Zillow and Realtor.com: Are They Worth It?

Zillow and Realtor.com recently changed a few things in their marketing strategies. How do these changes impact Realtors?

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Are Zillow and Realtor.com leads really worth the money? It really depends.

In my experience, I really haven’t found that much success, though it depends on how you go about it and on the strategy of the platform.

Zillow has recently changed its strategy in the Colorado Springs marketplace. Instead of giving you a percentage of a zip code, they now sell impressions. This is good for Zillow, because they can sell unlimited impressions and make more money. It’s bad for Realtors though, because it will cost them more per lead.

As they’ve switched over to this, I’ve found that I’ve had less conversion and far fewer leads, and my return on investment has dropped. For that reason, I have limited a very minimal portion of my marketing budget to Zillow.

Zillow has recently changed its strategy in the Colorado Springs marketplace.

Realtor.com is also changing the way they sell their ads. Their conversion rate is similar; it depends on the zip code, the town, and how you work that lead. It's really important you have a follow-up plan for those leads. I like to say, “21 days of pain—in that period you should reach out to the lead at least 15 times between text, emails, and phone calls. You’ve got to be persistent.”

If you call that lead once or twice, that is definitely not worth the money. But if you’re willing to take the time to reach out to them and connect with them—or at least try 15 times over 21 days—I guarantee that you’re gonna convert some of those leads. It’s a balance of how much money you spend in what zip codes and what areas.

I’d love to sit down with you and discuss what strategies I’ve used that have found success on Zillow and Realtor.com, so please give me a call and I’d be happy to share those secrets, tips, and strategies.