Realtor.com® offers free Realtor® profiles to enhance online listings

Realtors® who haven’t claimed their free realtor.com® profile or posted a photograph on their profile won’t be getting any referrals from the site.

“Consumers are looking for someone they can trust when they’re buying or selling a house,” said Mark Allen, vice president, Association Industry Relations, for realtor.com. “Many consumers start looking online for a Realtor®. More and more consumers are going to want to get an impression online first before they meeting with someone in person. They want to know who they are and what they’re about. A Realtor® profile on realtor.com® allows them to do that.”

That’s why realtor.com® announced at the end of last year that Realtors® who don’t have photos won’t be listed when a consumer searches for a Realtor®. “Photographs are important. It’s important for Realtors® to claim their profile, complete it and add a photo. They need to explain what they do and their values in their business,” he said.

Realtor.com® profiles allow Realtors® to add recommendations from their clients. “Consumers expect that now,” Allen said. “They want to know what their peers think. They trust them far more than the company’s advertising.”

Move Inc., the owner and operator of realtor.com®, recently announced that the website topped 50 million unique users in January. The number of unique visitors to realtor.com® from desktop and mobile devices rose more than 40 percent in 2015 over 2014 numbers. In addition, realtor.com® was named the fastest growing online real estate destination in 2015, according to comScore, an independent analytics provider.

Allen said realtor.com® has also made “big changes” on the listing landing pages. “We’re giving more front and center space to the listing agent and the broker,” he explains. “If the consumer clicks on the Realtor’s® name, it will link to their profile page, but only if they’ve set up their profile page. The site will also allow consumers to go from the agent profile to their active listings.

“Realtors® who are using their profiles well, are seeing their online ranking higher,” he said. “It’s ramped up their Google rankings.”

Once a Realtor® has established a profile, consumers will be able to search for them through various criteria including map-based, name based, most recommendations and most ratings. “This is the result of research and focus groups so we know what consumers are looking for.”

“This is really a win-win situation. Realtor.com® is offering a free, effective tool for Realtors® to manage and promote their online presence,” Allen said. “The sooner Realtors® do this, they’ll begin building their ratings and recommendations and they’re improve their SEO (search engine optimization) scores.”