May 2014

In our ongoing Pay Per Click experiment, we'll be reporting the data from May 1 to 15 - with some very interesting results. If you'll recall, in May we changed our registration settings to "Forced After 2 Views". You'll see, this small adjustment has resulted in a noticeable change in our leads.

PPC Stats from May 1 - 15, 2014

Compare this to a similar time frame 1 month earlier:

PPC Stats from April 1 - 14, 2014

Observations

Although our conversion rate has dropped to almost 5%, it is still an impressive turnover. It indicates that folks are taking their 2 free views and sticking around long enough to register.

The leads have dropped dramatically and the cost per lead has increased, but this is due, in part to our increasing the bid

With spring finally showing up and the hot weather just around the corner, there are plenty of great things to do in and around Calgary this summer. Here is a list of 8 fun places to see and must-do's (in no particular order).

The Icefields Parkway

Take some extra time to enjoy the majestic drive from Lake Louise to Jasper and experience once of the most scenic roadways in all of Canada. You can expect to view lots of wildlife, giant glaciers and amazingly blue lakes. It's definitely worth the drive!

Calgary Stampede Grandstand Show

When it comes to entertainment value, it's hard to beat the famous Calgary Stampede Grandstand show. This year the annual party runs from July 4-13 and a ticket to the Grandstand show also gets you the thrills and

Check out the latest news from the red-hot Calgary real estate market!

Home Prices In Calgary Leading The Country, Calgary Herald

When it comes to home price growth these days, Calgary is leading the pack. A new report by the Canadian Real Estate Association using the MLS Home Price Index shows home prices in the Stampede City rose by 9.52% from last year. That compares to 5.02% for homes across the country. In addition, the index for Calgary home prices spiked by 21.83% over the past three year (again the highest growth in Canada), while prices in the rest of the country rose 12.19% over the same time frame.

Looking at data over the past five years, the Greater Toronto area has had home prices jump by 44.18%, followed by Regina at 30.79% and

Our "Virtual Handshake"

The internet is a great tool, but it doesn't replace meeting you in person and actually introducing ourself. Registration and the subsequent emails we send out are the closest thing to a virtual handshake we have in our online environment. Unfortunately, this simple process isn't always met with rave reviews.

When faced with forced registration, some folks get upset that they can't even have a little peek before being prompted to view listing details. Others get upset because you've given them a couple views and now ask that they register.

I wish we could keep everyone happy, but what most folks don't realize, taking a couple minutes to register can save you considerable time when doing a property search and help find your

It's hard to believe an entire month has gone by since we started our little Pay Per Click experiment - here are the results from April 15-30, 2014 as well as a month to month comparison from March to April.

PPC Stats from April 15-30, 2014

Comments

It seems this last couple of weeks did not fare as well as the first half of the month. If you'll recall, the PPC team lowered the maximum bid by 12% and this might have had a negative impact on the results.

Traffic from PPC clicks consisted of approximately 33% of all visits to the site.

Observations:

The number of leads in the 2nd week of April were 154, a 16% decrease from the first two weeks. However, the total new leads for the entire month of April still came in slightly higher then March.

It's one thing to win a Community of the Year award once in a place like Calgary, but Mahogany has done it again. For the second straight year, the Southeast lake community has been named Calgary's Community of the Year. The announcement came at last month's Canadian Home Builders Association-Calgary Region SAM Awards.

Developed by Hopewell Residential (a five-time developer of the year), Mahogany also captured the Show Home Parade of the Year award thanks to its gorgeous group of lakefront show homes. It's just a couple more feathers in the cap of Calgary's premier lake community, which is home to the city's largest freshwater lake, with 63 acres of water and a combined 84 acres including beachfront.

The award further solidifies Mahogany as the