Comments on MLS Tesseract: Search engines & IDX Part VI: Purpose of IDX and b...

@Charles: I really believe in a value proposition ...

2009-08-05T10:16:00.760-05:00

@Charles: I really believe in a value proposition for real estate brokers that goes something like this:
1. A good broker provides professional judgment (i.e., applies knowledge and experience in a way that a layperson is unlikely to be able to do) in advising buyers and sellers about the values of properties and the means of getting the best deals.
2. A good broker manages and

Hi All, I have the unusual perspective of one mov...

2009-07-31T08:51:16.776-05:00

Hi All,

I have the unusual perspective of one moving from a dinosaur company where I was encouraged for 11 years to "go back to the basics", where change was feared and brokers use index cards and make their clients come by the office to pick up hard copies of listings; to the most hip and state of the art Real Estate co on the planet (at least in the US).
I am dazzled

Thanks Brian, I wish I had found your blog sooner....

2009-07-30T10:36:13.928-05:00

Thanks Brian, I wish I had found your blog sooner. It's a fantastic resource. Thank you!

I respectfully disagree that MLS's should not be concerned about FTC and DOJ. Other attorneys I've discussed this with see the issue very differently than you do, as I believe the FTC and DOJ will.

I agree with your point this is not a big vs. little broker issue. Instead

@Little Broker: BTW, welcome and thanks very much ...

2009-07-30T08:56:17.493-05:00

@Little Broker: BTW, welcome and thanks very much for your comments. I wish you'd been here earlier to help liven things up a bit.

@Little Broker: First of all, this is hardly a lit...

2009-07-30T08:55:10.059-05:00

@Little Broker: First of all, this is hardly a little broker vs. big broker issue. For example, one of the must successful users of IDX index fishing in markets I've looked at is Weichert (hardly a small firm). Other examples of large firms successfully using "RESTful" development to improve search engine placement abound. A great many tech-savvy brokers (large and small), have not

Victor, it's insulting, wrong and irrelevant t...

2009-07-30T01:03:45.460-05:00

Victor, it's insulting, wrong and irrelevant to claim my brokerage offers "limited services to consumers" just because I do well in the search engines.

I own a small full-service brokerage that provides far better service from far more experienced agents than any of the large brokerages in my area.

Like many other small brokerages, our number of transactions

Brian, there is a second set of expectations that ...

2009-07-30T00:46:50.812-05:00

Brian, there is a second set of expectations that need to be considered:

What were the expectations of brokers that heavily invested in SEO friendly IDX sites?

For seven years now, I've made major investments each year in making my brokerage's IDX site more easily indexed by search engines. I've also spent tons of money on other SEO related activities.

Here is the link to our research about broker resp...

2009-07-24T06:55:22.854-05:00

Here is the link to our research about broker responsiveness

http://waves.wavgroup.com/what-happens-to-online-inquiries-this-study-may-offer-clues

I appreciate your effort to look backwards before you look forwards.

Here is a thought for you to consider. In the travel industry there were agents who had amassed groups of consumers who trusted them to book flights.