I speak to many people in both the real estate world and other areas where templated web sites are used and they ask us the question should I use a templated web site ?

This is a difficult question to answer so knowing I’m about to get a lot of comments objecting to my response here goes.

Templated web sites all come out looking pretty much the same even if you wrap them with a different graphic, footer, colors etc. The main problem is, everybody using a templated site is likely using the same names for their pages, with virtually the same content, all hosted on the same IP address. This then brings up the duplicate content question, and experience tells me, that if the search engines, especially Google see duplicate content, on pages with the same name, on the same IP address you are going to receive a penalty of some sort. I’m not saying your page or site will be banned, but I would expect to see it in the supplemental index, then what this means is that Google will only report that page if it doesn’t have a page in it’s main index that matches. Before all of you templated guys start screaming at me, I know many of you allow custom pages, but on the whole many of the pages are the same.

So my advice is find a nice web site template layout that you like and then build up from there. The clever guys today are using a template like this, then using a content management type system to generate unique pages, with unique content. This does mean a little more work up front, and I’m sure in many cases a little more cost, but in the long un you will end up with an Internet Marketing friendly web site, with unique content that will be appealing to your visitors.

Remember internet marketing is about having a site that is appealing to your visitors when they arrive on your site, being friendly to the search engines so you rank well and driving traffic there using all of the internet marketing tools available.

I’m in no way saying that a templated site will not rank or that it cannot be ranked, what I’m saying is more pages will likely be indexed and it will be more appealing to your visitors if they see something that is telling them what they want to know that they haven’t already seen on 10 other sites before.

Even with the slowdown in real estate prices in 2006, the major cities like Toronto are still way ahead of their counterparts in the suburbs in both prices and the number of residences per square kilometre. So is living close to where you work a huge benefit ?

For those that are big on the night life and the atmosphere of the big city it still is likely worth the price. The bachelor pad or group of friends living downtown and living it up with the nightlife of the big city is still fun, and of course they share the bills and it doesn’t look so expensive.

But for the family, is there a better way ?

The suburbs are more likely to be in a price range that a new family can afford, with prices ranging from 20% – 40% cheaper than in the downtown cores. Not only that many would say that for the average family the quality of life in the suburbs is so much better.

More property for less money.
The houses not packed in so tightly.
Generally the cost of living is lower.
Less pollution and smog.
More Choice.

Even though construction in the suburbs is extremely high they are by no means as highly populated as the downtown cores. The Brampton real estate market is booming right now with a huge number of new developments, but with population of 380,000 it is by no means rural, but by the same token it is not Toronto.

If you prefer something a little quieter still but still within the reach of Toronto consider the Georgetown Ontario real estate market. Georgetown with a population of around 40,000 could almost be considered rural, but has all of the facilities of a larger city without the huge population or costs to go with it.

So major city like Toronto or a suburb/rural area, I’d take the later anytime, hence why I live in London Ontario

As a company based in Canada and working with clients in the UK, US and Canada, we are asked this question all of the time. The reason we are able to work with clients all over the world is the World Wide Web and its ability to allow anybody, anywhere to view what we do.

With this in mind you would expect our answer to be: host with whoever gives you the best value for money. In fact, this is not the answer. Google and the other major search engines all have country based versions of their search engines and will normally offer their visitors the ability to see results delivered for sites just in that country. The question is, ‘How do they decide where the results are coming from?’

This is a 2 phase process, which in many cases can be totally inaccurate.

1). If your domain name has one of the many country specific extensions, they conclude that your site must be related to that country, and where it is hosted is totally irrelevant. What we mean by this is a .co.uk domain could be hosted in Canada but will still show up as a UK result.

2). If your domain name has one of the generic domain extensions, .com .net .org .edu, the location of your site is based on where you host your site. So if the IP address that it returns shows as a Canadian location, your site is regarded as Canadian.

In both of these cases it is easy to see that your site can turn up in the wrong results.  If you have a generic based domain, your host should be in the country where you want your business to be found. If your site is geographically based, that would be the place to host it. If you are offering services to a worldwide market, the US would be as good as any as they offer a huge share of the Internet traffic. Once you decide the country, look at the services that you need and go with a host that provides them, and always try and take a look at other sites that they host for speed comparisons, etc. You don’t want to lose your visitors because your host delivers your site at a snails pace.
Leaf Tech Web is a  real estate marketing company and Eden Production is a Canadian web host supplying a great affordable Canadian web hosting solution.

Lupins growing wild, dairy cattle grazing on the hillside, ocean breezes misting salt water in the air, sunshine illuminating white sand dunes… Prince Edward Island will lure you to enjoy its fascinating charm, beauty and history as you explore the many gifts this Atlantic Canada province has to offer.

Is this the land where you belong? The white sandy shores of eastern Prince Edward Island offer up an oceanfront view of the Northumberland Strait, while the reds sands of Cavendish Beach present a unique and wonderful vista. 

PEI depends on the sea and the land for its economy, its primary industries being farming, fishing and tourism. The concepts of stewardship and sustainability are regarded very seriously by the community, for the sake of all three of these interdependent industries. Protecting and enhancing the resource lands allows crops to thrive and shellfish to flourish, while visitors and residents alike enjoy the beautiful side effects of a healthy environment.

If activity is what you want, PEI boasts a variety of sandy beaches, perfect for swimming, beachcombing and kayaking, as well as abundant spaces for cycling.  As far as organized sports, soccer and hockey are popular on the island. The senior men’s soccer league features 3 divisions and more than 20 teams from all over the island. For other tastes, PEI offers deep sea fishing, fine dining, shopping and some the best golf courses in Canada.

Family activities, festivals, theatre and the arts are all a part of island life. Fun for the whole family can be found at PEI’s amusement parks, lighthouses, museums, provincial parks and of course, Green Gables. The Celtic Festival is an opportunity to experience in true Island spirit the pipers, drummers, storytellers and dancers of the Highland Storm.

The PEI International Shellfish Festival is best described as a “great big kitchen party” enjoyed by both young and young at heart. Kensington Water Gardens offers the opportunity to experience a journey back to medieval times. The Victoria Playhouse and the Charlottetown Festival present both historic and contemporary theatrical performances.

It’s no wonder the island has so many inns and B & Bs! Come see for yourself, and you may find you never want to leave.

Barry Wood has a wealth of information on Prince Edward Island real estate and on Prince Edward Island cottages for sale. You can visit his site at www.barrywood.ca.

At an international crime conference this week, law-enforcement experts and investigators gathered and announced Canada is becoming a global trendsetter in mortgage fraud.

They stateed that even though credit card and mass marketing fraud are still “a huge concern” for Canadians, consumers need to pay particular attention to the rapidly rising potential for real estate-oriented fraud cases, said crime and risk management expert Chris Mathers. “(Mortgage fraud) is an absolute epidemic, a huge problem in the developed countries, especially here in Canada,” said Mathers, who is taking part in the International Fraud Investigators Conference in Toronto. “And I don’t see it changing anytime soon.”

The conference, which hosts police officers, detectives, consumer specialists and consultants from around the world, will spend the next four days addressing the world’s most pressing fraud issues and exploring ways to tackle them.

Identity fraud is the main issue when it comes to mortgage fraud and all Canadians need to be aware when they are purchasing their home and when dealing with mail. Make sure you destroy all those credit card mails and other mass mails as these can get you into trouble.

Speak with Sue Pimento a Mortgage Broker in Ontario for your Toronto Real Estate Mortgage.