HomeGauge News Alert
May 2018
SEO Builder | HG 5.3 | 3-Day Training | Beta | Shows | FL Forms
Your website is a little fish in a big pond
You have a website. You may even have a beautiful website with a finely crafted sales pitch and call to action. Unfortunately, all of that can be a largely wasted effort if no one ever sees it! It takes a lot to get a website to the top and hook some sales — this is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) takes over.
Introducing HomeGauge's SEO Builder
SEO is no longer a simple game of putting a bunch of keywords in your site and crossing your fingers. Twenty years ago it was largely that, especially for home inspectors, but today it is a much deeper trench.
We approach SEO a little differently
HomeGauge's SEO Builder is a minimum 6 month long program uniquely designed for home inspectors. We start the first 3 months optimizing the front and back end of your website as a basic foundation. We request that your website is built by and hosted with HomeGauge so we can complete these steps. Beginning in month 4, we start publishing custom blog posts to your site and share them on your Facebook business page. Fresh, regular content is chum for the big search engines and that is what will help your site compete with the other fish in the sea. Unless you opt out of the program after the initial 6 months, we will continue updating your website with new content on a monthly basis. Regularly posting quality content to your website and sharing it in your social media is what makes the biggest difference these days in your SEO efforts.
Shoot, I don't think I mentioned Managed Hosting
A part of HomeGauge's SEO Builder program is our Managed Hosting service. It's included in the price! That means we will make updates to your site at your request, so you can keep focusing your time on your business instead of on editing your website. These changes can be related or unrelated to the SEO Builder program. Want some more specifics? Get the full scoop on our website:
Note: If your website isn't a thing of beauty and you're in need of an update, see what we can do for you! You should make sure your website can make the sale before you put a large focus on SEO.
HomeGauge 5.3 is in the oven at 360 degrees
We're still cooking up some new features, but plan to release HomeGauge 5.3 soon. This update will include 360 Degree Photos, a new Zoom Overlay feature, and more. We're quickly approaching a beta test and plan to keep that as short as possible. We will be sure to keep everyone updated as the final release approaches.
Say goodbye to storage pictures, say hello to a home tour!
Use immersive 360 Degree Photos to create awesome overview photos — or even better — add a home tour section to your report! How can this help me? This can save you time by removing the need to take a lot of extra storage photos. Why not walk into the middle of each room and take a 360 Degree Photo instead? But even better, you can impress your customers and agents alike by including 360 Degree Photos in your uploaded html report using HomeGauge Services. Try doing that with a pdf! (We still think pdf's suck.) If you're looking for a camera recommendation, we'd recommend the affordable Ricoh Theta SC.
See a sample report with 360 Degree Photos
Add precision, remove duplication, and save time with our new Zoom Overlay feature
Zoom Overlay? That sure sounds fancy! What does that mean? It means you can show a zoomed in part of the image within your photo. Need to show a crack on a wall while still showing its location? Now that's possible in HomeGauge with a single picture. You no longer need to show a zoomed in picture of a specific detail and a second picture just to show its location or a larger view. This is a great time saver and a nice way to help condense your report.
Anything else?
Besides several fixes and minor updates, there are a couple of important things worth mentioning. The first is that the system's default web browser will always be used when launching your HomeGauge Dashboard from the software (see ya Internet Explorer!). The second is that we have added a comment button on the image editor. This is a quick way to enter your comment while inserting your image in your report. It's designed to make you more productive, especially when using the Edit All Photos feature in HomeGauge.
If you're interested in being a beta tester for HomeGauge 5.3, send us an email at support@homegauge.com.
Don't miss out on our 3-day training
Our next 3-day HomeGauge training class is right around the corner on June 6-8, 2018 (Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday). This training is all about SPEED! Learn how to use HomeGauge 5, the HomeGauge Companion, and cut down on your report writing time. This intensive 3-day training will cover in-depth use of the software, including extensive customization of your report template. PLUS, you'll have an opportunity to create mock reports with real props and cross-sections of homes using the HG Companion and desktop software. Cost for the class is $300 for the first attendee, $200 for each additional (multi-inspector firms only). Space is limited so call to reserve your spot today — 828-254-2030.
Public online scheduling beta
We are looking for more beta testers for our online Appointment Manager. We are going to release a feature for public scheduling of exact time slots for single inspector and multi-inspector firms and would love your feedback. This feature allows your customers and agents to book an exact time slot for an online appointment. If you are interested in signing up to be a beta tester, please send us an email at support@homegauge.com.
Upcoming Home Inspection Conference
We hope to see you in person at this next conference!
FABI Summer Conference
June 9-10, 2018
Conference Details
Repeat Alert: Updated forms for Florida!
For those inspectors who've been looking for the updated Florida forms, wait no longer! Here they are for you to download and start using today.
Citizens 4-Point 2018 Extended Versions *Only use this version if you have trouble using the regular version.
Citizens Roof Certification 2018
Citizens Roof Certification 2018 Extended Versions *Only use this version if you have trouble using the regular version.
Until next time,
Russell Buchanan
HomeGauge President
russell@homegauge.com
(828) 254-2030