Brokers Losing Agent SEO Battle to Portals

Years ago, when consumers searched for keywords like City Name + Real Estate, an actual real estate broker would appear in the search results. Those days are long gone for most cities in America. Unless a broker has invested richly in the goal to appear on page one, Zillow, Trulia, Realtor.com, and Homes.com dominate. With the advent of mobile search and the consumer awareness of long tail search, the goal of SEO strategies by portals expanded to include property address. Again, four or five years ago, if you searched for a property by address, and that property was for sale, [...]

By |2024-01-05T21:02:41-08:00December 4th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, SEO|1 Comment
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Cheap MLS Systems

The results are in from the annual WAV Group MLS Technology Survey. We will be working on the report in the coming weeks. Last year’s report showed that there were not any MLS software solutions with super high ratings. This year’s survey showed that the ratings have dropped down for every vendor. What can be done about that? As you may know, WAV Group provides RFP services to MLSs who are facing a contract termination date. It is smart to shop around to see if there are solutions that are better shaped to meet the evolving needs of agents and [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:24-07:00November 1st, 2013|Main category, MLS Insights, Product Management, Suveys and Research|5 Comments
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Does Your MLS System Speak In Tongues?

One of the great attributes about conferences is that they set the stage for product releases. Product Managers, Marketing Staff, Developers, and of course Sales People are always working toward releasing a new feature that stimulates Buzz in the industry. Today’s top press release comes from Discover MLS – the MLS system that speaks in tongues. Discover MLS announced today that their product now includes multi-lingual functionality. This will come as a welcome announcement to our friends in Canada, and around the world. WAV Group has worked on projects for aspiring companies wishing to launch MLS service abroad and the [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:26-07:00September 30th, 2013|MLS Insights|1 Comment
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Advertising in an Association Owned MLS Webinar- Don’t Miss This!

Join WAV Group for an informational webinar on advertising in an Association owned MLS! This webinar will feature a Q & A session with GLVAR, BNAR, and GEPAR - three leading Association-owned MLSs who have launched advertising programs to help generate non-dues revenue. If your Association or MLS is considering adding or modifying your advertising strategy, be sure to register today! You are encouraged to prepare questions and invite your leadership to attend this webinar as well. There is no fee for attendance but the capacity of the meeting room is limited to 1000. Register early to ensure your access. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:28-07:00August 30th, 2013|Main category, MLS Insights, Our Company|0 Comments
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More Brokers Offering More Services

WAV Group consults primarily with enterprise brokerages who offer full services. We frequently refer to full services as home services, not to be confused with the Berkshire Hathaway company of the same name. Home services refer to the variety of needs that a customer has during a real estate transaction and beyond. In the residential real estate, this may take the form of Mortgage Services, Homeowners Insurance, Title Insurance, Home Warranty. Some residential companies even offer contractor services, maintenance services, landscaping services. Resort areas have brokers who offer concierge services where they will clean your home before and after your [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:29-07:00August 26th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category|2 Comments
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Top Digital Budgeting Mistakes Brokers Make

As summer draws to a close and fall sets upon us, it is incumbent upon all businesses to build their budgets for 2014. The old adage rings true, failure to plan is a plan to fail. Too many brokerages in America are guilty of this. Here are a few tips that will improve the planning process in your company. It is a good idea to print this out and provide it to your team as a reminder. Look at data first. Many brokerages fail to take a close look at the effectiveness of digital marketing programs. Dig deeply into your [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:30-07:00August 14th, 2013|Main category, Our Company, Our Services, Strategic Planning|0 Comments
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Realogy has a great second quarter

There were times that I looked up at the largest brokerage in America and the largest Franchisor in America and wondered if it was built to last. They have been struggling through a rough patch with the rest of our industry, but they had the added pressure of managing the erratic public stock market and a challenging corporate lending environment. WAV Group does not have any broker clients that trade as public companies. WAV Group consulting has omitted Realogy franchise and NRT performance from benchmarks among brokerages over the past few years. They were fighting battles that private brokerage was [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:31-07:00July 30th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category|0 Comments
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A new tenor to integrated solutions for brokerage

I was in Seattle a few weeks ago visiting a broker when I encountered the Trulia team in the airport heading over to Market Leader. During the entire flight home my head spun with ideas about how these two companies would blend their talents to serve consumers and the real estate community better. We have clients who leverage these companies to their fullest, and others who don't. It has never been the providence of a consultant to champion one strategy over another. Helping others execute the strategy that is right for their business to maximize their opportunity is our charge. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:32-07:00June 25th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, Main category, Marketing|0 Comments
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The War That Few Are Watching

There is a War being waged between the leading portals today. They are fighting with all of their might to be leaders in consumer website traffic. Today, Zillow is in the lead with Realtor.com on their heals and Trulia not far behind. Homes.com is pacing with the pack too, and perhaps showed just how strong they are by climbing the rankings at a remarkable pace in 2012. In an announcement released yesterday, Move proclaimed victory at retaining their relationship with MSN.com, the portal operated by Microsoft. I tried to get information about the battle, but limited facts were made available. [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:33-07:00June 19th, 2013|Main category, Marketing, Strategic Planning|4 Comments
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More MLSs launch FIND search from MOVE

Move spread the news this morning that MRED (Chicago) MLS PIN (Boston and most of Mass) and SFAR (San Francisco) have all entered into agreements to offer the FIND product. If you are not familiar with FIND, it is a product that was the early candidate for the National Association of REALTOR's Property Library. It ties all of the active listing data on Realtor.com to a suite of extensive property attributes ranging from demographic data to flood maps to airplane fly over zones and noise. The Find products sits at the top of the page when the agent is logged [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:33-07:00June 17th, 2013|Broker-Agent Information, Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments
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The Future of Anything

I would attribute the series of postures on The Future of the MLS to Saul Klein. He may not have been the first to coin the phrase, but he has embraced it and made it his own. It is with due respect that we leave that posturing behind and set forth on a new journey. Our industry is at an inflection point, and my fear is that we are too blinded by current affairs to look beyond the steps in front of us. This morning, I encountered a quote from Antoine de Saint Exupery, a French writer, poet, and aviator [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:35-07:00May 30th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, Broker-Agent Information, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, MLS Insights, Strategic Planning, Suveys and Research, Technology Evaluation|0 Comments
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The MLS Battleground

The National Association of REALTORS® Midyear Legislative meetings may have reached a tipping point on the role of the MLS in real estate. To be sure, it is the battleground of our industry where brokers and associations struggle for power within the oversight of the Department of Justice. Competing MLS entities develop their operating philosophy that draws the boundaries of how everyone coexists without behaving like a monopoly. To be sure, the MLS is a common use term that takes on a lot of different definitions. Here are the top 5 governance models that define the operating philosophy. Association Owned, [...]

By |2018-05-03T21:24:35-07:00May 28th, 2013|Broker Technology Research, How to Make Strategic Planning Really Work in your MLS, Main category, MLS Insights|0 Comments
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