Keith Osborne's Blog

From humble beginnings, I slowly but surely clawed my way up to the dizzy heights of mediocrity in finance and editorial roles within the overseas property industry, over seven long years. I have known the highs and the lows, and the bits in between. Now working freelance - weddings and barmitzvahs a speciality - I look forward to sharing my thoughts with a small but discerning audience on my way to total world domination.

Content, discontent

Currently 4/5 stars.
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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Most experts agree that maintaining your website with good content is one of the key factors in helping it succeed in the ever more competitive world of the internet, for several reasons. Firstly, search engines like to see web pages being updated and added to a site. Secondly, good content breeds authority, which not only helps directly with selling your product but also raises your site’s profile with your peers and others in the industry. Thirdly, this increased profile will hopefully encourage people to return to your site more and furthermore, link from their own websites to yours. These inbound links are another key to a higher web ranking. I’m surprised by the number of sites I see that have some glaringly outdated content, even on their home page or key landing pages. References to “favourable exchange rates” that no longer apply, or to “recent changes in the law” that happened three or four years ago do nothing to help in respect of authority or SEO. Much of the time it is only the odd phrase that needs changing but sometimes the amendments required might be more substantial. Overall, the impression I get is that having paid someone to populate the site in the first place (or for a periodical re-launch), many web managers don’t consider the implications of ensuring that their content is maintained more regularly. This is particularly frustrating with small sites with relatively few pages that someone could easily check regularly for “howlers”. With the almost daily tales of economic woe reported in the media over the past months, surely few are unaware that sterling has lost around 25% of its value against the dollar since the summer and that trying to persuade a buyer that a good reason for buying a home there is the strength of the pound is now a nonsense? Yet you don’t have to look very hard to find this sort of “fact” in the sales copy on a number of sites. Of course, relying as I do on my scribblings to earn a crust for me and my kin, I am likely to advocate employing more editorial bods to keep these sites more up-to-date and relevant, but in truth, having hopefully hired a pro to do the hard work in the first place, tweaking the odd phrase or sentence here and there shouldn’t be beyond the ability of most site owners. Why not date the amendments so that readers can see how up-to-date you are? This will also help writers looking for references and links to authoritative sites. I’ll usually treat undated pages with scepticism until I can find substantiation elsewhere, and then the chances are I’d link to the latter site, not the former. Better still, webmasters, do keep a few quid in the budget for regular, modest updates for your most important content by a professional. Editorial fees are relatively low compared to some other costs (e.g. IT, training, plumbing) and some of us, thanks to that plummeting pound, are down to our last Bentley. Have a cool Yule, as they’ll be saying in my St. Lucian Christmas retreat.

The numbers game

Currently 3.5/5 stars.
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Thursday, November 27, 2008

“Homes fall £100k in a fortnight” screamed a front-page headline this week, albeit only in that bastion of journalistic excellence, London Lite. This was its reaction to a Globrix survey of London house prices which found that in some of the capital’s boroughs, some sellers had been dropping the asking price of their homes considerably in the past couple of weeks to get a quick sale before Christmas.

The largest reductions appear to be in the districts with the highest prices. More detailed scrutiny of the figures (unavailable on Globrix.com, strangely) suggests rather less dramatic falls in many other areas, though clearly that’s not front page material. I’m sure the headline writer’s lot is not an easy one, but in terms of conveying the gist of the story concisely and truthfully, this one might be filed alongside “Freddie Starr ate my hamster”.

The hysterical hyperbole of this particular headline illustrates how numbers and statistics are frequently bandied around in the property industry (at least as much overseas as at home) with scant concern for their provenance and accuracy. The Globrix survey numbers published in the paper were only absolutes, with no indication of percentages or sample sizes.£100k off a million-pound home is rather less newsworthy than the same amount off a £300k home.

Interpretation is fine but surely not at the expense of accuracy? Often, there is actually no accurate figure to be had – estimates on current British ownership of overseas homes, as well as those looking for a home abroad for example, are just that – estimates. And somewhere in the range of 200,000 to 4 million, depending on who you believe, which leaves plenty of room for manoeuvre. Most claims about property price rises (or falls) can also be taken with a pinch of salt as there is little or no documentary evidence to back them up, and while an opinion can be perfectly valid, it’s not the same as a fact.

But these numbers have a habit of popping up time and again as if they were gospel, and in time they seem to become the “truth” through sheer repetition. How many people are convinced by them is another matter, though. In these troubled time, we need to collectively up our game to convince buyers and overcome their scepticism. A little integrity would go a long way. Call me a cynical old thing if you like, but I take most property-related statistics with a pinch of salt, and I’m certain that many industry professionals and punters do the same.

Which is a shame, because there are sure to be some real nuggets amongst the dross that could benefit all of us if we could recognise them among the half-truths and hype. And if I’ve asked it once, I’ve asked it a million times – don’t exaggerate.

Keith Osborne

Subjects Covered by Keith Osborne

Keith Osborne's Blog

Content, discontent

The numbers game

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