Seattle agents, now is your chance!

Great news! NWMLS is changing their data access policy to allow each office to have as many data access agreements as you need. The previous limit of 3 agreements per office is being lifted as of October 1st 2009. Under these new rules agents in Seattle can now subscribe toHomeQuest and our easy IDX Blogger web platform, even if you could not before because your office had 3 agreements already. Our IDX Blogger system allows you to create a complete agent website without a web designer including:

• A Home Search for visitors to your website, look at listings right in your web browser, no signup required.
• Visitors can choose to sign up to receive listing updates daily in their email right on your website.
• An enhanced blog based on the popular WordPress system. Show you are the neighborhood expert by writing and posting neighborhood content to your listings map including schools, parks, your favorite coffee shop and more. Visitors to your site will see your blog posts on the map right alongside the listings. It’s more than just a listings map, it’s a buyers ultimate resource.
• An intuitive online guide to help you make the most of your IDX Blogger website.
• Click here to find out more about IDX Blogger

Click here to download the NWMLS Data Access agreement pre-filled out with the HomeQuest information. Simply fill the rest of the form (including Brokers signature) and fax it to NWMLS.

Social Networking Profiles

You can add a link or a “badge” to your social networking profiles like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter into your IDX Blogger sidebar widgets.  Click here to see how to use the Simple Image Link widget to add links to your social networking profiles.  The instructions below will help you locate the profile link you need to send visitors to.  (Note: These instructions help you find your profile links to place into the Simple Image Link widget as a “destination link”, make sure to read the Simple Image Link instructions to see where to enter the information you are gathering here.)

 

Finding your Twitter link: 

Your Twitter link is the easiest link to get, its just: www.twitter.com/YOURUSERNAME 

(Example: www.twitter.com/garrons) 

 

Finding your Facebook profile link: 

Once you are logged into Facebook, right click the “Profile” link at the top.  Select “Copy Link Address” from the menu.  Your link is in the clipboard and ready to be pasted.

 

Finding your LinkedIn profile link: 

 

Setting up web statistics tracking

IDX Blogger is compatible with the two most common web statistics trackers available; Google Analytics, and Visistat.  Google Analytics can be setup using the instructions below, for Visistat please email your Visistat code snippet to support and let us know which website you would like it added to.  These web statistics companies track the visitor traffic on your website to let you know useful numbers and details about the effectiveness of your website and marketing.

Google Analytics is free and can be setup fairly easily. Each site that you track on Google Analytics is given a Site ID as shown below:

 

Step 1: Get your Site ID from the Google Analytics website after you have signed up and registered your website:

 

Step 2: In your Site Admin, select “Google Analytics” from the “Manage” menu.

 

Step 3: Enter your Site ID for Google Analytics and click the “Update Options” button.

 

Congratulations, you now have Google Analytics setup.  Statistics and other information should start appearing in your Google Analytics account within a day or so.

Browser Compatibility

HomeQuest and IDX Blogger are compatible with nearly all modern browsers in use today.  This means that by being a HomeQuest user you and your clients can access anything you need from any internet connected computer.  Whether you are on Windows, Mac, or even Linux you can use HomeQuest and IDX Blogger the same way.

Supported Browsers:

• Internet Explorer 7 or higher
• Mozilla Firefox 2 or higher
• Safari 2 or higher

Although browsers that are not on this list will still work with HomeQuest and IDX Blogger sites, you may not get the best experience with all features working.  For instance, Internet Explorer 6 is not supported because of its old age and security issues.  Google Chrome works for nearly everything, but the WordPress menus appear organized horizontally instead of vertically which can make navigating your Site Admin difficult.

Page Templates Explained

Page Templates are a piece of WordPress that allows HomeQuest to craft special pages for special functions.  For instance, the Daily Email map page is still a page like any other, but instead of displaying static content, it knows to display a map instead.  Currently the templates include an Archives, Daily Email, and Blog Page template.  Check back frequently, as we will be adding new features over time and they will be announced and documented here.

When you are writing a standard static page, you do not need to change the Page Template.  However, if you need to create a special page like a Daily Email signup page, a Recent Posts page, or an Archives page you will use their special page template.

IDX Blogger Basics: Finding the Site Admin tool

Your IDX Blogger website is edited through the “Site Admin” tool.  The Site Admin tool is what you will use to add and edit your website content as well as change design, layout, and administrative options.  Your clients and website visitors will not see this Site Admin screen, this is only for you as the owner of the site.  To access the Site Admin tool, click the “Websites” tab in your HomeQuest account.  Each website that you have with HomeQuest will be listed here, and each IDX Blogger site will have a “Site Admin” button next to it.  Remember that each IDX Blogger site is independent and unique, so changing content and options in one will not do so to the others.

In your HomeQuest account, click the “Websites” tab.  Click the “Site Admin” button.

Adding a Daily Email signup page to IDX Blogger

The Daily Email signup map is now available for IDX Blogger.  Thats right, website visitors can sign up for daily listings right to their email inbox.  When a client signs up, their name, email address, and phone number (if entered) they will be entered as a new contact into your HomeQuest database.  You will receive an email alerting you to a new contact, and they will receive a welcome email followed by their first Daily Email containing a link to their listings.  Follow the instructions listed below to create a page in your IDX Blogger website that displays a Daily Email signup form.  

It is important to note that listings that are delivered through email are displayed on the Client Looking Glass map, not on your IDX Blogger website map.

Adding a Daily Email map page to your IDX Blogger site:

 

Step 1:  From the “Write” menu, click “Page”.

 

Step 2:  Name your page, then without entering anything into the content, scroll to the very bottom of the page.

Note: Any content you enter into this field will not show on the page.  The special page we are creating will show the daily email signup map and nothing more.

 

Step 3: From the “Page Template” drop down, select “Page Map”

 

Step 4: Publish the page by clicking the “Publish” button.

 

Your website now has a page containing only the Daily Email signup map similar to the one displayed below.

Lead Capture in IDX Blogger

IDX Blogger provides a free public IDX Search for the visitors to your website. This means that they can start their home search without creating an account or filling out a form first. Many internet users do not want to fill out an online form and wait for information by email these days, they want to be able to get everything quickly and easily through your website without giving up their contact information.  Giving out contact information is scary, you never know if you are going to get spammed for the rest of eternity in your email, or get phone calls from telemarketers and pushy salesmen, so people are becoming wary of giving anyone any unnecessary information until you have established a relationship with them.  You know that you are not going to spam them, but your potential clients don’t know that.  Give your clients what they want, a free online resource for real estate and neighborhood information with an instantly available home search.

How are leads captured?

IDX Blogger will prompt a user for their information only when a visitor:

• Saves a Favorite
• Requests a home showing
• Manually clicks “Sign Up” at the top of your map

Special Map Icons

New special map icons are available for the IDX Blogger system.   You can now have different icons for coffee shops, shopping, schools, parks, events, blog posts, happy hour, and restaurants all shown right alongside the listings on your map.  Clients visiting your website will be able to browse neighborhood listings while seeing and reading the custom content you have included with that neighborhood.  Demonstrate your knowledge of an area to your potential clients by including pictures and information about local schools, parks and other attractions.   The difference between a normal blog post and a special icon post on the map is only which category is used.

Why have custom icons?  As an agent, you find yourself selling a neighborhood to a family just as much as you have to sell the house.  To sell a neighborhood, just blog about it and your map posts will do the talking for you to any website visitor.

 

How do I get started?:

To use the special mapping icons, you must have specially named Categories added to your system.  Any post included in one of these categories will display with a special icon.

Adding the Categories (Do this step once)

Click here to see how to add Categories to your IDX Blogger system.

Note: You must add these Categories, they do not exist by default.  Make sure to keep the exact name or the special icon will not display.

Special Category Names:

• Listing
• Miscellaneous blog post
• Coffee shop
• Shopping
• Happy hour
• Restaurants
• Parks
• Schools
• Events

 

Categorizing a post (Do this everytime you want a post to show on your map):

Add a post (from Write > Post) like a normal blog post.  (Note: Make sure to geocode the post, only geocoded posts appear on your map.)

When you categorize the post, make sure to use one of the pre-defined special categories listed above.

 

Example:

HomeQuest on a Mac

Here at HomeQuest, we love our Macs.  In fact, about half of us have them here.  Thats why both HomeQuest and IDX Blogger support the Mac platform just as well as we support PCs.  The Firefox browser on a Mac is recommended, but you can use Safari too.  

Your IDX Blogger site was designed with all of your clients in mind, whether they are on a PC running Windows XP or Vista with Internet Explorer, or a Mac.   This way, you can reach a broad audience while providing your clients with an easy to use home search no matter what kind of computer they have.

Next Page »