Zillow is competing against you, and using your own name to do it
I’m not one of those guys who thinks that Zillow aims to put agents out of business. Zillow needs agents, as they are Zillow’s primary revenue source. But neither have I deluded myself into thinking that Zillow is not competing with agents & brokers. They clearly are. Many Zillow apologists will deny this, claiming their only goal is to help agents succeed. Yes, Zillow does help many agents get business, but that’s not mutually exclusive with competing against them. (More about this later.) This, in and of itself, does not make Zillow evil. But recently I noticed Zillow doing something that many think crosses the line. Zillow is now using your own name against you.
The other day I happened to Google my own company name and found that Zillow was running PPC ads with my company name, and my wife’s name, in the title. This brought questions to mind in a number of areas, including legality, ethics and just plain good business practices. Under Google AdWords guidelines, one can use a competitor’s trademark as a keyword, but they may restrict its use in your ad text or title. For example, Chevy is free to run ads when people Google “Ford Trucks.” They could run ads that claim Chevy Trucks are better than Ford. But they can’t make the title of their ad “Ford Trucks.” That would be deceptive.
Fortunately for Zillow, most agents have not registered their names as trademarks. Even company names, though they are licensed and registered with their state, are not automatically registered trademarks. So from a Google policy standpoint, and probably from a legal standpoint, Zillow has a green light to go forward with this kind of ad tactic. But is it ethical? Is it good business practice?
After discovering this, I posted this in a Facebook group on search engine marketing that I belong to. It quickly drew a great number of comments, mostly from other agents and brokers who were upset by this tactic. A Zillow director entered the conversation and ensured us that this was just a “test.” However, agents didn’t seem relieved to know that Zillow is just “testing” siphoning traffic from them by using their name in arguably deceptive advertising tactics. After several agents expounded on how this tactic could hurt them, the Zillow director forwarded this feedback to high-level executives and, to their credit, they have “paused” the ads. Of course, there’s nothing to stop them from resuming these ads again.
Wherever you fall on the love-hate scale for Zillow, it would serve agents and brokers well to remember that, if you have a website, Zillow is always competing against you. Again, this doesn’t make them bad. You can both cooperate and compete against someone simultaneously. Agents do this all the time when co-oping on deals with other local agents. That agent might be bringing a buyer for your listing now, and competing against you for a listing later. Folks in other walks of life might find this strange. But that is the conundrum that is the real estate industry.
Drew Meyers
Posted at 12:49h, 30 MayPretty much all players in the industry – agents, brokers, franchises, and media properties like zillow – are competing for any and all of the traffic they can get.
Mike McGee
Posted at 08:48h, 31 MayYes, we’re all competing, but most in the discussion felt these ads crossed the line into unscrupulous territory.
Sam DeBord
Posted at 11:40h, 01 JuneWell-written article, Mike. Cooperation and competition get a bit blurry in these situations.
Todd Miller
Posted at 12:53h, 30 MayIts legal but misleading. I don’t want people to go to my Zillow profile. I want them to see the video blog I’ve worked 6 years to build and get consumers listening to me, and not what another company wants them to know about me. I feel they pushed into an area they shouldn’t have. Now that they are getting feeds directly from MLSs and not-so-reliant on hoping individual agents will syndicate their listings, that they feel like they can do whatever they want now.
Jay Thompson
Posted at 06:14h, 31 MayNo Todd, we do not “feel like we can do whatever we want now.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
Stephanie Crawford @AgentSteph
Posted at 14:49h, 30 MayWow. I’m not a Zillow hater, but I’m also not a supporter. As an agent with a business model very much like that of Intown Elite, I am not happy about Zillow’s “test”. It’s eye-opening, but not surprising.
Wesbert Saint Juste
Posted at 09:10h, 31 MayYes that is a cross the line.
Mike Price
Posted at 09:16h, 31 Mayhttp://www.inman.com/2015/05/28/bowing-to-real-estate-agents-zillow-pauses-new-advertising-strategy/?utm_source=20150528&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=dailyheadlinespm
Maine Home Connection
Posted at 14:20h, 02 JuneGood article. Most agents don’t really think about Zillow in a large and long-term way – and how their business might be impacted in the future. Finding your name attached to a Zillow ad must have been quite shocking. I am not a Zillow supporter, but this both marketing ploy both surprised me (in its brazenness) and didn’t surprise me (because it was Zillow). Maybe Zillow does not feel that they can do whatever they want, but rather whatever they can get away with.