Is Internet marketing worthwhile for a real estate listing agent?

I don't work with home buyers just home sellers. Every agent I have asked says they get buyers from the Internet but not sellers. For all I know they aren't doing it right and that is why they aren't getting any seller leads. Do you think Internet marketing would be worthwhile for a real estate listing agent?

Jay Thompson, a realtor here in Phoenix Arizona Uses a blog as his exclusive marketing tool:

PhoenixRealEstateGuy.com

It works for him. People call and just say,"I want you to list my house", or "I want you to find me a house in Gilbert".

Jay talks about a lot of things on his blog, but he focuses on real estate in Gilbert (Phoenix suburb). That is the key.

Originally Posted by realtor Do you think Internet marketing would be worthwhile for a real estate listing agent?

In a word - yes. Like with other marketing mediums, it'a all about presentation. If you present strong and compelling WIIFM ("What's in it for me") copy and back it up with proof, you should do just fine on the Internet.

Dale King

Originally Posted by realtor I don't work with home buyers just home sellers. Every agent I have asked says they get buyers from the Internet but not sellers. For all I know they aren't doing it right and that is why they aren't getting any seller leads. Do you think Internet marketing would be worthwhile for a real estate listing agent?

I suppose that depends on what you mean by Internet marketing and how good you're at it. Even if you have the best content and copy without convertible traffic you don't have much.

It is absolutely worth it 100% of the time. As powerful as the Internet is you can customize your presence and lead generation to be geared towards whatever type of client you are seeking. Anybody in business for themselves (like Realtors) need trained in SEO and Internet Marketing because they are not going a way.

Success,

Rory Wilfong

AZ Broker

You are absolutely correct in your comment however, if the individual cannot do it alone it makes great sense to hire an Internet Marketing company to do it for you. Some things are immediate results others take months and years....but you should start now.

Success,

Rory Wilfong

Originally Posted by realtor I don't work with home buyers just home sellers. Every agent I have asked says they get buyers from the Internet but not sellers. For all I know they aren't doing it right and that is why they aren't getting any seller leads. Do you think Internet marketing would be worthwhile for a real estate listing agent?

Ask around but I've heard many agents who specialize in listings that very few of their leads come from their websites.

I think it is absolutely correct that more buyer leads come from the internet than seller leads.

That doesn't mean you should not have a website. If I were listing my home - I would certainly hire an agent who had a web presence. The marketing side is becoming web centered.

It is also your face to the public. Sellers may or may not find me on Google but you can bet they will use my website to check me out.

Originally Posted by Mikey Ask around but I've heard many agents who specialize in listings that very few of their leads come from their websites.

I did ask around and none of the agents I talked with said they generated many Seller leads online. One of the guys said it made sense because private Sellers don't want an agent so they aren't going to look anyway and the bulk of the people who do want to use an agent get referrals or call up the company they've noticed who is most active in their area.

Originally Posted by waynelong That doesn't mean you should not have a website. If I were listing my home - I would certainly hire an agent who had a web presence. The marketing side is becoming web centered.

Absolutely. Given the current RE market being so poor, it's not difficult to spot a dozen different agents' names in any given neighborhood on the signs popping up like weeds.

I spent some time last year doing freelance web design for Realtor.com clients; essentially creating their banner and sidebar ads for the Realtor site. With there being so many homes currently listed for sale these days, I think more and more people are turning to the web to allow them to cover the most ground, if you will.

I think everyone wants to BUY right now, but we all know that involves a lot of selling, which isn't going so well. Now might be the time to re-work the home page of the website to reflect experience and results on the sales front.

While there's no shortage of people out there trying to sell, all the media coverage of the mortgage crisis (or whatever they're calling it this week), I suspect there are plenty of people out there browsing homes for sale to see if they can't glean some vital bit of information from the listings of others which might help them to sell. A realtor with a solid web presence that stands out from the numerous, generically created as part of a package deal with a hosting company site, as being more than just a website for website's sake would seemingly provide a seller with a sense of security that dealing with this individual or office stands to give them an advantage in a rough market.