IDX Provider Reviews

1parkplace Overview

DISCLAIMER: The information below is just my opinion to be deemed accurate but not guaranteed. I am a former consultant of one of these companies and know more about that solution than the others. My apologies upfront if any information is out dated. Also, this is not meant to be an exhaustive “end all be all” comparison here. I’m simply focusing on some key areas that I think are important to discuss with prospective buyers.

Strengths

User-friendly, graphical map based guided search
Agent configurable lead capture settings to require registration to see complete address, photos & property description
Solid back office system for contact management, automated and customizable drip email system and listing management
Ability to produce RSS feeds of listing data (from the back-end)
Captures referring url for lead sourcing at the lead/contact level
Solid analytics for key measurement criteria
High quantity lead generation (50-150+/mo) that I can personally confirm

Weaknesses

Cost: can get expensive quickly
RSS feeds of listing data are proprietary
Service: Customer Service issues have and continue to be prevalent
Development Methodology: Proprietary, fairly non-interoperable and non-customizable
Style: Lacks web2.0 look and feel, generally looks old compared to others

Summary & Conclusion

Unfortunately this vendor hand-cuffs you to their proprietary (and new) blog platform in order to create and utilize the RSS feeds of the listing data for seo juice. Also the feeds are only created on the back end so your site visitors don't have an option of receiving listing updates via RSS (as opposed to email). The IDX system by itself is an iFrame solution only making it non-indexable to search engines unless you also go with one of their blogs which will set you back a few grand. Overall it's a good effective system for generating leads but plan on budgeting extra $$ to drive traffic to your site in order to see some ROI.

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