Consumers are going to do one of two things if they see an ad offline that interests them: call or look it up on line.

A basic assumption of listingnumber is that if you give them a direct url to all the data/photos, they will take the path of least resistance and go there – giving you the ability to measure it.

When I was webmaster for a large real estate company, we got an unbelievable number of emails from the public trying (in vein) to find a specific listing on the site from the (little) information in print ads. Lightbulb!

Agreed. I don’t think we have enough evidence yet to make the case that craiglist offers a better ROI in the sense of tracking from initial visit all the way through to closing.

“A sign might not drive traffic to your website, but it certainly will help sell a house and it will build your brand in the “hyper-location” (neighborhood) where you need it.”

Good point. Most marketing studies show that people driving around the neighborhood is still in the top 3 ways they found the house they eventually purchased. I certainly wouldn’t advocate dumping the sign because the traffic to the site isn’t as significant as other mediums.

In this case I think the numbers are interesting because they help us get a better grasp of the consumers behavior. For example are folks who see a sign more likely to visit a website for followup information, or is that unnecessary because they’ve already seen the exterior of the home, have a flyer with the facts (presumably your sign box is full , and thus the only actions likely are: (1) do nothing (not interested) or (2) call their/the agent for a showing.

I’m fascinated with putting numbers on the process from start to finish so agents can make better decisions about where to spend their time and money and would be the last to advocate making major shifts based on one set of numbers. That said, get started collecting *some* numbers. Most don’t do any tracking at all (which is why the industry still spends 90% of it’s advertising budget in the newspaper).

Unfortunately, the assumption that “hits” are everything, might lead an agent astray when it comes to showing ROI.

Obviously, the more important metrics are closed sales or their precursor – showings.

Craigslist has always been good to me when I need to generate hits. I put an ad on Craigslist with a link to a virtual tour and people click on it.

Unfortunately, I haven’t seen reliable results in respect to increased showings or sales. Also, craigslist seems to attract the DYI bargain-hunters, which is great for a few of out lower priced homes, but not the majority of the upper end vacation or luxury homes that I sell.

A sign might not drive traffic to your website, but it certainly will help sell a house and it will build your brand in the “hyper-location” (neighborhood) where you need it.

-Jeff