It's amazing to me how you can take a great marketing tool like the Web and miss the mark entirely on the most powerful ways to use it. An agent told me recently that a guy approached her who guaranteed top placement of her name on all search engines. It'd make her a fortune, he said.

If she'd bought into it, you'd Google her name and the city she sells in, and she'd be the first one on a long list of agents who sell in her market. She'd be the top dog, you'd think. At first this sounds like the ultimate "positioning," but there are some huge misconceptions behind search engine optimization as a primary Web marketing strategy.

First, it's buyer-oriented. And as we all know, he who owns the listings controls the market. Second, it's not a strategy that really leverages the power of the Web as a personal branding tool or a bridge linking you with your target audience. Top placement on a search engine just puts you at the head of a laundry list of names that aren't qualified. Third, it doesn't build business; your name sits there and you hope to God that someone clicks the link.

This is hit-or-miss marketing at its worst. If you're promoting yourself in this way, you're just hoping that the couples who're moving from D"?sseldorf or Detroit happen to pick you. It's no different than gambling ' keep playing and maybe this spin of the big wheel will do it. Real estate roulette indeed.' "?

But there's nothing risky about a well-planned and designed Web site, as long at it fosters community in your target market, promotes your personal brand and serves as an emotive story-teller.

It's not about the search engines but about how you drive your traffic to your local site that makes the branding difference for you. Your direct mail, e-mail farming, and advertising all lead your target market to your site. In many ways your site, like your personal brochure, becomes your clone, and all else you do is designed to get people to know you.

There's a vast difference between these two methods, yet many agents still think top placement on a search engine is the way to go. I disagree. To maximize the Web's marketing power, a personalized site must be a local resource for engaging and building community with the people you've chosen as a target market.

At the same time, your Web site should promote what you do best and who you are and what you want people to know about you. Do you specialize in lofts? Waterfront property? Do you work primarily with skiers? Your online presence is the way to form bonds with the people you most want to work with.

If this isn't what your site is doing, all the Google hits in the world won't help. And trust me, you won't utter a single "yahoo" when you see your W-2 next year.

Let me know your thoughts.