Google PR (PageRank) updates are under way.

PageRank Forumla = PR(A) = (1-d) + d(PR(t1)/C(t1) + … + PR(tn)/C(tn))

Page Rank is an often misunderstood and misinterpreted part of the many signals and components that make up the Google ranking algorithm like. To keep things complicated, read this primer. To keep things simple, PageRank uses a logarithmic scale and is based primarily on incoming links. In plain speak, this means that if PR were on a point scale and moving from PR1 to PR2 took “10 Points”, then moving moving from PR2 to PR3 might take “200 points” and moving from PR3 to PR4 might take “1500 Points” and moving from PR4 to PR5 might take “9500 points”. I think you get the idea, while my points system is just nonsense I’ve made up, the point is that each move upwards in PR becomes exponentially harder. What does PageRank mean to you? Well for starters, PageRank does not guarantee high search engine rankings. PR is more of a qualitative measure of a site, but does not translate into directly higher rankings, although there is no reason why a site with high PR shouldn’t rank well also. Well it’s perfectly normal to get excited as you watch your PR grow. The truth is that I’ve had sites that I’ve put no effort in building links to become PR4. While PR5 is definitely respectable, I think PR6 is a real accomplishment and requires a real sustained effort, most blogs will never become a PR6. At the end of the day you can NEVER go wrong focusing on publishing high quality content that others find useful. If you do, people will link to you, you will rank well and eventually your PR will follow. PR is a lagging indicator, so don’t put the horse in front of the cart!

One thing is for sure, over the last couple of years it seems to me that PR3 is the new PR4. In other words, PR ranking has become harder to achieve.

On March 26th, Rep. Bradley Miller [D-NC] introduced H.R. 1728, the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, a bill that he is sponsoring. It has currently been referred to committee, the same committee of which will report on the act later.

For those not familiar with the basic life cycle of a bill (from govtrack.us):

• Introduced – Mar 26, 2009
• Referred to Committee – Mar 26, 2009
• Reported by Committee – (pending)
• Voted on in House – (pending)
• Voted on in Senate – (pending)
• Signed by President – (pending)

According to the NAFAC:

One key provision of H.R. 1728 would create a nationwide licensing and registration system for residential mortgage providers, something already included in the 2008 Housing and Economic Recovery Act. NCUA and other federal financial institution regulators are responsible for handling implementation for credit unions, banks and thrifts.

Tuesday’s session will be held at 10 a.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building. The committee said it may also hold additional sessions on subsequent days if needed.

The times they are a changin’. Flagstar sent out a memo today documenting their expectations for pair offs. In other words, if you lock a loan and it closes elsewhere, expect to receive a bill from Flagstar. Some Flagstar clients are reporting $400 invoices per pair off. Loan fallout is yet another pressure banks are experiencing in these interesting times.

#######################

To: All Flagstar Bank Wholesale Lending Customers
From: Wholesale Lending
Subject: Best Efforts Delivery
Date: 3/4/09
Memo #: 09044

IMPORTANCE OF MANAGING LOCK FALLOUT

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Good email mortgage newsletter software / services can be used to create, send and track mortgage newsletter and email campaigns. The process begins when visitors visit your mortgage broker website and opt in to receive your mortgage newsletters, emails, or other useful information. When they opt in they are automatically added into your mortgage mailing list database and the built in autoresponders will send them your pre-configured mortgage newsletters or email at pre-configured intervals you have set. A sample mortgage marketing campaign utilizing autoresponders might send the subscriber an email thanking them for subscribing immediately after they have signed up and then send them a mortgage newsletter or email on a monthly basis or other preset interval you have chosen. You simply choose what type of newsletters / emails you send and at what intervals.

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There are three components that make up an Online Mortgage Marketing / Mortgage Lead Generation campaign.

1 QUALITY MORTGAGE WEBSITE

The centerpiece of all mortgage marketing campaigns is the mortgage website. Most prospects make a decision on whether or not they will consider working with your company based solely on their initial perception of your mortgage broker website. It’s true, before they have even spoken to a loan officer, they have already made a decision based on their perception of the quality of your services as they are embodied by your mortgage website.

Additionally, the mortgage website is the first place most prospects go when they are exposed to your online or offline mortgage marketing and this highlights the importance that your mortgage website holds.

Online Presence – The goal of your mortgage web site is to engage visitors to learn about your company and services. To be effective in internet mortgage lead generation, a mortgage website must be authoritative and professional looking to help build trust with prospects while giving them the answers they seek. The website must provide users with helpful mortgage tools and information that are easily accessed through intuitive and user friendly navigation and design.

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Internet Mortgage Lead Generation is comprised of three interdependent components: a search engine optimized mortgage web site, mortgage website traffic and mortgage lead conversion. If any of these components are not executed properly, internet mortgage lead generation will suffer greatly or be non-existent. This is especially true in the extremely competitive environment that exists among mortgage companies and mortgage websites online today. Simply stated, these components are mandatory for mortgage lead generation and there are no shortcuts. Understanding how these components work and how they are relevant to each other is the key to generating your own online mortgage broker leads.

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Marketing your mortgage website is the first step in generating the traffic necessary to generate your own exclusive mortgage leads. Simply put, the number of mortgage leads you generate is directly related to the volume and quality of website traffic you are able to generate. Mortgage SEO (otherwise known as internet marketing or search engine marketing) uses different marketing strategies increase your search engine rankings which in turn drives traffic. The amount of leads you generate is directly related to the volume and quality of the search engine traffic you are able generate through higher search engine rankings.

Pre-Optimization: It is critically important that you know what keywords to target in your SEO / Mortgage Marketing Campaign. If you engage in a Mortgage SEO Campaign without carefully targeting the correct keywords, your internet mortgage lead generation results may be significantly decreased or non-existent. Keyword selection is a vital part of any SEO Campaign and there is little to no room for error. A Keyword Research Report provides the detailed analysis you need to target the correct keywords and help improve the overall effectiveness of your Mortgage SEO Marketing Campaign.

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Mortgage Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or “organic” search results. The goal of Mortgage SEO is to achieve the highest rankings possible on Search Engine Results Pages for specific mortgage keyword terms. The closer your website is to the #1 position for a search term, the more traffic your website will receive and the more opportunities you will have to convert visitors into mortgage leads. Mortgage SEO is the most important component in marketing your website online for the purpose of generating mortgage leads via organic and natural search engine ranks.

*Every LeadPress Mortgage Website has SEO Optimized architecture and tools out of the box to insure you get the highest rankings possible in search engines such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo.

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These Free Mortgage Broker  Tools are for mortgage brokers, loan officers, or any mortgage company engaging in a mortgage marketing campaign that involves Mortgage PPC (Pay-Per-Click) or or other online mortgage marketing activities. These free mortgage tools can help you find mortgage keywords, price mortgage deals, and add free mortgage calculators to your mortgage website. These tools are an ideal addition to any mortgage marketing campaign.

Free Mortgage Calculator for Mortgage Websites or Blogs

Download the same mortgage calculator used by LeadPress mortgage websites! If your mortgage web site or mortgage blog is on WordPress, you’ll love this free mortgage calculator plugin.

LeadPress Mortgage Website Calculator

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The primary goal of most mortgage lead generation websites is to generate a consistent flow of exclusive mortgage leads. Mortgage Lead Conversion is the third of three steps in Internet Mortgage Lead Generation. Before mortgage lead conversion and mortgage lead generation can take place, there first two components of Internet Mortgage Lead Generation must be satisfied:

1 Search Engine Optimized Mortgage Website

A mortgage web site that has been optimized for relevant mortgage keyword terms being used by the target audience. An SEO optimized mortgage website will build high search engine rankings over time and help generate traffic. A mortgage website or mortgage template website is also important to any mortgage campaign as it is the hub of all mortgage marketing activities online and off. When prospects see mortgage marketing or advertising, the first place they go is to the website, this means that a mortgage website not only helps generate more internet mortgage leads from online SEO activities, but directly helps convert more prospects from offline mortgage marketing activities into exclusive mortgage leads.

2 Website Traffic

Traffic is generated from existing relationships and offline mortgage broker marketing activities such as direct mail, flyers, radio, tv and other mortgage marketing activities. Internet marketing campaigns such as pay per click or banner advertising will also drive traffic to your mortgage web site.

Organic search engine ranking will also help drive traffic to your web site. Creating unique content on your website and then generating links to that content to improve search engine rankings will also increase visitor traffic and search engine rankings.

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