Should Agents Advertise Property Listings on Real Estate Websites?

There was a time when home buyers and apartment renters would contact a real estate broker to see what was available on MLS.

The only alternative to learning what real estate listings were For Rent or For Sale was the newspaper classified ads or magazines published monthly.

In either instance an agent paid to have that information appear where it could be found.

Fast forward to present day and we learn from a 2009 National Association of Realtors study that 90% of all new home searches begin on the Internet.

If everyone looking for a new home is searching on the Internet, why are agents still paying to have their listings appear where they can already be found?

Everybody’s searching for something

The Internet has changed the way people find information.

The fact that a company’s name is synonymous with search tells you how important the activity is to consumers.

While people enjoy lots of activities on the Internet, searching for people, places or things in the way a person thinks about it is done using a search engine.

And since there isn’t anything you can’t find on the Internet, a search engine should serve up an agent’s real estate listings, right?

Unfortunately, due to millions of websites and billions of web pages published on the information superhighway, it might be easier finding a needle in a haystack than a real estate listing page on an agent’s small dot-com.

Real estate websites ONLY sell looks

Smart Internet marketers saw this problem and seized on an opportunity.

They built and marketed real estate websites that deliver a large amount of high quality information about apartments for rent and houses for sale to its visitors, in addition to other services and features.

The value they offer brokers … more potential customers all looking in one place for their new home.

What they ask in return from brokers … lots of FREE content to appear on their website (i.e. pictures, property descriptions and listing information)

Since they make it free to post property listings, agents can’t afford to pass up the opportunity to get more visibility on their clients property.

That is until they learn that to get more views from visitors, they’ll have to pay for premium Internet Marketing exposure on those real estate website.

Paying a fee to stand out from a crowded field of hundreds of similar properties may sound like a good idea, but do visitors actually pay attention to these featured listing ads?

Most used feature on websites is SEARCH

Today’s consumer is empowered by the search resources available on the Internet and are not interested in being sold to (at least not initially).

In fact, the majority of a website’s visitors navigate to the most used feature of any web site the moment they land on the home page; the ability to search for what they want.

And since home buyers and apartment renters are interested in having as many choices to view based on their search criteria, they expect results.

Sure they’ll notice the real estate listing showcased larger than the others, but their more interested in seeing what meets their search criteria for properties to consider.

How should agents use real estate websites?

For starters, you should see them just as home buyers and apartment shoppers do … as search engines for specialized content.

Each of these sites ask brokers to upload photos, give a property description and listing information, which results into content used for a web page viewed by its visitors.

Using your content on any of these sites to get visitors attention will reveal how effective you’ve been in your overall marketing efforts off-line as well.

If you’re marketing property listings on real estate websites …

you already know what you’re getting from free posting is only slightly better than your own website.

To stand out from the crowd, you’ll have to learn how to market property listings on the Internet for better results, especially if you’re trying to develop relationships with your customers and prospective clients through your Internet hub.

The key to getting more views on each listing is knowing how to use a property’s photos, description and listing information.

Want to know how we market real estate on the Internet successfully in today’s market and why we haven’t paid to advertise a property listing since 2007?

Then add your email to the sign up form below and I’ll share what I’ve learned about Internet Marketing for Real Estate direct to your email inbox.

It’s time Agents understood how to win in marketing their property listings for more than just an appointment request.