links for 2008-04-02
April 1, 2008
Posted by Rick Garcia in del.icio.us links 
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links for 2008-02-29
February 28, 2008
Posted by Rick Garcia in del.icio.us links No Comments »
My named Optimized
February 20, 2008
I did a search on Google today for the search term “rick garcia” (no known relation). Originally, I intended to JUST get my name in the search engines, any search engine, after I searched for my name a couple of years ago and didn’t get a single hit. After two years I’m happy to be on the first page of the major search engines, rising as high as #2 for “rick garcia”, with a single optimized page, www.keeeeez.com/blog/. I’m pretty happy with the results. It’s interesting to note that I didn’t use rick or garcia in a URL.
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links for 2008-01-17
January 16, 2008
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Ties Joomla in with Open Realty…not perfect, but free!
Posted by Rick Garcia in del.icio.us links 1 Comment »
Real Estate Site Update
January 16, 2008
Development is coming along well on my site. I was able to import over 23,000 listings from the Sandicor MLS along with the photos. Things I’m still working on are making the Real Estate Listing pages more Search Engine Friendly. Right now they have a bunch of weird characters normally associated with dynamic content sites. I’ve tried several tools, and even my hand at .htacess ARGH!
I’m also having minor javascript issues with my images. Haven’t been able to devote a whole lot of time to this. Last, I still need to finish up (1) Template Design for the Open Realty Search, Search Results, and Detail pages, and (2) I have about 50 pages of static content left to put up on my site.
On a Social Media side note, I’ve integrated a Community Directory into the site, where subscribers will be able to either enter their San Diego related businesses into, or viewers will be able to rate the individual business listings. I’ve also incorporated commenting within the Joomla Blog section (still haven’t been able to find an alternative), where subscribers can comment on any real estate postings that I’ve made.
Sphere: Related Content Posted by Rick Garcia in Web Design, CMS Realty, Joomla, Open Realty, Real Estate SEO No Comments »
links for 2008-01-15
January 14, 2008
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Open source Real Estate CMS
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Joomla - Blogging Component Update - Rick Garcia
January 14, 2008
As none of the aftermarket Joomla Blogging components work with my other SEO components and Real Estate Components, my only alternative right now is to use the built-in Joomla features as my blog. I would have used a separate wordpress installation on a sub-domain but my html and css skills aren’t up to par to keep the site looking the same.
Sphere: Related Content Posted by Rick Garcia in Web Design, CMS Realty, Open Realty No Comments »
Building a Real Estate Site: Part 1
December 21, 2007
For the past few weeks I’ve been working on a new website for my real estate business. Designed to attract clients in the San Diego Real Estate market, I’ve managed to source many of the components, did much of the design, and now I’m moving on to the programming of the site.
I won’t say much about it except it’s a mashup of Joomla (open-source CMS), custom designed templates centered around a Yootheme template, custom joomla modules, Open Realty (real estate CMS), CMS Realty (integrates Joomla and Open Realty), and Sandicor RETS technologies.
Difficulties: Getting Joomla URLs search engine friendly and finding a blogging component that works with an SEF component for Joomla. I’ve been testing Mojo, a wordpress pluggin that works within Joomla. The problem is that the component doesn’t allow for the use of an SEF component that makes Joomla URLs look ‘not-joomla-like’.
Solution: wordpress blog on a subdomain. A Standalone wordpress solution with all the bells and whistles is much better than the Mojo solution. For one, all of the pluggins that you can get for wordpress, including an SEO pluggin that works wonders, will not work with Mojo. That means with Mojo - you’re left with the Article Title being used as the page title - not the best solution in terms of SEO.
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Me, Licensed CA Real Estate Broker
November 28, 2007
It’s official as of today- I’m now a Licensed California Real Estate Broker! I feel better about the countless hours of business planning that I’ve been doing, not even having that little piece of paper in my hand.
Now comes the painful part, giving money to the many different vendors required to start this venture. You’d be surprised at the expense. Let me give you a list of expenses that I can think of off of the top of my head. Lets see, if you’re a broker pursuing the loan side you have to consider this:
Loan origination Software, Website and/or Web design, (hopefully one that has an integrated 1033 that interfaces with your website), lead generating systems and/or strategic alliances, back-office software, HR software, business planning software, computer hardware, office hardware, office supplices, Business-number/Toll-free number, Incorporating fees, Business licensing fees, All different types of insurance, Broker/Lender package fees, netbranching expenses (necessary if you’re new to mortgage industry)Broker exam/licensing fees, fingerprinting fees, DBA fees, NAMB - CAMB membership fees, traditional marketing expenses. All of this without generating one cent of income. And that’s just the mortgage side.
If you decide to do the real estate side, there are additional expenses!
Thank god I got into this at the height of the market, LOL.
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Rick Garcia - Mortgage | Real Estate SEO and CMS Systems
November 16, 2007
I’ve been MIA for quite some time while I worked on a CA real estate license. Finally done, so hopefully I’ll get to post on my experiences with social media, web dev, etc in that area.
Sphere: Related Content Posted by Rick Garcia in Drupal, CMS Realty, Joomla, Open Realty, Real Estate SEO, Mortgage SEO 1 Comment »
