9 Ways You're Doing IDX Wrong

What things are you doing wrong that destroy most of the lead generation power you could get from your IDX website? Let's get right to it!

Mistake #1: You Use a Framed IDX Solution

The vast majority of IDX solutions provided by vendors to real estate professionals are "framed" displays. Think of it as a picture in a frame hanging on a wall. The image isn't part of the wall, just hanging there to view.

A framed IDX is a picture frame on your website that presents the IDX for searching, but what you see isn't on the real estate website. It is on the provider's server. So, it's like an empty space when the search engine's robots visit. There is nothing there to index or help your SEO.

IDX websites without frames are very different. Instead of that picture in a frame, it's painted on the wall. It's a part of the real estate website. All of that awesome property and area related text and those images with "alt text" are a part of the real estate site. The search engine's robots find hundreds or thousands of pages of stuff to catalog for the search engines. It's an SEO powerhouse and will lead to more visitors, which leads to more prospects and closings.

Mistake #2: Your Site Searchers Have Limited Search Criteria Choices

Visit some of your competitors' websites and check out their IDX search functions. Sure, they all offer searches by area, price range, number of bedrooms and baths or other basic criteria. Sure, they can eventually narrow down the results until they get closer to the homes they truly have an interest in, but it's a laborious process.

Look for a solution with a rich search environment. From school districts to map searches, rich high resolution images, and even local business and school districts, your searchers return over and over because they are able to more efficiently zero in on the homes of interest.

Mistake #3: No Enhanced Features or Abilities

A major problem with some sites and IDX pages is their poor rendition on smaller devices and smart phones. Today's Internet user is highly mobile, with more of them using tablets and smart phones than desktop or notebook computers. If your IDX doesn't function fully and easily on mobile devices, you're in trouble.

Then there are enhanced capabilities that you should be offering. Can your site searchers save searches to return and do them again? Can they save favorite properties. How about creating customized search automatic email alerts?

Mistake #4: Social Site Sharing Capability

What do people do today when they find something they like on the Web? They SHARE it! If you want to see a dramatic jump in your traffic, you can if your visitors are sharing their search results with their friends, family and co-workers.

When they find a home that seems to be a great value, one with the latest bells and whistles, they will share it with everyone in their circles, IF your IDX allows them to do so.

Mistake #5: You Choose Based Only on Availability

Too many real estate professionals settle for a less than satisfactory IDX solution simply because their MLS isn't covered by other better solution providers.

We've been contacted by real estate professionals in some remote and small MLS coverage areas. Our goal is to get every one of them online without requiring minimum participation. If we're not already covering your MLS, give us a call and usually we can do so within a few short weeks.

Mistake #6: Taking the Easy Way Out

Whether it's easier to stick with your current IDX provider because you don't want the hassle of setting up a new one, or if you don't select a new one because you think it will be difficult, it's a big mistake. Yes, using a framed solution can be an easier setup, but I've already covered why that's a poor solution for SEO reasons.

Instead, look for an IDX solution that comes fully functional and installed in a website, working to generate leads from the moment it goes live. You don't have to do much at all, and what you do need to do is all about setting up the site the way you want it to work for you and your site visitors.

Mistake #7: One Size Fits All

When it comes to the framed IDX solution, it is usually a "one size fits all searchers" solution. There's one interface, and one set of criteria to enter and get the search results. Sure, the visitor can narrow down their search with different criteria, but it's not the most friendly interface.

With most solutions, that's all you can do. You can't, for example, create a pre-determined search criteria set and have it featured on the site in navigation. An example would be a search pre-selecting only condos, or only a specific popular area.

Mistake #8: Limited Ability to Promote Your Listings

You want to generate buyer leads, and you definitely want to provide top-notch marketing services for your listing clients. They hire you to market their homes, and you want them to see that you're doing a great job for them. If you can only place their home's criteria into a search and show them it comes up with others, it's hardly a great sales tool.

Seek out an IDX platform, like WebsiteBox, where you can have your listings featured in different ways in all search results, including showing up at the top of results for criteria that match.

Mistake #9: You Just Don't Have a Plan and the Tools to Make It Work

From opening up your search and not requiring registration, to offering enhanced services in exchange for registration, you need to have a plan for IDX lead generation.

Having pitches to offer up special features in exchange for registration is going to be a major lead generator. Examples of these features and how they work will get you many more registrations. It's one thing to say that you can do something special if you register. It's another to offer "Super Search Tools," saved searches and email alerts.

To view the original article, visit the WebsiteBox blog.