Jacksonville Real Estate Ramblings: Point2 here I come!

Pam,
Welcome to Point2. I've been with point2 for 4 years for my Vancouver real estate site nad it has been great! It took me 4 years to get around to it myself, but I would recommend going to the Pro level site as soon as you have those 1st 15pages sorted out. The blog feature alone is worth the cost IMHO.

Be sure to check te message board if you need any help with anything. People there are very helpful.

 

Howdy Pam

Welcome to the Point 2 group. I am geting ready to upgrade my site from the free site.

Wishing you and your's a grand Holiday Season!

Have a good one

Dale

Matthew-I checked out your site, looks great! How long did it take for your site to show up on google?

Dale- Thank you! Merry Christmas!

Pam,

Google picked up the site pretty quickly but I didn't get to the 1st few pages for the big keyowrds until the last year (so I guess that would be 3 years). I am not sure exactly why, but I suspect it has to do with improving my meta tags, the age of the site, maybe going to the Pro site and of course the blogging helps.

I made several changed at the beginnin of '07 that seemed to really help.  

You should check out our sites! We also offer SEO training. (Just a thought!)

Welcome to the point2agent group. This site is excellent and the people are very knowledgeable. I have only had it for a few months and with some good SEO tips from my wife and some people here, it has really boosted my page ranking in all search engines. I agree with Matthew, Google picks this up quickly and the more you blog the better it is. You will want to put RSS feeds onto your site that connects with AR so that when you blog it is updated on your website as well. Good luck and feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Real Estate Web Design-I will take a look, I do need alot of help!:)

Matthew-I am a little confused by your comment about putting an RSS feed onto my site that connects with AR? Does that mean when you write a blog on AR, it shows up on your website?

I LOVE P2A for the listing syndication service alone!

Pam - Good luck with your new site. I have a point2site as well. As Renee said having the syndication alone is fantastic. Check out my site at Metrowest Massachusetts Real Estate it may give you a few ideas :)

Hi Pam, Point2 offers a great service at an even better price (free!). I have a few Point2 sites for my submarkets, but my primary site is 100% custom. It is possible to really personalize the free site with unique content and graphics. My favorite point2 sites are sharyland-realty and mcallen-realty.

Good luck!

Why did you decide to go with Point2?  There are so many vendors with different options.  There must have been something about the Point2 site, or was it that you started with their free one?

Renee-Is the listing syndication, the handshake program?

Bill- Your site does look great! I will bookmark it. Thanks!

Rene-I like the fact it's free, so I can try it out before I upgrade. Is your primary site not a template site then?

John-I have heard good things about point2 from AA members who had the free site plus their AA sites, as well as from people here on active rain. I chose the free site to check them out before upgrading. There are alot of different vendors to choose from. I have looked at many and I eliminated a couple. I like the fact that I can try point2 out before upgrading.

WOW!  You've inspired me!

Hi Pam, I designed rgv-realty from scratch. I use Network Solutions for hosting and edit my site with Microsoft Expression. As I mentioned, Point2 sites don't have to look like a template. We were able to change many settings and graphics. They are all linked it back to my search results (IDX).

Yes. I have it set up so that my active rain blog is on my website in an I-frame. The nice part of the RSS feed is that it updates your site with substantial information daily or whenever you blog. On another note, I make all my posts public so there are no conflict of interest with members only blogs.

I love my p2 site.  I have started out with the free site and I am now thinking about upgrading so I can get a the blog on my site.  I think blogging on your own domain will help increase your rankings in google.  good luck with your site.

Eleanor-Are you an AA customer and if so, did I inspire you to leave them? :)

Rene- I have been looking at more sites with point2 and they look great. I am coming from a template website and I know they can do well in the search engine rankings. Part of that is getting rid of the canned text that is generic to all new sites.

I have been reading up about pointing multiple domains to one site and whether or not it could hurt your rankings in google, since google may consider it duplicate content. I started a new domain name and eventually I want to point my current domain name to my new site. I've read about the 301 redirect and hope that is the way I need to go. What do you think?

Matthew- That's good to know, because I was wondering how I was going to come up with content for two different blogs. Did point2 help you set this up?

Steven- I agrees, I think blogging on your own domain will help your rankings. I'm glad to hear you like your site. Thanks for stopping by!

Hello all you fellow realtors using AA, Z, or any other web host.

I did some heavy duty research before signing up with Point2 and I would say that they are far superior in my opinion to any other service.  I recently upgraded to professional and I'm amazed at the overall system.  I've just begun to scratch the surface building my site but it looks great so far. I won't bore you all with details but I've figured a way to corner my market share and have begun implimenting it. Check out http://www.martinsellscolumbus.com

Martin- Your site looks good! I will upgrade once I get going with the standard site.

Hi Pam, I really don't know too much about how the search engines view 301 redirects. I wanted to have really strong websites for the individual submarkets since I plan on hiring agents next year and will assign a ranking website to each agent while I help them build an online presence. My goal for 2009, is to have five great agents using five high ranking websites in South Texas.

Rene-I don't know much about the 301 redirects either. I like your idea of having multiple websites for the individual submarkets. I had kicked around the idea of having one just for sellers, then one just for buyers. I just didn't want to get in over my head of having to maintain that many, so I haven't decided. I think you have a great goal for 2009!

Uh-oh! I hate to be a nay-sayer, but your social networking efforts will be the only thing that drives traffic to your site. Search engines do not like redirects of any kind, and will give little credibility to subdomains on point2 or other host sites of its kind.

If you plan to work at your SEO, I suggest that you create a site for your domain. If you need to, you can always draw on the tools on your point2 site by loading them into a frameset. 

Jim- You party wrecker! So let me make sure I get you...I have an AA website www.pamgraham.com I just started a standard one through p2, which will have a new domain name of www.jacksonvillefloridarealestates.com once I get it pointed there. Now if I like the p2 site and start seeing results, I want to get rid of my AA site but use a 301 redirect for my pamgraham.com domain name. What you are saying is no matter if I get the 301 redirect done correctly, google will still see it as duplicate sites?

point 2 is a great site I have had much success with there system. Just throw in a little SEO and some Google ads and you will be off.  Here is my site www.jenniferdazet.com and like I said it is a great and easy to use site.  I love that you can track the stats for craigslist views.  That is a good tool to see if your ads are getting seen.

 

 

Pam,

I do not use the upgraded portion...YET......I do like the features and what it does for my other site....and the listings....all great features for my Clients.

Pam, you do want to use a 301 redirect to point to your new site...that way any backlinks, PR, domain aging, etc. will (hopefully, never any promises) move to your new site. I think Jim's confused. Redirects are not a problem, it's just that many people use the wrong kind of redirect and shoot themselves in the foot. For more info on implementing 301 redirects check out my SEO Diva blog. 

Jennifer- Glad to hear of your success! Your site looks great!

Dan-So, are you still using the standard site?

Kay- Thank you! I was worried, because I have linked to my AA site on my blogs, plus it's on my business cards and it's very easy to remember. I love reading your posts, I always learn good information. Thanks again!

 

Pam, I have a point2 site and really like it. I need to do a lot of work on it. Can't seem to find the time with 2 outside blogs and AR! I went to professional grade for a while then dropped it. Couldn't really see a lot of difference.

Linda-I'm with you...I haven't messed with mine yet, due to time constraints. However, I'm going to work on it tomorrow.

Hi, everyone,

 

I thought you might want to know that anyone wanting to upgrade to Point2 Professional from Standard can now do so FOR FREE!  

Point2 and CompassSearch have put together a promotion that gives you a full year of Point2 Professional when you either upgrade from Standard or come in new, together with a subscription to CompassSearch (which you must buy).

The formal announcement will come next week, but Point2 may already have this on their site somewhere. Compass  has reference to it on the first page of their site www.compassinternetsystems.com.  It's a heck of a deal for anyone, so check it out!

when it comes to SEO, Point2 is worse than Advanced Access.

 

 

Mike- I will take a look at what they have to offer. Thanks!

David- How are they worse?

Poor Link Architecture

Navigation uses graphics instead of text w/ no alts or titles

Really BAD HTML (non W3C Compliant)

Links don't utilize full URL

Cookie Cutter Content and Templates

Underscores instead of Dashes

Improper use of Subdomains

Use of Link Farms

... just to name a few

David- Some o the items you mentioned are like another language to me. Actually it is, it's computer language! :) I'll research on them and see if I can igure it out. I don't want to jump into another site and be frustrated like I am now. Thanks for your comments.

I just joined the free web site at P2 lets see what happens.

Hi Pam,

If you think your Point2Agent website is going to be ranking anytime soon on the coveted first page of Google, I have a bridge to sell you with some choice waterfront property near Yuma Arizona .

Sorry for popping your bubble here, but I get lots of phone calls from hopping-mad  REALTORS and broker who got sold a bag of goods on SEO and I'm sick and tired of perpetuating myths.  The fact is Google hates duplicate content. So while Advanced Access has the up and down game with their servers, your Point2Agent site is database driven and your site will look un-remarkably just like 15,000 other real estate agents out there.

Point has some nice features, but SEO and a website that ranks on page one of Google isn't going to be part of the mix. So long as your are okay with that... they are a good choice.

If you do not mind shelling out $3.15 - $5.00 or more for city+real+estate (in your case, jacksonville real estate, or jacksonville homes for sale) you can achieve a paid position on Google.

Meta tags aren't the answer. Metas got tossed out the window three years ago. Google looks at three things:  1.) Your title.  2.) Your description  3.) The CONTENT on your site.  In addition, you will need a sitemap.html and a sitemap.xml and your robots.txt file telling the GoogleBot what to index and what to ignore. Sites that are database driven and have a fixed and inflexible back office structure do not allow for this.

SEO EXERCISE: Go to Google and type in the phrase:  real estate web sites (four words). You will see Pullan.com show up on page one, position #5. Now go and look at Google top right side and see that this is #5 out of a possible 37 million records. I did the work for Terry Pullan (now part of the Dominion Empire). Dominion are the same guys that scooped up #1 Expert, and Advanced Access and Homes.com. All of them are McWebsite template companies. Less than 10% of these sites rank today anywhere on page one of Google, Yahoo or MSN.

RULE OF THUMB: If Point 2 Agent knew anything about real estate SEO, they would show up on the first page of Google in the organic (natural search) not the paid for section. If you need someone to DO real estate SEO there is your next exercise. Go to Google, enter in that search phrase: real estate SEO and pick someone who shows up on the LEFT side.  Voyager shows up (our company) but we're full on SEO clients for 2008. We only accept brokers and I can only work with six accounts per year.

The BEST advice I can give anyone who wants to get on top of the game with a natural page rank today is this: Get a website from AgentImage.com. The site designs are great. Then optimize it and host it somewhere else. I am not sure if they will do this, but since I hired away one of their senior web designers in the Philippines, I know that they can make exceptions once in a while.  Host the site with NTT Verio, Rackspace or Interland. I have optimized sites on these servers and they are all good ISPs to work with.

Nicholas-Good luck with your new site!

Bart-I hope your not the gentleman who called me yesterday evening on my way home. You didn't pop my bubble at all. Obviously if you don't add your own unique content to any site you won't get far. In, fact I don't think my post gave that impression at all. I know of plenty AA & P2 site that are on page 1 organically as well as other template sites. Your attempt to gain business, was a waste of time as soon as you opened up with:

"If you think your Point2Agent website is going to be ranking anytime soon on the coveted first page of Google, I have a bridge to sell you with some choice waterfront property near Yuma Arizona"

Thanks, but no thanks!

 

Pam, I've also started focusing on my POINT2 site.  I opened my site nearly a year ago and just left it as is.  Recently I decided to see everything available through POINT2, boy was I happy I did.  It's amazing more agents don't utilize the service.

I just started my first web site- and I did it through Point2.  I originally thought just to do the freebie, and then decided, if I was going to get a web site, I would get a web site.  I am trying to find the time to "wow" it up a bit, but I seem to be techno-challenged.  If anyone wants to check out my site and give me feedback, I am open to it.  (Am I allowed to post my web address here??  ;)

Carol-I'm not sure if it's "proper" to put your site in the comments, but I have no problem with it if you do, so go ahead! :) You can also write a blog about your site and ask for feedback. Thanks for stopping by.

Bill-I have to admit that I haven't done much with my site since I started it. I was having issues changing the template and Point2 getting my license confirmed that I put it on the back burner.

Okay, so here it is0 check out my web site, and please give me feedback as I am about to hire some one to spiff it up for me!  That way I can give the person I am hiring my ideas!  I just don't have patience to spend hours trying to fix it! 

My background is in health care, so I pride myself in my ability to take care of people, listen to them, and do what it takes to get them where they want to go.  I have been in real estate full time as a realtor about 4 years now, and my income has gone up each year, so I must be doing something right!!

I work primarily in the areas of Agoura, Oak Park, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, and Newbury Park,  in Eastern Ventura County, although I can, and have, worked in all of Ventura, and the San Fernando Valley as well.

 www.CarolLee4Homes.com. 

Carol-I think you've done a great job with making the content your own. Have you received any leads yet?

Not a one!  But feel free to send me referrals!  I will take care of them!  Maybe a link from your site for Southern California real estate??  lol

Hi again Carol,

Your site is looking god.  Here are a few recommedations:

• any where you have CarolLee4homes.com on your home page replace it with your most important keywords. I am guess that is Conejo Valley real estate.
• Take you email address of your site and just hotlink to your contact me page. It will just get you a lot of spam and if you are using pr webmail the spam filter is terrible
• link to the appropriate pages on you home have where it says Free Professional Home Evaluation and New Listings Notification. It is easy to do just high light the text and click on the chain icon at the top of the editor and choose Your Page (or whatever it says) and then pick the page out from the drop down list.
• Move you pick and contact info and pic thing to the left hand column.
• THere is an I missing here on the about you page:

  I have been living and working here in the Conejo Valley since 1990, and so know the area inside and out, with all the nuances any area can have.

• Move the contact me button to the bottom of the menu. People expect it to be there. They will stil find it and you can move up that important MLS Search button
• And on the MLS Search page add more keywords. Instead of " Search MLS Listing" make it "Search Conejo Valley mls listings" . Do this for the Open house page as well.
• Anonymous comments are disabled on your blog. I would allow them. YOu might not get any but its nice for people to have the option.

Okay I'll stop and I hav eto go and make some grilled cheese sandwiches..... you've made a great start and I am sure you will have success with the site in time. Oh one last hint, register your domain name for several years. Some "experts" would say to register it for as long as possible.

Oh, one more thing. If possibe get a keyword rich URL as your main URL realestateconejo.com is available according to my search on www.nameboy.com

 

Hey, Matthew, thank you so much for your input. I think it may be too late to change my main URL a keyword one - think you mean so that instead of CarolLee4Homes.com, it would be CarolLee4Agoura.com, for example, is that correct? I have already put it out there as I have it, I don't know that I should switch it.  I do have a couple other domain names,- CarolLee4Westlake.com, and I don't remember what else.  Guess I should get CarolLee4WestlakeHomes.com, or something to that effect, eh?  At least they will be secondary domains. 

I am hoping to work on the web site tomorrow, as I have a meeting tonight, Unless someone wants me to show them property tomorrow in the rain?

Good Luck, my point 2 seems to work great for a free website.  I have ranked well with this site.

Hi Lisa- your site looks nice.  Did you do it all yourself?  What theme did you use?

I too say welcome to point2agent..... I signed up a couple months ago and love it.... I have shared it with other agents as well. Still working on SEO.  I used to have AA... wasn't happy about 4 years ago and droped them. Started to set up another one last year and they would not listen to what I wanted... so it was bye bye again before I even got stated. I do have a TP site too.

Carol-I will keep you mind for referrals, but I don't do link exchanges with other agents, because search engines look down on it.

Matthew-Wow! You really looked over her site, that was very nice of you. 

Lisa- The site listed in your profile isn't your point2 site is it?

Roland-Are you doing the standard site site or the paid one?

There is so much to learn, with so little time.

Nicholas-Yeah, tell me about it!!!!

There is so much to learn on SEO.  I am still learning after 3 years.  Though I am on page one for 3 or 4 searchs on Google for my area.  I have an advanced access site.  Yes I am mad about the down times.  But hopefully they will get better.  Unfortunately they taught us to do something that was then banned by the search engines.  The criteria changes and you have to adapt.  It is tough but we have to work through it.

Russ-Once you think you learned something new they go and change it on you. I still haven't gave up on my AA site. I've had them so long and their customer service has been great. I've been having some issues with my point2 site, so I am leaning more to working on my AA site. I've seen plenty of AA sites on page 1 for key search terms and at one time mine did well in Yahoo. There is a lot of competition in my area and if I'm really honest, I haven't worked on my site as much as I should have.

I really like using Point2Point.....  The handshake is the best !

I have been using point2agent.

I must admit i havn't shown it much time as I'm Busy with active rain and looking all around the net. I'll get back to it soon. I need to subscribe to the upgrade but again I'm too busy!

 

Roland- Never figured out the handshake thing yet.

Paul-I'm with you, just haven't had much time myself.

Welcome to Point2, Pam! I'm a little tardy popping in on ActiveRain because I've been very busy. A few comments: iframing or RSSing your ActiveRain blog into your Point2 site will do little, if anything for your SEO on your Point2 site; it will just be seen as duplicate content. You can ignore the negative comments about Point2 sites being bad for SEO. I have several design client sites on Google page 1 for major keyphrases thanks to the work of several different SEO companies.

Suzanne-I kind of thought that doing the iframing with the active rain wouldn't do any good. I have seen examples of the sites you have worked on and I've researched google stuff and I have no doubt they can do well in the search engines. I've had information overload and haven't done much with my standard site.

I have had a Point 2 site now for a few months. So far, I love it. I already have had people contact me and said they saw my site. If anyone wants to check it out and give me feedback on anything I could do better I would love to hear from you. My site is: www.olsenre.com

 

 

 

 

Carol-Your site looks great. Are you doing the standard site?

Hi Pam!  Thanks for the kind words!  No, it is the professional site.  And I have to admit, I have hired someone to spiff it up for me, and do some of the writing, which is in progress.  If it was totally up to me, it would never happen!  I just got the domain name(s) and web site in December, so this is all pretty new to me.  I am anxiously waiting for my first internet leads!!

Carol,

The site is looking good, but why have the first thing visitors read to be links away from your site. The links are better on an internal page. It also makes your site into a 4 column set and that is just too busy. The same with the weather, its a link off of your site.

And for your blog link I would suggest that instead of just having the URL (that I couldn't click on) that you hyper link some text that might look like this "Read Carol's OTSEGO-DELAWARE COUNTY Blog".

One last suggestion; there are too much going on the with the text in terms of font colors, bold, ALL CAPS, scrolling marquee. I would simplify it. One font size, one font colour, some taste bolding of keywords.

Oh, one more thing about that text, I would hyper link to the pages you are talking about in terms of "Sign up to receive all the newest listings in the OTSEGO-DELAWARE COUNTY MLS- Just click on HOME SEARCH (link on the left side) and you will get all the New Listings absoultely FREE! " and also the Home Evaluation instead of directing the visitor over to the menu.  PS Absolutely is is spelled wrong

Okay have to run. Just my 2c.

Thanks, Matthes for your input!  Like I said, the site is being worked on by some one else, and I am guessing a lot of that will change.  I will print out your comments for future reference.

I don't even like the way the first page looks!  Just too much words and busy stuff!! 

 

One more question, Matthew- you mentioned my blog link-

"And for your blog link I would suggest that instead of just having the URL (that I couldn't click on) that you hyper link some text that might look like this "Read Carol's OTSEGO-DELAWARE COUNTY Blog".

which link where???  And  on which page is absolutely spelled wrong?  That is usually my lousy typing!  (like your name in the last comment, sorry!  My son's middle name is Mathew, one "T", and he hates that spelling!  I told him he is 18 now, he can change it if he likes!

Geez Carol Lee, when I saw your comment right after I wrote mine I thought I was really being an idiot, but thankfully I wasn't. My comments were for Carol Olsen whose comment is just a couple above mine.

I guess your son gets all the door mat jokes...

Matthew- okay, so now I get it!  I was wondering what you were talking about with the scrolling stuff and four columns!

And, no, no door matt jokes- Mathew is his midle name, he goes by Derek, D, Dude, whatever, but never Matt!

I already have a website (that I've paid over $3000 to create), but I'm going to do a test drive on Point2Agent -- I had NO IDEA that it was FREE.

Thanks for the blog!

Kerry, Point2 has just announced a change in its free Standard site offering:

"In order to help maintain the quality of Point2 NLS listing data and Handshake relationship, and to help ensure that the reliability and speed of the Point2 NLS system are constantly improved, the Standard Point2 NLS membership is now $9.95 per month, with the first six months free.
 
All current members who signed up before February 20, 2008 have been granted a permanent exception for their current accounts.  The Standard memberships will continue to be completely free of charge, for as long as the member wishes to continue using it."

Kerry-Suzanne beat me to it, I was going to tell you about their new fee system.

Suzanne- You are too fast!

Wow that is a huge change! I wonder how it will effect the business.

I'm curious to see what will happen with customer support for free members vs paying Standard member vs. Pro and Premium members. There have been so many complaints about slow email customer support for free members that I am concerned that they may get a bad impression of the kind of customer support they might expect if they upgraded.

I have had my Point2 site for almost two years.  www.oceancitywaterfront.om While I am only on page 2 right now for "Ocean Pines Maryland real estate" I am on page 1 if you add agent to the end.  Also a lot of my active rain posts are on page 1 for various key words "ocean pines Maryland new listings".  The combination of Point2 and AR have really benefited my business.

Matthew-I think it was thought of by the new management team. I'm assuming the first 6 months are free and then if you want to keep it, it's 9.99 or if you want to quit you can, that it's not a contract. 

Suzanne-I've never emailed them so I can't comment, but they haven't confirmed my real estate license even after faxing it to them, so I'm not ready to jump on board yet.

Scott-Is there alot of competition in your area?

There is quite a bit of competition here with a lot of agents web sites showing in Goggle searches.  It is harder for Ocean City. I am lucky that in the AR community there is not much competition in my area.  I am #1 for my county and for ocean pines and currently # 42 for the state of Maryland.  Also check the Point2homes web site http://homes.point2.com/ You will also show up there. Search for agents in your area and see what your competition is. I am fortunate enough to be # 1 for the state of Maryland.  It all feeds on itself.

Scott-It's the same in my area, however like you, there's not much competition in Active rain in my area.

Pam,

That is a good thing.  When a customer clicks on the Localism or AR link because of your bloging there are fewer agents that will show as either having a blog post or as an agent in your area.

I invite you all to obtain "SEO Secrets for Realtors" FREE (and no one will call you) and learn a little more about SEO and Online Marketing Services for Real Estate Professionals. Just go to this link and dwnload it, FREE: http://www.theblackwatercg.com/SEO_Secrets_2.pdf  

 

You can be on the first pages of the search engines. There is a real company who does this daily, it's Compass Search (Blackwater advises this company). They have thousands of orgainc real estate terms of their clients on the first pages of the major search engines and include coaching, analytics (the best), SEO and first page placement is guaranteed. And, as for Point2 sites being not SEO Friendly, that is simply not so. Also, anyone subscribing with us who is a Point2 Standard subscriber gets up to TWO YEARS of Point2 Pro, FREE when they subscribe. Check it out at www.Point2.com  or at www.CompassInternetSystems.com.

 

Again, NO ONE wil call you.

 

Best regards,

 

Mike Parker

mparker@theBlackcwaterCG.com

Mike-Thank you for the info, I will go check it out.

We love our Point2 site. Although I've had it for over 3 years, it's only been this past year that I've aggressively worked on SEO through blogging and keywords, and it's finally paying off. We're in the top 5 in the state

Let us know how you like Point2.

Debra-glad to hear it's going well. I've actually decided that I'm dropping AA in April and I'm not going with Point2 either. I'm going to get a blogsite instead.

Pam-point2 is great and free! I used the point2 websites for a little while. They are very cutting edge as a company and always trying something new.

 

good luck

  Good information, I will be using on my point 2 website

I have point2 website for past 4 years and I love the technology they introduce. 

Dave-Free is good. Thanks for stopping by.

Doug-I always learn somehing new when I get on AR

Ritu-How's the leads coming along?

"Our standard package is free and will always be free - believe it".

A direct quote from Point2's materials when I signed up.

Then I get an email first thing this morning from they say "No More Free Website for you Zirbes". In so many words--see the actual email below...

What a shame.

No wonder trust of institutions is at an all-time low.

Point2 made commitments and is not keeping them.

 

Jim

www.RealtyBlogger.info

www.JimZirbes.com

 

=========

On Tue, Feb 3, 2009 at 3:35 AM, Point2 Agent <agent@point2agent.com> wrote:
>
>
> Important Message About Your Point2 Account
> Dear Jim:
>
> 2009 promises to be a positive turning point for the economy and for the
> real estate industry and Point2 is amping up its commitment to delivering
> the best products on the market to help you build your business. Our
> products will continue to offer syndication, analytics, predictive marketing
> tools and more, features and functionality not offered by most of our
> competitiors and essential to your success in a Web 2.0 world.
>
> This year we will focus on dramatic speed and stability improvements, the
> release of new features to bring you more clients, and on improving existing
> features to help you outperform your competition.
>
> In order to accomplish our goals, we have added 10 Senior Software
> Developers to our Point2 Agent team.
>
> To achieve these improvements, effective March 9, 2009, Point2 will no
> longer be hosting any free Standard accounts. The price of the Standard
> membership is $9.95 per month, and we are more than confident in our ability
> to deliver many times that amount in value to you each and every month.
>
> We have devoted ourselves to helping you achieve a successful and lucrative
> 2009, and want to continue to deliver exceptional service. Point2 hopes
> never to find itself in the position of sacrificing service quality for
> paying members because of its support of free accounts.
>
> We sincerely appreciate your loyalty and commitment to Point2's products.
> Your business is very important to us, and as such, we are offering a number
> of immediate benefits to coincide with this change. As of your first
> payment:
>
> Your website will no longer display third-party advertising
> Your account will be credited with 4 Point2 Homes spotlight ads (a $100
> value)
> A series of special Education Sessions will be made available on topics
> aimed at helping you to generate substantial business via your Point2 Agent
> platform.
>
> This is just the beginning. We cannot wait to get to work in helping you to
> succeed and we sincerely hope that you believe that our product delivers
> enough value to warrant its nominal cost.
>
> For more information, please consult the FAQ.
>
> We appreciate your understanding and look forward to serving you through
> 2009 and beyond.
>
> Most Sincerely,
>
> Saul Klein
> CEO, Point2 Technologies
>
> This message was sent to you because you are a licensed user of Point2 Real
> Estate software.

 

Jim-I got that email too. I never went forward with point2. I decided to get a blog site instead, I wasn't too crazy about the point2 sites.

I have a point 2 site, am not thrilled, but at the moment am doing other things and don't feel like taking the time to make changes.  If nothing else, their outgoing email server is awful.  When I spoke to customer service, they tried to pin it to my internet service provider, but my outgong emails from my personal email address go out. fine.  But emails going out from my P2 Site sometimes sit in the server forever!