The Real Estate Market in Europe is changing. This change is driven by two forces outside of the Real Estate industry. The strength of these forces are so strong however, that their impact on the Real Estate Industry is unavoidable. These two forces are technology and consumer pressure. More precisely, the Internet and consumer protection through regulation.

I hope the title grabbed your attention. This is a true story, but to get the sceptics from clicking off or deleting this article, I will start with some provable facts that you can verify at the click of the mouse.
The website I own with my wife is called amlaspain. It is a Spanish property portal website for real estate agents in Spain. The launch date is stated on the homepage.

In hindsight, the best analogy I can think of, to becoming proficient in Search Engine Optimization is learning to snow-ski.

If you are young enough, fit enough and have a modicum of co-ordination, you should be able to master the slopes to a reasonable level in about 12 weeks. For most of us, of course, this process normally takes place over several years as we fit in a week here, a week-end there.

Since launching its intent to bring a case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg contesting the Valencian 'Land Grab' Law,(LRAU), in November 2005, solicitors Irwin Mitchell have yielded over seventy enquiries from potential claimants.

The surprisingly small number of claimants against a law that has potentially affected thousands, is mostly due to the requirement of aggrieved land owners having to try to effect compensation through the Spanish courts before being eligible to bring their action under the ECHR, (European Human Rights Convention)

The fact that no action against the law, has been successful, (to our knowledge, to date), combined with the need for any action for remedy in a property dispute to have been brought before the Spanish courts within six-months of the loss to the land owner, calls into question whether the vast majority of people who have suffered financial loss due to the LRAU will ever see compensation.

The answer to the question really depends on your location. If the question was asked in the USA, I think 99% of realtors would respond 'industry tool'. Ask the question in Europe and the answer would be reversed with 99% of estate agents referring to MLS as digital advertising.
So what makes this technology be seen by the same industry, in two large geographical markets, in two totally different ways?
The answer I like to call the 4P's.

When you decide to buy a place in the Spanish sun, be it for a holiday home, investment, or a place to retire, there are several ways you can ensure that the process is safe.

The first thing to recognize is that you are entering an unregulated industry. The Spanish property market used to be regulated by the A.P.I. (Agente de la Propiedad Inmobiliaria), a professional body that oversaw estate agents, set exams etc.

For anybody that has done their research they will know, that paying some-one to work on their website to get to that elusive Page 1 ranking on Google seems to be an expensive exercise with quite possibly no guarantees and the need for a level of trust that frankly, you would find difficulty bestowing on a member of your own family!

The arguments for obtaining the ranking spot are clear.

If you are an estate agent in Spain, then you will not need to be told about internet marketing because you probably get enquiries every day from companies telling you how they can provide leads through this portal or that. Spinning you with figures about how many hits their website is getting and their page 1 ranking for this key phrase or that keyword.

Listening to and reading reports this week about the recent slump in Spanish Construction companies stock on the Spanish Stock Exchange and the imminent demise of the Spanish property sector instantly brought to mind the well known quote that I have used in the title. The British press and television coverage has been quick to link this correction to a crash in the property market for holiday property in the coastal areas, (Costa's), and the dangers for UK citizens purchasing property in Spain.

Is it arrogance or poor business practice? I don't know, but I do know that when you pay for something and 299 dollars is not chicken feed, you expect a little service.

When I first set up my website the first thing I found out when it came to SEO was that you needed to submit your site to the Yahoo Directory and dmoz.org. These were supposedly the listings you had to have if you wanted to get high rankings on the major search engines.