Not all IDX products are created equal. How often is yours updated?
If your website’s IDX is powered by an FBS product (IDX SmartFrame, IDX WordPress Plugin) then your home search results are connected with the same Flexmls listing data you work with on a regular basis and is updated instantly!
Unfortunately, if you’re using a 3rd party product, your data might not be so up-to-date. (Uh-oh!)
What does data directly from your Flexmls system mean to you? And how can you easily use IDX as lead capture ideas within your digital marketing strategy?
What does data directly from Flexmls really mean and why is it important to you?
When a listing is updated in Flexmls, the change shows up instantly in all IDX products powered by FBS, and therefore on any website that has an FBS IDX product installed.
That’s pretty powerful stuff. That means that the moment a new listing is entered or the status of that listing is changed to pending or sold, that change goes out live to every website of an FBS IDX subscriber.
When a client comes searching on your site for the latest homes for sale in your area, you got ‘em. When a prospect is looking to have you show them a home they found on your site, you can be confident that the status is as accurate, to-the-second, as possible.
No “Oh, that home has been pending for a couple of days now” or “Yeah, that one’s already off the market”. Nobody likes being the bearer of that news and, ultimately, as an agent who is supposed to have access to professional-level industry tools, your clients are expecting you to have information that is more updated than the average consumer portal.
What’s more, as we all know, consumer portals funnel leads to competing agents. Have the better IDX and your clients won’t need those sites.
It all comes down to your credibility and you don’t want to start off with a big gap. We know that’s so important to winning someone’s business for the first time, as well as securing a lifetime of ongoing referrals.
Aren’t all IDX products fed with live data from the Flexmls platform?
Unfortunately not. There is a significant difference between vendors and what “real time” means to one, is completely different to another. The updates that many other IDX vendors show can be done at different intervals and those intervals can be anything from every 10 minutes to every 24 hours or even (yes we really found this) as infrequently as once a week.
Gulp.
If you don’t know what the update policies are for the vendor who supplies your current IDX solution, it’s probably time to ask. And be wary of any vendor who provides vague answers.
Why does live data matter on your IDX website?
Well, we talked about credibility. But it goes beyond that.
In most cases, a consumer will access 5 to 7 different sites before they find yours or make contact with you. Demonstrating that the data on your FBS IDX-supported website is accurate, sets you apart from your competition, prompting the call or email. Why go elsewhere?
Bottom line: When you make a commitment to invest in the best tools, you want to leverage them everywhere and anywhere you can.
Um… but I don’t have an FBS IDX product!
Don’t panic! We have a team of folks who can help with that. Jake, Sid, and Steve, our IDX Product Consultants, can help you analyze your site, determine what solution is best for you, and help you create a plan to transition to LIVE, data a.s.a.p. Use the button below to schedule your personalized consultation!
