It should be pointed out that IDX MLS solutions can also improve your relationship with home buyers aside from being crucial components of your system for producing leads.  This is because they provide you with information on the type of people who are searching for a particular kind of properties and you would be able to better serve their needs because you know what they want.  To illustrate, you may have discovered that a particular group of investors are interested in foreclosure or real estate owned (REO) properties.  Armed with this knowledge, you can look for these kinds of properties and directly make an offer to these investors.  There is nothing like a personal touch that strengthens your relationship with your prospects.

We have already mentioned that these search tools are vital parts of your site in its goal of becoming a producer of real estate leads.  Leads generation is a crucial activity for a real estate broker because the number of leads that you have is directly proportional to your sales and your income.  First of all, realtor websites should have been designed in such a way that search engine optimization (SEO) methods have been applied so that it would be easy for the spiders of the search engines to index your site and thus include your site on the top ranks of their results pages when someone searches for information on real estate.  Without this step, your site would just be another statistic in the Internet world and nothing more.

Once people discover your website, it is now time for the IDX MLS program to perform its function of improving your relationship with home buyers.  The visitors will be happy to realize that they are able to perform their research on homes that they would like to buy right there on your web page.  This is made possible because the search tool provides entry to all of the listings that are found in the Multiple Listing Service or MLS.  This is very convenient for them because they would no longer have to go to the websites of the different brokers who are serving the area where they want to purchase a home because all of the information is already provided on your website.

You may also integrate an online form in the site that he may want to fill up if he desires to receive news on developments regarding some properties.  At this stage, he has become a lead that you will follow up until such time that he is ready to buy.

With the use of IDX MLS solutions you may be able to expand the reach of your site because you are able to display the MLS listings that are found in your area.    This means that they are not just your own listings but a compilation of the listings of the different real estate brokers in a particular area.  This is a significant advantage of Internet Data Exchange (IDX) because it permits realtors to collaborate in selling the properties in the different listings.  It would also greatly expand your chances of making a sale if your IDX MLS system permits users to search for specific real estate owned (REO), bank-owned, foreclosure, and short sales properties. 

It is the finding that many people are now utilizing the Internet to look for properties that they could possibly buy that provides the logic for introducing IDX MLS solutions into realtor websites.  With the real estate market slowdown, there might even be a greater focus on REO, short sales, foreclosure, and bank-owned properties because investors may now be hunting for bargains.  REO properties are usually owned by a lender, which is often a bank, because of the failure to find a buyer for them at foreclosure auctions so that they are now categorized as non-performing assets.  REO properties are usually in bad shape but investors know that they might be able to get them at a very low price and make a substantial profit in the process.

It can be readily seen how IDX MLS solutions can greatly expand your reach and increase the number of real estate leads that you may get from the website.  Moreover, because its offers a free service to visitors of your site, you will be earning their trust and confidence so that it will be likely that they will keep returning for more information.  It is possible that some of them will finally recognize the convenience of getting information from you regarding the properties that they might like to buy after returning to your site a number of times.  Your will then have some new leads right after they have answered an online questionnaire that also asks for their contact details.

Coupled with the IDX MLS solutions, you may have a customer relationship management (CRM) system that automatically transmits to each lead the appropriate information that is being sought.  Moreover, the CRM program may provide every lead with email messages and newsletters that are designed to step up his level of motivation.  The program also monitors this motivation level based on a number of factors and determines if it has attained a sufficient level to notify you or your sales agents that this particular prospect is ready to buy.

The basic principle for successful realtor websites is to have smart computer tools that improve on you capability to interact with your clients and leads.  This kind of website is able to perform email marketing activities by itself and it should be easy to modify.  These marketing effort are usually focused on the new leads who often want to know about foreclosure properties.  Thus, these kinds of sites are complete, meaning that they have been designed for attracting visitors and are equipped with all the necessary tools for generating leads and converting them into actual sales.

Let us now examine the different characteristics of successful realtor websites.  The first important feature is that it should be easy to make some changes and you would not need to have a technical person to do it.  This could be ensured if you bought a template website from a trustworthy provider in the first place because the process for editing content has already been proven and explained to you.

The ease of going from one page to another in the featured listing of your site is another essential characteristic.  It should have a widget that guides the visitor on how to go to the different pages of the listing.  This is a critical factor because you would not want the visitor to be frustrated when he encounters problems in going through the listing because this could result in your losing a chance to do business with him.

Optimization of the site for search engines is also a crucial feature because very few might find their way to your website if it were not so.  As much as possible, it should be included on the first page of the search engine results pages (SERPs) when a surfer types in something that is related to real estate.  All the other powerful features of the site would have gone to waste without this particular feature.

Another essential component for a realtor website are IDX MLS solutions that permits the visitor to look at the various listings found in the MLS for your area.  This is really a free service that you are rendering to the visitor but this will encourage him to return to your site often.  And every time he returns, he could be exposed to the various marketing tools on your site and he may eventually provide you with his contact information.  Remember that the main goal of your site is the production of real estate leads that could be followed up by your sales force that could later result into a sale.