Feature

Knowing how your site is performing and whether you’re getting a return on your investment is just as important as getting online.

Getting site statistics is (almost) as easy as setting up a free Google Analytics account. And you don’t have to be a statistician to understand how well your site is performing. Seeing trends in the data - Google is really good with graphs - can be very beneficial in helping you make decisions about your site.

Here are a few basic statistics to watch.

One of my biggest frustrations as a parent who makes lunches for the kids is coming up with new and interesting ideas that can keep for several hours and satisfy my picky eaters.

Then I came across WebMD’s 15 Fresh Brown Bag Lunch Ideas. I found most of the offerings doable, too. And nearly all of them would past muster with both my kids.

Here are seven ideas from that list that I’ve done variations on already that even I would pack for myself sometimes.

When the social networking phenomena began to flourish, we were told to look over our kids’ shoulders to make sure they were surfing safely.

Now our kids are looking at our backs. We adults are becoming the force of networking on the Web.

Listingbook has its own social networking side. And it’s a smart marketing platform, too.

No one in our house had an indoor pet before. When we brought our dog Pippin home almost a year ago, it was a new and exciting experience. But I don’t think we were truly prepared for what having a house pet meant.

We’ve learned that having a house pet means more house cleaning. And we’re learning more tricks to keep the house clean easier and with a lot less effort.

These are six tips we’re using for a cleaner home.

Some of the least likely people succeed in real estate.

As a manager and broker interviewing potential agents, it was always a challenge trying to figure out those that would be stars, those that would just make it and those that would fail. Experience tells me that an agent’s success or failure is not usually based on one strength or weakness.

The launch of Listingbook in the Westchester-Putnam, N.Y., area in January will add about 9,000 more agents to the ever-growing slate of Listingbook-powered online communities around the country.

This marks the second launch of an MLS online community in New York. The Multiple Listing Service of Long Island and its associations have been using Listingbook since January 2008.

A survey finds that most Americans have moved to a new community at least once in their lives.

In 2008, only 12% of the American population changed addresses, down from 13% between 2006 and 2007. The reasons for this trend may be the slowing economy, the downward spiral of the housing market, and the increase of two-income families.

Open House and Featured Listings promotions get a bold new look and more prominence on pages.

President-elect Barack Obama picked Shaun Dononvan, who has vast housing experience including in all facets of the affordable housing markets, to be HUD secretary on Saturday.

Donovan is the current the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development commissioner, but he has experience in the non-profit and private sectors and he has been a scholar of housing policy. He’s also worked as an architect.

Listingbook Executive Vice President Ira Luntz delivers views on the new Web landscape for real estate in a Q&A with Inman News.

Inman’s Roadmap to Recovery editorial project focuses on ways the real estate industry can rebuild in the face of the financial crisis.

Luntz, a 25-year veteran of the industry, is responsible for ensuring the smooth installation and implementation of Listingbook technology with various MLSs nationwide.