Beyond the Listings Editor: Advanced Listings Tips
Thursday, August 30, 2007 - By: Laura Chan
Advanced Listings Tips
You know how to enter new listings, edit listings, remove listings in the Listing Editor. What now can you do with these listings? In this article we’ll tell you about some of the other advanced controls for listings.
Listing Export Settings
Listings --> Advanced Listing Options --> Listing Export Settings
This area shows you from where you get, or import, the listings on your site, and then to where your site sends, or exports, listings. On this table, the two columns on the left side of the table give information about your import sources. The four columns on the right tell you where hand-entered and IDX-fed listings are sent. For the majority of clients, both hand-entered and IDX-fed listings can be exported to Homes.com and our partner sites. If your IDX-fed listings cannot be exported to Homes.com, you may need to enter your listings by hand in order to export them to the portal.
Listing Display Settings
Listings --> Advanced Listing Options --> Listing Display Settings
Let’s look at the second section under Advanced Listing Options, “Listing Display Settings.” Listing Display Settings controls what text appears with another agent’s listings a customer may find when using the “Search for Properties” function of your website. You can choose to post the standard disclaimer; or you can choose to post some, all, or none of the listing agent’s information; or you can create your own disclaimer. You may wish to consult with your broker for specific advice or regulations.
Listing Ordering Settings
Listings --> Advanced Listing Options --> Listing Ordering Settings
“Listing Ordering Settings” controls how listings are displayed when a viewer uses the Search feature to find listings. You can sort by city name and price in ascending or descending order, and by availability. You can also enter the name of one city that you would like to pull to the top of the search results. The remainder of the search results will be sorted as you specify above. Click “Proceed” to save changes.
Recover Deleted Listings
Listings --> Advanced Listing Options --> Recover Deleted Listings
You can recover expired and deleted listings using “Recover Deleted Listings.” Please note that listings that have expired or been deleted are only kept for an additional four weeks.
Listing Enhancements
Listings --> Listing Enhancements
Return to the Listings tab and mouse over the “Listing Enhancements” menu item.
This area does two things: you can add a virtual tour to one of your listings; and you can activate or deactivate maps on your listings.
To add a virtual tour, click on the appropriate link. On the next page, you can upload a virtual tour by either entering a URL, or by browsing for a file. Once uploaded, clients will be able to access the uploaded virtual tour by clicking on the green virtual tour icon on the listing.
Return to Listing Enhancements to access map information. MSN provides maps for our listings. By default, maps for listings are activated. You can choose to deactivate them with the link provided.
