As a listing agent, you want to give your client's home as much promotion as possible. By having more consumers see the home, the more likely one of them is to buy it.
Listing syndication websites, including those provided by
ListHub, can help your listing information receive broader exposure because it is being delivered to a wide range of websites. Many of these websites receive large volumes of consumer traffic. By sending your listings to more sites, you increase the amount of exposure the listings receive.
While distributing your listings to all of these websites might seem like a no-brainer, it's important to understand how these sites manage and display your listings so you can make more informed decisions. Educating yourself now could save you from a few headaches later.
Channels Can Generate Consumer Leads For You
When consumers view your listings on any websites where you have syndicated your listings, they can click a link to view more information. This generally takes the consumer to your site, generating a lead for you in the process.
However, there are syndication sites that don't drive consumers back to you. Instead, these sites might capture the consumer information and might attempt to drive these leads to you or other agents.
It's important to understand how each of these websites works, so you realize whether you will benefit from these leads. If they don't send you the leads, you may want to consider whether syndicating to these sites is in your best interest.
Duplication Wastes Marketing Dollars
By discussing syndication and advertising internally, brokers and agents will open the lines of communication and ensure resources won't be wasted or duplicated.
It's important for both brokers and agents to know where listings are being syndicated in order not to duplicate efforts. When brokers and agents syndicate the same listing, one of the listings might be overwritten - even if it's a premium service agreement. As a result, the hard-earned marketing dollars you are spending on that listing are being wasted.
By discussing syndication and advertising internally, brokers and agents will open the lines of communication and ensure resources won't be wasted or duplicated.
A Case of Buyer Beware
If you syndicate your listings to a website without reading their Terms of Use, you may unknowingly expose yourself to litigation or disciplinary action. Before sending any information to any site, you should read and understand the website's Terms of Use.
Some sites may re-distribute your listings to other websites. Once this happens, these listings might not always be updated in a timely fashion. If you use a syndication product, it would be in your best interest to periodically review this information in case your marketing strategy changes.
Additionally, sites, such as ListHub, typically notify when new sites are added to the list of syndication options. If you syndicate your listings to all websites, your listings will automatically be distributed to any new sites. By reading and understanding the Terms of Use, you can make an informed decision if you want your listings to appear on these new sites.
Stay on Top by Educating Yourself
Some of these sites post your listing information but don't make updates to it or might re-distribute it to other sites without your knowledge. Reading the Terms of Use for syndication websites could save you from headaches in the long run.
If the listings aren't updated, other agents may view the information and wonder why you are attempting to sell a home that is no longer on the market. By educating yourself today, you might save yourself a headache tomorrow.