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How To Build A Free Profile On Zillow

By
Services for Real Estate Pros with Zillow

This is a tutorial on how to build your profile on Zillow, a site that attracts over 7.5 million visitors each month.  There are many free marketing resources and tools on Zillow, and accessing them starts with the creation of a free profile.

1) To begin, click Register in the upper right hand corner.

2) If listings are being feed to us from your Company or a syndication service, be sure to register with the same email address they are supplying us.  We match listings to profiles using this email address so it is important that they are the same. 

3) Select a screen name.  This name will appear next to anything you do on the site, so chose something professional.  It is recommended to simply use your name.  This will not only help with name recognition, but also with search engine optimization.

4) Upload your photo.  This photo will not only appear on your Profile, but also on all of your listings along with a link back to this profile.

5) Enter all contact information you would like to be publicly displayed.

6) There is an opportunity to add the geographic areas you work, along with the career areas you specialize in.  These will help in categorizing you within the Professional Directory, in which you will be included for free.

7) Finally, add marketing text or information about you that will be helpful to the person visiting your profile.  You can add text, links and video in this area! All links are "followed" on this page, meaning they will help you in search engine optimization efforts.

Search engine tip - The words which you actually link from are called "anchor text" and are the words Google sees when indexing your profile.  For example, if you wrote "for more information on Wicker Park, click here" and you linked "click here", these are the words Google would index.  A better use of linking would be to say "visit my website for more information on Wicker Park real estate", linking Wicker Park real estate and forcing Google to see these words instead. 

You are done creating your profile, be sure to save your work!  Now that you have a profile:

  • Your listings will include your photo with a link to your profile
  • Your profile will show up in the Professional Directory
  • You can participate in Zillow Advice, an interactive Q&A forum

As you participate more and more on Zillow, your activity will be recorded on your profile, thus building an online reputation.  For those who contribute regularly, All Star and Local Expert badges will be awarded. 

Finally, you can always see how many views your profile has received by looking at the top of your profile information on the right.

See everything you can do on Zillow by visiting www.ZillowPros.com.

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Comments (8)

Li Read
Sea to Sky Premier Properties (Salt Spring) - Salt Spring Island, BC
Caring expertise...knowledge for you!

Thank you for this very informative and clear post.    Am off to put this into practice.

Feb 26, 2009 10:40 AM
Dona Reynolds
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services Stein Summers - Saint Joseph, MO
St. Joseph MO

Hi Sara!  Thanks for putting this post up, excellent job on detailing Zillow registration.

Feb 26, 2009 01:35 PM
Lise Howe
Keller Williams Capital Properties - Washington, DC
Assoc. Broker in DC, MD, VA and attorney in DC

Thanks Sara for this post. It is really helpful.

Feb 26, 2009 01:55 PM
Jeffrey Worden
Tradition Roofing and Exteriors - Saint Paul, MN

I have a profile, I will start to optimize it

Jeffrey 

Feb 26, 2009 11:35 PM
KB Collins
Keller Williams Associate Broker / Attorney - Bayside, NY

 Great Post! Zillow has been a long time favorite.

Feb 28, 2009 02:48 PM
Heather Fitzgerald
REALTY WORLD-Harbert Company, Inc. - Greenwood, IN
REALTOR Greenwood Indiana Real Estate

Thanks for this information, I will have to do this.  I have to say,  I don't like Zillow's estimates on value, it can throw people way off right now on their values, unless I am thinking of the wrong site.

Mar 03, 2009 03:31 AM
Ken Kelly
Benchmark Mortgage - Chesterfield, VA

Great post and Thanks for Sharing! Working on this right now! Please keep us informed of any new updates.

Mar 21, 2009 07:47 AM
Amy McAllister
Amy McAllister Realty LLC - Hood River, OR
REALTOR Hood River, Oregon

Very helpful information. I will be reviewing my Zillow profile and following your suggestions.

Jul 01, 2009 03:39 PM