No great real estate website is complete without an integrated IDX solution for visitors to search for homes. The 6 Geek Build 2012 sites we are building here are no different. IDX is vital to generating a significant amount of leads and keeping visitors on your site for as long as possible making it THE most important aspect of your real estate website. Sure you can have loads of information on communities and events, but if you do not allow your visitors to search for homes, you are missing a large amount of leads you may have been able to get otherwise.

IDX simply pulls listing data from your local MLS and displays this information on your own website. Home buyers have always wanted this information and now they can find it on your website, with your branding, and your contact information. It is like gold..

With this important task comes a myriad of options for the real estate professional. IDX providers can be found everywhere and all have their own unique value propositions on why their product is better than the rest. I currently use REW to sell Park City homes but there are many other options.

We’re looking to find the absolute best IDX provider on the market to integrate with the Geek Build sites.

What are the important factors to think about when choosing an IDX provider?

  • Ease of Use– The search functions must be very easy for anyone to use. Make it simple for home buyers to navigate and you can keep them on your site for a much longer period of time. Make it difficult to find what the consumer wants, and they will leave to find someone else to answer what they are looking for.
  • Indexable Listing Content– Ask any agent who looks at their analytic’s of their site and they will tell you a significant amount of traffic comes from the long-tail keywords. Address searches happen frequently and having your site and the top can get you very qualified traffic.
  • Lead Capture/Calls To Action– One of the most important aspects of the IDX solution is it’s ability to capture leads! Leaders in the space know this well and put a significant amount of time into designing CTA’s.
  • Search Engine Optimization– Look for either the ability to change your title tags and meta descriptions or have them be optimized properly out of the box.

IDX Providers To Choose From:

  1. Displet– A newer company based out of Austin and run by Eric Bramlett. This is an affordable solution and a great product from guys who really know what they are doing. See Displet in action here: http://coloradospringshomesource.com/
  2. Real Geeks– Run by Jeff Mansen out of Hawaii who puts out some killer sites. Known for great conversion rates and a very clean design. Also, very affordable for the great system that you get. See RealGeeks in action here: http://www.homesalessandiego.com/
  3. IDX Broker– A very popular choice is IDX Broker who has a large coverage area and easy integration. Offers the ability to customize as much as you want and converts well. I use them on a secondary site of mine and it works very nicely with little work done to it. See IDX Broker in action here: http://www.realfx.com/
  4. Diverse Solutions– One of the most popular choices and a very large user base. DS is a Zillow owned company and has all of the features you could ask for in an IDX. See DS in action here: http://www.phoenixrealestateguy.com/
  5. iHomeFinder– I have not looked into this company personally but they have a large user base and cover a large amount of regions. See iHomeFinder in action here: http://www.anyhomesrealty.com/

If you have experiences with these companies, please leave your feedback below as well as a link to your site. PLEASE vote below on which provider we should use on the Geek Build 2012 sites.

Note from the Editor: Not sure what Geek Build 2012 is? It’s building a few real estate websites from scratch publicly with the help of the Geek Estate Community and overseen by an experienced steering committeeRead more about Geek Build 2012 here, or view all posts related to Geek Build 2012 here.

**Geek Build logo designed by Dominic Morrocco at M Squared Real Estate.