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Past RE/MAX of New Jersey Tech Announcements
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November LeadStreet Updates, Part 2
More New & Enhanced Features
Intranet
Intranet Login Notices New Feature
Administrators create notices that appear when users log on.
  • Notices can be set to start and date and specified date and time.
  • Notices can be set as high priority such that they are highlighted and sorted to the top of the list.
  • Notices can be archived for later references.
When agents log on to the intranet, they are presented with a new page containing notices that have been entered.
  • Notices are divided in to two sections: Unread and Read.
  • Those notices that have been set as “priority” notices are highlighted and are sorted to the top of the unread list.
  • When notices have been read, they are moved to the “Recent Notices” list where the reader has the option to archive some notices.
The Login Notice window can easily be closed, taking the user to the Intranet Home Page

Contacts Export Enhancement
We now export ALL fields when contacts are exported.

Blog support of images Enhancement
The blog tool is expanding to include support for images, both via the Image Library, and images copied and pasted from other websites.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Google Analytics on web pages New Feature
Google Analytics and other tracking tools that are implemented via pieces of code on web pages have become more and more popular. As such, we continue to receive requests from administrators to place these pieces of code on to agent’s web pages so that agents can track traffic to their web site.

With this release, we have once again enhanced the SEO Manager, adding a tool allowing for the entry of Google Analytics code.

In addition, other tracking codes that are typically added to the bottom of web pages, should also be compatible with this tool, the Orange Soda tracking code being one example. Administrators no longer need to file tickets requesting that tracking codes be added to web pages.

Agents can now enter tracking code themselves. Google Webmaster Tools support- Along with Google Analytics we’ve included the Google Web Master Tool that had previously been available in beta to limited companies.

Corporate Level SEO Search Pages and Saved Searches
Enhancement
Administrators now have the ability to create Saved Searches for corporate web site

Agent Saved Searches Enhancement
We have enhanced the Agent Saved Searches functionality such that now, when the user changes criteria, it is not necessarily to click the search button prior to saving the search. All current set criteria will be saved upon clicking “Save Search”.

Web Activity Logging
Logging of Client Logins
Within the Web Activity display for each Web Client, “Login” records will be differentiated to indicated whether the login source is “Login Notice Email”, “Login, Welcome Back”, or “Login Manual Sign-In”.

Logging of Foreclosures Searches
Within the agents Web Activity display, search of foreclosure properties are recorded. The total number of foreclosure searches is displayed to indicate the relative activity and seriousness of the client.

Lead Assignment Opt Out
New Feature
For companies using Auto Assignment of leads, individual agents may “Opt Out” of receiving leads from the corporate/region/office websites, other than for their own listings. Agents will continue to receive those leads generated from their web sites.

Web Pages
Foreclosures
Foreclosure [For selected RE/MAX companies]: The home layout includes a Foreclosure image that promotes the Foreclosure search. Via the Site Builder, agents can turn off this object if they do not want it included on the home page.

Foreclosure object is available to display on the right column of the navigation pages, which link to the foreclosure search. For advanced users, the object can be highlighted with the mouse, copied and then pasted into any page builder page or page builder text area.

Listing Not Found on Search Results Improved
Prior to this release, the user experience was not optimal when a link to a listing resulted in “listing not found”, for instance, when a listing was off the market. When a listing is not found, an error message: "Listing not found. Click here to begin a new search" will come up on the Search Results page, giving the user a much clearer idea of what to do next.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Regional Help Desk (help@remax-nj.net).
 
November LeadStreet Updates, Part 1
New & Enhanced Features
My Saved Searches SEO enhancements
_We have significantly enhanced the My Searches tab, adding the ability to further increase your web site’s visibility and search engine ranking, and adding some new functionality to that area.

SEO Search Pages: A new type of page has been created that allows for the display of a Content Page along with a Saved Search results

  • Combine Page Builder content with a set of search results to create an extremely relevant search experience for users by tailoring content to Saved Searches
  • SEO Search Pages tool: Pages are easily created with a new intranet tool with which you can create your own SEO Saved Search pages. Select a Content Page, a Saved Search, set Meta-Tags and a Custom URL, and name your page, and you have a new page that you can place a link to anywhere on your web site.
Custom Saved Search URLs: By creating an SEO Search Page, you can give your Saved Searches the same Custom URLs we added to content pages in the last release, as well as add Meta-Tags to them.

SEO Manager for Corporate Site Pages
_With this release, the Company Content Editor has an URL Optimization tab for administrators to optimize URLs for Content Pages on corporate sites.

Note that URL optimizations will affect live web pages such that when the user visits a rewritten page he will be redirected from the old (long) URL to the new optimized URL.

Agent Blogs
_ We have added agents and offices blogs, including a tool an intranet tool for making blog entries, and a new blog page available for web pages.

Make Blog Entries:
  • We have added a “My Blog” tab for making, editing, and managing blog entries.
  • You can add entries, or you can edit previous entries, and control on an entry by entry basis which ones show on your blog page.
  • You can even “schedule out” entries by setting a future date for them- they will not show on your blog page until the date that is entered.
Blog Page:
  • When you have blog entries, they appear automatically on your web site on a brand new Blog page.
  • Blog pages are available for editing within the Site Builder, just like any other page, so you can rename it, and add a description of the page to the link.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Regional Help Desk (help@remax-nj.net).
 
New 'Amenities' Search on REMAX-NJ.com
RE/MAX of NJ Teams Up With Onboard Informatics
onboard informatics logoRE/MAX of New Jersey along with Onboard Informatics has launched a new amenities search tool on their website. REMAX-NJ.com is the first and only real estate website in New Jersey to display amenities data on their maps.

RE/MAX prides themselves on being technologically advanced and this is no exception. REMAX-NJ.com will now allow consumers searching the website for properties to see where the closest restaurants, banks, transportation, shopping, hospitals, personal services, attractions, places of worship, and schools are located. Consumers are able to search for all amenities or select the ones they are interested in when using the map view on the website.

Coming soon, REMAX-NJ.com will also offer enhanced school and community information for buyers, sellers, and RE/MAX agents.

Visit www.remax-nj.com to view the new amenities search tool and to find thousands of properties for sale.

With nearly 3,500 real estate professionals in over 205 franchise offices, RE/MAX of New Jersey continues to be one of the leading real estate organizations in the state. Since its inception in 1985, RE/MAX of New Jersey has experienced record-breaking growth in both franchise sales and sales associates. This remarkable success can be attributed to the quality agents and service consistently found in all RE/MAX organizations. RE/MAX of New Jersey, based in Moorestown, N.J., is a privately owned and operated regional franchiser for RE/MAX International. Please visit www.remax-nj.com for more information.

About Onboard Informatics
Since 2001, Onboard Informatics has provided comprehensive local, regional and national real estate data solutions, powerful web tools and web services to some of the most innovative companies in real estate, media, and technology industries.

Onboard combines its expertise in data aggregation, standardization, and integration with expert consulting, transforming the complexity of data into meaningful solutions to support their clients in achieving business objectives. Privately held since its founding, Onboard is located in the heart of the world's financial center in the Wall Street area of New York City. For more information about Onboard or to request a demo, visit www.onboardinformatics.com

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Regional Help Desk (help@remax-nj.net).
 
September LeadStreet Updates
Enchanced Seller Reports
Significant improvements have been made to the Seller's Report feature in LeadStreet. They are outlined below, and can also be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.  

techLayout Improvements:
The “look and feel” of the Seller’s Report has been considerably improved, making for a much more compelling email to send to customers.

Market Listing Overview: A section detailing other properties in the subject’s listing market area has been added to the Seller’s Report.
  • This section is a list of properties within the area of the seller listing.
  • Subject property, new properties, updated properties, and nearby listings are called out with color coded icons on a map.
  • A table is included to highlight the similarities and differences between the included properties

    Activity Charts: The following web activity for the subject listing will be displayed on a graph covering the selected duration:
  • Listing Previews
  • Listing Views
  • Saved Favorites
Property Status/Pricing Changes: The Seller’s Report now includes a summary of area properties for which pricing and status changes have occurred.

Intranet Tool:
A new feature has been added to the Seller’s Report intranet tool that allows the agent to select the market area from which the list of comparable properties will be generated.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Regional Help Desk (help@remax-nj.net).
 
Announcing New Satellite Mapping Tools For Property Listings
"Balloon View" and "Street Level" Imaging Technology
RE/MAX consumers can now take a closer look at property listings on remax-nj.com and your agent website using "Balloon View" and "Street Level" imaging technology.

These latest enhancements make RE/MAX the first and only real estate web sites to bring Google Street View and Microsoft Virtual Earth satellite mapping technologies to buyers and sellers. The Microsoft Virtual Earth is available through out most of New Jersey; Google Street View is currently available in the Hoboken, Jersey City area. Google is working to expand coverage and we hope New Jersey is completed in the coming months.

Once RE/MAX of New Jersey web visitors begin clicking into properties in their search results, they'll see the added mapping options in the menu of links to the left of a listing's details page. When consumers click on Balloon View or Street View, a separate viewing window opens to show either a bird's eye view of the neighborhood - and a pushpin indicating the property's location - or a view of the property from the middle of the street.

Options in the Balloon View window make it easy to zoom in on the street and zoom out on the city. In the Street Level View, the navigation bar helps users take a 360-degree glance - and move up and down streets as if they're taking a walk through the neighborhood.

As always, contact the Regional Help Desk if you need help with any of the above.
 
July LeadStreet Enhancements
New Home Page Layouts & Color Themes Available
Reliance rolled out a whole set of new home page themes last week. Agents can choose from 22 different color themes and 8 home page layouts.

Four of the original themes or color combinations were removed. Agents using those themes will find their site has been converted to the new theme that best resembles their current selection, in terms of color tone and header composition. Agents can login and choose to change their website to any of the 22 available color themes

To go with the new "themeset" Reliance will provide a larger number of homepage layout choices for agents to choose from. The standard six-panel layout will remain in place but layouts 1, 2 and 3 will be replaced with 7 new layout options.

To help make the transition process as smooth as possible for agents, Reliance will convert each agent to the new layout that best resembles their current selection (in terms of object choices and overall aesthetic). If you're using the standard 6 panel layout your page will not change. After the conversion agents can of course choose to change their website to any of the available home page layouts.

To change your color theme or layout login to LeadStreet (www.remax-nj.org) and click on your Site Builder Tab. Both the color themes and the home page layout options are on the main Site Builder page, under Site Design. Simple select a new color theme and click on Update. The page layout options are located right below the color themes.

As always, contact the Regional Help Desk if you need help with any of the above.
 
June LeadStreet Enhancements
Advanced Search Criteria & More
Advanced Search
We are excited to announce that we have added Advanced Criteria to our map search! Adding the advanced criteria will allow consumers to do a map based search using very detailed, MLS specific criteria, adding tremendous value and customer benefit. We look forward to your comments on the new Advanced Search.

We will be working with Reliance Networks and the web committee in the coming months to ultimately replace the legacy Advanced Search with this new map based Advanced Search.

More Site Updates
The following enhancements were requested by RE/MAX Agents and Technology personal working with LeadStreet through out the country. Thank You Reliance for listening!
  • Contact List-new filter and fields
  • Deleted Accounts- administrative
  • Task Manager- enhancement
  • Zip Code Report-enhancement
  • Sellers Report-enhancement
  • Spam Blocking Forms- administrative
  • Email Distribution Groups- enhancement
You can quickly review items we’ve recently released by clicking on the link below...
click here to download June Updates Explained (PDF)
 
How Not to Redesign Your Website
Update & Review and What to Do if You Did
What to do if you used this consultant! CONTACT THE HELP DESK ASAP

Back in April we notified everyone, via email about a LeadStreet consultant and website redesigns detrimental to the agent and the Region. We reviewed this issue at the Broker Retreat last week and made certain everyone was aware of recent developments regarding leads, or lack of leads. For those who have used this consultant please don't panic – Contact the HELP DESK!

We can reset your website and turn ON all the missing tools, fix the typo's, and replace the graphics in a matter of minutes. We can easily replace any or all of the following missing items:

     • Neighborhood Valuation   • Sold Data
     • New Map                         • Open House
     • Foreclosure

Remember, if you don't have these items on your site, you're missing out on IMPORTANT clients. Please have your Agents contact the Help Desk by phone 888-547-3629 or e-mail help@remax-nj.net.
 
Important Information: Design Center Enhancements
Version 3.10 Releasing – March 2nd, 2008
Imprev released a new version of the Design Center (V 3.10) on Sunday, March 2 at 5:00 PM Pacific and this release included the below enhancements to the Imagine Assistant.

Image Assistant enhancements included in this release:

The first restores the capability to upload a single image without invoking the Image Assistant. An “Upload Image” button has been added to the project builder for this purpose. The "Select Image" option will still be available and will continue to launch the Image Assistant. The new Upload Image button will let you by pass the Image Assistant and quickly upload an image.

The second enhancement will open the Image Assistant directly to the folder for project being built and will display images in that folder, which will save several steps in selecting an image.

Additional enhancements to the Image Assistant are planned for upcoming releases, including the ability to select multiple images for upload instead of only one at a time.

If you need help with the Design Center or the above enhancements please contact the Regional Help Desk.
 
RE/MAX Climbs To Second Place Among Real Estate Web Sites
Hitwise: Century21, MSN Real Estate jump up in top-20 ranking
By Inman News, Monday, March 10, 2008.

RE/MAX Real Estate's remax.com Web site hopped into second place among the most popular real estate industry Web sites in February, up from its fourth-place ranking in January, Web metrics company Hitwise reported Friday, and real estate marketing company HomeGain bumped from second place in January to fifth place in February.

Century 21 Real Estate's century21.com and MSN Real Estate's realestate.msn.com Web sites had the largest jump in ranking among the top-20 real estate category sites, Hitwise reported, based on the total number of unique visitors. Century21.com moved from 16th on the list in January to 10th on the list in February, while realestate.msn.com climbed from 18th in January to 11th in February.

Realtor.com continued its reign at the top of the list, with 5.16 percent of the market share of all unique visitors to real estate sties. But that market share had fallen compared to its 9.08 percent market share in January. Second-place remax.com had 2.61 percent of the market share in February, followed by Yahoo Real Estate's realestate.yahoo.com at 2.35 percent, Zillow.com at 2.34 percent and HomeGain.com with 2.32 percent.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's hud.gov Web site sank from 10th on the list in January to 14th on the list in February, and Homes.com dropped from 14th in January to 17th in February.

About 24.1 percent of all visits to real estate Web sites went to the top-10 sites in that category in February, compared to 27.4 percent in January.

Hitwise reported that real estate site 21online.com joined the top-100 rankings in February, in 87th place, and Cincinnati.com also joined the list, rising from 110th in January to 95th in February. Rentals.realtor.com moved from 34th in January to 153rd place in the rankings in February, while RedWeek.com moved from 99th in January to 107th in February.

"Realtor.com" was the most popular search term for the four-week period ending Feb. 23, Hitwise reported, followed by "remax," "real estate," "zillow.com," "zillow," "apartments," "homes for sale," "realtor.com," "century21," and "realtor," in that order.

Among the fastest-moving Web sites tracked by Hitwise for the four months ending in February: RogerFazendin.com, up 266 places; SonoranGMAC.com, up 180 places; SignOnSanDiego.com, up 161 places; HomeInsight.com, up 146 places; Myazland.com, up 129 places; PruCalifornia.com, up 113 places; RealEstateForeclosures.net, up 85 places, CapeMay.FNISMLS.com, up 58 places; and CarlsonRE.com, up 39 places.
 
New Jersey Online Dominance Launches
RE/MAX of New Jersey and Michael Russer Join Forces
RE/MAX of New Jersey has contracted with Mr. Internet (i.e. RUSSER Communications) to have their own version of the Online Dominance Training Program specifically for RE/MAX of New Jersey Brokers and Associates. Once again, RE/MAX of New Jersey has lead the industry in innovation by being the first organization in the nation to set up their own Online Dominance program.

Imagine having a real estate sales career where all you do is list, sell and negotiate. A career that brings you a steady stream of business whether you are at the office or on a month–long vacation. And best of all, you never get overwhelmed no matter how much new business comes your way.

For the vast majority of real estate sales people this seems like an impossible dream. Yet many of my students will tell you that it is very possible and attainable —if you know how. Success isn't about just doing more sales, or having more time off. True success is doing only what you love to do, making a great living doing it and having all the free time you want to enjoy its fruits.

Included with the program you will receive weekly LIVE group coaching with Michael Russer and/or top Virtual Assistants as well as 18 comprehensive audio and video lessons (learn at your own pace!). The program also includes ePOWER PRO workbook, eProductivity Special Reports, and the Real Estate Website Success Guide. As an extra bonus you also get ongoing monthly LIVE TRAINING by some of the top online marketing and Virtual Assistant experts in the industry.
click here to visit www.njonlinedominance.com
 
Video Training Beta Site Launches
First Four Videos In Ongoing Series Now Online
Leadstreet training is now just a click away on REgionCentral. The RE/MAX of New Jersey Help Desk staff has just launched a new video training page with click by click instructions for setting up and getting the most out of your personal Leadstreet website.

The first four videos currently online are representative of what you can expect from the series. Keep checking the site for updates, as new videos and improvements to the video player inerface will be posted in the coming weeks and months.
click here to check out the videos
 
New Circlepix Programs Added
Find Out About Administrative Accounts & This Month's Special
Circlepix Virtual Tours & Re/Max of New Jersey Have Teamed Up! CirclePix Virtual Tours is pleased to announce the huge savings that all Re/Max agents receive on virtual tours! This pricing is exclusive to Re/Max agents so take advantage of it while it’s hot! Read about it on the Virtual Tour Info page...
click here to find out more
 
Client Web Activity Notices
Changes To Default Settings
Client Web Activity Notices were sent, by default, to agents for all new and existing clients. This setting generated VAST amounts of emails to Agents and as a result the number of spam reports, that originated from RE/MAX Agents, rival the number of reports by consumers. Read about the steps that have been taken to correct this issue...
click here to read it
 
Attention Monmouth/Ocean MLS Users
New Participant Access and License Agreement MUST Be Submitted
The Monmouth/Ocean MLS has implemented a new Participant Access and License Agreement. Both the Agreement and the Monmouth MLS Rules and Regulations can be accessed by clicking on the links below or on the MLS Information page.

Members of the Monmouth MLS must complete and sign the attached agreement and then fax it back to the Monmouth MLS. The new agreement requires signatures from the office manager or broker, the participating agent and the service provider (Reliance). The above agreement includes all the necessary Reliance information and signatures. If anyone needs a hard copy of the attached forms please contact the help desk and we will mail the forms to you ASAP.
Agreement Form (pdf)
Rules & Regulations (pdf)
 
New Tech Tip: CellAHouse
RE/MAX of New Jersey's Newest Participating Tech Vendor
CellAHouse makes technology work for you and your seller – 24 hours a day from your yard sign and your print ads. With the CellAHouse service, you literally have buyers in the palm of your hand. Read all about CellAHouse and the service they provide in today’s Tech Tip.
click here to read it
 
Update: Leadstreet Enhancments
Better Manage Your Website

There are new website updates to report! The first 4 items below are intranet features and found in your LeadStreet Agent account (www.remax-nj.org). These updates enhance the management of your website and help you provide more for the online consumer as well as managing the activity your clients are generating.

  • Listing Manager Accuracy Display enhances the listing manager function to allow the listing agent to easily identify any of their listings that Google mapping is not locating accurately. A new column has been added to quickly determine if any action is necessary to accurately place the listing on the map. If a location needs to be defined, clicking on the symbol will open the property placer tool.

  • Visitors Viewing Listings provides a couple new views for the agent to analyze visitor activity over the last 14 days. The report provides an activity list by visitor session or by listing numbers. As previously, the visitor sessions are tracked to provide a summary of the listings viewed during the session, we enhanced this view by adding a client column so the agent can quickly identify client activity on listing views and we simplified the date information being displayed. The View by Listings is a new feature to this report and allows you to view completely all listings viewed on your website (ordered by date). This new view provides client information (linked to their profile) as well as the MLS Number, City, Price, # of Views, and the Date and Time the listing was viewed.

  • Received Client Group allows enhanced management for agents to quickly identify clients received within their account from an outside source. When a client(s) is transferred or reassigned to another agent a new member group folder named "Received Clients" will be created to provide for the new entries. This also applies when an agent is forwarding their leads to another agent. The new group will allow the agent to quickly find these new clients and to determine how to best manage them within their contact manager. The receiving agent will also be able to view where the lead was transferred from within the client's Contact Notes section.

  • The Featured Property Management enhancement allows all website accounts to expand their listing display pool for the featured property object and thumbnail page to include any office within the company. To use this new featured property tool click the radio button "Multiple Office's Listings" and select from any office from the list.

  • Open House Search enhancement includes a date range instead of the previous drop down selection. Now your clients can click on the calendar to select a start date and an end date for their open house search.

Please contact the help desk (help@remax-nj.net) if you have any questions or need additional help.

 
New Tech Tip: Customize Your Search Map
Specify The Initially Displayed Map On Agent & Office Sites
Check out the new Map Localization Tool. Available for use on both the office and agent website, this new tool allows you to change the default map as it appears on your site.
read this and other tips on the Tech Tips page or click here to read now
 
Update: New Features on remax-nj.com
Neighborhood Valuation & Enhanced Interactive Maps Launch
Background: As part of a national initiative to ensure RE/MAX is cutting edge in technology, RE/MAX of New Jersey is making some major enhancements to our website: www.remax-nj.com. These new features include enhanced interactive mapping and search capabilities and a neighborhood valuation tool.

The Goal: For RE/MAX of New Jersey offices and agents to provide “best-of-the-industry” web services to consumers creating a true value-added solution that helps connect the consumer to the agent and provides a better “Real Estate Experience.”

The NEW Neighborhood Valuation Tool from RE/MAX of New Jersey

This tool, which will be superior to all other neighborhood valuation tools on the market today, was created to provide consumers with the information they want and agents with the leads they need. With a growing trend of third party sites creating search portals for home valuation information, it was critical that RE/MAX developed a competitive solution. Each RE/MAX Region was responsible for designing its own Neighborhood Valuation tool, and RE/MAX of New Jersey, with help from Reliance Network, has created the best one on the market today

How it Works
  • The www.remax-nj.com Neighborhood Valuation tool allows consumers to view recent home sales data in an interactive map window.

  • If a consumer wants a printable report that includes statistical data as well as demographic, school and other neighborhood related data, they will register and upon registration a lead will be sent directly to one of our agents through the remax-nj.com lead system.

  • Recent home sales data is taken from the tax record database and not MLS sold data.
Why Our Neighborhood Valuation Feature is Superior
  • It provides an interactive environment that will allow consumers to seamlessly switch between active and recent sales information for a given area.

  • It is a one-stop portal for buyers and sellers. There are tools specific to buyers scoping out an area, sellers looking to list, and recent clients who want to track neighborhood value. • The focus of the Neighborhood Valuation tool is not to present consumers with an automated CMA, but to create an interactive experience via your website, which encourages the consumer to explore the full services of our agents. • Offices and agent sites will have an option to place the Neighborhood Valuation tool on their home page. • The Neighborhood Valuation tool works the same way whether the consumer goes to remax.com or any of the remax-nj.com home, office, or agent web sites.
Enhanced Interactive Mapping & Search Capabilities

How it Works


Our new enhanced, interactive mapping search capabilities will incorporate Google® map and its advanced features.

Enhanced mapping features include:
  • Satellite and photo imagery base layers.
  • Real Time Pan & Zoom for better locating on a map.
  • Simplified search incorporated directly into the map window.
  • New Street View database from Google where available.
  • More to come as additional features are developed.
view the new property search manual PDF file
 
Update: Leadstreet Client Section
New Enhancements Explained
The Client Section of LeadStreet is full of new features and major enhancements all designed to make working with your clients easier than ever before! Please login to LeadStreet and click on your Client Tab to see what's new. Click on the link below to get all the details!
view the new property search manual PDF file
 
Contact RE/MAX of New Jersey Technology
Help Desk