When considering obtaining optimal face-time for your listings in classified sites, we commonly think in-terms of selecting values from a drop-down list, a checkbox…number of baths, bedrooms, garage size, lot size, mountain or ocean view, etc…equally true from perspective of (a) adding a listing and (b) conversely when users search.

But there is more for agents/brokers to be concerned with, to ensure their listings get “face-time” on many online real estate classifieds.

Time to get Geeky…

So where is online search heading and how can you remain competitive?

SearchThe growing frontier is definetely keyword search. It’s here and it’s growing. In terms of Computer Science, it’s a realm called “Natural Language”. We see it today with companies like Vast, Roost, Oodle and other online classifieds, where keywords are an intricate part to the online, consumer search experience…where the importance of keyword search for RE professionals is now extremely important.

Given the example of Roost to the right, we see opportunities for consumers to refine search results on key words like “Hardwood Floors”…rich keywords and phrases. I remember Joel of FOREM once mentioned folks from Boston searching for “Wicked” features, like a “Wicked Kitchen” per se.

Why Care?

One Word…Syndication. For me, Point2 is most robust in syndication partners (see graph of Point2 Syndication Partners). From the Graph, you’ll note syndication to Vast and Oodle from Point2. If Point2 syndicates to Vast…your listings are now at Overstock.com as noted by Inman. Given Point2 syndicates to Oodle.com…your listings are now at Walmart.com per Joel Burslem at FOREM..

Heck, Point2 could extend their graph to be

  • Point2 –> Vast –> Overstock
  • Point2 –> Oodle –> Walmart

What You Need to Do
Be top heavy in your “outdoor” and “indoor” descriptions of a property, more so than below:Indoor & Outdoor

Warning. What is a checkbox for “hardwood floors” on your base technology for listings, also available for consumers to check when searching…may not be a checkbox for consumers searching on syndication partners, whose search is different and constantly evolving. “Hardwood Floors”, “Oversized Cabinets”, etc…all needs to be in the description (you may even feel like your duplicating the information because it was a “checkbox” when you added the listing…so be it).

Go top heavy in keywords and phrases in your descriptions…leave nothing to the imagination, get it in there, double it up, be long-winded, be extremely verbose.

What Online Classifieds May Be Doing With Your Listings

I brushed off a graph from my master’s thesis in Mgmt Information Systems, to give insight on how online classifieds who are implementing natural language search…how they may be parsing, chopping up and indexing your listing’s interior and exterior descriptions.

Noun Phrasing

It’s a process called “Noun Phrasing”…extracting the meaty and important phrases from sentences. Given listings, it may be “Remodeled Kitchen”, “Large Lot”, “Game Room”, etc that online classifieds may be extracting and indexing for natural language search.

Bottomline…
Takeaway. Because of syndication and different searching methods available on consumer sites, your descriptions must more keyword-rich than ever before.

As an agent I would not care if my listing was found by a consumer browsing Overstock.com while perusing new digital cameras. Overstock is not the #1 destination for real estate consumers….However…

If my listing was syndicated to a not-so widely visited site…but my listing was on the first page of search results by a consumer looking for “jacuzzi tub”, “oversized lot”, “mountain view”, “remodeled kitchen”, “shed”, “Phoenix, AZ”…..I’d take the lead and run w/ it.