ActiveRain - The Official ActiveBlog

Disclaimer: This post was created without ever seing the Listing Router Live and in action, so there may be some minor modifications and updates once "Listing Router" is released and Live on AR.

Brad- You have been one busy bee! I did watch Bob's video. Is  my professional version of my point 2 website my own website?

Hi Katerina - If that's where your IDX listings are, you bet, just make sure you have a good lead capture system in place or it's useless.  The idea behind driving traffic to your IDX site is to get you leads and increase your business.

Brad - When people search, they need to enter city/state pairs. Without the state, how will Listing Router know if they're searching for homes in Bellevue WA, Bellevue NE, Bellevue OH, or Bellevue KY?

This looks like a great concept, process. am excited to see how it works in real life.

Brad, and if we don['t have an IDX site?

I must be missing a step somewhere. When I enter a city/state combo in my market, I get a "no cities found" message, so there is nowhere to put the IDX link. The weird tning is that all of my localism posts are missing from Localism, although they are still active in my blog area, and some of my points have gone missing...

Brad - This is Great!  I will have to come back later to work on this.  Thank You!  :)

Thanks for a  great tutorial.  I'm going to do it a test to see if it works.  Thanks!  This is very exciting!

Okay I set this up but I am using the Customizer and can't see the top header part with the links, do I need to remove the Customizer header?

Brad,  When setting up My Markets or Find homes for sale when I search for my city,state it can not find it.  If I search just the city then the drop down menu does show my city,state.  When I select it from there it works.  My city,state names (Ocean City, MD Ocean Pines,MD Berlin, MD and West Ocean City MD.  I am set up but when a consumer does a find homes for sale search the city,state does not work. The must use only the city do a search and select from the drop down menu.

I have tried to set mine up, box is checked but no change to page and I cannot setup click campaign, lots of "unexpected error" messages - I'll try again this afternoon.

Brad,

What I'm interested in knowing is how you set up that "FEEDBACK" black and white button next to the "leave a response" text box!

Mike in Tucson

Brad- I found same situation, as Scott.  My city states names are Westport, CT, Weston, CT, Fairfield, CT and Easton, CT. I think most consumers would type them in with both city and state.  If they receive a message that says "No cities matched your search", they are most likely to give up and go elsewhere.

Can one of the gurus correct the search or add a comment, such as, indicate city only, then choose location?

what a great idea - thanks for this great tool - everything helps in todays market.

Brad, my box is not appearing at the top of my page for blog, profile etc... all campaigns set up, all extra cities set up and all links checked and working. But no box.

Brad,

Thanks for the post. The neighborhood improvements just keep getting better.

Brad - I belong to a pethetic MLS (REIN) that does not have IDX.  Is there an option for IDX-challenged members like me?

Tina in Virginia

Brad the whole concept sounds great. AR just keeps getting better and better!

We are also all set up and no box appearing... is there some lag time involved?

Brad - this is an interesting concept to say the least.  It appears to be another way of driving traffic to our web sites and building our branding.

We have signed up however I must have put a wrong number in on my credit card and it won't authorize the card. I went into billing information but it won't let me edit the account?

John - they will only need to enter the City, I think a pulldown menu will open and allow them to select the State of their choice just like we have setup in Localism.  I'm pretty sure that's how it's going to work. 

Kathy - get one.  :-)

Jennifer - did you break it?  Just kidding.  Try just entering a city with no state and see if a box opens and lets you select the link to the city and state you want.  There may be a few glitches as we get this setup today, I'll be here all day monitoring these posts, comments, and the system. :-)

One thing I noticed when you search is if you have a space after the city, it will come up with no results.  So if you copy and paste city names, be sure to remove any spaces before or after the city name - then results appear

Nice feature. Can't wait to see what ActiveRain comes up with next.

I don't see any new links on my profile or my blog.  I have entered numerous cities an updated my customizable link.  Please advise.

I don't see any new links on my profile or my blog.  I have entered numerous cities an updated my customizable link.  Please advise.

I'm going to set this up today. I see that a few people are having trouble. Hopefully when I get back there will be enough responses to their questions that I won't have to bug you!!

How can this help a mortgage broker?  I don't have listings but would like to be involved.

I guess I should be added to the list of confused. I set it up for the cities I serve and put in my search site and I dont see anything. I went to my blog and my profile and googled one of my posts and dont see that search bar anywhere. I see what its supposed to look like but dont see anything in my profile. Am I doing something wrong?

Also I am concerned whether what I am doing constitutes an IDX site. My site has framed the IDX for our MLS. Does not that constitute an IDX? What is the difference? You can search from my site just fine am I disqualified for some reason? Maybe someone else can explain this for me?

Brad, question, do you have to have an idx site in order to participate?  I have a site that can direct the traffic to find properties...but is isn't an idx with all the listings.  I am so confused on this...could you maybe call me to explain?

Miriam - to see the box and links, logout of AR, this will show you what the consumer sees.  You have to be logged out for the box to show up and your customized link to appear.  Let me know that it's working ok for you.

Brad, great information! But how can others who are not realtors and have no IDX site use this feature?  (BTW, what is an IDX site?) Could we direct traffic to the realtors we choose in our area, and would we have to get their permission?  Or could we have links to realtors that we work with to help them with traffic to their IDX site?  I'm a home stager, so I'm in the same boat as Randall, the mortgage broker. I would love to help out the realtors I work with.

Thanks!

Jeremy thats what I think alot of people are wondering. What constitutes an IDX per say? I mean you can see every listing from my site. Does that count?

Love the "bite size" dose - much appreciated

Jeremy I got it! You have to be logged out to see it. Just like Brad said in the last comment. I have it all set up now and its working great! If you search from my blog for my city it goes to my site and now at the top it says you can search my areas for listings! Cool stuff!

I dont know that my site is an IDX but it goes to the link I put. And from there you can search so I guess it counts...

Wow, that is easy, I have my surrouding towns already set up and can't wait for leads!!  Now to set up the other part of it.  Thank you!

IMPORTANT NOTE TO ALL MEMBERS 

The "Hit Router" will ONLY show up on your pages when LOGGED OUT of AR.

Currently, the Listing Router is displayed only to consumers. There's little value in showing a listings search to our logged-in members :) The customized link is also meant to be displayed exclusively to consumers. We wanted our members to be able to continue playing in the rain without the distraction of a floating bar at the top of every page that would have absolutely no value to them. Hope this makes sense.  :-)

Brad~ Great! I can't wait to try it and set it up.  How come we can't email this blog?  I tried to email it to myself so that I can print it out in order to follow the directions???

Brad,

I have had an MLS search link on my blog for awhile now and it is driving consumers to my website, but I'm not capturing them. Until I find out how to capture a good percentage of these consumers, I don't think paying for the AR service would be feasible.  If clients continue to click through to my website from the links I put there myself, will I be billed?  I don't mind paying for the service once I figure out how to convert the clicks to viable leads.

Fran take a look at my site once. I have implemented Google docs per one of Brad's prior posts. I also have another lead capture method on there. Maybe that will help?

Alot of these questions are content covered in the introduction blog, the whiteboard explanation and in the tutorial. I suggest reading through the content carefully first. It's pretty thorough. For the AA Team, probably a FAQ section would be helpful.

I was having the same "no cities found" problem as others above.  I will head back and go with just the city and see what happens.  Thanks again!

I have bookmarked this to read later. Thank you so much for the explanations.

Just enter the"City" and click search, a pulldown will open that you can select from.  Ginny had the same issue on hers so I just logged out of AR and tested it from her page and it looked great.  The IDX site came up and I almost ended up buying a home in Naples, FL.  :-O

We may want to add the ability to enter a state as well, since it seems many of our members are doing this already, consumers may be doing this too in the future.  Maybe an auto fill would correct this as well.

Scott - we are aware that is happening and looking int possibly creating an auto-fill, or allowing City, ST to be entered as well.  The search box does not specify to only enter the City and then click search.  We'll get that fixed right away.  I like the auto-fill idea, as consumers type, the options and locations should just pop up.

Michelle - make sure you are logged out to test whatever links, IDX, etc. you've setup.  You will only see the changes if you are logged out of AR, then go to your Blog, or a post, or your profile page.  Seems to be working fine for most right now.  Let me know if it's still not working for you, I'll login as you and see if it might just be your browser.  Let me know ok? 

Maybe you need a house in Redmond, OR too  :~)  I went back and it was a piece of cake with just the city entered.  Took maybe 3 minutes to get it done.  Thanks.

Mike - that will be for another post coming next.  I have received many emails requesting the same thing.  I'll get that out real soon, I promise.  :-)

Marilyn - we're all over it.  We have a few different options we're looking into for resolving that issue.  You're right on the money with your suggestions.  Thanks.  Should be an easy fix or correction, we just need to figure out the most efficient way to make that work.  I think auto-fill, allow city/st searches, or just change it to say enter City and click search.  We'll take care of that, I promise.  :-)

Tina - I am looking into creating a list of samples for some of the best "Lead Generating" IDX sites around the Country.  This is a key component to making this work for you.  You might want to Google it to see what you can find in the meantime.  Also check with some other members you trust and love to see what IDX services they are using and getting the best results with.  I have a couple tweets out now that might get me some more info to share with you soon. :-)

Serena Group - you'll need to logout of AR, then go to your Blog to test out your links and settings.  There is no lag time or delay in the process.  It's working fine on every page I've checked that has been setup.

Jon - that is exactly the purpose and our intenton. :-)  Just another way to drive traffic and visitors to get you leads, clicks, SEO, and more business.  Enjoy my friend. 

Terry - we have Jorgen looking into the Billing Information link to find out why that's happening.  Give us a bit to check it out, we'll get it corrected. Thanks for pointing that out.  :-)

Tina - I just got referred to JustListed.com, did a search, and it forces me to enter a name and email by the second search screen.  This to me is a good example of an IDX site that would convert clicks to leads.  Check it out and see what you think. 

I'm sure there are some great IDX sites out there, but I have also seen some that really suck.  They let you roam and roam and search and provide no tools for lead capture which does not make any cents sense to me.  I can do that at REALTOR.com.  :-O

Okay I am going to do a test run, but I think that my company's idx feed will only go to them and not to me, so I am not sure if it will be worth it...

Brien - you'll need to logout of AR to see your changes. Just go to your Blog, or a post, or your profile page after you logout and you'll be able to test out all your changes.

Connie - everything is working fine now, feel free to call me when you get back, or anytime for that matter.

Randall - there are a few ways you can use this as a Mortgage Broker.  First of all, your custom link could go to a "Get Pre-Qualified" page you have on your site or Blog somewhere.  Secondly, how about setting up some IDX links to the Agents you do business with or would like to do business with. If you drive traffic to another members IDX site whether they are an AR member or not, I see GREAT value in that. 

We are looking into ways that you can use your credits for other purposes as you most likely will NOT be setting up campaigns yourself. Look for more on this later in the week.  I have to get through these last 3 posts first!  lol~ 

Great question, glad you asked, thanks.  :-)

I guess I should be added to the list of confused. I set it up for the cities I serve and put in my search site and I dont see anything. I went to my blog and my profile and googled one of my posts and dont see that search bar anywhere. I see what its supposed to look like but dont see anything in my profile. Am I doing something wrong?

Also I am concerned whether what I am doing constitutes an IDX site. My site has framed the IDX for our MLS. Does not that constitute an IDX? What is the difference? You can search from my site just fine am I disqualified for some reason? Maybe someone else can explain this for me?

Shane - you have to logout of AR first.  Then you will see the Listing Router Home Search feature.  It has nothing to do with Google and your Google searches. 

Regarding your IDX sites, this can be any IDX site where you have your listings and visitors can search for homes on your page.  The lead generating side is the most important. Do you have something in place on your IDX site that captures Name, phone, email, etc.?  This would be the key to getting the leads, otherwise they just search your IDX site in stealth mode, and then leave.  That will not help generate any leads or contacts for you.  Call me if you need help or have additional questions. 707 718-6773  :-)

Jeremy - answer your phone!  Ring Ring!!  I don't like VM!  haha   :-)

Brad, great information! But how can others who are not realtors and have no IDX site use this feature? (BTW, what is an IDX site?) Could we direct traffic to the realtors we choose in our area, and would we have to get their permission? Or could we have links to realtors that we work with to help them with traffic to their IDX site? I'm a home stager, so I'm in the same boat as Randall, the mortgage broker. I would love to help out the realtors I work with. Thanks!

Diane - By George I think you've got it.  As far as the legality goes, I would talk to those agents for sure not only to get permission, but to explain what you're about to do for them. Who wouldn't want you to direct traffic to their site so they get leads and possible business?  Hmmmm.... 

You can also use the customizeable link to send consumers to any site of your choice, this is the link that appears up in the Right Hand corner of your pages when you're logged out of AR.  It floats on the page just like the search for homes box does.  I see some creative ways to use this for your clients and potential clients in your area.  I am sending traffic to my past clients in my cities to help them out. The response I'm getting from them is awesome.

Thanks, It is up and running.

Brad~ Great! I can't wait to try it and set it up. How come we can't email this blog? I tried to email it to myself so that I can print it out in order to follow the directions???

You can email this to any email address you choose, just click on the  below the post and enter any email address with your comments.  I just tested it and it works fine.  You can also just copy the URL in the address bar and include that in the body of your email using whatever email program you like.  Hope that helps.

Brad, I have had an MLS search link on my blog for awhile now and it is driving consumers to my website, but I'm not capturing them. Until I find out how to capture a good percentage of these consumers, I don't think paying for the AR service would be feasible. If clients continue to click through to my website from the links I put there myself, will I be billed? I don't mind paying for the service once I figure out how to convert the clicks to viable leads.

Fran - you will not be billed for sending any visitor to your own sites.  The purpose of a good Lead Generating IDX site is so that you DO convert them to leads.  I was just showing Jeremy Blanton a sample of what the JustListed.com site does and how they capture the lead before giving all the information requested. By the second screen, they are already getting your name and email address before allowing you to continue. It's easy. fast, user friendly and efficient.  I'm sure there are many other great sites out there that do the same exact thing.

You want to send your visitors and traffic to IDX sites you have that convert clicks to leads, and leads to business.  I will try to compile a list of Good Examples of IDX sites that have effective Lead Capturing tools and systems built into their platforms. 

I think this is a crucial element of AR's Listing Router, and your success using it.  Watch for that post coming later this week. :-)

Brad- Thanks for the tutorial, and thanks to the other AR members who commented, through the comments I was able to figure out how to get my cities to show up.  This is exciting stuff!!

I do have a question though: Will this feature show up on our outside blogs?

Okay I am going to do a test run, but I think that my company's idx feed will only go to them and not to me, so I am not sure if it will be worth it...

Hi Emily - are you limited to only using your company's IDX site?  Can you have your own?

I've tried to set this up and getting error messages.  Really like the feedback button you have on this post and would like more info on it.

Matt - that's a great idea, I'm sure the programmers and the rest of the AR team and staff are reading these comments, so I'll make sure they see this suggestion too!  Applying it to "Outside Blogs", what a great idea!!

Carolyn - where are you getting error messages exactly?  In order to help you, I need to know at what point or where you are getting them.  You might want to clear your cache in your browser and try rebooting your computer just to make sure you're not having any conflicts with any other sites or applications. 

Let me know if you need some assistance.  I can also run your computer from my location if need be.  :-)

I keep getting an error message for every city in my market, Ill try back later.

Brad, this is very exciting stuff.  I can't wait to add my cities to my IDX to generate new leads.  From there, I will also be more than happy to buy an opportunity to have a lead directed to my website/IDX.  I am off to set it up now!

Brad: I am wondering if the AR team did any studies on the approx. charges incurred by people participating in Listing Router. I'd like to get an idea of how much it's going to cost me. (I realize that credits will also be given.) But, out of pocket expenses are an issue right now. Thank you.

Hi Brad,

I walked through setting this up and it worked fine until processing my credit card.  Is this up and running yet?

Brad,  I must be doing something really wrong.  I set up my cities, logged out and then tried the  listing search feature for all of my cities.  I just get the home page for JustListed.com (one of the products of HouseValues.com).  I really hate for the AR traffic to be going to JustListed.com.  Maybe my website search isn't actually an IDX.  I don't know the difference.  Help!!

i love it!  Thanks for this easy post, too:)

this is a really cool feature, thanks a lot guys, more traffic to our websites

I guess I'll just wait for the dust to settle from the mad stampede.... having no luck at all.  Maybe by then I can just sign up for the whole county instead of having to do each town.  Sheesh!

Hi Brad...;)

I haven't read all of the comments so I do not know if this has been addressed yet, but I would like to suggest that the verbiage on the search boxes be clarified slightly.  One of the boxes that shows up at the top of my blog says "MLS Listings" and it expects a user input.  I have no idea what to put into that box to return what I would like.  Is it a search by city, or what?  I think it needs more detail or a short explanation there to help the user. 

Also, the main search box that rides on the other pages could use a brief explanation as to what you should enter into it for the best results.  If I'm using it correctly, you only enter the city name and then pick from a suggestion list.  This needs to be much more clear as to what you should enter so users do not get frustrated...

Overall, I think you should bold or highlight these boxes a little more to draw the attention of users.  The idea is great, and I'm signed up 1st in my area, so let's see...;)

Please email me if you would like a further explanation of what I am saying...

Thanks,

Joe

Hey Brad,

My name is Lori Cofer and I am in Pullman WA.  When I type in Pullman WA the search says no such city...any suggestions?

Lori Cofer, Beasley Realty

Brad,

Thanks for the tutorial.  I set mine up.  I have to check if it works. 

I'm trying it! Great idea.

Brad.. thanks for all your help today.. I really appreciate it...  and yes I hope we can schedule a day for you to come to Chicago... 

Brad... I don't have IDX on my website.. can I find another way to set it up although I don't have it.... I'm not sure. At present I have 2 site, but I didn't purchase an IDX on them yet. let me know..... I appreciate all your help as always....

I have IDX on my site and I got the cities. I logged out and saw the box at the top of the page. However, my site isn't showing up...I know I have IDX, but don't get how to set up my site so that it goes to individual towns, and that is what is causing my problem, I suspect.

Jodi - we have a few members that are having issues with the credit card info, hopefully we'll get it corrected soon for you.

Marianne - no study, but it will be much less than some of the other pay per click sites as far as I know.  How about we give you 2 weeks for FREE so you can kick the tires and see how it pans out for yourself.  Let me see if that's possible, is that fair enough?

Brad, I must be doing something really wrong. I set up my cities, logged out and then tried the listing search feature for all of my cities. I just get the home page for JustListed.com (one of the products of HouseValues.com). I really hate for the AR traffic to be going to JustListed.com. Maybe my website search isn't actually an IDX. I don't know the difference. Help!!

To This Commentor above - I'd love to help you, but have no idea who you are, all your comment shows is an IP address, so you may not be logged into AR when commenting.  Please login first, or sign your name so I know how to contact you and help.  Thanks.  :-)

Georgina - hang loose, there may be a couple glitches today, but for the most part, things have gone pretty smooth.  We had a few Credit Card issues, but not to bad for launch day!  If you need some help, just give OhanaBrad a call, I'll walk you through it if you'd like, at your convenience of course.  :-)

Joe - totally get what you're saying, and as always, there will be minor tweaks and changes moving forward.  The technical issues of these features always come first before cosmetic.  Thanks for your input and for sharing your comment here.  We appreciate it.  :-)

Lori - I do have a suggestion, for now, just enter Pullman and click search.  Don't add WA to the search.  We are correcting a few things that will make searches even easier, but in the meantime, just use city names to do your searches.

Judy - it was great talking with you today, just let me know when and where, and I'll hop on a plane and be right over.  Just need a few weeks advance notice. You always know where to find me....   :-)

(I'm holding you to your promise about that golf game too!) 

Donna - you might want to hold off for a bit, there may be some other options for you down the road that I'm not at liberty to discuss just yet.  (shhh...) You can send traffic to your sites, but without a good lead capture system, it might not make a lot of cents sense.  Just fade back and punt right now and we'll see what we can do to set you up here in the very near future. :-)

Wow, this is awesone!!! Can someone PLEASE tell me how to set up my IDX? I guess I am still living in the caveman ages. I never learned how to do that...HELP! Or send me links on how to's for the IDX set up, thanks! BTW, I have a point2agent site and I can also use my MLS site.

Jennifer - your IDX site should have links to those particular city pages. Go to your IDX site, do your city search, then grab that specific URL to setup as the link from Listing Router.  Some IDX sites use pop-ups which makes it hard to direct traffic to a specific City.  Something you might want to investigate first before trying to setup each of those areas. Let me know if you need any help.

Diana - give me a call and I will walk you through it.  If you don't have an IDX site, we can discuss your options and if you do, but just have not set it up yet, I can help you with that as well.  Call me anytime tomorrow, I'll be around most the day.  :-)

Brad.... Looks like a GREAT program here. I will work on setting this up

My external search is also going to justlisted.com.  Will I be charged for this?

Eric - no you won't be charged.  If you setup your local IDX sites, it will go there instead. 

Roland - let me know if you need any help, it's pretty simple to do and shouldn't take you but a few minutes.

Brad, I was able to find my IDX link, went back to Listing Router on my profile, started the campaign but when I logged out and went back to AR, I did the city search and clicked on the appropriate city and state, it took me to mlschange.com. Hmmmm...I will definitely call you tomorrow.

Update: I got it! I know what I did wrong...thanks!!!

Brad - I have been trying to set this up but it won't recognize my cities.  I have tried typing in Charlottesville  ,   Charlottesville VA   ,   Charlottesville Virginia   and when I click search it says no cities matched your search for each one.  What do I do?

Diana - I had faith in you and knew you'd figure it out!  :-)

Pam - easy!  Just type "Charlottesville" with no space, no state, no nothing, just the city and click search.  All the link options will magically appear before your eyes, then just click on the one you want.  No comma, no state, no space, just the City and nothing else.  Try that and let me know if it works for you.  :-)

The "Listing Router" will ONLY show up on your pages when LOGGED OUT of ActiveRain.

Thank goodness you have revealed this so I don't go crazy looking for it. 

I just set mine up and I am so excited to see some traffic on my site! 

Thanks for the information....

Kerry Lucasse, Atlanta Homes Search Team -- ATLhomesearch.com

Hello, somehow I didn't "get" that you write the city name without the state in the box and then search!  I got that from the comment section.  Now, though, when I put my credit card it took it once and then wouldn't take it the second time so I went back to the Listing Router side link and re-entered and it was fine...but the third time was not a charm and it didn't take it!  I'll just try in the morning....Thanks, Harley

Harley - I edited the post, and added that, thanks.  I think the credit card issue is because you are probably entering the same amount ie: $50.00 each time when you submit it, the bank might think it's a duplicate.  Try waiting for a bit between setting up campaigns and see if that helps.

Marlene - glad you caught that too, It was a bit frustrating for a few of us when we launched this morning, until we all realized this ourselves.  :-)

Kerry - Congrats, looking forward to you sharing your results here with us!  :-)

thanks for the info

Hi Brad - thanks for these easy-to-follow tutorials.  The visuals make a huge difference, at least for me.  I've saved my towns - thanks!

Ann

Thanks Brad....how do you get the search on the front of the blogs...I noticed it goes to Exit realty in my city....Ginny Lee

Brad, As usual I will be book marking al of your posts on the subject to help me get this thing going! Thanks again for the great tutorials and it was really good meeting you and Rich at ReBar camp! Rock on!

I signed out and as a consumer so I could get a sense of how it works...two comments:

If I type my hometown in the search button at the top; it is not my IDX, it is another Realtors...how does that work.  Did I miss an opportunity?

If I get to my blog...I'm there, but when I go to the IDX and click out I'm out of the session.  Should we make it a "open in new window" option?

Love the concept, so no complaints...just some observations.  And by the way you are so totally awesome for responding to so many questions in such a timely manner!!!

When I entered Bellevue, NE, I was sent to justlisted.com.  Why are the leads going there? 

One more question, is it better to have the router link going to your home page or directly to the MLS search page?

Ginny - that just means that another member has paid for a campaign in your area.  If you paid for one too, they will show up on a rotation basis.  In some cases, we have 4 or 5 who have campaigns in the same areas. Hope that makes sense. :-)

Hi Brad, I am reading your note to Ginny...which sounds like my question also.  I am the community sponsor for my area (Fishers); is that what you mean when you say "paid for a campaign in your area"?  The realtor who is showing up has like 400 points so I'm not sure how they get first position; I know I'm getting petty.  Just having one of those days I think.

Brad - Thanks, as always, for the clarity that your tutorial brings.  I will be expermenting with the listing router very soon.

Hi Brad,

Thank you for the extra clarification.  I saw the video, but I think I accidentally setup (potentially) unneeded campaigns.  Obviously, they will help, but I'd like to start with the simple IDX link.

Best regards,

Mike

Is there away to only authorize amounts if we have credits?  In other words, not be liable for any amounts over our credits on AR?  I can't seem to authorize $0.

Getting server error message - am I the only one?

Christine - great question if I understand correctly.  How do you apply your credits to the billing process?  They are working on all that now.  The credit card and billing information links are having a couple bugs, we'll get em worked out, and I'm not sure how the credits will be dispersed or what the options will be.  We'll get there, in the meantime you have 2 weeks to campaign for free.  :-)

Ryan - I haven't gotten any yet today, maybe restart your system and clear your cache might help. Let me know if you're still getting them after that and which browser you're using, and I'll try to help you out.

Every time I think I figures someting on AR, you come with something new, and I again have to struggle with this new and intimidating stuff. I am losing this race (LOL)

Jon - if you're reading this post and commenting, you're caught up with all the rest of us!  You're way ahead of the race.  :-))))

Brad: I'd like that option. Let me know what I'm to do to get that going, please. mcsnygg@msn.com

Marianne - you'll find all the details on this post: Have fun  :-)

How To Setup Your Own Click Campaign

LOL, silly me. I THOUGHT I was special!!! LOL

Great directions as always, Brad...thanks for always helping us to understand the new features.

Marianne - what makes you think you're not?  (Big Smile)  :-)))

Debra - I do try my best, this was the Very first tutorial I had ever written on AR without ever having seen it live or tested it out myself first.  Talk about a leap of faith into a Blind post.  This would be my winner for sure!! All I had were some screen shots and a concept, that's it.  Should make all my future posts easy compared to these.  I also had to do 3 in one day, including this one.  A day I'll never forget, that's for sure.  Glad this post did help you understand these new AR features. :-)

I think it's a great post, and I think this new Listing Router is a step forward for AR, just like Localism.  I continue to marvel at what AR is doing, and the willingness of others to share information and knowledge.

Troy  - we're kinda excited about it too!  Thanks for sharing your excitement and enthusiasm here.  :-)

I am blown away by what you guys are doing with this. It seems like it is definitely the next step. Now all I have to do is get my arms around it and be able to clearly understand it all. Thanks.

I set this up and it looks like it works great! Thanks for the tutorial and for setting up the Listing Router.

I finally took the time to set this up. I have a question. I use the outside blog. Will the listing router show up on our outside blogs?

Janice Slaven
Prudential GA Realty

Janice - not sure it works right now on your AR outside Blog.  We ae looking at possibly creating a widget that you could use anywhere in the near future. :-)

Hi Brad. Aha!!!!!!!!! You have to be logged out to see it........wish i had seen that about 15 minutes ago. :)

Pamela - haha!!!  Here to help if you need.  Tell me you did see this in the post right???

IMPORTANT NOTE

The "Hit Router" search box will ONLY show up on your pages when LOGGED OUT of ActiveRain.

Hi Brad, Yes, I saw it, but not till after I played around with the listing router and then added areas......I could not see it so I kept messing around with it and then thought "I will go look at Brads blog".....I should have just done that first cause there it was in big letters......must be logged out!! :)  hahahahahaha

Pamela - the same thing happened to me.  I set up the areas, then went to see if they worked and couldn't find them anywhere.  Once I logged out (unintentionally of course) there is was!!  hahaha.  That's why I used RED letters to send the message hoping folks would see it. 

Glad it's working for you, and thanks for the nice FB message.  :-)

Brad, this is what I get for skipping out on AR.  I missed a ton of stuff.  30 lashes for me.

This is great Brad.  To have more leads in this market is like, raining cats and dogs!

Maggie - and you have been missed for sure, welcome back my friend.  Lot's of catching up to do.  :-)

Evelyn - better get out that heavy duty umbrella....or should I say net?!?    :-))

Brad - thanks for all of the upgrades and improvements that you have been working on!!! I finally got my web page started - now if only I can get the photo and header I want uploaded - am still working on that!

Barbara - got your message, let me know if you need any help getting that banner and photo up.  :-)

I read the instructions and tried to follow them, but... alas, I'm tech challenged again.  Item 3 says enter your city.  OK, Lahaina.  Next, add your MLS???  Do I enter that in the same field as my city?  Are there some more complete instructions for dummies somewhere?

Lahaina Lee

What if the viewer requests a city where I have not set up an IDX link and is in area outside my IDX? Is there a defualt link that I control?

Lee - just enter the city in one box, and then the IDX URL where you want visitors to land for homes available in that city from your IDX MLS site in the other.  It's really that easy.  :-)

David - If this happens, it is likely they will end up on another members IDX but you will be given Listing Router credits for their search on your site.  See the "Listing Router" posts for more details if you need. :-)

Looking for Listing Router for Stagers Brad, but this is a great tool for realtors...

Just a question:

If I turn off the listing router, but I'm logged out, do consumers still see it?

Thanks!

I've seen this post before, guess you keep running it. The listing router does not seem to generate any leads for me so far. Any tips Active Brad?

Ben - Consumers will see the listing router on every page whether you are logged in or not.  Just log-out, and go to any page and you will see the ability to search homes on every AR page or screen.  If you find this not to be the case, let me know, this has been my experience.

Ronnie - I see you have 2 Areas/Campaigns setup.  The best advice I can give is that it really depends on how effective your IDX site is.  If there is no lead capture ability or traffic is just visiting your site and then leaving, then the campaigns defeat the purpose.  The power of lead generation using Listing Router really falls on the IDX systems.  I am not familiar with your IDX or MLS. so this is something you need to determine as to how well it will work or not.  Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.  :-)

I think I have set mine up right.  I test ect.  Thank you for the information.

I want to make sure I understand this.  I need a seperate page for each city?  Or do I need just a seperate web address for each city that can all go to the same page?  or can I use the same address for each city?

Mark - let me know if you need any assistance.

Gene - Ultimately, you should have a separate IDX link for each city.  If a visitor types in a city while on your Blog or Profile, you want them to end up at that city showing homes for sale in that city. If the link takes them anywhere else, or it's not where they think they should have landed, chances are you'll lose them.  Internet folks just don't have the patience these days to hunt around your website searching and searching and searching.  I would go to each city on your IDX and use that URL for your "City Search" link.

Let me know if this doesn't make sense, which I sometimes have the gift of bearing. lol~

I have listing router in place already....pay for it each month but thus far have not gotten any leads that I am aware of.  I am going to recheck how I set it up.  This post was a good reminder to do that...thanks for rerunning it!

Sonya - if you need any help or advice with this, don't hesitate to give me a call anytime.  :-)

Hey Brad! How are you doing? Thank you very,very much for giving me a call. Sorry I missed your call. I will defintely give you a call hopefully by Monday to help me set up my listing router-please. Have a great weekend.

Awesome idea.

Funny - another Active Rainer and I were just talking about linking to our IDX solution 10 minutes ago!

Our IDX solution doesn't use tracking links, but instead detects where the links came from to make sure they go to the proper Realtor.  However, it doesn't appear that AR blogs have the ability to identify by user from the URL alone.  (For example, instead of http://activerain.com/blogs/activebrad/Hit-Router-How-To-Setup-Save-Your-Own-Traffic  , your post shows up as http://activerain.com/blogsview/759371/Hit-Router-How-To-Setup-Save-Your-Own-Traffic, which makes it difficulut to identify this as one of your posts from the URL alone.

Do you know of any way around that?

Lanre - have a great weekend, we can catch up Monday.

Joel - I'd need to know more about your IDX, and I think the IP address would be the best identifier if I understand your question correctly.  You'll see my profile name is in the URL (activebrad) making it easy to identify that this was my post.  Feel free to give me a call if you'd like to explore how to make this work for you. Thanks.

Brad, is there any way we could not tell TLW about this? You know once she knows she makes me do all the work. One of these days, to the moon :)

Brad thanks..should I set up a IDX site before setting this up ..Thanks  for making it look easy.... Your the best

Okay, more work for me, and i could really use some sleep.

Brad, But everyone shares in the "Hits", correct.  If several members pay for the router, (in a particular City), then there is still no guarantee that someone visiting your blog will be directed to your website.  They could in fact be directed to someone else's website, who is also paying for Listing Router in that City.  Am I correct that everone who is paying, is sharing hits?  

Brad, these tutorials are superb for everyone and if they are archived in the Newbies group for future viewing it allows you to research it later on. Good stuff. Have a good weekend.

HI Brad -- Very clear and concise.  It would be cool to get an ROI and stats from members and compiled on a monthly basis to see how effective this product is.

Hey Brad!

I think I have mine all setup with my new Vision site, thank you for the details! 

-Lisa

Another interest, informative post today, as usual!  Thank you for the tutorial.

Patricia Aulson/Portsmouth NH Real Estate

Hey Brad, by the way, what is the black and white feedback button on the left do?  What is it for?

Patricia Aulson/Portsmouth NH Real Estate

Oooooh Brad - This looks like so much fun.  I'm bookmarking.  First things first.  I need to work on my lead capture on the idx site before I install.  I attended ReBar in Pasadena and have been tweaking things ever since!

Great job Brad - this will really clear things up for those wanting to track visitors.

Cheers

I think my problem has been my capture on my IDX which is why I need to move it over to my Growth Leader site.

Thanks Brad, I really appreciate this and still need to read it again to make sure I got it down right. It certainly clears up $ issue. I have a small credit and couldn't figure out how that happened.

Brad... I see the Listing Router looks to now be the Hit Router.. What is the difference. This post is about Hit Router and your first comment addressed the Listing Router as well.

Brad - I have mine set up now but need to review some of this information again to make I get it all.  Thanks for the tutorial.

Jeff

I read a post quite a while ago and realized that I was missing a lot of traffic by not having my cities listed/linked in Hit Router so did that almost immediately.  While I was there, I signed up for a click campaign.  Almost immediately I noticed the traffic increase and people registering for my IDX search.  AR is definitely one stop answer to all our needs--just noticed the "vision" and have to check that out.

Bryant - the secret is safe with me....

Donna - you should setup an IDX before you go in and setup Hit Router or any campaign.  You'll want the lead capture in place right away.

Joe - get some rest, this will be here in the morning or next week my friend.

Jane - this hits are only shared when the highest campaign runs out, or the the other member raises their campaign bid amount.  The member with the highest bid will get priority over the lower bid and free Hit Router settings.  Call me if questions, happy to help.

Gary - thanks for commenting, I hope this will help many of our members with getting more leads and business. That's really why I do these posts.  This post just happens to be an update since we changed the name of Listing Router - to - Hit Router. 

Chris - great idea.  I know there are some stats and data information on the Hit Router page, but I'm sure adding some additional tracking would be advantageous for our members too.  Thanks.

Lisa - that's awesome.  Can't wait to hear some of your success stories soon. Enjoy!

Patricia - my little feedback button is just that...  a place for you to leave me any feedback, for any reason, at any time.  It's just a widget that the AR programmers let me use on my Blog.  Try it out if you want. 

Marlene - it is always so great to hear from you.  I will never forget when we met in the City, and our discussion.  You are one classy lady and I feel honored when you stop by to comment, thanks.  Getting your IDX dialed in is key to making this work for you.  You know I'm always here to lend a hand if you ever need me.  Miss ya, have a great weekend!! 

Fredy - this really isn't for tracking visitors, it's used for attracting visitors and capturing them as leads.  It works with IDX systems that members have in place.  If you don't have an IDX, check out Vision or some other options so you can get this working for you as well.

Christine - yes.  Having that IDX and lead capture setup is crucial to making this generate leads and business for you.  Growth Leader is a good call.  Some members will have the lead capture form come up immediately, others will have it pop in 2-4 screens later.  It's really a matter of preference I think. 

William - great to see you, wish we had time to chat more.  Hope all is well, if you have any questions about this or if you want me to help make sure yoyrs is setup right, you can call me anytime... I'm almost always available.  Have a great weekend.

Roland - there is no difference.  They just changed the name.  Hit Router is much more appropriate than Listing Router.  We are trying to route HITS first.  This post was updated just to clear up some of the same confusion you had.  It's all one in the same.

Jeff - You and Marlene both commented, I was just telling her I remember meeting you both in SF at Inman, and I'll never forget that.  You were the first couple of people I ever met from ActiveRain.  Changed my life!  lol~  Seriously!!  If you need any help mailing sure this is all setup right, just pick up the phone or shoot me an email. Hope to see you again sometime soon.  I miss my So Cal friends...

Cathy - yet another comment I could use in a post.  You are too much!! I love it.  I wish the world (at least AR members) could ALL READ your comment.  Once you put these tools to work for you properly, they WILL work.  ActiveRain wouldn't invest the time, the money, and the resources into these things if they didn't.  The things that don't work....they're gone!!  :-) 

Comment overkill is kicking in...  I better stop here! :-)  Goodnight.

Hey Brad, great post.  I am putting this on my list for Monday as my weekend is full of buyer appointments!

Thanks a bunch!

It's great you're there for us Brad! We can always count on you to tell us "how to"

Marzena - it doesn't get any better than that.  I'm sure there are many out there that wish they had the same issue.  Good luck, help those buyers find their American Dreams!  :-)

Vickie - funny you should say that, my next post starts out with "How To" and it's a good one.  haha!  Yes, You can always count on me too.

Oh Man I've just spent almost an hour or two trying to learn more and more stuff about AC.........feels like I need a crash corse to figure all these cool things out and THEN get them all incorporated.

I am really loving this fun new game called Active Rain.....really I am!

Thanks for all your help Brad!

Question?  Why do your posts take so long to load?  Because you always have a gazillion comments?

Anna - I think it may be a combination of things.  Yes, it's comments, also widgets, visitor tacking, and analytics I have set up that are invisible to visitors as well as the ones that are visible. It may also your browser, your RAM, video, and screen memory, and your Internet connection speed will affect the load time of my Blog on your computer. 

Thanks for always being so patient and waiting for it to load just to leave me your nice comments. :-))

Hi Brad, I certainly wished I had been doing this all along. I send some invitations when i was new and then just was thinking along these lines.  can tell, I regret it and this is a chance to fix things. I would naturally be a terrific spokesperson with all the benefits I could cite from the learning and friendships to all the Google Juice one can get. One day I wonder if we could dicsuss how I turn the clock back and catch up.

William - if I could turn the clock back, I'd be taking us to the year of "The Great Real Estate Market!"  lol~ 

Call me anytime my friend, always here to help if I can.  Have a great weekend.  :-)

Great tool.  My page reads "You've accumulated $1.90 in Hit Router credit."...   not sure what that means since this is free

Hit Router Credits mean someone has searched a City other than those you've set up in your area.  You are awarded credits when a search is done on your Blog, Profile or Blog posts. Example:  I have setup San Francisco, but someone searches for Chicago while on my Blog or profile. They are sent to the IDX site for another member who has setup Chicago, but I get credits since it was searched for on my pages.  Hope that helps make more cents sense of it all.  :-)

THANKS BRAD.  What can I use this credit for?

Once you have enough credits, the goal is to apply them to more paid campaigns to generate you more potential leads.

Stupid Question Time!  If I am not logged out the Router will still show up for visitors, just not for me?

Gene - correct.  Visitors see the search option whether you are logged in or not. 

Ginger - congrats on getting that setup, there are many great tools here on AR, but the members are what make it the greatest community and social network of all.  :-)

great info!

thanks for the great info on the hit router.  I will monitor this and see if I get any leads. that would be greatly appreciated. thanks again!

Ginger - if you ever need any help or assistance, just let me know.  You know where to find me.  :-)

Thanks Brad, I wondered how this worked. 

Hmmm... I haven't tried the hit router, but I've tried just about everything else you guys have offered and the rest of them work!  Maybe I should try this one too!

Emily - you should most definitely setup your Hit Router, the fact that it's here for you to use and there are thousands of searches on AR for homes each month is reason enough to have your areas setup.  It's the one key component that could increase your lead generation. :-)

thanks- i will give this a try.    i was a little amused to see how many times you had to say 'LOG OUT OF AR OR IT WILL NOT WORK"! lol!

thanks- i will give this a try.    i was a little amused to see how many times you had to say 'LOG OUT OF AR OR IT WILL NOT WORK"! lol!

Interesting idea for generating leads. I wonder if anyone has had any measurable results they would be willing to share. 

But we will give this a try.  I don't see a problem with trying!

Jenn and Phil - if you have a good IDX and lead capture setup, I think you'll find better than expected results from the Hit Router tools.

I just finished with the set up. Let's see how it works!

This information, while a bit overwhelming at first, is very informative & helpful.  I look forward to utilizing all the facets of my Rainmaker acct. I am a NC & SC broker that concentrates on short sales & investment properties.  The Triad & Myrtle Beach, in particular. 

So much great information to absorb in one day. Off to put it into good use.

Your posts are my well in the desert, Brad.  Again, thanks!

James

James - you're too kind my friend, thanks! Drink the water from the rain, but not the koolaid!  lol~

I've never done this. I wonder what I'm missing!!