Ok, you gotta check this out. I am not sure real estate agents really understand where thier listings may go when they are advertised in magazines or newspapers.
Frontdoor.com has launched a property search website and they source their listings from media companies like homesandland.com and realestatebook.com.
In advertising, all press is good press, right? Well – maybe, maybe not.
Monthly magazines update their listings every month and some leave the listings up for multiple months without updating the listing.
If you want to see something really interesting – read the property descriptions. These are the descriptions that the agents wrote for thier magazine ads. They were never intended, or written to be on the web.
Another interesting point. I wonder how many advertisers in Homes and Land know that they build a website for each advertiser for free. That has to be good, right? Well – maybe, maybe not.
Does the website follow Broker Branding rules and regulations? Does it brand the agent the way the agent wants to be branded? Does it dilute the branding that the advertiser is portraying in the magaizne ad? Does that free website provide the advertisers’ customer with the level of service and professionalism that the agent deilvers? Does the website scrape customers away from the agent’s website?
Some brokers are beginning to make sure they participate in revenue generated by third party websites using thier listings. This could spell challenges ahead for Trulia, Zillow, HGTV, Homes and Land, and others who earn their revenue from advertising on property search pages.
