Looking for a Real Estate Agent? My how things have changed in the last 2 years. ReviewInc has followed up on its study from 2015 with a new survey about choosing Real Estate agents, and the results are in.
The exact same survey was presented to 1,500 U.S. consumers asking them what they research before they engage the services of a real estate broker. It is clear that online research continues to dominate the landscape. While people continue to ask their friends or neighbors, online mediums including the agent’s website, searching Google/Bing and reading reviews on sites like Zillow, Yelp and Google are still critical for real estate agents.
The two categories that saw the largest change were checking reviews on Zillow and the agent’s website. Of course, even reviews on Yelp and Google saw a higher percentage change, but Zillow saw twice
the rate of the change compared to Yelp and Google.
When ReviewInc conducted its original survey, Zillow (NASDAQ:Z) had just announced its acquisition of rival Trulia for $2.5B. It was a gamble, but it appears to have paid off. Zillow shares have grown by over 20% in the past two years outpacing Yelp (NASDAQ:YELP) whose shares declined by 16% since in that same period. Of course, Google, aka Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG), the 800 pound gorilla, continues to steam forward.
If you are a real estate agent, make sure that your website is updated and optimized for local search. Also, make sure that you get lots of reviews on Zillow, Yelp and Google – because they clearly matter.
Most businesses find it difficult to engage every customer in a consistent process. Utilizing a feedback and review management system, such as ReviewInc, is the best way to automate and measure feedback.
Interested in a free consultation on how to improve your online reviews and overall reputation management? Call ReviewInc at 877-973-8439, leave ReviewInc your contact information or email ReviewInc at [email protected] to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
