5 Ways IDX Framing Can Cost You More In The Long Run
IDX framing is often seen as the cheapest option to display MLS listings on your real estate website.
It’s good for real estate agents on a budget, it is often said.
We’ve put together this article to counter this statement because IDX framing can cost you more in the long run.
The key is not the money you spend setting up your IDX system, but the lost growth.
Under framing you will attract fewer visitors to your site, you’ll generate fewer online leads, and your real estate business will grow slower than it would with other Organic IDX technologies.
1) SAPS YOUR SEO
The main disadvantage to framing is that it robs your site of its SEO value. Under framing the MLS listings dispayed on your site, don’t actually reside on your website servers. Instead they are “framed” from your IDX provider servers via some visual design code on your website.
But this code is not recongized by search engines. So when search engines index or “crawl” your site for information, they do not read the MLS listings. Because of this, MLS listing pages are not stored in the search engine databases and they will not show up as results for relevant webs searches: https://realtyna.com/blog/best-wordpress-idx-for-seo/
Under IDX framing, you are severly limiting the ability of clients to find your website via search engines.
2) FORCES YOU TO BUY ADS
To make up for the lost SEO, you will need to purchase ads. This will display your website in the publicity space above the search engine results lists. But your place here is temporary. After a few days your ad will come down and your site will be as difficult to find as before.
Under IDX framing, you will need to pay more to make up for lost SEO.
3) MONTHLY PAYMENTS
Because the MLS listings are not stored on your website servers, you are essentialy renting them from your IDX provider. This rental will involve monthly fees indefinitely and sometimes an annual contract. After about a year you may find that your monthly fees are adding up to more than the one-time payment needed for Organic IDX technologies.
Under IDX framing, you are locking yourself into monthly fees.
4) LESS CONTROL
Also because the MLS listings are not stored on your website servers, you have less control over them. This can limit your business model and your ability to compete with large portal sites. We make the case that real estate professionals should “go local” to outrank Zillow and Trulia in their markets: https://realtyna.com/blog/5-tips-to-outrank-zillow-and-trulia-in-the-local-market-and-online-searches/
To do this, your MLS listing display should focus on the property types and locations you server. Under IDX framing, you only may be able to display a standardized set of listings on your site—the same ones everyone else is displaying.
5) SLOWER
To view MLS listings on your site, your visitors will need to pass through a frame. This can slow the load time for the listing pages and interrupt their browsing. The slower the load times and the more disruptions you encounter with your framed MLS search, the less likely visitors are going to remaine on your site.
Under IDX framing, slow load times can limit your ability to generate online leads.
Though it is advertised as a way to save you money, actually IDX framing can cost you more in the long run. Drop your frame, and consider Organic MLS Integration: https://realtyna.com/blog/9-reasons-to-do-organic-idx-integration/
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