Disclaimer: This post was created without ever seing the Listing Router Live and in action, so there may be some minor modifications and updates once "Listing Router" is released and Live on AR.

Hi Katerina - If that's where your IDX listings are, you bet, just make sure you have a good lead capture system in place or it's useless.  The idea behind driving traffic to your IDX site is to get you leads and increase your business.

John - they will only need to enter the City, I think a pulldown menu will open and allow them to select the State of their choice just like we have setup in Localism.  I'm pretty sure that's how it's going to work. 

Kathy - get one.  :-)

Jennifer - did you break it?  Just kidding.  Try just entering a city with no state and see if a box opens and lets you select the link to the city and state you want.  There may be a few glitches as we get this setup today, I'll be here all day monitoring these posts, comments, and the system. :-)

Miriam - to see the box and links, logout of AR, this will show you what the consumer sees.  You have to be logged out for the box to show up and your customized link to appear.  Let me know that it's working ok for you.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS 

The "Hit Router" will ONLY show up on your pages when LOGGED OUT of AR.

Currently, the Listing Router is displayed only to consumers. There's little value in showing a listings search to our logged-in members :) The customized link is also meant to be displayed exclusively to consumers. We wanted our members to be able to continue playing in the rain without the distraction of a floating bar at the top of every page that would have absolutely no value to them. Hope this makes sense.  :-)

Just enter the"City" and click search, a pulldown will open that you can select from.  Ginny had the same issue on hers so I just logged out of AR and tested it from her page and it looked great.  The IDX site came up and I almost ended up buying a home in Naples, FL.  :-O

We may want to add the ability to enter a state as well, since it seems many of our members are doing this already, consumers may be doing this too in the future.  Maybe an auto fill would correct this as well.

Scott - we are aware that is happening and looking int possibly creating an auto-fill, or allowing City, ST to be entered as well.  The search box does not specify to only enter the City and then click search.  We'll get that fixed right away.  I like the auto-fill idea, as consumers type, the options and locations should just pop up.

Michelle - make sure you are logged out to test whatever links, IDX, etc. you've setup.  You will only see the changes if you are logged out of AR, then go to your Blog, or a post, or your profile page.  Seems to be working fine for most right now.  Let me know if it's still not working for you, I'll login as you and see if it might just be your browser.  Let me know ok? 

Mike - that will be for another post coming next.  I have received many emails requesting the same thing.  I'll get that out real soon, I promise.  :-)

Marilyn - we're all over it.  We have a few different options we're looking into for resolving that issue.  You're right on the money with your suggestions.  Thanks.  Should be an easy fix or correction, we just need to figure out the most efficient way to make that work.  I think auto-fill, allow city/st searches, or just change it to say enter City and click search.  We'll take care of that, I promise.  :-)

Tina - I am looking into creating a list of samples for some of the best "Lead Generating" IDX sites around the Country.  This is a key component to making this work for you.  You might want to Google it to see what you can find in the meantime.  Also check with some other members you trust and love to see what IDX services they are using and getting the best results with.  I have a couple tweets out now that might get me some more info to share with you soon. :-)

Serena Group - you'll need to logout of AR, then go to your Blog to test out your links and settings.  There is no lag time or delay in the process.  It's working fine on every page I've checked that has been setup.

Jon - that is exactly the purpose and our intenton. :-)  Just another way to drive traffic and visitors to get you leads, clicks, SEO, and more business.  Enjoy my friend. 

Terry - we have Jorgen looking into the Billing Information link to find out why that's happening.  Give us a bit to check it out, we'll get it corrected. Thanks for pointing that out.  :-)

Tina - I just got referred to JustListed.com, did a search, and it forces me to enter a name and email by the second search screen.  This to me is a good example of an IDX site that would convert clicks to leads.  Check it out and see what you think. 

I'm sure there are some great IDX sites out there, but I have also seen some that really suck.  They let you roam and roam and search and provide no tools for lead capture which does not make any cents sense to me.  I can do that at REALTOR.com.  :-O

Brien - you'll need to logout of AR to see your changes. Just go to your Blog, or a post, or your profile page after you logout and you'll be able to test out all your changes.

Connie - everything is working fine now, feel free to call me when you get back, or anytime for that matter.

Randall - there are a few ways you can use this as a Mortgage Broker.  First of all, your custom link could go to a "Get Pre-Qualified" page you have on your site or Blog somewhere.  Secondly, how about setting up some IDX links to the Agents you do business with or would like to do business with. If you drive traffic to another members IDX site whether they are an AR member or not, I see GREAT value in that. 

We are looking into ways that you can use your credits for other purposes as you most likely will NOT be setting up campaigns yourself. Look for more on this later in the week.  I have to get through these last 3 posts first!  lol~ 

Great question, glad you asked, thanks.  :-)

I guess I should be added to the list of confused. I set it up for the cities I serve and put in my search site and I dont see anything. I went to my blog and my profile and googled one of my posts and dont see that search bar anywhere. I see what its supposed to look like but dont see anything in my profile. Am I doing something wrong?

Also I am concerned whether what I am doing constitutes an IDX site. My site has framed the IDX for our MLS. Does not that constitute an IDX? What is the difference? You can search from my site just fine am I disqualified for some reason? Maybe someone else can explain this for me?

Shane - you have to logout of AR first.  Then you will see the Listing Router Home Search feature.  It has nothing to do with Google and your Google searches. 

Regarding your IDX sites, this can be any IDX site where you have your listings and visitors can search for homes on your page.  The lead generating side is the most important. Do you have something in place on your IDX site that captures Name, phone, email, etc.?  This would be the key to getting the leads, otherwise they just search your IDX site in stealth mode, and then leave.  That will not help generate any leads or contacts for you.  Call me if you need help or have additional questions. 707 718-6773  :-)

Jeremy - answer your phone!  Ring Ring!!  I don't like VM!  haha   :-)

Brad, great information! But how can others who are not realtors and have no IDX site use this feature? (BTW, what is an IDX site?) Could we direct traffic to the realtors we choose in our area, and would we have to get their permission? Or could we have links to realtors that we work with to help them with traffic to their IDX site? I'm a home stager, so I'm in the same boat as Randall, the mortgage broker. I would love to help out the realtors I work with. Thanks!

Diane - By George I think you've got it.  As far as the legality goes, I would talk to those agents for sure not only to get permission, but to explain what you're about to do for them. Who wouldn't want you to direct traffic to their site so they get leads and possible business?  Hmmmm.... 

You can also use the customizeable link to send consumers to any site of your choice, this is the link that appears up in the Right Hand corner of your pages when you're logged out of AR.  It floats on the page just like the search for homes box does.  I see some creative ways to use this for your clients and potential clients in your area.  I am sending traffic to my past clients in my cities to help them out. The response I'm getting from them is awesome.

Brad~ Great! I can't wait to try it and set it up. How come we can't email this blog? I tried to email it to myself so that I can print it out in order to follow the directions???

You can email this to any email address you choose, just click on the  below the post and enter any email address with your comments.  I just tested it and it works fine.  You can also just copy the URL in the address bar and include that in the body of your email using whatever email program you like.  Hope that helps.

Brad, I have had an MLS search link on my blog for awhile now and it is driving consumers to my website, but I'm not capturing them. Until I find out how to capture a good percentage of these consumers, I don't think paying for the AR service would be feasible. If clients continue to click through to my website from the links I put there myself, will I be billed? I don't mind paying for the service once I figure out how to convert the clicks to viable leads.

Fran - you will not be billed for sending any visitor to your own sites.  The purpose of a good Lead Generating IDX site is so that you DO convert them to leads.  I was just showing Jeremy Blanton a sample of what the JustListed.com site does and how they capture the lead before giving all the information requested. By the second screen, they are already getting your name and email address before allowing you to continue. It's easy. fast, user friendly and efficient.  I'm sure there are many other great sites out there that do the same exact thing.

You want to send your visitors and traffic to IDX sites you have that convert clicks to leads, and leads to business.  I will try to compile a list of Good Examples of IDX sites that have effective Lead Capturing tools and systems built into their platforms. 

I think this is a crucial element of AR's Listing Router, and your success using it.  Watch for that post coming later this week. :-)

Okay I am going to do a test run, but I think that my company's idx feed will only go to them and not to me, so I am not sure if it will be worth it...

Hi Emily - are you limited to only using your company's IDX site?  Can you have your own?

Matt - that's a great idea, I'm sure the programmers and the rest of the AR team and staff are reading these comments, so I'll make sure they see this suggestion too!  Applying it to "Outside Blogs", what a great idea!!

Carolyn - where are you getting error messages exactly?  In order to help you, I need to know at what point or where you are getting them.  You might want to clear your cache in your browser and try rebooting your computer just to make sure you're not having any conflicts with any other sites or applications. 

Let me know if you need some assistance.  I can also run your computer from my location if need be.  :-)

Jodi - we have a few members that are having issues with the credit card info, hopefully we'll get it corrected soon for you.

Marianne - no study, but it will be much less than some of the other pay per click sites as far as I know.  How about we give you 2 weeks for FREE so you can kick the tires and see how it pans out for yourself.  Let me see if that's possible, is that fair enough?

Brad, I must be doing something really wrong. I set up my cities, logged out and then tried the listing search feature for all of my cities. I just get the home page for JustListed.com (one of the products of HouseValues.com). I really hate for the AR traffic to be going to JustListed.com. Maybe my website search isn't actually an IDX. I don't know the difference. Help!!

To This Commentor above - I'd love to help you, but have no idea who you are, all your comment shows is an IP address, so you may not be logged into AR when commenting.  Please login first, or sign your name so I know how to contact you and help.  Thanks.  :-)

Georgina - hang loose, there may be a couple glitches today, but for the most part, things have gone pretty smooth.  We had a few Credit Card issues, but not to bad for launch day!  If you need some help, just give OhanaBrad a call, I'll walk you through it if you'd like, at your convenience of course.  :-)

Joe - totally get what you're saying, and as always, there will be minor tweaks and changes moving forward.  The technical issues of these features always come first before cosmetic.  Thanks for your input and for sharing your comment here.  We appreciate it.  :-)

Lori - I do have a suggestion, for now, just enter Pullman and click search.  Don't add WA to the search.  We are correcting a few things that will make searches even easier, but in the meantime, just use city names to do your searches.

Judy - it was great talking with you today, just let me know when and where, and I'll hop on a plane and be right over.  Just need a few weeks advance notice. You always know where to find me....   :-)

(I'm holding you to your promise about that golf game too!) 

Donna - you might want to hold off for a bit, there may be some other options for you down the road that I'm not at liberty to discuss just yet.  (shhh...) You can send traffic to your sites, but without a good lead capture system, it might not make a lot of cents sense.  Just fade back and punt right now and we'll see what we can do to set you up here in the very near future. :-)

Jennifer - your IDX site should have links to those particular city pages. Go to your IDX site, do your city search, then grab that specific URL to setup as the link from Listing Router.  Some IDX sites use pop-ups which makes it hard to direct traffic to a specific City.  Something you might want to investigate first before trying to setup each of those areas. Let me know if you need any help.

Diana - give me a call and I will walk you through it.  If you don't have an IDX site, we can discuss your options and if you do, but just have not set it up yet, I can help you with that as well.  Call me anytime tomorrow, I'll be around most the day.  :-)

Eric - no you won't be charged.  If you setup your local IDX sites, it will go there instead. 

Roland - let me know if you need any help, it's pretty simple to do and shouldn't take you but a few minutes.

Diana - I had faith in you and knew you'd figure it out!  :-)

Pam - easy!  Just type "Charlottesville" with no space, no state, no nothing, just the city and click search.  All the link options will magically appear before your eyes, then just click on the one you want.  No comma, no state, no space, just the City and nothing else.  Try that and let me know if it works for you.  :-)

Harley - I edited the post, and added that, thanks.  I think the credit card issue is because you are probably entering the same amount ie: $50.00 each time when you submit it, the bank might think it's a duplicate.  Try waiting for a bit between setting up campaigns and see if that helps.

Marlene - glad you caught that too, It was a bit frustrating for a few of us when we launched this morning, until we all realized this ourselves.  :-)

Kerry - Congrats, looking forward to you sharing your results here with us!  :-)

Ginny - that just means that another member has paid for a campaign in your area.  If you paid for one too, they will show up on a rotation basis.  In some cases, we have 4 or 5 who have campaigns in the same areas. Hope that makes sense. :-)

Christine - great question if I understand correctly.  How do you apply your credits to the billing process?  They are working on all that now.  The credit card and billing information links are having a couple bugs, we'll get em worked out, and I'm not sure how the credits will be dispersed or what the options will be.  We'll get there, in the meantime you have 2 weeks to campaign for free.  :-)

Ryan - I haven't gotten any yet today, maybe restart your system and clear your cache might help. Let me know if you're still getting them after that and which browser you're using, and I'll try to help you out.

Jon - if you're reading this post and commenting, you're caught up with all the rest of us!  You're way ahead of the race.  :-))))

Marianne - you'll find all the details on this post: Have fun  :-)

How To Setup Your Own Click Campaign

Marianne - what makes you think you're not?  (Big Smile)  :-)))

Debra - I do try my best, this was the Very first tutorial I had ever written on AR without ever having seen it live or tested it out myself first.  Talk about a leap of faith into a Blind post.  This would be my winner for sure!! All I had were some screen shots and a concept, that's it.  Should make all my future posts easy compared to these.  I also had to do 3 in one day, including this one.  A day I'll never forget, that's for sure.  Glad this post did help you understand these new AR features. :-)

Troy  - we're kinda excited about it too!  Thanks for sharing your excitement and enthusiasm here.  :-)

Janice - not sure it works right now on your AR outside Blog.  We ae looking at possibly creating a widget that you could use anywhere in the near future. :-)

Pamela - haha!!!  Here to help if you need.  Tell me you did see this in the post right???

IMPORTANT NOTE

The "Hit Router" search box will ONLY show up on your pages when LOGGED OUT of ActiveRain.

Pamela - the same thing happened to me.  I set up the areas, then went to see if they worked and couldn't find them anywhere.  Once I logged out (unintentionally of course) there is was!!  hahaha.  That's why I used RED letters to send the message hoping folks would see it. 

Glad it's working for you, and thanks for the nice FB message.  :-)

Maggie - and you have been missed for sure, welcome back my friend.  Lot's of catching up to do.  :-)

Evelyn - better get out that heavy duty umbrella....or should I say net?!?    :-))

Barbara - got your message, let me know if you need any help getting that banner and photo up.  :-)

Lee - just enter the city in one box, and then the IDX URL where you want visitors to land for homes available in that city from your IDX MLS site in the other.  It's really that easy.  :-)

David - If this happens, it is likely they will end up on another members IDX but you will be given Listing Router credits for their search on your site.  See the "Listing Router" posts for more details if you need. :-)

Ben - Consumers will see the listing router on every page whether you are logged in or not.  Just log-out, and go to any page and you will see the ability to search homes on every AR page or screen.  If you find this not to be the case, let me know, this has been my experience.

Ronnie - I see you have 2 Areas/Campaigns setup.  The best advice I can give is that it really depends on how effective your IDX site is.  If there is no lead capture ability or traffic is just visiting your site and then leaving, then the campaigns defeat the purpose.  The power of lead generation using Listing Router really falls on the IDX systems.  I am not familiar with your IDX or MLS. so this is something you need to determine as to how well it will work or not.  Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.  :-)

Mark - let me know if you need any assistance.

Gene - Ultimately, you should have a separate IDX link for each city.  If a visitor types in a city while on your Blog or Profile, you want them to end up at that city showing homes for sale in that city. If the link takes them anywhere else, or it's not where they think they should have landed, chances are you'll lose them.  Internet folks just don't have the patience these days to hunt around your website searching and searching and searching.  I would go to each city on your IDX and use that URL for your "City Search" link.

Let me know if this doesn't make sense, which I sometimes have the gift of bearing. lol~

Sonya - if you need any help or advice with this, don't hesitate to give me a call anytime.  :-)

Lanre - have a great weekend, we can catch up Monday.

Joel - I'd need to know more about your IDX, and I think the IP address would be the best identifier if I understand your question correctly.  You'll see my profile name is in the URL (activebrad) making it easy to identify that this was my post.  Feel free to give me a call if you'd like to explore how to make this work for you. Thanks.