The other day I had an appointment to meet with a client about a real estate classifieds website. We decided to meet at a local restaurant and discuss the project over a few beers and oysters. For the first hour or so we talked about his goals and the general operation of the website, the design, functionality and his goals for the next year or two. I finally asked him about his marketing budget and what forms of advertising he was planning to use. Not to my surprise, he replied "I will just get listed in Google and the rest will fall into place." Mind you, I'm sitting there with a well proposed business plan in hand, mission statement and all, although the section on marketing was no where to be found. I spent the next hour giving my new client the abridged version of Internet marketing and advertising. Needless to say, the reality made him reconsider his marketing plan.

The truth is that most people believe that they can abandon all "Off Internet" marketing and become the next LendingTree.com within a month. Obviously this statement may be a little over exaggerated but the principal is still there. A website should be an extension of your physical company and treated as such.

Your Site Is One In A Million, Literally!

Let's do some Googling, search the Internet for the most popular mortgage keywords such as; mortgage, mortgage calculator, refinance and such and notice the amount of results found. Now realize that every one of those sites is competing for the same lead. They all have their ways of promotion which they believe will get them that #1 position on every major search engine. Fact of the matter, there is no magic solution to get you to number one but there are plenty of simple things that can be done that can get you your own little piece of the internet lending industry.

I have compiled several articles at www.mortgage-design.com that can aid in your Internet growth. Please realize that only you can make success happen and not your site. Happy Promoting!

Anthony Urso is a leading freelance consultant and designer for the mortgage and lending industry for the past 10 years. A graduate of Johnson And Wales University with degrees in sales and marketing, he has help hundreds of brokers and lender realize their marketing goals.