Realtors are being challenged daily to migrate their services to the Internet, and many are grumbling about it the whole way there. The Internet has added a whole new layer to advertising costs and the marketing learning curve is often steep. But for those willing to make the climb, there's money to be made - particularly off of the national listings sites.

Over 40 percent of home buyers are going to the Internet, and their number one goal is to view listings. That is why the largest and most influential organizations in the real estate industry are gearing their services toward the Internet-enabled Realtor. The first service they perform is linking them to listings.

The national listings sites have all built marketing opportunities for Realtors into their business models, along with products and services for consumers and advertising revenues. The national listings sites are the meeting ground for the consumer and the Realtor.

Being linked to a national listings site sounds like a good idea, but at $500 a web page/site and up, choosing the right one can be a tricky proposition. Then there are the enhancements/add-ons to buy - which ones will result in leads and which ones don't? The choices make online marketing even more confusing.

According to a recent report by Gomez.com, the Internet is the place for agents to be, with 10 percent of agents generating as many as 20 percent of their leads from the Internet. However, over half the agents surveyed said they got fewer than five percent of their leads from the Internet.

Yet, top producing agents who use the Internet maintain as many as four web sites, according to trainers Michael Russer and Allan F. Hainge and do as much as 25 percent or more of their business online. Clearly, some agents are doing something right, while others are floundering.

With the expense of multiple sites, it would stand to reason that some web presences are better investments than others. The question is which ones, and in which markets? Choosing the right site(s) alone is no guarantee that you'll be found by Internet prospects. You also have to aggressively pursue the leads that do come your way. And that could mean upgrading to more lead generation features on one site, or simply learning to answer your email on another.

One of the problems that agents have in determining the results of their online marketing efforts is that they fail to take into consideration how much they have to do to make the Internet work for them. It's not a matter of pay your money and then wait for the leads to pour in.

John Giaimo, president of Homeseekers, says that many agents aren't in tune with the way the Internet and its consumers operate. People who frequent the Net don't see themselves as third-class leads, yet, incredibly, many Realtors treat them that way.

"When we get a complaint from an agent that they aren't getting any leads, the first thing we do is go to their mailbox and take a look," says Giaimo. "The mailbox will invariably be full of unanswered emails."

Smart Realtors, says Giaimo, check their email several times a day, and consequently have a higher lead ratio from the Internet.

Tomorrow, Realty Times will look at how to shop for a Web presence on the national listings sites, and will follow through with in-depth looks at the following national listings sites and what they have in the way of marketing tools for Realtors: Cyberhomes.com, HomeAdvisor.com, Homes.com, Homeseekers.com, and Realtor.com.

SEE PART II: Shopping for a Web Presence on the Large Listings Sites

Published: March 27, 2000

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Blanche is a renowned author of five real estate books. Her newest, Bubbles, Booms and Busts: Make Money In Any Real Estate Market, McGraw-Hill, was rave-reviewed by The New York Times. She was also selected from hundreds of real estate experts to contribute to Donald Trump's book, Trump: The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received: 100 Top Experts Share Their Strategies, Rutledge Hill Press, and is featured on page 68. Order Now Review - Honors In 2006, Blanche was selected among scores of candidates to author two consumer real estate guidebooks for the National Association of Realtors: The NAR Guide to Home Buying, and The NAR Guide to Home Selling, Wiley & Sons. She is currently planning two new books for the NAR and its members.       Known for her keen insight into real estate industry issues and for her ability to make complex subjects easy to understand, Blanche is a sought-after keynote and continuing education speaker. Real estate organizations from MLSs, to brokerages, to franchisors, to associations hire her to provide up-to-the-minute analysis of real estate industry news and advice on how to improve revenues. Her passionate delivery, peppered with stinging wit, is a huge hit with audiences and fans. Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, Blanche Evans, Richard Courtney, president 2007, GRAR "The GNAR membership meeting last week featured Blanche Evans as the keynote speaker. Her comments and insights resonated extremely well with those in attendance and we have had many requests for copies of her PowerPoint Presentation. She was a terrific part of the membership meeting and convention program!" - Don Klein, CEO Greater Nashville Association of Realtors Coverage from WSMV, Nashville - 8-14-2007 That Interview Guy - Get Inside The Head Of Today's Generation 2007 AE Institute Session - To purchase 2006 AE Institute Session - Parts 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 HouseValues Mastermind call - Parts 1 2 Blanche's fireside chat with Jeremy Conaway, HAR - Click here. For more articles by Blanche, click here.