Home Staging Glossary by Staging Diva

Decorative items used to increase the appeal of a home. Accessories can include lamps, pillows, throws, vases, floral arrangements, candles, table centerpieces, clocks, books, etc. In home staging, “less is more” when it comes to accessories. Additional reading: Home stagers don’t have to buy their own accessories.

A networking website for real estate professionals, including home stagers. Join Active Rain for free and become one of The Staging Diva's associates.

A step-by-step problem-solving procedure or mathematical formula. Search engines, like Google, use an algorithm to determine which search results out of the billions of possibilities, to present for a particular word or phrase (like "home staging") that someone might type into a search engine. The goal of SEO is to get your own site to as close to the top of these search results as possible. However, no one knows the exact formula Google and others use for their algorithms.

An understanding between two companies or individuals that they will work together in support of a common objective and for their mutual benefit. Home stagers often form alliances with various trades people in order to expand their range of services without taking on the role of general contractor. You can make passive income from alliances, learn how in "Over 30 Ways to Make Money in Home Staging". Additional reading: Home staging services don’t all have to be done by the stager.

A tall piece of furniture often used to store television/stereo equipment, computer equipment or clothing. A home stager might also use an armoire to hide away items that would otherwise clutter a room. Because of its size, an armoire often becomes the focal point in a room. To learn more about focal points and staging tips, see Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home Staging Tips, Tricks and Floor Plans.

The initial price that a house is listed for when a homeowner puts it up for sale on the real estate market. A buyer then presents an offer, and a final price is reached during negotiations. In a seller’s market, homes are often sold for well over the asking price; in a buyer’s market, homes are often sold for below the asking price. To learn how home staging affects the asking and selling price of a home, download the FREE Report: "Ask Staging Diva “Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?”

A pair of photographs with one showing a room before staging and the other after staging. It’s important to include strong before and after photos in a home staging portfolio in order to demonstrate to potential clients your staging abilities and how staging can increase a home’s appeal to buyers. For advice on taking before and after photos, see this four-part article: Photography Tips for Home Stagers.

A bidding war occurs when multiple buyers submit offers to buy the same property, thus driving up the final price. Bidding wars are more common for a well staged home and in a seller’s market. For more information on how to decorate a home to sell for a bidding war read: "Staging Diva Ultimate Design Guide: Home staging tips, tricks and floorplans"

The term “black hat” refers to any search engine optimization (SEO) technique that relies on deception to gain a high ranking. Black hat techniques can be effective in improving the rank of a website, but only in the short-term. When you are discovered using black hat techniques your site will be banned from Google entirely! One example of a black hat technique is “keyword stuffing,” where a number of keywords are inserted on a web page, but they are only visible to search engines, for example by running them in white type against a white background. It’s important to avoid hiring a web development or SEO company that uses black hat techniques, to avoid being banned from search engines. Beware of any company that promises to get you on the front page of Google. No one can promise that! For more information on acceptable SEO techniques, see Course 4 of the Staging Diva Training Program.

Short for “web log,” a blog is an online journal, diary or website. Home stagers can use blogs to keep in touch with their clients and prospects by posting articles on a regular basis. For examples of two blogs written for home stagers, see Home Staging Business Report and Staging Diva Dispatch.

A computer program used for visiting, “browsing” or “surfing” web pages on the Internet. Popular examples of web browsers include: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari. If you are building your own website, it's important to know that web pages can look different on different browsers because of the different ways they interpret the computer code. It's important to test your site on all the popular browsers. If you have a listing in the Staging Diva Directory of Home Stagers, this is already done for you.

When the supply of homes exceeds demand, prices are lowered because there are many homes for sale and fewer buyers looking for them. Buyers have more power in this “buyer’s market” because they feel little pressure to make an offer when there are so many homes for sale. Home staging is especially important because it gives the individual seller more of an advantage over their competition. By decorating the house to appeal to buyers, they are more motivated to take action before this more desirable home is sold. For further reading about home staging in a buyer’s market download the FREE Report: Ask Staging Diva “Can I grow a home staging business in a depressed economy?”

In the real estate industry, a “caravan” refers to an event where a listing agent invites other real estate agents to tour a group of homes that are listed for sale. Occasionally a buyer's agent will bring along a client to one of these events, but it's generally thought of as an agent-only event. The goal is to showcase the home to a number of agents in the hopes that one of them will have clients who would be interested in the property. Some agents will serve lunch or refreshments to entice other agents to visit during the caravan. If you're a home stager, make sure your client's home is in tip top shape for this event!

A meeting, or the final legal process, during which the sale of a house is finalized. Funds change hands and legal title to the property passes to the buyer. The closing process and the parties involved vary by jurisdiction.

Color consultations are sometimes offered by home stagers as a stand-alone service where they go to a client's home simply to make recommendations for paint colors. Color consultations can also be done as part of a home staging consultation or interior redesign consultation. Learn how to improve your own color confidence.

What some people have started to call "virtual staging" when it refers to using computer software to manipulate a photograph of an empty room to depict it with furniture. Additional reading: Virtual Staging or Just Misleading Pictures?