What site do you promote?

Real estate is one of the few markets where many websites exists to show, and sell the same inventory to consumers. Typically every agent has a website with their listings on it and often an IDX search. Usually the broker will have the same setup. In some cases a regional level may have a website, and above all of this the franchisor site. This means there are 3 to 4 URLs to promote.

Contrast this with the electronics market. If a consumer wants to buy a TV from their local big box retailer, they can visit the retailer’s national site for information about the product. The only website that exists is the top level site; there are no sites for each region or location. This means that all marketing dollars spent are concentrated on just one URL and it is clear to the consumer where to go online.

This highlights the problem with multiple sites and URLs. In the massive mix of sites even for one brand, there is no concentration for where the consumer should go. The only other industry that is similar is automotive dealership, with large sites for their brand and sub sites for each location. This might have something to do with the current trend of dealers closing and consolidating. We do not want to see this situation replicated in the real estate industry, so why do we keep promoting our small agent or broker sites over the larger national site?