Is Your Listing Everywhere on the Internet?
There are more than 1 million REALTORS® in the US who will list your home with a claim of top-notch internet marketing. But just like the old promise of I’ll advertise it, the promise of on the internet needs to be investigated and understood, because on the internet doesn’t necessarily mean everywhere on the internet.
Buyers today search for homes on a variety of websites. (Click to see my listings on different sites)
- National real estate websites like Realtor.com®, Zillow.com®, and Trulia.com®.
- Regional broker websites like Bairdwarner.com®, LongandFoster.com®, and Ebby.com®
- National brand websites used by franchise broker locations, such as those associated with RE/Max®, Century 21® or Keller Williams®.
- Agent websites, usually populated through IDX (Information Data Exchange).
- Websites sponsored by online or print publications such as the Wall Street Journal® or the Chicago Tribune®.
The Multiple Listing Service is on the internet, but buyers don’t directly use the MLS. The MLS is for brokers to share information with other brokers and their clients. Unless you want to wait for a buyer to be emailed your listing by a broker or agent, you want your listing to be syndicated.
Ask how and where the listing brokerage syndicates (or distributes) their listings. On the one hand, of course a broker would like to feature their listing on their own website. But remember, buyers can and do have a choice of websites to search for homes, so you want your listing to be everywhere.
A listing agent needs to make sure that the home looks good on all of the websites where the listing is syndicated. This means that the agent checks to make sure that the photos are all present and in the proper order, that the price is correct, that all the information is accurate, and that the videos are correctly linked. Each time the information is updated at the core location (usually the MLS) the listing agent should make sure that those changes are accurately represented downstream in the syndication sites.
Are the listings Enhanced, Featured, Pro? Websites like Realtor.com and Zillow.com may accept all the listings in an MLS, but require that the individual broker or agent pay an additional fee to show more photos and more information about each listing. For example, since buyers want to see as many photos as possible, a listing on Realtor.com is much more likely to be viewed if it has multiple photos instead of the standard four photos.
You need to make sure that your home isn’t just “on the internet”, but “everywhere on the internet”, where ever a buyer might search for homes.
I'm a Realtor® with Baird & Warner Real Estate in the western suburbs of Chicago. My listings are syndicated to over 2000 sites around the country. Please give me a call at (630)945-7935 if you are thinking of selling a home.
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