The iHomefinder MarketBoost feature is a powerful tool designed to keep your clients and prospects engaged by providing automated, data-driven website and email reports about local real estate markets. Whether you're looking to showcase market trends, generate leads, or maintain client relationships, MarketBoost simplifies the process with beautifully designed and customizable reports. This guide will walk you through the key features, setup process, and best practices to maximize the impact of MarketBoost on your real estate website and email marketing campaigns.
Creating a Market
How to create a Market?
To create a Market, follow the steps below:
- Access your IDX Control Panel
- Click the Markets Menu in the Top Navigation
- Click “Add New” and a new window will appear
- Name your Market. This name will appear in the MarketBoost navigation as well as in the emails sent to this Market’s subscribers.
- Select the type of search you want to use for your Market. Keep in mind that Open Home and Market Report pages and emails are unavailable for Manual searches.
- Enter the search criteria on the form that presents.
- Click Save & Continue when your search is complete.
Create a Market with the Polygon Search
To create a Polygon Market, follow the steps below:
- Click the Markets Menu in the Top Navigation
- Click “Add New” and a new window will appear
- Name your Market. This name will appear in the MarketBoost navigation as well as in the emails sent to this Market’s subscribers.
- Enter any search criteria - property type, price range, beds/baths - as needed.
- If you look at the map in the top left corner, you will see the Polygon Tool (The symbol will be a pen)
- Draw your polygon. You can zoom or drag the map to the location you desire. Begin your polygon by clicking the map, then outline the area you'd like used in your search. Double-click to complete your polygon or close it by dropping the final point on top of the initial point. Edit the shape by dragging any existing map point or erase your polygon over and begin again by clicking Start Over.
- You will be able to see your results on the right side of the property organizer.
- When you are finished click Save & Continue and the Market will be created, and you will be on the “Edit Market” Page.
MarketBoost Settings
After saving, you’ll be brought to the Settings page, where you can configure aspects of the pages and alerts available through MarketBoost.
Listing Report:
Webpage intro text: Enter text to appear above the Listing Report page content for this Market. This field supports HTML.
Email intro text: Enter text to appear at the top of Listing Alerts for this Market. This field supports HTML.
Include in navigation: Deselect to remove this page from the Markets navigation, as well as to remove the Markets navigation from above the page content. This box is unchecked by default for new Markets.
Open Homes:
Webpage intro text: Enter text to appear above the Open Homes page content for this Market. This field supports HTML.
Email intro text: Enter text to appear at the top of Open Home Alerts for this Market. This field supports HTML.
Show only Featured Listings in Email: Check this box to have only Featured properties appear in your Open Home Alerts. A link to all scheduled open homes will appear at the bottom of this email. If you have no Open Homes scheduled for a week, no email will be sent.
Include in navigation: Deselect to remove this page from the Markets navigation, as well as to remove the Markets navigation from above the page content. This box is unchecked by default for new Markets.
Market Report:
Webpage intro text: Enter text to appear above the Market Report page content for this Market. This field supports HTML.
Email intro text: Enter text to appear at the top of Market Report Alerts for this Market. This field supports HTML.
Include in navigation: Deselect to remove this page from the Markets navigation, as well as to remove the Markets navigation from above the page content. This box is unchecked by default for new Markets.
General:
In this section, elect to include this Market on your site’s Market Index Page or Market List Widget, and enter descriptive text that will appear beneath this Market on your site’s Markets Index Page.
Listing Report Pages without Marketboost
You can link directly to a Listing Report page if you don't wish to use any of the options above.
In your IDX Control panel, go to Markets
Click on the name of the Market you want to retrieve the Listing Report link for, then click on the Settings tab. Under the Listing Report section, you can use the "Page URL" that is generated to use on your site.
Display Markets on your website
Optima Express (WordPress users):
Once you have created the Market you can display it in a few different ways on your site. I will provide a list of them below:
- Page URL - You can utilize automatically generated Page URLs, such as the Listing Report, Open Homes, and Market Report pages, for seamless navigation. To access these Page URLs, please follow these steps: log into your IDX Control Panel > Navigate to the "Market" section > Choose a specific Market > Once on the "Edit Market" page, select the "Setting" tab. You have the option to directly incorporate these Page URLs into the Navigation menu of your WordPress website.
- Listing Gallery Shortcode - This shortcode enables the embedding of the Listing Report within an existing page or post, without the use of framing. It proves to be highly advantageous for integrating listings into pages or posts that you have previously created.
- Gallery Slider Shortcode - This shortcode facilitates the display of an attractive row or grid of listings, complete with options for automatic advancement (animated) or manual navigation (via clickable arrows). Note that this feature is also available for Optima IDX users who do not utilize WordPress.
Optima IDX (Non-WordPress users):
Once you have created the Market you can display it in a few different ways on your site. I will provide a list of them below:
- Page URL - You have the option to employ automatically generated Page URLs for resources such as the Listing Report, Open Homes, and Market Report pages. To access these Page URLs, please follow these steps: log into your IDX Control Panel > Navigate to the "Market" section > Select a specific Market > While on the "Edit Market" page, proceed to click on the "Setting" tab. These Page URLs can then be seamlessly integrated into the Navigation menu of your WordPress website.
- Market Widget - This widget enables you to embed the Listing Report within an existing page, offering a convenient method for incorporating listings into pages that you have previously created.
- Gallery Slider Widget - This widget presents an aesthetically pleasing display of listings in either a row or grid format. It offers the flexibility of automatic advancement (animated) or manual navigation (via clickable arrows).
Understanding Listing Report Pages & Alerts
Listing Report Pages
The Listing Report page (formerly called Saved Search Page) shows all listings that meet the search criteria used to define the Market. MarketBoost clients have Listing Report pages that display both active and sold listings for the Market (for clients with solds available from their MLS). Additionally, visitors can sign up for alerts from the Listing Report page by using the button that appears in the Market Navigation, or by adding the signup widget to the page.
Listing Alerts
Listing Alert emails are sent daily, if activity has occurred, and keep clients and prospects up to date with the market, including new and sold listings, as well as price changes. Subscribers will receive a mobile-friendly email with property details that link back to your website, as well as an easy way to save listings that interest them. You'll have access to analytics that show which emails were sent, and which clients clicked through or saved properties.
Understanding Open Home Page & Alerts
Open Homes Pages
The Open Homes page shows all properties within the Market with an open home scheduled; the page is not confined to the next seven days, as the email alert is. The first scheduled open house appears on the results page, and clicking through to the property details displays all open house dates for that listing.
Open Homes Alerts
Open Home Alerts are sent once a week, on Thursday afternoons, and include any scheduled open homes for that Market in the coming 7 days. Featured listings will sort to the top by default, and if more than 10 open homes are scheduled the email will include a link to the Open Home page where all scheduled open homes can be viewed.
If you've checked the "Featured Only in Alerts" box in on the Open Homes section of the Settings page for a Market, Open Home Alerts for that Market will include only your featured listings, with a link to view all scheduled open homes (featured or not). If you've selected the Featured Only option and you have no open homes scheduled for a given week, alerts will not be sent.
Clients and prospects can be added to Open Home Alerts through the control panel or on the website, using the signup button or widget.
Understanding Market Report Page & Alerts
Market Report pages add always-current listing & and market data to your website, and the monthly alerts automate staying in touch with prospects and past clients and provide them. valuable information. Learn more about the market and listing data contained in these alerts and pages below.
Market Report Pages
Each month, your subscribers will receive an email that includes valuable market data about the previous month, including:
- Inventory stats for active, new and sold listings
- Price statistics for active, new and sold listings
- A link to the Market Report page to view historical data
- Sold listings from the last month
- A link to the Valuation Request form
- New listings added in the last month
To add a custom message to a Market Report Alert, in your Control Panel navigate to the Markets and select the Market you wish toadd the message to. In the Email Into Text field, add text or HTML to appear above the email content for all subscribers to this alert.
Market Report Alerts
The Market Report page serves as a landing page for those clicking through from the Market Alert, but it also displays valuable information that your site visitors will be interested in viewing.
Each Market Report page includes:
- Market data from the past 30 days. This data is updated each day to reflect the most current data. Data includes Inventory, Price, and Sale-to-List percentage.
- Six months of trend data. Note that when a Market is first created, only the sold data will be available in the historical charts. As each month’s data is complied, the active history will grow.
- Sold listings from the last 30 days
- New listings from the last 30 days
To add a custom message to a Market Report Page, in your Control Panel navigate to the Markets and select the Market you wish to add the message to. In the Webpage Into Text field, add text or HTML to appear above the page content (and below the Navigation) for all subscribers to this alert.
Lead Capture & MarketBoost Navigation
Lead Capture
Your pages will provide a signup button for email alerts if you opt to display the MarketBoost navigation. This allows viewers to enter their information to receive automated email alerts for the displayed report.
A signup widget is also available, which can be added to the sidebar or to any widget area when using WordPress.
Market Boost Navigation
The Markets navigation option allows your site visitors to quickly access the pages within a Market AND access other Markets you've created. The navigation is located in the top right corner of the page:
The navigation includes:
- Links to the Listings, Open Homes and Market Report pages for the currently displayed Market
- A dropdown menu with links to the other Markets you've created
If you're new to MarketBoost but you have existing Markets (previously called Saved Search Pages) in your account, navigation will be ON by default for your existing Markets. New Markets you create going forward will display the navigation on all pages by default.
To turn the navigation on or off for a given page, navigate to the IDX Control Panel > Markets > Choose a Market > Settings tab . Here you can access the settings for each page type associated with the Market. Unchecking "Display in navigation" and saving will remove all navigation elements from the page in question. It will also remove the page from the dropdown of Markets, where applicable.
