The launch of Real Estate Network will allow the 43,000 real estate brokerage firms, 376 multiple listing services and numerous real estate franchises that currently participate in ListHub to expand their real estate marketing reach by choosing to send their property listings to one or more network members. Members of the new network retain the right to pick and choose the network members with whom they will share property listings and may refuse to share listings with select network members at their discretion.

In the Real Estate Network launch announcement on PR Newswire, Move CEO Steve Berkowitz called the new network “an industry-friendly initiative” that “maximizes and ensures broker control” over the promotion of real estate listings. While Real Estate Network rules are similar to the Internet Date Exchange (IDX) listing parameters imposed by multiple listing services, the game-changing difference is that Real Estate Network mandates a uniform nationwide listing standard.

Several aspects of the new network are generating talk in the real estate community. The possible demise of multiple listing services seems to be the greatest potential impact the new network might have on the real estate industry. Some industry watchers are also predicting that online realty lister Zillow will suffer from competition with a new, broad-scale listing network. The biggest winners may be smaller real estate firms that stand to benefit from free access to real estate tools developed by their bigger brethren.

New Real Estate Listing Network Challenges MLS is a post from: Properties Online Blog

A single property website used to be one of those “nice to have” things that only the especially savvy realtors use. Not anymore: as the Internet plays an increasingly bigger role in the home buying and home selling process, more and more sellers – and buyers – are expecting to see a listing website.

A listing website is a Web page that is dedicated to a single property, or a single listing. It’s a wonderful way to present a property, because it creates a one-stop place where all the relevant information about a property, including photos, neighborhood photos and even disclosures, can be found.

Single property websites are very easy to find online, because their URL usually contains the property’s physical address, which means that when someone searches for the address, the single property websites will likely be the first result they see.

Sellers are expecting you to create a single property website for their listing because they see it as something “extra” that you are giving them – as going above and beyond. Most don’t realize just how affordable listing websites are for agents, and how easy they are to create, because they look so professional!

The best thing about a listing website is that you can create a demo site before winning a listing, present it to the sellers, and then- after that beautiful website helps you secure the listing – you can go ahead, pay, and take it live. The site will stay up for a full year, and will include built-in, easy to use tools for sharing properties on a wide range of social networks.

Savvy sellers expect their agents to be savvy too, and this means knowing how to leverage every possible online tool to help them sell their home quickly and effectively.

Sellers Expect a Listing Website is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Ever wonder where your property website traffic is coming from? Over the past 6 months we have compiled analytics on over 1,400,000 visitors to approximately 15,000 single property websites and created this infographic to showcase our findings. Our study shows that having a top level domain name is clearly an advantage for both SEO and direct traffic.

Some of the highlights:

• Facebook has overcome Realtor.com, Trulia and Zillow to become the #2 top referring website behind the King of all referrers – craigslist
• Mobile traffic is up 600% over the past 18 months
• Single Property Website can drive 55% more traffic to your listing than virtual tours or online flyers
• Google generates 80% off all search engine traffic

Single Property Websites – Traffic Report is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Sensational Home Store Presents… 2210 Cummings Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95404 www.555mainstreet.com   Price  :   $ 699,000   Type  :   Single Family   Beds  :   2   Baths  :   3 Baths (2 F, 1 H)   Size  :   1600 square feet   Lot  :   11567 square feet   Open Houses 12/18/2010 12:00 PM – 3:00 PM 12/19/2010 12:00 PM – 3:30 PM   Features  »  Beautiful Custom Home in Prestigious Neighborhood!  »  Brazilian Hard Wood Cherry Floors, Crown Molding Throughout, Stainless Steel Appliances and more!  »  Amazing Views of City and Mountains, Room for Pool  »  Custom Wine Celler Room with Entertaining Bar  »  A Must See!! Too many features to list!! Remarks This is a sample of our Listing Domain Product – Single Listing Websites. Only $60 – includes custom sign rider! Charming 1926 California Bungelow. Home has been nicely restored. This 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath home has retained much of it’s Old World beauty but updated to suit today’s lifestyles. Lot’s of original fixtures, hardwood, built-in cabinates, claw-foot tub, & fireplace in living room. Private garden with beautiful roses and patio. Must see! Built-in BBQ complimented by picnic area with built-in wood bench and patio dining area. Beautiful summer/winter home or enjoy year-round country living! Call today for information package with GIS Satellite images and color photos.   Contact Information Kim Agent (800) 826-5123 (707) 206-7693 (Local)   www.kimagent.com VIEW MY LISTINGS Properties Online 1820 Empire Industrial Ct Santa Rosa, CA 95403 800.826.5123 DRE # Can Go Here. ©Properties Online, LLC, Patent No. US 6,760,707. The above information including square footage is based on data received from the seller and/or from public sources. This information is deemed reliable but has not been independently verified and cannot be guaranteed. Prospective buyers are advised to verify information to their own satisfaction prior to purchase. Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Properties Online, LLC, our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them.   Equal Opportunity Housing

New Blog Flyer is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Listing websites, or single property websites, are gradually becoming an essential tool in the marketing tools arsenal of savvy realtors. The reasons are simple:

1. Single property websites impress sellers, because they see them as proof that their agent is willing to work hard to sell their property.

2. Property websites are great for buyers because they love the convenience of having all the information about the house, including images, maps and mortgage calculators, in a single place.

3. Agents love listing websites because despite being so impressive, they are very affordable, and very easy to set up. A beautiful listing website filled with info, images and tools take just half an hour to set up.

4. Single property websites include built-in, easy to use tools for sharing properties on a wide range of social networks. Since social media is quickly becoming a must-use tool for agents, this is a huge advantage of listing websites.

5. Since listing websites have the home’s physical address as their URL, they are typically one of the first results to come up when potential buyers search for the property online. Since more and more people start their search online these days, the fact that listing websites are search engine friendly is another huge advantage.

6. Single property websites are a great way to secure listings. Agents can create free demo sites for prospects prior to getting the listing. The demo website can be filled with unlimited photos and documents and can feature music, a voice over, a video and more. Agents can then email prospects a link to the demo site, or demo the site live at the listing presentation. When the agent gets the listing, they can purchase the property website.

7. Property websites work better than virtual tours because they are easier to find. Virtual tours are directed at buyers who have already seen the property someplace else (on the agent’s site, for example, or in the MLS listings). Virtual tours don’t generate traffic in their own right. On the other hand, property websites generate their own direct traffic through online searches, social media and through the sign rider on the property itself.

Just like many other online tools, single property websites are quickly moving from a “nice to have” tool to a “must have tool.” Take advantage of them today!

7 Reasons Why Listing Websites Work is a post from: Properties Online Blog

While you should definitely have an agent website, filled with information about you and with lots of real estate information, photos, and tools, a wonderful yet often overlooked marketing tool for agents is building real estate niche websites.

What Are Niche Websites?

Niche websites are websites dedicated to narrow areas of interest. Real estate niche websites allow you to be a lot more targeted than you can be on your agent website. This helps you establish yourself as an expert, because if you have an entire website dedicated to, say, a specific neighborhood and filled with lots of info, pictures and tips on that neighborhood, you will come across as an expert, and anyone looking to buy or sell in that area would be more likely to hire you.

SEO Benefits

Niche websites also offer important SEO benefits. It’s generally easier to rank well in search engines for a specific, long-tail keyphrase than to rank well for a general keyword.

Types of Real Estate Niche Websites

Niche websites are easy to build and very affordable, which means you can build as many real estate niche sites as you’d like. A niche website doesn’t have to be devoted to a geographic location. There are in fact three main types of real estate niche websites:

1. Location. This is the most obvious one. The more specific you can get, the better, so don’t hesitate to start a niche website for your city, one for each sought-after neighborhood in your city, and perhaps one for oceanfront locations.

2. Customer profile. You can target first-time buyers with information specific to their needs and worries, retirees, families with children, even pet owners! Answer each group’s specific questions and provide the information most relevant to them and, again, you’ll establish yourself as an expert.

3. Property type. Many home buyers search for very specific property types, such as a single family residence, a condo, or an apartment. Other niches could be luxury homes, starter homes, REOs, Short Sales, fixer uppers – or maybe start a niche site devoted to properties that in your opinion offer a great value to buyers.

Content is King

The most important thing about real estate niche sites is to pack them with lots of information relevant to each niche. Add articles, notes, thoughts, photos, listings, tools and widgets, and of course links to your social media accounts. Turn each niche site into a treasure of useful, trusted information, and chances are, prospects will come to see you as a treasure of knowledge and information. Mission accomplished!

Single Page Niche Websites from ListingDomains.com
Multi Page Niche Websties from RealEstateSites.com

Niche Websites: What Are They And Why Should I Care? is a post from: Properties Online Blog

By now you know that as a website owner, one of your main goals is to make sure your visitors to not just find your property website, but stay on your website for as long as possible. Of course, you also want your visitors to come back to your site.

By placing a mortgage calculator on your property site you are giving your visitors an ability to perform important financial calculations without ever leaving your site. This means they are going to stay longer on your site. It also means your property site adds value to your visitors and gives them a good reason to come back.

This is why all our Listing Domains single property websites include a built-in mortgage calculator. Another huge time-saver for potential buyers, which helps you turn leads into transactions: we have partnered with several mortgage companies to allow your buyers to get instantly pre-approved for your listing. When using this feature, you may choose to override any default link with the mortgage broker of your choice.

Buyers Love Property Websites with Mortgage Tools! is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Sellers love property websites. Sellers love individual property websites because they give them the feeling that the agent has worked really hard to feature their home in the best possible way. Filled with images, rich text, floor plans, neighborhood information and mortgage tools, single property websites have a professional look and convey a strong message of “Look at what I can do for you!”

Buyers love property websites. For homebuyers, this is a matter of convenience. Being able to type the property’s street address into their browser’s URL field and gain immediate access to a site filled with all the information they’ll ever need about the property saves buyers time and helps them make an informed decision.

Property sites are easy to set up. Despite being so impressive to both sellers and buyers, the little secret that agents don’t tell their clients is that single property websites, such as the websites offered by Listing Domains, are very easy to set up. A typical property website, filled with text, images and tools, takes less than a half an hour to set up, yet looks extremely professional.

Individual property websites are affordable. The ROI on each single property website is extremely high. For a one-time fee of $60, agents who set up a Listing Domains property site get a high-quality, professional looking website that stays up for a full year and helps them secure listings, keep sellers happy, attract buyers, and establish themselves as Internet-savvy real estate professionals.

Property websites facilitate viral online marketing. One of the great benefits of online real estate marketing is the ability to use social networks to create viral marketing campaigns. More and more agents are discovering that featuring a property on social networking sites is a great way to get people to spread the word about it. Single property websites such as those offered by Listing Domains include built-in, easy to use tools for sharing properties on a wide range of social networks.

Five Quick Facts About Single Property Websites is a post from: Properties Online Blog

Creating a dedicated, one-stop Internet destination for those buyers is one of the best ways to grab their attention and make them truly explore a property. Many homebuyers are simply typing a home’s address into their browser’s URL field or into the search engine’s search box. When a property has an individual website with the property’s address as the URL, search engines typically index that property website as the most relevant search result. This means that creating a single property website is the best way to ensure that homebuyers can easily find online information about a property.

Once those buyers browse the property website and learn everything they need to know about a property, they often call the agent to schedule a private tour. At this point, the agent knows that they’re dealing with highly qualified buyers – buyers who saw the house online, know everything they need to know about it, and actually LIKE the house.

What Buyers Like is a post from: Properties Online Blog

A professional-looking property website, filled with unlimited images, text, audio, video and more, costs just $60 for an entire year. There are no monthly fees, no hidden costs of any kind, and the website stays up – and serves as a great testimonial to the agent’s marketing abilities – for a full year. The top-level domain name makes it easy for buyers to find the site, and makes sellers extremely happy, and more likely to recommend their agent to future clients. Since, according to the National Association of REALTORS®, referrals are the top way for people to find a real estate agent, making sellers happy is of course a big priority.

Another major plus is that each Listing Domains single property website includes a custom sign rider for the property, so agents who use single property sites don’t have to order those separately. The combination of the sign rider and the property website works beautifully to market the home. The property’s URL is clearly depicted on the lawn sign rider located at the property itself. Homebuyers can drive by a property they like, then go directly to the URL listed on the rider to find a wealth of information about the home prior to scheduling a private tour. Yard signs remain an important real estate marketing method that complements online marketing. According to the National Association of REALTORS®, 82% percent of sellers in 2009 used a yard sign.

The ROI on single property websites is high not only because agents pay a one-time fee that includes a sign rider. Property websites also pay them dividends in the form of gaining them new clients, who see the sites they’ve created, whether through links on the agent’s main site or through friends and acquaintances, and want the same marketing for their own home. Existing property websites provide valuable long-term positioning for real estate professionals as tech-savvy marketers and demonstrate their marketing capabilities to potential clients.

Are Property Websites Affordable? is a post from: Properties Online Blog