Category: Carrot News

  • How To Find High-Intent Real Estate Keywords and Dominate Your Market’s SEO Rankings

    How To Find High-Intent Real Estate Keywords and Dominate Your Market’s SEO Rankings

    Imagine this: a potential seller in your market frantically searches online for an investor who specializes in buying properties quickly. Suddenly, your website pops up at the top of the search results, showcasing your expertise in navigating the local market for these unique properties.

    This, my friends, is the magic of high-intent real estate keywords working their SEO wonders.

    For real estate investors and agents like you, specializing in niche markets and ranking high in generic searches might not be enough. That’s where high-intent keywords come in – laser-focusing your online presence to attract motivated sellers and buyers actively seeking your specific services.

    In this guide, we’ll equip you, the savvy real estate investor or agent, with the knowledge to unlock the power of high-intent keywords. By the end, you’ll be well on your way to dominating your local market’s SEO rankings, attracting a steady stream of qualified leads, and ultimately closing more deals.

    Why High-Intent Keywords Are Your Secret Weapon in Real Estate SEO

    Not all keywords are created equal. In the competitive world of real estate SEO, high-intent keywords are the golden ticket to attracting qualified leads and boosting your ROI. But what exactly are they, and why should you care?

    High-intent keywords are search terms used by people who are closer to making a decision. These keywords go beyond basic informational queries and signal a strong intent to take action. Imagine the difference between someone searching for “what is a condo?” (informational) and “sell my condo fast in [Location]” (high-intent). The latter searcher is a motivated seller actively looking for an agent in your area – your ideal client!

    By strategically incorporating high-intent keywords into your SEO strategy, you unlock a treasure trove of benefits:

    • Increased Conversion Rates: Attract leads who are already pre-qualified and ready to move forward. High-intent keywords connect you with sellers actively seeking to sell their property, maximizing your chances of converting leads into paying clients.
    • Improved ROI on Marketing Efforts: Forget the scatter-shot approach. High-intent keywords allow you to target your marketing efforts laser-sharp, reaching the most relevant audience primed for your services. This translates to a more efficient use of your marketing budget and a higher return on investment.
    • Attract Motivated Sellers and Buyers: High-intent keywords act like a magnet for sellers and buyers who are serious about their real estate needs. You’ll be attracting a pool of highly motivated clients eager to discuss their needs, streamlining your lead nurturing process.

    In a nutshell, high-intent keywords are the bridge between potential clients and your expertise. They ensure you’re connecting with the right people at the right time, ultimately leading to a thriving real estate business.

    Uncovering High-Intent Real Estate Keywords: Your SEO Treasure Map

    The path to dominating your local market’s SEO rankings starts with uncovering the golden nuggets of real estate – high-intent keywords. But these gems won’t be found by chance. Let’s delve into the treasure chest of research strategies to identify the keywords that will attract a flood of motivated sellers and buyers to your doorstep.

    1. Keyword Research Tools: Your Powerful Pickaxes

    Just like Carrot farms wouldn’t head to the fields empty-handed, you shouldn’t embark on your keyword research journey without the right tools. Here are some popular options to consider:

    • Carrot Keyword Finder (Carrot Members): This powerful tool helps you analyze your website and the competition’s website to find the next keyword to target in your SEO strategy.
    carrot keyword explorer url example
    Carrot Keyword Explorer
    • Google Keyword Planner (Free): A great starting point, Keyword Planner allows you to research search volume, competition level, and related keywords for your target terms.
    • SEMrush & Ahrefs (Paid): Offering more advanced features like keyword difficulty score, competitor keyword analysis, and backlink tracking, these tools provide deeper insights for a more comprehensive strategy.

    2. Understanding User Intent: Decoding the Search Motive

    Not all searches are created equal. Some users are just browsing for information (informational intent), while others are ready to take action (transactional intent). The key to identifying high-intent keywords lies in understanding user intent.

    Here’s a breakdown:

    • Informational Intent: Keywords like “benefits of buying a condo” or “what to consider when selling a house” indicate the user is in the research phase. While valuable for brand awareness, these keywords might not translate directly into immediate leads.
    • Transactional Intent: Keywords like “sell my condo fast ” or “ + first-time homebuyer guide with realtor contact” showcase a strong desire to take action. These are the high-intent keywords you should prioritize, as they connect you with motivated leads ready to work with a real estate agent.

    3. Local Keyword Targeting: Think Geographically

    In the world of real estate, location is everything. For local SEO dominance, incorporating location-specific keywords into your strategy is crucial. Here’s how:

    • City + Property Type: Target keywords like “ + [niche property type] for sale” or “ + best realtor for selling [niche property type].”
    • Neighborhood Targeting: Get even more specific by including popular neighborhoods in your market (e.g., “‘s + [neighborhood] + real estate agent”).

    4. Competitor Analysis: Spy on the Competition (Ethically!)

    There’s no shame in learning from the best (or, in this case, the most successful). Analyzing your competitors’ keyword usage can reveal valuable insights and uncover gaps in your own strategy. Here’s what to watch for:

    • Top Ranking Websites: Identify the websites ranking high in your local market and analyze their keyword usage. Tools like SEMrush can help you do this.
    • Common Keywords: See which keywords your competitors are targeting and use this information to identify potentially valuable keywords for your own strategy.
    • Untapped Opportunities: Look for gaps in your competitors’ keyword strategy – these could be niche terms or long-tail keywords that present an opportunity to stand out.

    5. Long-Tail Keywords: Cast a Targeted Net

    Don’t underestimate the power of long-tail keywords! These highly specific phrases, like “ + first-time homebuyer guide with realtor contact,” attract targeted leads with a clear intent to buy (or sell) a specific property type. While individual search volume might be lower, long-tail keywords often face less competition and can lead to higher conversion rates.

    Long-Tail Keywords

    By combining these research strategies, you’ll be well-equipped to unearth the high-intent keywords that will unlock a treasure trove of qualified leads for your real estate business. Remember, the more you understand your target audience’s search intent and tailor your keyword strategy accordingly, the higher you’ll climb the local SEO rankings and the closer you’ll get to dominating your market.

    Putting High-Intent Keywords to Work: Building Your SEO Empire

    Unearthing valuable high-intent keywords is just the first step. Now, it’s time to transform them into SEO gold by strategically integrating them into your online presence. Here are the key implementation strategies to supercharge your local market dominance:

    1. On-Page Optimization: Plant Your SEO Seeds

    Think of your website as fertile ground for SEO growth. To cultivate success, you must plant high-intent keywords throughout your website’s content. Here’s where to focus:

    • Page Titles & Meta Descriptions: Craft compelling titles and descriptions that incorporate your high-intent keywords naturally. These snippets are like shop windows, enticing potential clients to click through.
      • Example: Instead of a generic title like “John Smith Real Estate,” try “ + [Niche Property Type] Expert | John Smith Real Estate.”
    • Headings & Subheadings: Structure your content with clear headings and subheadings that include your high-intent keywords. This improves readability and helps search engines understand your content’s relevance.
    • Body Content: Don’t just stuff keywords! Weave them naturally throughout your content, ensuring it remains informative and engaging for your audience.

    2. Content Marketing: Become a Local Market Authority

    High-quality, informative content is the lifeblood of a successful SEO strategy. Creating content targeting your high-intent keywords establishes yourself as a trusted authority in your local market. Here are some content ideas:

    • Blog Posts: Write engaging blog posts that address common pain points and questions your target audience might have. Use your high-intent keywords throughout the content and consider formats like “ + Real Estate Market Update” or “[Niche Property Type] Selling Guide for .” Carrot does this for you! Learn more about our Automated Content Library.
    • Market Reports: Offer valuable insights into your local market by creating downloadable reports that showcase your expertise. Integrate high-intent keywords throughout the report and promote it on social media and through email marketing.
    • Neighborhood Guides: Craft informative guides highlighting specific neighborhoods in your market. This is a great way to target location-specific keywords and showcase your knowledge of the local area.

    3. Local Business Listings: Claim Your Local Territory

    In the digital world of real estate, claiming your territory starts with local business listings. Here’s what you need to do:

    • Google My Business: This is your online storefront for local searches. Claim and optimize your Google My Business profile, ensuring your NAP (Name, Address, Phone Number) information is consistent across all platforms. Include relevant high-intent keywords in your profile description.
    • Other Local Directories: Don’t neglect other local directories relevant to your market. Search for real estate agent listings, business directories, and local chambers of commerce to claim and optimize your profiles, incorporating high-intent keywords where applicable.

    4. Backlink Building: Earn Trustworthy Votes

    Backlinks are essentially votes of confidence from other websites. The more high-authority websites link back to yours using relevant high-intent keywords as anchor text, the higher your website’s ranking in search results. Here are some strategies:

    • Guest Blogging: Contribute guest articles to local news websites, real estate blogs, or industry publications. Include high-intent keywords naturally within your content and link back to your website.
    • Local Business Partnerships: Partner with complementary businesses in your area (e.g., mortgage lenders, home inspectors, contractors) to explore backlink opportunities. Offer to write a blog post for their website in exchange for a backlink with a relevant high-intent keyword.
    • Community Engagement: Actively participate in online forums and social media groups relevant to your local market. Provide valuable insights and expertise, and include a link back to your website when appropriate.

    Now that you’re armed with the knowledge to unlock the power of high-intent keywords, it’s time to take action! Review your website content and local listings, and identify opportunities to integrate your high-intent keywords strategically.

    By implementing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to building a dominant SEO presence in your local market, attracting a steady stream of qualified leads, and ultimately achieving your real estate business goals.

    Bonus Section: Common High-Intent Keyword Missteps to Avoid

    While high-intent keywords are your key to SEO success, there are a few common pitfalls to steer clear of:

    1. Keyword Stuffing: Don’t force high-intent keywords into your content unnaturally. This can create a clunky reading experience and actually harm your SEO ranking. Focus on creating informative and engaging content that integrates keywords seamlessly.

    2. Ignoring Search Volume: While high-intent is crucial, consider search volume too. Don’t get so niche that your target keywords have minimal search traffic. Aim for a balance between high intent and reasonable search volume to ensure you reach a relevant audience.

    3. Neglecting Long-Tail Keywords: Yes, long-tail keywords might have lower individual search volume, but they often face less competition and can lead to highly qualified leads. Don’t underestimate their power!

    4. Forgetting Local SEO: For real estate agents, location is king. Don’t just target generic high-intent keywords. Incorporate location-specific terms like “ + [Niche Property Type]” to attract clients in your local market.

    5. Underestimating Content Quality: High-intent keywords are just one piece of the SEO puzzle. Always prioritize creating high-quality, informative content that provides value to your target audience. Search engines favor websites with fresh, valuable content, so prioritize quality over quantity.

    By avoiding these common mistakes and implementing the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to leveraging the power of high-intent keywords to dominate your local market’s SEO rankings and establish yourself as the go-to real estate expert for your niche property type.

    Conclusion: Reap the Rewards of High-Intent SEO

    The journey to real estate SEO dominance starts with a treasure hunt for high-intent keywords. By strategically integrating these powerful keywords into your online presence, you’ll unlock a wealth of benefits:

    • Attract Qualified Leads: High-intent keywords connect you with motivated sellers and buyers actively seeking your services, maximizing your chances of converting leads into paying clients.
    • Boost Local Market Visibility: Targeted keywords ensure your website ranks higher in local searches, making you the go-to expert for [Niche Property Type] real estate in [Location].
    • Become a Local Authority: Creating informative content rich in high-intent keywords establishes you as a trusted advisor in your market, fostering client confidence and brand loyalty.

    Remember, the key to SEO success lies in understanding your target audience’s search intent and tailoring your online presence accordingly. By following the strategies outlined in this guide, you’ll be well on your way to:

    • Dominating local SEO rankings for your niche market.
    • Attracting a steady stream of qualified leads eager to discuss their [Niche Property Type] needs.
    • Ultimately, thriving in the dynamic world of real estate.

    Ready to take action and transform your website into a high-intent keyword magnet?

    Here’s how you can get started:

    • Subscribe to our blog for ongoing SEO tips and tricks to stay ahead of the curve in the ever-evolving digital landscape.
    • Download our free guide: “The Ultimate List of High-Intent Real Estate Keywords” to discover a treasure trove of valuable keywords specifically tailored to your niche market and location.

    Don’t wait – unlock the power of high-intent keywords today and watch your real estate business flourish!

  • Announcing Carrot’s New “Ask Carrot” Show

    Announcing Carrot’s New “Ask Carrot” Show

    Ask Carrot - New Live Show w/ CEO Trevor Mauch

    Hey guys and gals. Trevor here with Carrot. We have an amazing, amazing announcement for you. So, I and Mr. Carrot back there, aka Brady the camera guy, we are launching a brand new episode of The CarrotCast. So, there will now be two episodes every single week!

    What we’re doing is we’re gonna be answering your questions with an episode every single Thursday that’s live called Ask Carrot.

    Now, what is Ask Carrot? Ask Carrot is going to be a 30-minute live podcast on Facebook and streamed on YouTube, where we’re going to be answering questions from you live, or taking some out of the bank of ones that I get all the time.

    I get Facebook messages, I get Instagram messages. We want to answer your questions. It’s for both real estate agents and real estate investors. It could be anyone that’s just in my personal community, or a client’s, and want to know how to manage money, how to grow your income, advice on business, advice on life, or how do you scale your business.

    I don’t care what it is. I’m going be there for 30 full minutes every single Thursday for Ask Carrot.

    Just go to oncarrot.com/ask to find out all the information about the show. Make sure to set your calendar for every single Thursday.

    You’re going be able to pick up tips, tricks, insights, and really, really fun, awesome stuff from myself, other Carrot team members, and amazing Carrot team leaders like you.

    We’ll see you there!

    The Details:

    When? The first episode will be on Thursday, February 28th at 1 PM Pacific and each Thursday at 1 PM Pacific going forward.

    Where? Join us on YouTube, Facebook, or Instagram!

    How? Submit your questions in advance on oncarrot.com/Ask OR hop on the live chat on our YouTube channel!

  • 9 Carrot-tested Resources for Building a World-class Support Team

    9 Carrot-tested Resources for Building a World-class Support Team

    There’s a lot of resources available when it comes to increasing your skills. At Carrot, we want to focus on being the best at providing strategies, websites and support so that your business can be the best business out there.

    We want to share a few resources with you on how you can help serve people you connect with.

    These resources have served our team well. It’s applicable to anyone who is looking to provide phenomenal service in their business.

    We are going to keep this as short as possible but would love to hear from you regarding your recommendations and suggestions!

    Here are 9 Carrot-tested Resources for Building a World-class Support Team

    3 Great Podcasts

    Lee Cockerell – Talks about how to create magic within your business based on your interactions with your business. The episodes are short, perfect for a commute, and rife with applicable information.

    Beyond Philosophy – A great podcast for those who love the science behind interactions. This podcast talks breaks down the psychology and emotion behind your customer’s behavior. Plus, they’re British!

    StoryBrand – A novel our team read about how to position yourself in the story of your prospects’ success. We gleaned much from our book club and would love to share this podcast hosted by author Donald Miller.

    5 Must-read Books

    There’s something about the texture and smell of a book that makes you want to cozy up and go on a journey with the author. These books are a handful of the ones we have read and studied along the way of building Carrot.

    Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose
    This is the first book members of our team read.

    Tony Hsieh of Zappos leads you through a biographical encounter for how his business grew by focusing on customer support and learning to listen to his customers and employees.

    His cultural insights are imperative if you are looking to scale and build a larger customer success team.

    The Effortless Experience: Conquering the New Battleground for Customer Loyalty
    We love this book and its insight into how our entire world is shifting to self-serve and how quickly things are happening. The Effortless Experience engages its reader and connects the dots between self-service and support.

    It will walk you through how you can support someone by making things as easy as possible without enabling the person you are supporting. It provides insight into tracking encounters to measure that effort and how likely someone would be to return to your service. The authors dive into the ways someone can experience frustration and hindrance in massive and minute ways.

    A must-read if you find that your product and service can be a bit complicated at times.

    Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
    Our entire company read this book together and the ensuing candid conversations were priceless. This book is a must-read for any team looking to improve their communications and increase involvement. You must read this book!

    Turn The Ship Around: A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders
    Can we make this into a movie? Navy Lieutenant David Marquet recites his experience in turning the worst performing submarine into the best and how it was achieved through the way he spoke with others.

    His insight into letting folks own their station and to be accountable are unparalleled. Turn The Ship Around is a great book on overall leadership to allow your team to drive the ship and destination. It’s an amazing resource to learn how to encourage ownership.

    Lean Analytics: Use Data To Build A Startup Faster
    Don’t fall asleep! I promise this is not your bedtime book. It is your go-to if you are looking for key performance indicators to tell you what is working well with your service.

    This book is part of the Lean Startup series and covers many different businesses, not just a SaaS business, but also a B2B company, a B2C company, and much more.

    It will teach you what to look for and ways to track it for maximum return on investment. This book is a must for any team looking to improve the profitability of a support team.

    1 Conclusion

    We want to leave you with this quote from Nick Mehta…

    “…Just as sales is both a team and a cross-functional activity, Customer Success is a company-wide matter. Literally, Customer Success involves shifting the orientation of your company from your product or your sales to your customers’ success.”

    Gainsight has some amazing keys and insight in their PDF, 10 Laws of Customer Success.

    If you are in business, you are in the business of serving and it’s a constant practice of which you should never lose focus. We truly hope those resources help and would love to know:
    What resources do you use to help your customers?

  • Carrot Year in Review – The Best of 2018

    Carrot Year in Review – The Best of 2018

    As in years past, Carrot and our members had an excellent year. Here’s a brief snapshot of some of the amazing stories and things that happened in 2018.

    It was an exceptional year for our Carrot members and another year of HUGE growth for our team and company. With the intention of amplifying our members, we use our Mission… “Add humanity to business and help people regain time for the things that matter.”

    Let’s recap some of the cool stuff in this quick post!

    2018 Carrot Review

    Carrot members crushed lead generation

    We launched many NEW Features for our members

    It was a year of giving… when all said and done, Carrot will be donating close to $60,000 to different charities

    The CarrotCast Podcast continues to inspire

    AgentCarrot is officially available to the World

    Our team grew by 10 this year as we continue to innovate and be the leader in our industry.

    … and more!

    Here we go!

    Hundreds of Thousands of Leads … You’re Crushing It!

    Our members made another big leap in lead numbers in 2018. With over 315,000 leads coming in this year (when you DON’T count phone call leads… which we can’t track in Google Analytics currently) you’re pulling in more AdWords, SEO, Facebook, and social media online leads as a collective group than any other real estate investor and agent lead generation platform… by far. Keep crushing it!

    Carrot Member Goal Completions (Leads) January 1 – December 25, 2018

    53% of Leads Came From Mobile Devices

    53% of Carrot Member Completions (Leads) Came from Mobile Devices

    Which States Converted More Leads? Well…

    Carrot Member Completions (Leads) Per State – Top 10 –

    Texas reigns as the busiest lead volume state in 2018. Compared to 2017, Missouri fell from the top 5 and Virginia cracked the top 10 overtaking Tennessee this year.

     Major NEW Features Launched

    A Core Value of ours is “Consistent Improvement and Innovation“… and both our members and Carrot continue to push this value. In addition to the features we released in 2018, we helped our members spend more time focusing on their business …

    Here is a look back on some of the features our AMAZING team rolled out in 2018 (but not limited to)…

    All of these while keeping our member’s needs in our focus.

    Logo Credibility Bar

    Hemlock Design

     We Launched AgentCarrot!

    AgentCarrot Real Estate Agent Websites

    For years, the way Carrot clients have dominated their markets online started with a highly optimized website (for SEO and lead conversion) then amplified with our content marketing tools and training.

    We had been in the beta phase with AgentCarrot for the past year and after amazing, amazing feedback from our Agent members, we were crazy excited to release the full version in April.

    Our vision is to continue to improve how real estate agents and investors grow their business leveraging the web.

    We’d like to send a special thanks to all of those who contributed to AgentCarrot’s success. Both to our members and the Carrot team!

    Learn more about AgentCarrot Real Estate Agent Websites!

    Carrot – Honored to Be On the Inc. 5000 List

    Inc. 5000… Carrot’s #699!

    This year we were placed at the 699th fastest growing company in the nation according to the Inc. 5000 list. Major Kudos to the Carrot team and our members. We wouldn’t be here without an amazing product, team, and amazing members.

    Here are 10 more reasons why Carrot is one of the fastest growing Start-ups in the Nation.

    Top 5 CarrotCast Episodes of 2018

    The CarrotCast podcast had over 97,000 unique downloads in 2018. Here are the top five episodes of the year.

    [podcast-subscribe]

    Negotiation Psychology: How To Talk With A House Seller to Close More Deals + Help More People w/ John Martinez

    I see a lot of good, really good, salespeople and a lot of really bad salespeople. You can tell whose good by how often people talk and when they talk, what they say. So, real quick, the best salespeople in the world in all industries … they talk maybe 10% of the time and when they do open their mouths it’s with the question.

    John Martinez

    After 20 Years Tyler Was Going To Give Up Real Estate Until He Made These 3 Changes w/ Tyler Fordreal estate investor success Tyler ford

    Long story short, I had my main guy that had worked with for ten years, did all of my rehabs, totally trusted him. I was getting ready to go out of town and he was going to be finished with this job before I got back and I prepaid him and also loaded up a Home Depot card. I can home and no work was done and he was nowhere to be found.

    Tyler Ford

    How Krista Sold 144 Homes Last Year in One of the Hottest Markets – Her Strategy and Story w/ Krista Mashore

    … Agents, if you’re out there listening, people need to like and trust you. I mean you’re going to have a much easier time of gaining clients if they know, like, and trust you. They get to know and trust you by seeing you. By you showing up everywhere. Why are you giving them value by you helping them and I’ll you value, value, value.

    Krista Mashore

    How to Stay Ahead of Current Real Estate Market Cycles to Build Financial Freedom w/ Ramon Gonzalez

    You know guys, that’s a two-edged sword. Everyone talks about debt with things go right, but I’ve been there with that when it doesn’t go right. It’s like right now people say oh you know what I just start off the loan and take a little piece. What for? 12% sounds pretty nice and I still get to go hang out with my daughter. I want more life. I don’t want more drama or more headaches.

    Ramon Gonzalez

    What It Takes To Go From Being Broke to Closing 100+ Deals Per Year w/ Justin Colby

    People talk about this a lot, you gotta believe it before you see it and I’m truly and example of this. I didn’t even really know how to do any of this but I believed I can make an impression in the real estate community. In the investment world I knew it could create an income that I would be happy with but I also knew I could create a life that I wanted.

    Justin Colby

    Hundreds of “Doses Of Awesomeness” From Our Members

    We LOVE to hear stories from our members that are helping them change their businesses and their lives! So much that we have a dedicated #Awesomeness channel in Slack.

    Here are just a few examples of the ones we get each and every week… not counting the hundreds that happen that we never hear about!

    World-Class Net Promoter Score

    Carrot 2018 NPS

    How do you know if you’re providing value and happiness to your members? How do you know if you’re failing? By using “Net Promoter Score”. It’s basically a question that asks how likely you are to recommend Carrot to a friend or colleague.

    With thousands of responses in 2018 the majority scored us a 9 or 10… leaving us with an impressive NPS of 68.8%.

    To put that into perspective, here is what some of the most respected companies in the world have scored for their NPS:

    Image Source: Retently

    One of our core values is to “Deliver WOW Through Great Service” we’ll continue to go all out in 2019 to make our clients excited, happy, and successful, and to change the way people expect companies to serve them in the future after they experience service the “Carrot Way”.

    We Added 3300 YouTube Subscribers and Accumulated Over 2,500,000 Watch Time Minutes…  That’s Over 1736 Days!

    Carrot YouTube Channel 2018 Stats

    Two Carrot Team Retreats + Growing Our Team… Again

    The Carrot team grew +10 this year as we continue to innovate and be the leader in our industry. Our first retreat took place in beautiful and at the time snowy, Sunriver, Oregon. Next, we took to the high seas. Well not quite. The Summer retreat was “boat access only!” in Lakeside, Oregon.

    Retreats are a great way to pull back, celebrate wins, and deep dive into high-level planning for the future.

    CarrotCamp (Spring and Fall 2018)

    The 2017 CarrotCamp was such a hit, we had to double it. So, we decided to have one in the Spring and Fall of 2018. CarrotCamp is not like most events. It’s not just a workshop or seminar, nor is it a retreat.

    We designed CarrotCamp so it fits more like an immersive experience where we deep dive into the campers world. It’s unplugging and getting out of the office and into nature. It’s also time to work with the Carrot team to get massive things done to uplevel marketing… all the while building relationships with other high-level real estate entrepreneurs that will hopefully last a lifetime.

    Thank you again 2018 CarrotCampers!

    Be on the lookout for CarrotCamp 2019 Editions. Kicking off May 20-21, 2019. Learn more about CarrotCamp Spring 2019.

     What An Amazing Year. And We’re Grateful To Have You On This Journey With Us.

    How Was Your Year? 

    How was your 2018? Let us know below in the comments section. The amazing, the fair, and the awful :-)

    Also… fire up your 2019 and get momentum building?

    These 2 resources are the most shared and commented we’ve ever made. They can change your life…

    Thank you for all you do and for inspiring us every day to do great things.

    Chat with you in 2019!

  • A Carrot Tradition: Holiday Giving 2018

    A Carrot Tradition: Holiday Giving 2018

    The Carrot Culture Team was back at it during the Holidays. Since our team has grown to over 20 team members, we wanted to do something to get everyone involved. So, we decided to go on individual shopping sprees for Toys for Tots.

    This year, we captured some images from the joy our team was spreading. It’s not a complete list. Some of the stories didn’t make it into our #livinglife chat, but we all contributed to others. Great work team! These are some pretty amazing, generous, and uplifting accounts.

    But… to get it started…

    Chris kicked off the holiday giving season with an annual Carrot charitable contribution, by dropping off a check today with Salem Dream Center.

    This is a good local organization, run by his father in law, that helps kids and families in the West Salem area. Carrot and Chris were able to cover the cost of turkeys for a whole bunch of food boxes this year.

    We’re super proud to be able to give back to these folks having once been on the receiving end of these food boxes for over a decade.

    Carrot’s Toys for Tots Giveaway

    Carrot Christmas Tree 2018

    The Carrot team and families gathered toys for another great year of giving. We were able to give over 100 toys to the Toys for Tots.

    Mason TowneI’m so grateful that I work for a company whose core values directly coincide with mine. Being able to be the best me I can, simply by doing my job, is something I could only do, working for an amazing company like Carrot.

    I’m so thankful I’m in a position where I can make an impact in other peoples lives, even if it’s something as simple as providing a toy to an underprivileged kid this Christmas.

    – Mason

    Mason’s Family Giving to Toys for Tots

    I’ve been organizing this toy drive through our local entrepreneur group here for about 4 years and now getting to expand it into the whole Carrot Community by involving our team in other states is seriously incredible.

    This year from local donations in Roseburg we are already on track to have a higher amount of toys to give than ever before and I’m overjoyed to see the impact we can all make.

    My favorite part is taking my children out to find toys for less fortunate kids – it’s really encouraging them to be more giving people.

    – Jen

    Used our $20 toward – actually we went a little further and got a couple scooters :-)

    Jen and her family then joined forces with Josh’s family to generate even more cheer…

    Carrot team member, Josh picking up some last minute necessities.

    Grateful to be working for a company that truly cares about making an impact and serving others. My son had a blast getting to shop for other kids. What was really amazing is having the opportunity to make an impact on my own kid by teaching him about the cause!

    – Brady

    Brady and his Family helping out and making donations at the Carrot Toys for Tots event.

    Taking these goodies to our church tomorrow for The Salvation Army’s Tree of Giving! These will be going to a 9 year old boy in our community.

    – Danni

    Carrot Christmas Giving to Salvation Army

    Living in Southern Oregon, we do a lot of exploring in some amazing places. We’re also not far from where the Camp Fire destroyed a majority of Paradise, California.

    An area that we’ve explored numerous times and come to find out has a few connections to Carrot team members.

    We were fortunate enough to make some connections and send our toys to a family with small children who lost everything in the fire.

    – Brendan

    Merry Christmas fun helping out our communities.

    We’ll end with amazing generosity. The Carrot team is also fortunate to have an opportunity called the “Carrot Giving Challenge” where each team member receives $100 to pay-it-forward. Pete put an exceptional touch on the Holiday season for some of the Baltimore community.

    So last year we did 10 bags for the homeless and we handed them out Christmas day. This year we set a goal to try and do 25. We had raised $590 (which would have put us just a bit short of our goal). I added in my $100 for the Carrot giving challenge, and with Jen and Trevor’s blessing used the remainder of my Carrot donation money to buy backpacks and we made it!! So here’s where my $100 went:

    Each bag contains:
    -personal care items (toothbrush, toothpaste, deoderent etc)
    -2 bottles of water
    -3 various dry snacks
    – Cough Drops
    – Hat
    – Gloves
    -2 pair heavy duty wool socks
    – Heavy Duty Fleece blanket
    – $10 cash

    We’re going out Xmas Eve, and potentially Xmas morning to hand it out.

    – Pete

    We’re a pretty tight group at Carrot, so I know that I can speak for everyone when I say that we are all so grateful for having the opportunity to be part of a team that is striving to help the lives of others. Whether it’s via an online platform or in our local communities.

    Did you do something special for your community during the Holidays? Hit us up in the comments section, we’d love to hear some amazing stories!

    Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! – The Carrot Team

  • New Google Algorithm Update Plays Chutes and Ladders with High-authority Websites

    New Google Algorithm Update Plays Chutes and Ladders with High-authority Websites

    A recent update to Google’s algorithm sent many highly-respected (or so we thought) website rankings down the drain.

    Dr. Axe was one of the update’s victims, claiming a massive portion of his organic traffic.

    google ability to access trust

    (Image Source)

    Many other online businesses have experienced the same drop – or an equally drastic increase in traffic.

    (Image Source)

    Why the change?

    What is causing some well-fed SEO rankings to slide down the title tags? And what is causing some previously poor-ranked websites to find their place among the high-traffic drivers?

    The answer lies in a single word and, at the same time, an entire manuscript of complexity.

    That word is trust.

    Google Algorithm Update: What has changed?

    Since the days of yore, Google has worked to build an algorithm that ranks websites based on how much online consumers trust those websites. This is why small, seemingly insignificant factors, such as bounce rate, time-on-page, backlinks, and social signals have played a long-time impact on the rankings of websites in Google.

    All of those algorithm clauses are an effort on the part of Google to create a search-space for the people, by the people – one where only the helpful, the authentic, and the trustworthy survive.

    These last changes (made on September 27th and thought to be modifications to Google’s August 1st Medic Update) have only increased the fervor with which Google is empowering trustworthy websites over untrustworthy ones.

    In fact, remember our friend Dr. Axe?

    Before his massive drop in traffic, this warning was sitting on his website…

    According to Marie Haynes – a search engine consulting company – many other websites that experienced a significant drop in organic traffic after September 27th had similar warnings.

    Okay – so Google’s cares more about how trustworthy your website and your business are than it ever has before…

    But that leaves a lot of questions…

    What is trust in Google’s eyes?

    How do you build a “trustworthy” online business?

    What might you be doing that would deem your website untrustworthy?

    Here’s what we know…

    The truth is, we don’t know much. From Google’s base, not much has been said. But the online world is running rampant with correlations and conjecture.

    We know that Google cares a lot about how much other websites and visitors to your website trust you. But, more importantly, we know that the below elements are likely contributors to whether Google trusts you or not…

    Actions that Build Trust with Google

    1. Responding to comments/reviews/conversations about your website and/or business with patience and dignity – Google seems to be giving more merit to online companies that people are talking bout with a positive tone. And they also seem to like when you – the business – engage with those comments, whether positive or negative, in a dignified and gentle manner.
    2. Being a true authority in your niche – The more that people quote you, talk about you, and mention you in their own online writing – whether comments, articles, or video transcripts, the more that Google will view you as an authority in your industry, ranking you better.
    3. Having easy-to-access contact info – Contact info that’s easy to access on your website tells Google that you’re not afraid of your customers contact you and that you’re ready to help them if they do. Don’t hide your contact information or Google might rank you lower.
    4. Having SSL on your website – SSL increases the security of your website and, thus, how much Google trusts you with its cherished users. Fortunately, all Carrot have free access to SSL on their websites.
    5. White hat backlinks to your website – Backlinks are great for your website, but only if you build them the right way. We show you how to grow your backlinks.

    Actions that hurt trust with Google

    1. Ignoring negative comments or reviews about your business on other websites – Whenever possible, respond to these comments with graciousness rather than ignoring them.
    2. Too many negative reviews – The more negative reviews you have, the more trust-issues Google will have with your website. Avoid bad reviews by answering customer questions as soon as they come in.
    3. Hiding contact info – This makes Google think you’re trying to hide something and you don’t want your customers getting in contact with you. Put your contact information front-and-center and easy to find.
    4. PBNs or other black hat links – While shady link-building strategies might benefit your website rankings in the short term, Google almost always finds out and penalizes the offender. You can learn more about the dangers of black-hat SEO.
    5. Deceiving visitors 
    6. Too many grammatical errors – A few don’t hurt, but too many can hurt trust all around.

    The point?

    Okay – so not a whole lot has changed.

    Google cares about how much online consumers trust your website. But they’ve always cared about that. Now, they just care a bit more, in a different way. Google cares about how much (and how positively or negatively) people are talking about your business online. They also seem to care about how you engage with those comments.

    All of these changes (and more will likely come in the future) are Google’s attempt at gauging how trustworthy – and worthy of being ranked – your website is.

    The ultimate lesson is, do whatever will increase trust with your website visitors and don’t try to deceive Google.

    We’ll keep you updated as more Google algorithm iterations roll out – his us with questions in the comments if you have any!

  • 10 Reasons Why Carrot is One of the Fastest Growing Start-ups in the Nation

    10 Reasons Why Carrot is One of the Fastest Growing Start-ups in the Nation

    Recently, we were placed as the 699th fastest growing company in the nation according to the Inc. 5000 list.

    #699 on the 2018 Inc. 5000 list

    If I’m being honest, this came as a surprise to many of us.

    Sure – we’ve all known for a while that Carrot is growing quickly (I think we hired 4 or 5 people in the last 6 months, making us a team of 20). But for the most part, we’re working, planning new projects, and having a blast while we do it.

    Finding that we’re within the thousand fastest growing company in all of the U.S. is a bit like shooting hoops every day at the local gym and finding out five years later that you’re one of the best free-throwers in the nation…

    You were just doing it because you enjoy it, but somewhere along the way, you became one of the best.

    Really? Why? What did we do differently? 

    Well, we put together a list of 10 of our most integral beliefs as a company that contributed to landing on the Inc. 5000 list. We think (whatever that’s worth) that it’s these fundamental beliefs which guide our success and could guide yours as well.

    1. Culture is More Important than Growth

    Carrot retreat 2018

    Why do people get out of bed every day?

    Why do they go to work?

    What determines how hard they work, how productive they are, or the quality of that work?

    At Carrot, we believe people work harder and better when they love what they do and who they work with. Every person on the Carrot team was chosen because of their passion for life – creating a culture that prioritizes itself before everything else.

    The wonderful thing about a culture-focussed business, though, is that growth naturally follows.

    When people love what they do and have genuine relationships with coworkers, they work harder and they stay around longer.

    2. Honesty is More Important than Sales

    CarrotCamp 2018

    While we passionately believe that Carrot is a good fit for the vast majority of real estate investors and agents around the nation, we also understand that Carrot isn’t a fit for everyone.

    Some investors and agents have found success elsewhere – through a competitor or a private web development company – and more power to them!

    We offer a service, we do the best that we can, and we believe that it’s one of the best real estate marketing solutions around. Still, it isn’t for everyone. And we’d rather have a mutually beneficial relationship with our customers than sell them something they don’t need.

    3. One Lost Member is a Tragedy

    Carrot customer feedback

    Every member cancellation comes through our company’s #General Slack channel – which everyone in the company has access to. When someone cancels, we try to save them if we feel they’ve made a mistake – not through sales-speak and unhelpful promises, but through genuine concern for their business and a desire to help.

    Many people cancel because they’re discouraged about business in general and they’ve hit a breaking point. These people just need a gentle hand to guide them in the right direction.

    At Carrot, doing that isn’t below us.

    If our desire is to help our customers, then that means we have to meet them where they are. Often times, a cancellation is a cry for help.

    Which is why we treat every cancellation as a tragedy and an opportunity to inspire someone who’s lost hope.

    4. Dreaming Big is More Important than Always Succeeding

    Carrot planning session

    We have an ambitious team of 20 people at Carrot.

    People from support, marketing, product, services, and sales often have new crazy ideas they’d like to implement. Whether it’s testing new sales copy on our homepage, writing a book, or launching a new feature, there’s a way to make it happen.

    In fact, we use a 1-page plan template that allows anyone to create a project, pitch it to the team, and get it approved, tweaked, or rejected.

    Speaking from experience, few ideas get outright rejected – more often, there’s a recommended change or two.

    And the person who pitched is then the leader of that project, setting due dates and seeing it through to the end.

    It doesn’t always work, but the team always learns something new along the way. And down the road, that learning usually leads to product iterations, better processes, and a stronger business model.

    Dream big. Learn along the way.

    5. Saving a Member Time is More Important than Saving Ourselves Time

    trevor mauch and max maxwell at carrotcamp

    We’re in business to help people. And often times, helping people requires sacrifice – late nights, long calls, and/or difficult conversations with members.

    But that doesn’t discourage us. It fires us up. It reminds us why we’re in business. It reminds us why we’re a part of Carrot.

    Because we want to help real estate investors and agents save more time in life for the things that matter most.

    To achieve our mission, we have to be willing to sacrifice our own time to help our members.

    And while late nights, long calls, and difficult conversations aren’t all that common, each of us is willing to sacrifice an evening to make our member’s life a little bit easier.

    6. 90% of Success is Believing You Can Pull it Off

    Carrot teamwork

    We have a bit of an unintentional mantra here at Carrot. It’s dead simple and almost mindless – but it’s also indicative of the spirit Carrot employees carry with them everywhere…

    “We’ll get it.”

    Look, business often gets discouraging. Sometimes a process breaks, a customer struggles with our service, or a weakness in our company shoves its way to the front of our priority list… and we’re left to pick up the pieces.

    We have to solve the problem.

    But it isn’t always that easy. Sometimes, we’re left with a big question mark, a big “what’s next?” or “how will we actually solve this in the future?” type of concern…

    Cue mantra: “We’ll get it.”

    And we will – usually, we just need more time to think about the problem and come back at it the next day.

    But the belief that we will get it never fades, despite setbacks.

    7. Arguing is Better than Settling

    trevor mauch Carrot HQ strategy session

    If you’re overthinking a product launch, then it’s probably best to just bring it to market and adapt as you receive customer feedback. At Carrot, though, we’ve been in the real estate space for 5 years and we have a pretty good idea of what our customers want or need from us.

    (There’s always more to learn, of course)

    So when we are launching a new product, service, or feature, we argue. Not “I hate you,” “you suck,” type of arguing. But we passionately defend our positions on what we believe is best for the market’s need, while still being respectful.

    We don’t throw personal jabs, we argue ideas, and we believe that ideas do not define a person – which then gives us the freedom to throw them out or refine them.

    Because in the end, we’d rather argue about a product before launch than release a sub-par service or feature to our customers.

    8. Open-minded Differences are the Secret to Healthy Company Culture and Thrilling Growth

    Carrot Team 2018

    My personality clashes with several people on the Carrot team. Several of them think differently than I do, perceive the world differently, and even live their lives quite differently.

    Normally, I avoid these kinds of people. We all prefer familiar over unfamiliar, making us gravitate naturally toward other people who act like us, believe the same things, and live the same way.

    Problem is, similarity makes growth impossible.

    If everyone around you thinks the same way, acts the same way and believes the same things, they’ll never challenge you… and you’ll never grow.

    At Carrot, that’s not the case – the differing personalities (quite extreme differences, often) force all of us to rethink our positions and adapt to the environment around us.

    That, with a healthy dose of open-mindedness, naturally leads to thrilling personal and collective growth.

    9. The More You Give, the More You Get

    Carrot giving back to the community

    Call us hippies if you want (we are based out of Oregon, after all), but we believe that what goes around, comes around. We believe that by giving time and money to other people who need it will pay us back in the future.

    We don’t know how it work…

    But we believe it.

    And that’s why, every quarter, we donate a portion of our company revenue to charity organizations around the U.S. – yes, usually we buy them a ton of carrots.

    10. Changing Lives is Better than Getting Credit

    Carrot Core Values

    I won’t lie – getting credit for your project or idea is awesome. Everyone loves to receive positive feedback about something they accomplished.

    But you know what is 10x more satisfying than getting credit for something you did?

    Receiving a message like this…

    Carrot Customer service

    And that is why we’re in business – to change lives.

    So long as we’re doing that, getting credit can sit under the table and be quiet.

  • EP 117: We’re The Fastest Growing Software Company In Oregon… + Speaking Dreams Into Reality

    EP 117: We’re The Fastest Growing Software Company In Oregon… + Speaking Dreams Into Reality

    We're The Fastest Growing Software Company In Oregon... + Speaking Dreams Into Reality

    Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast and Subscribe Below!

    Don’t start a business on being mediocre. Go for being the best! Trevor Mauch

    On this episode of the CarrotCast, Carrot recently received some very exciting news and we want to share it with everyone. Because, if it wasn’t for our amazing team and our equally amazing members, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

    Tune into this episode of the CarrotCast and learn which “life list” item I can now, proudly, cross off my list.

    I hope this episode inspires you to write down your own dreams, visualize success, and make them happen!

    Enjoy!

    Also, please give us a rating on iTunes and listen to other episodes of the CarrotCast!

    Listen to the CarrotCast Podcast


    [podcast-subscribe]

    We’re The Fastest Growing Software Company In Oregon… + Speaking Dreams Into Reality

    :45 –  What prestigious list Carrot recently joined.
    1:50 –  “Think and Grow Rich” the path to visualizing success.
    2:45 –  The item on my “life list” that I was able to recently cross off and how it happened.
    6:45 – Carrot’s business path and our intention for our members.
    8:35 – When you go wide but not deep, you don’t give yourself true momentum.
    9:45 – So proud of the Carrot Team to be the fastest growing software company in Oregon.
    10:25 – What dreams can you write down so to visualize getting there. Making it happen!

    LINKS TO ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE

    • Breaking Down the Barriers to Achieving Your Goals: CarrotCast
    • What I Told 53 Local Entrepreneurs About Life, Success, and Happiness: CarrotCast
    • My 3 Mindset Tips to Help You Motivate, Inspire, and Execute… CarrotCast

    FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU!

    We want to hear how we can make our products better and what we can do to help you! Drop them in the comments section below or hit us up on Facebook.

    [podcast-subscribe]

  • Brand New, Distinct, Carrot Website Design [Hemlock]

    Brand New, Distinct, Carrot Website Design [Hemlock]

    We’re officially introducing a new design for those of you who crave a distinguished, modern (and yes, still high-converting) website.

    Meet Hemlock.

    Here’s what it looks like on mobile – 59% of Carrot member leads come from mobile devices. So we made your phone number front and center to increase mobile visitor conversion rate.

    This website design isn’t just beautiful, it converts with the same principles as all of our other Carrot site designs – better than any other website platform in the industry.

    Now, for a design like this, Website Build Expert estimates that you’d pay upward of $5,000 to $10,000.

    So – the kicker question: How much are we going to charge you?

    It’s included with our Advanced Marketer member’s first access to new site styles!

    Since we want this design to remain a unique and distinguishable theme for high-performing investors and agents, for now it’s only available for our Advanced Marketer members.

    That may sound like a bummer if you’re not yet an Advanced Marketer member. But we want to ensure that high-performing real estate professionals like yourself get exclusive access to the best that Carrot has to offer and that you get to try it out before anyone else.

    And if you aren’t yet an Advanced Marketer member, you can upgrade your plan with just a few clicks…

    Once you’re an Advanced Marketer, you can switch to the Hemlock design just as easily…

    Plus, Hemlock isn’t the only benefit you’ll get with Advanced Marketer. You’ll also get…

    • Track 20 SEO keyword phrase rankings per site
    • 12 Content Pro blog posts and 12 Premium blog posts every single month
    • Quarterly one-on-one strategy calls with Adrian Nez – a top real estate investor
    • 10% off any Carrot marketplace services that you purchase
    • Phone Support
    • And, of course, access to new site styles (like Hemlock) when we release them in the future

    Upgrade to Advanced Marketer and Claim Hemlock Today!

    If you’re already an Advanced Marketer member, then test Hemlock and let us know what you think! If you’re not, then go preview it on your website to see what you think.

    If you like it, consider upgrading so you can have access to Hemlock and other new site styles we release that will further distinguish your website from online clutter – always with the same industry-leading conversion rate that we are known for.

    If you upgrade to Advanced Marketer, you’ll immediately get access to the Hemlock theme and all the other goodies that come with an Advanced Marketer membership.

    Buuuuut, we wanna sweeten the deal for you even more…

    Upgrade to Advanced Marketer and you’ll also get access to an exclusive 4 Week LIVE Traffic + Leads Training Series with Trevor and his marketing team (including Carrot’s experts on Facebook ads, high-level advertising strategy, and Google Ads) at a grand total of $0.

    And it gets better: this is 100% risk-free for you. If you’re not totally thrilled with the Advanced Marketer membership and the 4 Week Traffic + Leads Training Series, you can simply downgrade to your existing plan anytime inside of your account.

    If you’re looking to scale up your leads and stand out from the competition, this Advanced Marketer Upgrade package and training series will help you head into the fall with momentum and clarity.