Zillow is the largest online real estate listing platform, pulling in almost 300 million monthly visits. With Zillow advertising, agents will boost their exposure and snag high-quality leads. But how do you make the most of it? I’ve got you covered! I’ll walk you through nine easy steps for successful advertising on Zillow. From setting up your Zillow Premier Agent account, claiming your listings, creating a video walk-through, and tracking your leads, I’ll show you the ropes in turning Zillow into your lead-generating machine.
1. Sign Up for Zillow Premier Agent & Advertising
Sign up for a Zillow Premier Agent (ZPA) account by visiting the Zillow agent homepage and clicking “Join” in the upper right-hand corner. You will then be redirected to a sign-up page where you must enter your personal and contact information to create a free profile.
This step provides access to a free website, customer relationship management (CRM), the 3D Home Tour app, and a dashboard for tracking advertising results. Once this is set up, request advertising details and maximize real estate ads on Zillow.
2. Create an Agent Profile
After creating a Zillow Premier Agent account and setting up advertising, build your profile page so new leads can learn more about you. To do so, click “Profile” at the top of your dashboard. Then, add your realtor headshot and a compelling “About Me” section, which includes your experience, education, specialties, and any relevant professional information you’d like your leads to know.
To really enhance your Zillow profile, check out our article 10 Steps to Create a Zillow Agent Profile (+ Pro Tips).
3. Claim Your Listings
After setting up your agent profile, claim your listings. Simply navigate to the Zillow homepage and search your listings by address. Click on each one individually. At the top of each property page, click “More” and then “Claim Your Listing.” This will automatically link the listing to your profile page and display it on a map below your “About Me” section.
Claiming your listing on Zillow is free. Doing so helps you appear in property searches, promote your brand, enjoy free placement on your listing pages, and get more leads. Learn more about how you can claim a listing on Zillow without any advertising.
Setting an Additional ZPA Advertising Budget (Optional Step)
While setting up a ZPA profile and claiming a listing is free, there are two additional paid services provided by Zillow for real estate agents to generate leads:
- Zillow advertising cost on Premier Agent: Leads cost between $20 and $60, depending on ZIP code sales, competition, and ad spend.
- Cost of Zillow Flex: At no upfront cost, Zillow Flex will connect you with homebuyer leads. You nurture the lead and pay a percentage-based success fee when you close a transaction. At the moment, Zillow Flex is only by invitation.
Paid Zillow ads enable you to connect with targeted customers looking to buy or sell a home across Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy. Once you’ve signed up for Zillow advertising, leads can contact you directly from property pages via a simple contact form. Zillow verifies each lead before sending them to you, so ZPA leads are generally highly motivated and allow you to increase sales significantly.
How much does Zillow Premier Agent cost, you ask? The exact price of Zillow leads is based on the average home cost in your ZIP code, area competition, and budget. These three things are referred to as “share of voice” (SOV) by Zillow. For example, high-demand ZIP codes, such as Malibu, CA, are more expensive than ZIP codes with low demand, like Naples, FL. However, you can claim a listing for free as a Zillow Premier Agent.
4. Ensure All Listing Information Is Accurate
When linking your listings to your agent profile, all listings need up-to-date information. This is usually done through your local multiple listing service (MLS), but you can also do this via Zillow. Click “My Listings” on your ZPA dashboard to edit your listing. Each active listing should have a link that says, “Edit this listing.” Alternatively, you can navigate to a property page and click “Edit Listing Info” from the top menu.
5. Fill Out the Home Description & Features
How do you post a listing on Zillow as an agent? Include all relevant listing details and write a description that tells the story of the home. To do this, use ample (but accurate) adjectives and list significant features in the “Home Details” section of the listing page. Write listing descriptions that sell by using real estate words that accurately paint a picture of your property while capturing buyers’ interest.
6. Add High-quality Photographs of Your Listing
Using high-quality pictures is an effective marketing tool to captivate home searchers as they scroll through the search results page. According to a NAR survey, homebuyers considered photos, detailed information about properties for sale, floor plans, and the real estate agent’s contact information to be the most valuable website content. Hence, putting more effort into your listing photos will help you gain more attention in a highly competitive online landscape.
To secure high-quality photos that meet Zillow’s guidelines, review the platform’s photography policies, learn best practices, and consider hiring a professional photographer. Once your photos are ready, upload them to your MLS and Zillow. Here are some tips:
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Review Zillow’s Photography Policies:
- Brokerage or team watermarks are prohibited on listing pictures. The only watermark allowed on Zillow is from your MLS.
- Names, phone numbers, emails, logos, websites, taglines, etc., are prohibited from listing pictures.
- Descriptive text is not allowed on listing photos.
Read the full Zillow policy here.
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Understand Best Practices for Listing Photography:
- Don’t include too many photos on a single listing.
- Make sure each image is sized correctly.
- Stick to one great shot for each room in the house.
- Use a “hero” shot of the exterior and backyard.
- Add a drone picture of the entire property if needed.
- Add detailed shots of enticing features if you have a historic or unique home.
- Keep an aspect ratio of 4:3, and try to upload images that are 2048×1526 pixels.
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Consider Hiring a Professional Photographer:
Though hiring a professional real estate photographer might cost you $125 to $500, it is one of the best investments you can make as you build brand awareness. In research done by Redfin, the data revealed that homes priced in the $400,000 range with high-quality photos sold three weeks faster and for more than $10,000 relative to their list price. Plus, listings between $200,000 and $1 million with professionally photographed photos were sold for $3,400 to $11,200 more.
If you must take your own photos, there are ways to make your photos look more professional. Our article on the top real estate photography tips and mistakes to avoid can help improve your listing photos.
7. Create a Video Walk-through
If you want to know how to get more views, consider Zillow’s 3D home tour feature. According to Zillow, listings with an Interactive Floor Plan virtual tour got 60% more views than listings without an Interactive Floor Plan virtual tour. Adding video content can help your listing rank higher. Furthermore, 72% of buyers agreed that 3D tours give them a better home view than static photos.
Download the Zillow 3D Home Tour app for free to create your walk-through. Using your smartphone, you can capture videos and panoramas and easily upload them to your listings and profile from the app. Craft engaging listing videos by following our step-by-step guide to creating virtual tours.
8. Add Open House Details for More Zillow Views
Post open houses on Zillow at least a few days before scheduling to increase buyer interest. Just navigate to the listing for which you will hold an open house. Click the “More” button in the top right, then select “Add/edit open house dates.” Once you add this information, your open house details will appear on listing images, as showcased in the example below.
Explore real estate open house ideas your buyers will love to make the most of your open house. While you’re at that, download free open house sign-in sheet templates to ensure you get your prospects’ contact information for follow-up.
9. Follow Up With Leads Quickly
Follow up on your leads quickly to maximize your return on advertising spend (ROAS). Use the Zillow CRM to connect with leads via email, text message, or phone call and discuss their needs and interests. The best part about Zillow CRM is that it includes a mobile app so agents can follow up with their leads promptly and stay connected with them anywhere.
The Zillow CRM tool is included in the free agent account and does not cost extra. Zillow understands that tracking leads through the pipeline is essential to increase sales and closure rates, so this tool is available to all agents.
Pros & Cons of Zillow Premier Agent Advertising
While Zillow is widely used and offers free services and tools for agents—including a website, CRM, and home tour app—there are some downsides to using this platform. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of Zillow advertising:
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Zillow remains unbeatable regarding monthly visitors; however, you can also market your listings on other online real estate marketplaces like Trulia, Apartments.com, and Homes.com. Check out the best Zillow alternatives that can help you reach more target niche audiences.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Does advertising on Zillow work?
Of course! With almost 300 million monthly visitors, advertising on Zillow can be a game-changer for agents. Use Zillow to build a solid profile, collect reviews, and claim listings to increase your brand visibility. If you don’t put effort into optimizing your profile and keeping it active, you won’t have the opportunity to appear as the top listing agent.
How do I advertise on Zillow?
Create a Zillow Premier Agent profile to get access to ad spots and tools to promote yourself and your listings. Once your profile is ready, start claiming listings, creating video walk-throughs, and adding your open house dates on Zillow. Read our detailed guide above for more information. If you want to know the answer to the question, “How much does it cost to advertise on Zillow?” read our Zillow Premier Agent review.
How do I make a Zillow ad?
Creating a Zillow ad is easy! Sign up for an account, set your target location, and customize your ad with stunning photos, catchy listing descriptions, and video walkthroughs.
Bringing It All Together
Besides creating Google, Facebook, and Craigslist ads, advertising on Zillow exposes your listing to millions of potential buyers and high-quality leads. With a free agent profile, you can claim listings and add compelling home descriptions, virtual tours, and professional photos to your listings to increase buyer interest. If you want exclusive placement on a listing, take advantage of Zillow ads.
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