Default IDX Listings Search

[satxproperty]

Hello,

My IDX/MLS feed provider's default search look up is $100,000 - $180,000 (any bathroom and any bedrooms) which in San Antonio, brings up some 3000 homes.

Has anyone that has a IDX/MLS feed on their webpage thought, experimented or played around with their default settings to figure out if there is any correlations between my desired clientele base versus userability versus leads generated?

Should I change my default search to the price range that I would like my clientele base to be in?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[SBCwebmaster]

This is an interesting question. Are you asking whether you should adjust the default search settings to your IDX search page or leave them "as is" depending on your targeted client base? If so, I'd say leave them where they are unless the Real Estate in your area is much higher or lower than the 100K to 180K...

In my area - which is near the national average, 70% to 80% of the Internet searches are for homes in the above mentioned price range - that's where people are... So changing this may not help you much.

Since only 20 to 30% of real estate searches are for property higher than $180K and assuming you are marketing to the "general" online public, then leaving it where it is may be your best bet. But if you recently sent out a postcard to your wealthy area's zip code pointing people to your Website, then perhaps increasing it would work, or point them to a page on your site.

A last note is that your IDX search page is REALLY easy to change and most real estate buyers are used to editing the price, bedrooms, sqft, etc... to narrow their search - so this could all be a mute point.

Does your MLS region actually allow you to edit the default vvalues of your IDX component? That would be the first I'd ever heard of that...

[satxproperty]

Thanks for the input... Yes, changing the default search parameters is very easy.

All that I have to do is create a link with the parameters, by selecting the different options and pressing Search... The new web address now contains those search parameters that I wanted. I just save this as the link to my search page. Voilá!

I can have one link defaulting to SFD homes 4br 2.5ba $200k and another to Condos 2-2 $150k and so on.

I just recently removed the requirement to register... before it was only highly suggested, but users could bypass registration, if they found the button. Now there is no registration required at all.

Anyway, I have seen an increase from 2-10 registering and some 25-50 anonymous IP's per day on my search page to over 100 anonymous guests per day for the past several days, still with 1-3 opting to register (mostly renters). Of the anonymous guests they apparantly just click Search and if what they are looking for isn't presented right there they don't continue looking.

That is why I was thinking that maybe we aren't presenting what the majority are looking for.

Thanks