Name of your website?Rate Results Corp.
Your name?
Brad Harrison
Your Location (city, etc)
Toronto, Ontario
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Rate Results is a search engine developed FOR Mortgage Brokers first, in order to allow them to stay on top of all the latest interest rates and Mortgage Products being offered in Canada. With the vast interest from Consumers we decided to include a referral program to introduce our Accredited Member Brokers to Canadian Consumers.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
We are Mortgage Brokers and developed the search engine for our own use, but it was such a great tool we wanted to offer it FREE to the rest of the Industry in all of Canada!
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
We launched in February of 2007! A Search engine of Mortgage Rates and Products for Canadian Mortgage Brokers
How did you decide on a name for your website?
We wanted it to be very simple, and self explanitory!
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
We have ZERO competition, and it is FREE to our industry Professionals!
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
We want to make it better and add more and more features. We want to make some money via advertising now, so that we can reskin it and make it more appealing to the eye.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
So far, lots of both --- and our success has been measured in the kudos we have received from our Industry Professional Members.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
Oh.... wow~! We would change SO MUCH. Make it so much more powerful, better and easier to use. We would make it much, much more useful and easy on the eye **wink!!
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Absolutely!
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Our initial budget was much lower than the final cost to build the search engine behind the website. It was a bit of a swallow, but we pushed forward, and we believe the money will come.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Our biggest challenge has been getting all the banks and lenders to give us the time of day to explain how great a tool is for brokers, and how this will increase their revenue. We simply want everyone to participate by providing us with current rates and product information. It's like they are too arrogant to think we could possibly help bring an additional stream of business to them.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Word of mouth so far, now we are avidly looking to promote it online.
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
It is much more difficult than we expected! We thought it was such a great idea that it would be the end all to be all. We have to work at it and never stop... it's like a baby that needs to be nourished in order to grow.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Since February 2007, and we will keep it going until we have no more users!
Why do you think this was such a good idea?
We have other Individual Mortgage related websites, and we knew how hungry the general public is to find a GOOD accredited Mortgage Broker in addition to creating a search engine for Brokers. We decided to make it a site where all industry related businesses can advertise to each other, and our goal is to include a message board eventually, one where Mortgage Brokers across the country can discuss different products together, and one where Canadian Consumers can share their experiences, and ask questions. We think we're onto something here!
What is your website address?
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