As a Real Estate professional is it your job to maximize exposure for all of your listings.
It is no secret that buyers begin their home search online. It is no secret that Google is the most used search engine. Therefore it is important that Google knows about your listings. When someone does a Google Real Estate search it is essential your properties appear in the search results. Increasing your property exposure on Google, may have an impact on the selling timeframe and even the property sales price. Two factors sellers are often concerned with.
Find out if yours can be found within Google Real Estate listings with these step by step instructions.
Step One: Go to http://maps.google.com/
Step Two: By default the settings will be to search “all results.” Change this to “real estate” by clicking to the right of the search maps field.
Then, enter the city of your listing in the search field. All Google Real Estate listings will appear. Refine your Google real estate search by price, listing type, bedroom and baths to narrow the results. All results will appear on the left of the map. Scroll down to verify if yours is listed.
Step Three: If you spot your listing, click on it and validate the data is correct. You can then see where and how Google Real Estate is gathering their data for on a particular home for sale. The data is pulled from a variety of sources. Here is what Google says about this:
Whenever we receive the same listing from two or more sources, our software groups the listings into one search result. The links to each source’s website are ordered according to timeliness and thoroughness, among other factors. So if your site doesn’t appear as the first link for a particular listing, you might want to verify that you’re providing us with the most complete and up-to-date information.
Why submit your own information?
Besides exposure there other important reasons to provide your own data.
- If a buyer is interested in the property you want them to click on your link. You want them to contact you about the listing increasing your chances of selling the home yourself.
- Once the prospect is on your site, you have the ability to showcase all of your listings, not just the subject property.
- It is a great link building strategy for search engine optimization.
Step Four: If you are satisfied with the results, use this valuable information on your next listing presentation. Inform your prospective sellers that when they sell their home with you, their house will appear in the popular Google Real Estate listings and maps. This strategy is a sure way to separate your services from your competition.
If you could not locate any of your listings proceed to step five.\
Step Five: There are several ways you can submit your homes for sale to Google. Accepted formats are a txt file or a XML feed. Either choice is good. A XML data feed is easier if set up properly to incorporate the requirements.
Summary
Exposure is critical for Real Estate companies, brokers and agents. Using the power of the internet can have a huge impact on your success. Because internet marketing can be complex and is constantly evolving, many do not take the important steps necessary to be found everywhere online. Adding your listings to Google Real Estate is one step in the right direction.
This article reprinted with permission from PCMS Consulting. The original can be found here.
