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I’m looking for answers regarding IDX sites and incorporating the home search into my existing website.
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Find HI real estate agents and Mililani real estate on ActiveRain.
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29 Comments on Your Personal Experience With Your IDX Provider
Sally - thanks for asking this question. I am going to check back to see what you learn.
@ Tom....which is through what company?
Joan...me too!
Great conversation Sally, thank you for asking the question. SO far it sounds like Diverse Solutions may be the answer.
I have used Diverse Solutions for over 2 years. What I did not like is that I could not turn off the map search, which for my purposes of showing condos is terrible, but they are not easy to work with. They just refuse to do it, so after 2+ years I am switching IDX broker. Both are indexable IDX, so both show well on Goggle, but IDX Broker listens to you a bit more than DS
I also use and like Diverse Solutions - SearchAgent plus DSIDXPress Pro. If you have a larger budget the custom sites and IDX from Real Estate Webmasters are some of the best in the industry.
Sally,
This is the best conversation that you've started. Like Praful, I too use Market Leader which I believe owns Active Rain (?)... I like it and do also pay for leads through that site. I'll stand by as well to read the final outcome! Thanks for bringing up this important topic!
I have been looking for an IDX provider. The one provided from our MLS just won't do anything you want it to.
Sally,
IDX Broker!
Tom
Sally - As in many aspects of our business things are very different here in Canada compared to the U.S. our options and the service providers are often very different than yours.
Our Board IDX solution is fairly new as Brian mentioned above in comment #8. I have not explored the use of it yet as I am very happy with the results from the two service provider sites we use.
These sites pull in a very large number (currently 92 out of the 107 in Uxbridge for the better one) of the Boards MLS listings based on the number of brokers who have agreed to share their data. These sites update regularly throughout the day and actually provide more up to date information than our National MLS system by up to 48 hours.
Barrie has stopped using frames and uses direct links as we link to our own sites.
It is these sites, in particular the links to these sites, that we have created and how we use them that has helped me increase my business.
Hello Sally...I was in the neighborhood and thought I would pull over and and stop in for a hello...so Hello Sally!
IDX that is not framed will enable each property to get indexed. That helps with SEO. Some advocate it will increase leads exponetially. For me that has not happened. For some odd reason viewers just seem to want the listing agents. That said I'll keep the SEO benefits. I am using both IDX broker and Diverse Solutions. Diverse has a better plugin for Wordpress, you can add listings to a neighborhood post or direct links if you prefer. I know sometimes it comes down to whats available in your area.
I'm curious as others have mentioned this, but why is it important to have your IDX indexed in search engines?
The herd mls mentality when you can have a stand alone media spotlight on your listings to command front page search engine indexes means not just a idx feed but individual attention to all the listings to shine brightly. To make the phone ring round the clock, email servers to heat up.
Andrew: Can you elaborate on the 'email servers to heat up"?
Hi Ritchie!
I've used DS Solutions and their WordPress plugin and found it to be pretty decent.
Sally;
I am not a REALTOR but I am a IDX Provider. We specialize in providing highly customized solutions rather than appealing to the mass market. A lot of the comments people have wrote we have addressed. Our search engine lies under a very flexible skin we can change for each agent. We also do not restrict to just only a map search but rather allow the agent to choose a view. We have widgets that allow for Featured Listings, Quick Searching (a small widget you can put anywhere on your website) and these too are customizable not only to the look but also the function (ie I want to only see Condos from $400K - 1.5M in these areas).
We take each REALTOR as a new canvas and address their needs rather than just providing a blanket solution. Sure you can take our standard installs but also have the comfort knowing you can change what ever you need.
As for indexing listings on Google. First you need to realize that most solutions index IDX. I know a lot of people say people also use iFrames and they do, but a vast also do not. Where the really big difference lies is on how they have their website setup. So for any given site it is not only the IDX listings that are indexed that is important but also the overall attention to the entire site in terms of SEO. Indexing your IDX listings alone most of the times is not significant. While our listings are indexable I like to tell my clients to focus more on their listings and also their market place as the source of attention to any SEO. Let your website be the major source for traffic. If you don't pay close attention to the SEO value of your website listing indexing is not going to do much good in the long run. Corinne pretty much has it right in her comment. IDX alone is not the answer but the way you use the listings. You need to incorporate those listings into posts if you have a blog or into rich content if you have a website. You will then see your leads grow. That is some of the things we teach when we deploy a solution. We like to show you how to use IDX as a SEO tool rather just an IDX search.
I would be happy to look at any ones site and give some specific comments on your IDX and your overall SEO strategy. Just let me know and good luck to everyone.
Gosh, I have sooo much to learn! Please continue to update us on your finds! Thank YOU!! I lve the Active Rain Community! :~)
Currently using RealtySoft which is OK for a regular web site but doesn't have much flexibility for WordPress. I'm plyaing with DS IDxpress now, but am not thrilled with how some of the widgets display, so I'm not sold on it yet. I've played with IDX Broker on their demo site and like what I see there, but don't know how well it plays with WordPress.
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