contract or agreement will alleviate any misunderstandings in any estate sale or estate liquidation, and your client should carefully review it, ask questions, and make changes, before it is signed.

Again, it doesn’t matter whether you are a professional estate seller or beginner, when you are consulting with your client, be very careful and make sure that everything that is expected of you and all important issues are put into writing, such as scope of work, pricing method, payment method, and your commission fee.

When money is involved, the business can go sour very quickly, as it did here allegedly: Estate Sale Company, Accused Of Preying On Elderly, Grieving Family Members: Woman Says Co. Kept Thousands From Heirloom Sales.

What Is An Informal Estate Sale Contract Or Agreement Template?

An informal estate sale contract/agreement template is a detailed and solid legal document; when completed with your company’s information, it represents two parties in which the estate seller agrees to perform specific estate sale services for the client in return for a commission fee. It can be a simple one-page document, or it can be multiple pages long.

There are many basic template examples online, which could be ready for immediate use after inserting your company’s information.

Estate sale clients prefer signing a detailed, long format agreement, which is basically a contract, because it seems less formal. Keep in mind, that an informal contract or agreement template, which was not prepared by a lawyer, is still binding and enforceable by law.

Insiders Secret

After an estate sale assessment or consultation, let your client keep your contract for 24 hours, if they wish, before you sign it. This shows them that you are not anxious and it will give them time to fully understand the details.

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Most of us have learned about people buying original works of fine art and antiques at estate sales for pennies, and brag about it on Antiques Roadshow. As professional estate sellers, we need to step up our game or suffer the same consequence.

That consequence results in financial loss by improper identification and research of important items, and loss in sales to estate auctions that are in direct competition with estate sale companies.

You don’t have to be an expert to spot things of value, which is what you need to focus on to stop letting the pickers rob your estate sales and brag about it!

We all love to find things of value, but when we are representing our clients best interest, and our own bottom line, we need to become more vigilant in how to spot things of value. I cannot stress this enough!

We are the “sellers,” therefore, it is our responsibility to document (inventory) all of the estate contents for sale, especially things that could easily be misidentified and sold as a “mistake.”

In addition to knowing how to recognize things of value, you need the right estate sale supplies to make your job easier — and help your client achieve their goal.

We are living in the “baby boomer” era, which not only means there is enough stuff for anybody to sell around the world; our children stand to inherit fine works of art, antiques, collectibles and large sums of money.

So while we’re on the subject: Is your estate sale waiting to make someone’s day, could some of those valuables your children stand to inherit end up in the wrong hands?

More to the point, when your client doesn’t know the value of certain items in the house, and hires you to “just sell it all because they don’t have time to deal with it,” does not mean they do not want their personal property sold for higher return.

Another way to solve this problem is to hire an appraiser to learn about the value of fine works of art, period jewelry, etc., but this is extremely costly.

However, it will benefit the client and you in the long term if it becomes necessary. Is the client willing to pay for this service? Are you?

What is a formal or certified appraisal?

A certified appraisal is a professional estimate of the value of something. People usually have items appraised for insurance purposes, tax strategies, estate planning and settlement, etc.

For legal and court purposes, there are specific things that need to be in a certified appraisal report.

An informal appraisal of estate sale items is important, which is why all estate sellers must do an inventory, which lists the assigned price, how much it sold for, etc.

Estate inventory should not be sold until it is formally or informally appraised or an opinion of value (price) is assigned to each item.

If an item is going to make someone’s day, yet cause a negative impact on the sale, it is done by under appraising (underpricing) items.

Appraising and pricing are not exact methods of assigning value to items, which is why clients don’t always agree about the overall pricing. Moreover, sale items are negotiated and sold, which further reduces prices and “perceived” value.

In some pre-estate sale consultation scenarios, clients want a written appraisal or informal estimate of inventory return; and based on that information, they may decide not to sell.

Nevertheless, an estate sale is still the best alternative to a garage sale or buyout, which is more likely to result in making a buyer’s day.

A professional estate seller should be able to educate clients on identifying valuable items, and what options are available for selling them.

In this business, you will eventually work with a client who has many things of value that they are prepared to sell.

If clients have valuables that should not be sold at an estate sale, they need a certified appraisal report that will stand up to an insurance claim and in court. For example, if a client has a Louis XV armchair that they insured for $7,000, then they will have to prove the value of that chair if it is lost to theft, fire, etc.

Personal property values fluctuate over time and insurance companies know it. Clients need to know it too if they want to protect their investment from being undersold at an estate sale.

Doing estate sales is truly challenging — I cannot lie. But, the challenge also faces the client, which is why they need estate sale professionals to help them dispose of all that stuff!

Finally, there are responsibilities of disposing of your clients’ personal property wisely, and for their benefit. The word “personal” in personal property means these items belonged to someone; so there are sentiments, emotions and perceived high value attached to it as well.

Being able to address the value of your clients’ personal belongings will lessen their pain and more importantly: You will not be embarrassed by selling something of high net worth for pennies. Remember, an estate sale is not a garage sale. Learn how to identify valuable things, and get the best estate sale supplies to help you do it!

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Introduction to SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Search Engine Optimization is the most cost-effective way to get your site in front of more qualified buyers.

How SEO Works
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) increases a website’s visibility on the search engines. The process involves minor alterations to your website: selecting keywords that will generate targeted traffic, continually researching search engine algorithms and policies, and most importantly understanding the customer’s goals. There are a wide range of companies offering SEO services, each employing strategies that may be significantly different from one another, hence producing varying results. Understanding these different approaches is the most important factor in choosing your SEO company.

Need for search engine optimization
It is critical for any company to take into consideration how well its website will rank in the most important search engines and directories. There are many steps that a company must take in order to maximize a web site’s success in search engines and directories. Many companies underestimate the importance of search engines and fail to understand the ranking process. They ignore the most crucial ingredient of Internet marketing strategy.

Classification of Search Engines

One of the first things to understand is the difference between search engines and directories.

Crawler based search engines rely on automated software agents called spiders. These spiders read information like page titles, meta data, and textual content to be included in the search engines index. Search engines determine relevancy by applying a set of rules known as an algorithm. The algorithm determines whether to include a specific page in the search results based on the items read by the spider. Google is an example of this type of search engine.

The other types of search engines are those with a directory component. The distinguishing factor here is the human element. Directories are organized by human editors who visit the submitted website. They play a large role in the categorization of the web site and the wording of the titles and descriptions that will be the basis by which searchers find the web site.
Yahoo and MSN, present both crawler based and human powered results. These are known as hybrid search engines.

How does SEO work?
While the algorithm of each search engine may be different, they all look for the similar things:

Location of keywords:
Search engines first check title tags, headlines, and the first two paragraphs for keyword matches. Keywords are the cornerstone of every SEO campaign and we at Knock3 do a thorough job of identifying the best keywords for you.

Frequency of keywords:
In order for the search engine to see your website as relevant to a particular keyword, the frequency of the keyword must be adequate. The appropriate frequency varies for different sites depending on various factors. At Knock3, we do an in depth study of your website so as to determine the ideal keyword frequency.

Link popularity:

1. Keyword Identification The right keywords must be identified. These are phrases related to the site and ‘used’ by surfers in finding your product or service.
2. Competitive Analysis The websites that currently rank well on your keywords are reviewed for their link structure optimization method and incoming links.
3. Page optimization In this stage the website is thoroughly optimized with meta tags, body text and internal links.
4. Link building Qualified incoming links are generated in this step.
5. Submissions The website’s pages are systematically submitted to appropriate search engines and directories.
6. Analysis & Re-Optimization The results are observed over a period of time depending on the rankings and traffic analysis. The website is further tuned.
7. Reporting Throughout the course of the optimization, web stats are observed and tactics are altered based on traffic analysis.

Benefits of SEO:

Affordability
In comparison to pay per click or banner ads, which cost between $2,500 to $50,000 per month, an SEO plan costs much less.

SEO provides a higher ROI for most companies than any other advertising medium.

Long term visibility
Other online advertising methods, such as banner ads or paid search engine placement work for a while but once your budget is depleted, the advertisements stop. Also, consumers are often more likely to purchase from a site ranked high in the search engine results rather than from a paid advertisement.

Familiarity with the company
A highly ranked website means more people see the name of the company and become familiar with its products, even if they haven’t made a purchase. A survey by NPD shows that consumers are twice as likely to recognize businesses ranked in the top three search engine results than those appearing in banner ads.

Web site maintenance:
A web site is always a work in progress. Optimization work continues long after the optimized site is launched. This is because search engines frequently change their algorithms and the competitive landscape changes. The most effective strategy is to change and adapt the site in response to changes in search engine ranking criteria. The activities carried out in an SEO maintenance program are:

Continuous monitoring of ranking and traffic trends.
Altering and Tuning Webpages to maintain and improve rankings.
Comprehensive ranking reports provided to clients.
Knock3 is a search engine optimization firm in Texas providing SEO & PPC services. Contact us for a free quote.

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Do you want your business to appear on the first page of Google and other search engines?
Of course you do and Knock3 can make this happen for you just as we have for all of our clients! Having a dominant web presence is like having the worlds best salesman working for you 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week, 365 days a year. Your web presence is a salesman that brings an endless stream of customers to your door. However, unlike most world class sales people, your web presence isn’t looking for a commission, never complains and never takes a holiday.

If you knew that thousands of customers were going to arrive at your store on Monday would you lock your doors and disconnect your phone? Of course not!

However, many businesses do just that. They shut out the thousands, even millions of potential customers looking for their products or services on the internet because they fail to show up on the first page. When a potential customers searches on Google and other search engines for your product or services, you need to be one of the first things they see as most internet users rarely go past the first page.. You can’t depend on these potential customers to look through page after page on the internet to find you. When customers come clicking your door needs to be open and your lights need to be on. You need first page search engine placement and Knock3 is the company that can give you just that.

The Will To Dominate is the Key to Success!
You’re not in business to compete. You’re in business to dominate. You’re in business to be as successful as you can possibly be, not to just simply do well. This is the attitude that all ultra successful business people share: The will to dominate!

In the modern business environment the path to business success now runs directly though the internet.

Knock3 is the SEO company that can bring customers to your door!
Your business can not ignore the need to have a strong presence on the internet. Recognizing the importance of the internet now can dramatically affect the future success of your business.

When is the right time to start building my businesses internet presence? Tomorrow? We all know very well that tomorrow never comes. Today is the day to start building the internet presence that will take your business to new levels of success. It’s time to dominate and the first step in the process is to call Knock3 today!

Call Knock3 today for a FREE SEO Analysis of your business and your competitors’ and begin the process of dominating the internet. (210-858-7718)

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Do you want your business to appear on the first page of Google and other search engines?
Of course you do and Knock3 can make this happen for you just as we have for all of our clients! Having a dominant web presence is like having the worlds best salesman working for you 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week, 365 days a year. Your web presence is a salesman that brings an endless stream of customers to your door. However, unlike most world class sales people, your web presence isn’t looking for a commission, never complains and never takes a holiday.

If you knew that thousands of customers were going to arrive at your store on Monday would you lock your doors and disconnect your phone? Of course not!

However, many businesses do just that. They shut out the thousands, even millions of potential customers looking for their products or services on the internet because they fail to show up on the first page. When a potential customers searches on Google and other search engines for your product or services, you need to be one of the first things they see as most internet users rarely go past the first page.. You can’t depend on these potential customers to look through page after page on the internet to find you. When customers come clicking your door needs to be open and your lights need to be on. You need first page search engine placement and Knock3 is the company that can give you just that.

The Will To Dominate is the Key to Success!
You’re not in business to compete. You’re in business to dominate. You’re in business to be as successful as you can possibly be, not to just simply do well. This is the attitude that all ultra successful business people share: The will to dominate!

In the modern business environment the path to business success now runs directly though the internet.

Knock3 is the SEO company that can bring customers to your door!
Your business can not ignore the need to have a strong presence on the internet. Recognizing the importance of the internet now can dramatically affect the future success of your business.

When is the right time to start building my businesses internet presence? Tomorrow? We all know very well that tomorrow never comes. Today is the day to start building the internet presence that will take your business to new levels of success. It’s time to dominate and the first step in the process is to call Knock3 today!

Call Knock3 today for a FREE SEO Analysis of your business and your competitors’ and begin the process of dominating the internet. (210-858-7718)

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April-30, 2012: With all Google updates (Panda, Webspam, Penguin), algorithm roll outs and changes, search results are not the same and so is ranking. SEO has changed altogether in the last couple of months. Google has been quality conscious since its start, and that explains why it grabbed over 70% of the market share shortly after its launch, however recent changes are far more than “quality user experience” as Google claims. There must be some political, financial or socioeconomic factors that a simple user might not imagine, but technically speaking, the most recent Penguin changes harmed more that it fixed the “so called” quality of search as it has been evident after many comparisons you can find on different blogs/forums. I have also did extensive comparisons and research for my clients in different niche, ran several reports to see the authority or the quality of current ranking sites and most of the results I found were of poor quality.

Having said that, this post is not explaining the recent Google changes or the Penguin update, but here I will discuss more in general the future of SEO and how the future SEO is going to be done and whether or not SEO still exists?

SEO is Dead vs SEO is not Dead!

You will read this in many posts/forums that SEO is dead. From my personal view point, SEO is dead for those who were mainly relying on standard SEO process that includes, keyword rich content and URL, related METAs, keyword stuffing and placement, and then building link to appropriate anchor text for each URL on high PR blogs, or paid sites to raise ranking. This is not going to work anymore, and SEO is really dead for such a process.

SEO is not dead, if you still believe in quality sites, better user experience and natural flow to your websites in its content, URL structure, METAs and how you link to your site. Starting April 25, with the recent Penguin update, Google is primarily looking at site authority and page authority and accordingly benefit in SERP. Going forward, it won’t make much sense to optimize a single keywords or keywords for that matter. Going forward, it will matter how strong your page is that you are trying to rank for a given set of keywords.

Future of SEO:

Even though Matt Cutts says we would encourage only white hat SEO or even no SEO, I wonder how those million dollar sites will rank at the first place? How are those sites going to sit and hold on ranking solely on the mercy of Google to get there expenses met? So the point is, that the white hat SEO has to exist, but it has to be done more discreetly, naturally and slowly without focusing on keywords and much longer wait time for a page to increase in ranking, having a little control over SEO SERP.

No doubt, SEO has to stay, but not in the same form it used to be in the past several years. Now the job of an SEO consultant or company has become more tactful than ever. Job of SEO is now to improve your site authority based on how unique and interesting content it has, how little emphasis has been done on pinpointing keywords for search engines, how strong social signals it gets, and which authority sites are linking to it using the site URL, and not the anchor text. These linking sites, must be of the same niche and must have an apparent natural interest in linking back to your site (genuine press release with a link back to your new product page www.example.com/product-x is a good example)

If you are an SEO company or your sites are mainly depending on organic traffic and you need your site to be in good books of Google, here is a list of future SEO steps that you need to take to make sure, nothing shakes your site even with another one hundred Google roll outs during the course of coming years.

Start with a fresh new domain or site name if you can, to make sure that you know you are doing it right from the start.
If you are engaged (or married) to your old site, then remove all the old links you had on it (as much as you can), make it off-line, change DNS, IP/hosting, a new design, URL structure with fresh content based on above recommendations or Google quality guidelines and make a fresh start.
Make a structure of the site that is logical, and as you would want this structure to be like for your visitors/users if search engines didn’t exist. Use WordPress example, make categories, subcategories to put your products/service under proper URL. Make your homepage targeting general services you provide in your niche.
Create a blog and write thoughtful, researched articles on it at least twice a week. Link these articles to your social media and tweet them so you get social signals to your valuable content, that’s one important thing to raise your immunity against web-spam curse.
Each page (or URL) on your site must be very specific to one of the products or services or a category. If you are selling used phones, then make a category for each brand and then subcategory for each version/model of it. The MOST important thing here to remember is that don’t mix several keywords in different URLs or you will never rank in this new changing Google search algo. This is what Google calls poor quality or repeated content.
Have a strong presence in social networks and engage users to get back to your site through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. Write valuable articles in your blog and post excerpts on your social network and link to URL on your site for “read more”, this is a good way of increasing your site and content authority and let people spend more time on your site.
Do a monthly genuine press release about anything that you have started or accomplished in your business and get a legitimate link back to your site (using URL not the anchor text)
Submit your site do different niche directories using URL, the directories that have visitors and not the SEO optimized directories just to get a link back. Find local business directories to spread word about your services.
Don’t worry about PR of the page you get link to, do worry about the relativity of the site that links to you. High PR still has effect on your site authority but the old myth of having lot of high PR links getting you higher in SERP doesn’t work anymore. Two top ranking sites in financial industry in Google UK, have only 2 backlinks and zero PR.
Do research, a lot of research, to find sites that relate to your niche and request a link back using a guest blog or partnership. Make majority of your links using your URL (home or subpages) and not the anchor texts. I would suggest 70% at least. Google will determine the keywords through your content and META to promote them once your page gets authority, that’s why it makes sense to keep each page very specific to a single keyword or a group of similar keywords.
Create some genuine profile links, genuine means that fill in all the data in the profile link, and update it weekly with any fresh news from your site and link these profiles to your site and social media, make it more social by linking to other similar profiles.
Don’t over optimize your content, or METAs. 3-5% of keyword density rule doesn’t work anymore. See how naturally you can keep your keywords as you write. Try not to write a lot of content on your homepage, rather make it to the point as an introduction to your services and site, give details in subpages.
Try putting any industry seals, certificates, badges, buttons etc that can produce authority to your site. Creating an SSL certificate to make it a trustworthy site is a great idea as well. Get memberships in your industry and mention it on your homepage.
Avoid any sort of paid links, link schemes, or links to any sites that are not quality sites based on new Google algorithm, means they are not providing user experience, rather they are there to give links back to one who wants them, this includes blog networks etc etc.
Check for Alexa ranking of the sites you link to, to make sure they have reasonable visits and just not high PR websites to get a backlink.
Don’t link to any site that you are not 100% sure even if you are offered a free link and even if it’s a high PR site.
Make announcements on your homepage every now and then for any updates in your business, just don’t leave it as a static page.
Participate in active forums and blogs (commenting) for a long-term strategy. Become authority members or old members in those forums/blogs and give your genuine, authentic opinion of the post, having a link to your URL after getting a good place in such forums will help your site greatly. Try posting at least 10 authority comments in each forum or blog to start with to get confidence of the forum owner.
Research for blogs in your niche and offer them high quality researched content as guest blog, even against a fee. That should be considered contextual link and should give your site good authority.
Monitor your ranking regularly and see the behaviour of Google or other search engines and tweak your strategy based on that regularly.
Dont worry about number of links, just the quality, relevancy and frequency. Increase backlinks frequency gradually and maintain it month after month so it doesn’t sound unnatural to Google. Having 100 links in May and zero links in June can raise “doubts” in search engines.
Protect your site from outside attacks, hacks and unauthorized access and links. Keep a track of all your links and monitor for any unnatural links that you didn’t create to make sure no one is using negative SEO as a tool to tank your site. There are plenty of tools that can give you timely reporting on who is linking to you.
More to come as time permits …. thanks for reading and if you like it share it with your friends.

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