Table of Contents
The real estate industry is undergoing a massive change, with more and more people buying in the digital age. How will they navigate this new reality? Find out here!
With over 36 million monthly visits, Zillow is the biggest real estate listing site on the internet. Agents may make use of Zillow advertising to get high-quality leads. Sign up for a Zillow Premier Agent (ZPA) account and learn how to utilize the advertising function to collect those leads.
How Does Zillow Work & What Is It?
Zillow links to multiple listing services (MLSs) throughout the nation, making it simple for agents to claim their properties and complete their profiles. They may then join up for further visibility by having their profile listed prominently on their own listings, allowing purchasers to contact them directly.
You can do the following with a free account:
- Make a profile page.
- Take control of your listings.
- Use the Zillow customer relationship manager to keep track of your contacts (CRM)
You may join up for Zillow advertising as part of their Premier Agent service if you want to leverage the platform for more aggressive lead creation. This will provide you unique exposure as the only agent on your own listings while also allowing you to appear on non-ZPA listings in your agricultural area or territory. As part of this process, you’ll establish your budget, which will influence how many leads you get.
Leads may contact you straight from property pages using a simple contact form after you’ve signed up for advertising. You should expect to spend $20 to $60 per lead acquired, depending on geography and competition. Because Zillow checks each lead before giving it to you, ZPA leads are often highly motivated and may help you significantly improve sales.
How much does a Zillow advertisement cost?
The cost of Zillow leads is determined by the average property price in your ZIP code, the competition in your region, and your budget. Zillow refers to these three factors as “share of voice” (SOV). As a Zillow Premier Agent, though, you may claim a listing for free.
How to successfully advertise a listing on Zillow
90 percent of homebuyers, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), utilize the internet to find a property. Because Zillow is the most commonly utilized listing site, it’s critical to establish yourself there. Agents may advertise on Zillow by registering, filling up listing data, or claiming properties, and then promoting their own listings for exclusive visibility. To make the most of these efforts, each listing page should include high-quality images, videos, and tours.
Here are the 10 steps to maximizing your return on investment (ROI) while advertising on Zillow:
1. Become a Zillow Premier Agent and Advertiser.
To begin, go to the Zillow agent site and select “Join” in the top right-hand corner to create a Zillow Premier Agent (ZPA) account. To establish your free profile, fill in all of your personal and contact information.
You’ll get a free website, CRM, 3D Home Tour app, and a dashboard to monitor your advertising success. You may get advertising data directly from Zillow after this is set up.
2. Create an Agent Profile
Build up your profile page after becoming a Zillow Premier Agent and putting up advertising so that prospective prospects may learn more about you. To do so, go to the top of your dashboard and choose “Profile.” Then include an engaging “About Me” section with information about your experience, education, specializations, and any other pertinent personal information you’d want your leads to know.
3. Take Control of Your Listings
You may now claim your listings after fleshing out your profile. Simply login into your ZPA account and go to the Zillow site to search your properties by address. Click on each one separately. Click “More” and then “Claim Your Listing” at the top of each property page. This will connect the listing to your profile page and show it on a map under your “About Me” section.
4. Double-check that all listing information is correct
This is the greatest time to double-check that all of your listings are current. This is usually done via your local MLS, but it may also be done through Zillow. To do so, go to your ZPA dashboard and choose “My Listings.” There should be a link that reads “Edit this listing” next to each active listing. You may also go to a property page and use the top menu to edit the listing information.
Make sure all fundamental listing information is right on the editing page, including the price, square footage, property age, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and other relevant facts. Also, as indicated in the instructions below, complete out all listing areas.
5. Complete the sections on the home’s description and features
It’s vital to include all necessary elements and make the description as convincing as possible when filling out the listing information. To do so, use a lot of adjectives (but not too many) and make sure to mention all of the important characteristics in the “Home Details” part of the listing page.
6. Increase the number of Zillow views by adjusting the asking price.
Consider adjusting the price of the property when amending your listing to maximize views. While you don’t want to lower the price too often or drastically, moderate changes will help your property rank higher in the Zillow search results pages.
If your item has been on the market for a month, for example, you may lower the price by $99 only to bring it back into a more advantageous listing position. Always keep in mind that you should never change a property’s price without first consulting the owner. You may discuss the advantages of adjusting the price and the significance of keeping the Zillow listing active.
7. Include eye-catching professional photography
On the internet, your listing photos will be your most effective marketing weapon. According to Zillow’s own national study, a house with less than nine photographs has a 20% lower chance of selling in 60 days than a home with 22 to 27 photos.
Review the platform’s photography regulations, discover best practices, and then consider hiring a professional photographer to ensure high-quality photographs that match Zillow’s criteria. Upload your photographs to your MLS and Zillow whenever they’re ready.
Take a look at Zillow’s photography policies.
Before you begin utilizing photos to sell your properties on Zillow, you must first familiarize yourself with their listing photography guidelines. This guarantees that people’s data is safe and unsearchable and that no superimposed text is used to boost advertising.
Here are Zillow’s three main photographic policies:
- Watermarks from the brokerage or the team are not permitted on listing photos. On Zillow, the only watermark permitted is from your MLS.
- On listing photos, names and phone numbers are not permitted.
- On listing photographs, descriptive language is not permitted.
Recognize the Best Practices for Photographing Listings
Simple criteria for listing images on Zillow are as follows: On a single listing, don’t use too many photographs and make sure they’re all the same size. If you follow both of these best practices, you can be certain that your users will be engaged without feeling overwhelmed, and that they will have a fantastic user experience.
The following are some guidelines for utilizing images on Zillow listings:
- Keep each room in the house to one amazing photo.
- Use an outdoor and backyard “hero” picture.
- If necessary, provide a drone image of the whole property. Check out our drone photography guide for additional information on the dos and don’ts of utilizing drones for real estate photography.
- Add detailed photographs of woodwork, cornices, or other intriguing characteristics if you have a historic or distinctive property.
- Maintain a 4:3 aspect ratio and submit photos with a resolution of 2048 x 1526 pixels.
Hiring a Professional Photographer is an option to consider.
Hiring a professional real estate photographer can set you back between $150 and $350, but there’s a reason why this is one of the best investments you can make as your real estate business progresses. When listing images were shot using DSLR (professional) cameras, properties listed between $200,000 and $1 million sold for $3,400 to $11,200 more than their list prices, according to a Redfin research.
If you have to shoot your own images, there are many techniques to improve them.
8. Make a walk-through video
Video walk-throughs, according to Zillow, may treble the number of views your property receives. People are attracted to the visual of the play button, but adding video content to your listing may also help it rank better.
Download the App for Zillow 3D Home Tours, make a tour with your smartphone, and then publish it to your listings and profile directly from the app.
9. Take Advantage of Open Houses to Increase Your Zillow Views
Always remember to post your open houses on Zillow for at least a few days. To do so, go to the ad for which you’ll be conducting an open house and click on it. Select “Add/edit open house dates” from the “More” menu in the upper right corner. Your open house details will display on listing photos after you add this information, as seen in the example below.
10. Follow up with leads as soon as possible.
Make sure to follow up on leads as soon as possible to optimize your return on advertising spend (ROAS). You may do so quickly and simply using the Zillow CRM, which you can access through email or text message. You may also call leads to discuss their requirements and interests. The greatest aspect of Zillow CRM is that it comes with a mobile app, allowing agents on the road to keep in touch with prospects and ensure fast follow-up.
Most Commonly Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is it necessary to promote on Zillow in order to claim a listing?
It is completely free to claim a listing. Create a Zillow Premier Agent account to claim a listing. Then, for the property, search by address and click the “Claim Listing” option.
Conclusion
The most common kind of advertising on Zillow is for claimed listings. Agents may add house descriptions and features, virtual tours, and images to their online profiles to attract prospective buyers to their homes. It charges from $20 to $60 each lead to be the sole agent on their listing. To begin, go to the Zillow Premier Agent (ZPA) webpage, select “Join,” and create a profile and properties.
