Review of Showcase IDX for Lead Generation 2024
If you’re in the market for the #1 Rated IDX Plugin for Southern Arizona MLS (ARMLS) to generate leads for your business, then this review about the plugin Showcase IDX is just for you.
You can still beat Zillow, Reatlor.com, and Redfin online.
What is a Plugin?
A plugin is a software program that enhances your WordPress based website. Some of them are free and others are offered for sale in a one-time or yearly subscription. This WordPress plugin is for Southern Arizona real estate. It’s very inexpensive compared to what is available in the real estate industry.
IDX Plugin for Southern Arizona
Showcase IDX is one of the most popular choices for real estate websites, and for good reason.
My guess if you are reading this page, you are a real estate agent in Southern Arizona and you are looking for a great IDX plugin for your website.
Right?
Look, I’m a real estate professional in Southern California so my perspective about this IDX plugin is as a fellow agent in the industry.
I’m not some crazy programmer who has no clue what we need as real estate professionals to generate leads online and offline.
The Showcase IDX website plugin is a great way to engage with clients and showcase your properties and the ones listed in the MLS. It links with your multiple listing service (MLS), to allow you to show listings for sale on your website. You must be a member of your MLS to use the plugin.
Whether you’re an experienced real estate professional or new in this business, it’s easy to get started on the right path thanks to their intuitive tools! Showcase IDX is the leading IDX WordPress plugin on the market.
“I’ve been a REALTOR for 31 years and counting so this article is from someone just like you. I’m giving you a different perspective versus a website designer or programmer. I only use products that work and generate leads and help me to follow up with them effectively.”
Jay Valento
California Realtor® at Fathom Realty Group specializing Coastal PropertiesYour Property Search: An Awesome IDX Plugin for ARMLS to Display Listings that Consumers Love
In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons why you should consider Showcase IDX for your website empire in Arizona real estate.
The number one reason to have an Arizona real estate website is to generate consumers that YOU want to work with now and into the future
All Arizona real estate agents want to help home buyers and sellers. You have a deep desire to help others get what they want and become investors or homeowners.
But finding clients can be challenging. That’s what I love about the internet and having a reliable real estate search like Showcase IDX is the key to my current real estate business.
Especially in this tough real estate market in 2024, we need to think outside the box to generate clients and escrows.
I’ve been generating leads on my website since 2003. I used to have 65 websites running at the same time. I generated online buyers and sellers for my real estate team at the time.
- Now, I use Showcase IDX on one website and am going to share with you the pros and cons of the product.
And extra tips so you can make this idx search work to your benefit. Plus, I will be reviewing different idx systems on my blog here for you.
How can a product like Showcase IDX help you with lead generation?
One of the ways Showcase IDX can help you is by creating keyword-rich and targeted phrases that the consumer is searching for online.
You can create custom searches for Tuscon real estate on one page and Green Valley homes with pools or Tuscon condos with views on another page.
You can become more hyperlocal than your competition by creating a page for every feature that you have access to the mls through the data feed that Showcase has access to through the Southern Arizona mls.
People are searching for features as well as phrases like “Queen Creek homes for sale”. You may discover in your mls, that more 3-bedroom homes sell than 4-bedroom homes. Then, you can create a few pages about the differences between a 3-bedroom house vs a 4 and show listings for 3-bedroom homes vs 4-bedroom homes, and so on.
How to Create Custom Feature Pages?
Let’s say the goal of your website is focused on homes for sale in Tuscon with views, then you would create 1 hotsheet for the city of Tuscon with the feature views. Maybe the first one is mountain views and the next one is valley views.
- Add a new page in wordpress
- Add content about Tuscon homes with views. You need about 500 to 1,000 words about views or swimming pools, homes with pools, maintenance and maybe how much more they sell for than other houses in Las Vegas.
- Add a Heading with the same name.
- Use a SEO Plugin like RankMath SEO or Yoast SEO to optimize the content, title, and description and Bam. You are one page ahead of your local competitors.
Someone searching on Google, Yahoo or Bing for that that keyword phrase would click on your page in the search engine or in a pay per click ad and go to a page on your website that covers that topic.
- BAM you get a new client.
I can hear you from here. “Jay, where do I get the 500 to 1,000 words of Content”
If you get writer’s block, then search for Content Writing apps like copysmith.ai, Jasper.ai, and heyfriday.ai. There are lots of them that write unique content. Contact me and I will send you some links to the content creator software I use.
I’m testing a new one that’s free called Smart AI Tools for copywriting and content by Creative Fabrica
The Flexibility of Property Searches
Another reason Showcase IDX is a popular choice is its flexibility. I have access to over 300 different features in my MLS in California that I use to create custom searches for to outrank my competition.
- (I’ve created over 2,500 custom searches…why? Read on…).
Showcase IDX offers a wide range of customization options, so you can create lifestyle searches for features for consumers.
When you click on the +Advanced Search link, you see this (in blue):
As you see above, there are 4 Tabs: General Features, Interior Features, Exterior Features and Community Features. The links in each of these give you and consumers more features. It’s endless and easier to search than Redfin, Zillow or Realtor.com.
Do people search for homes with pools or just a spa?
Yes. They do. And this is where you separate yourself from your local Realtors who do not spend time building pages like this. It is hard to search for features on Zillow, Realtor.com, and Redfin.
Whether the feature only gets just 10 visitors a month or 2,000, you need to look for an advantage to beat the local competition online and the big portals.
- Add local content about pools, spas, or anything else and you can beat Zillow and take back control online. And your local Realtor® competition to win new buyers and sellers.
Benefits of Showcase IDX Display to the Consumers
The display of listings is attractive and gives the consumer time to view all photos, and local area maps, rate properties, and make notes on them. They tend to engage more with you when the presentation of the listings looks appealing to them. This overall design upgrade will make your website look more professional.
The display upgrades the look and feel of your website right away. A couple of examples, my main real estate website for covers Long Beach homes for sale and other beach cities.
This is a cool consumer engagement platform. Check out my video on how to use the search tools of Showcase IDX that I have running on my real estate website.
Video for Showcase IDX
This is a consumer video I made to help my home searchers that are on my real estate website. Pay attention to the “Friends and Family” section of the property details…ssshh.
People Love Content that Answers Their Questions…and so do the search engines
Showcase IDX can help you set up pages like this for consumers that are looking for something special that your website provides that they can find on it easier than the big real estate portals like Zillow and Realtor.com.
Zillow, has a page of listings for every feature in your MLS. But, what they don’t have is unique content to support each page. This is where you can make a difference in Arizona neighborhoods, fun things to do, and so on. And stand out.
Hyperlocal Content Wins the Game Online
People want more knowledge about an area and a feature than just listings. You can provide that local information. I call it hyperlocal information.
- Share what you know about Southern Arizona
- Make it unique about the special feature
- Give visitors to your website “insider” information about the area. Why should they move there?
- Your opinion matters to them
- Write 500 to 1,000 words or more per feature, city, neighborhood, condo community, etc.
- Add lots of photos and graphics to help the consumer understand the value of the content you are sharing with them.
- Make a video about the information as well. Then, add it to each page. Google loves this… (ssshhh)
Create a Target Market for Your Website to Win the Online Consumers
Your website should be targeted toward a group of people you want to work with. Take time to figure out who that group of people are.
- Your website needs to answer the questions that the visitors have when they land on a page or blog post.
- You might target beach houses if you live to be the beach or you want to create a “first-time home seller website” or a luxury property website.
- Make a plan for your website and make it unique as possible.
- Set your listings to active real estate listings to save the consumer time verse showing them pending listings too. They may become confused.
- Read my blog post about Designing Your Real Estate Website to Win the Clients You Love
Most Affordable Property Search Tool for Realtors
Showcase IDX has two pricing models:
A) the Essentials plan $59.95 per month or
B) the Premium plan at $99.95 per month.
- No setup fees. You can choose to pay for the year or on a month-to-month basis.
If I want to add it to a 2nd website, the additional monthly fee goes down. I think you really only need is one account unless you are expanding into another state.
This has to be one of the most affordable products available.
- I recommend a WordPress website. Don’t use Wix or Squarespace or some other type of website. I have never seen a real estate website rank in the search engines built on Wix or Squarespace.
- If you want my web team to create a website for you, fill out this form and share with us your budget for this project.
- I know several developers that might be a good fit for you as well.
- You get a free 10-day trial when you click on the link that says Showcase IDX. I get a small commission when you click on the link. It does not cost you any more.
Frequently Asked Questions About this IDX Tool
Why did you choose Showcase IDX over other vendors?
Flexibility, I have over 2,100 custom searches in my Showcase IDX account. There are thousands of pages for a wide variety of cities and target markets on my website. Is that the best way to do it? It is if your goal is “referral fee checks from other Realtors in California”.
But if you don’t want to generate referral fee checks, read about Target Markets.
Which Real Estate Idx Platforms have you used?
I used to beta tested for several idx real estate products. I used 1parkplace in 2003 to 2005 and generated 600 leads a month.
In 2005, I moved the empire of websites to Diverse Solutions and used their cutting-edge products. Leads went down on that move because we did not offer commercial property or rentals to visitors…it’s kind of a long story.
Then, I used iHomefinder.com. Cool looking product but sometimes it doesn’t display listings on the page as reliably as Showcase IDX platform.
You need a reliable idx plugin for Southern Arizona real estate and one that your visitors and clients will love.
Is there a Contact Manager that comes with Showcase IDX?
There is a basic one. It looks like a spreadsheet (see below). If you are at Keller Williams, you could use KW Command. Lion Desk works with Showcase IDX.
What do I use as a Contact Manager Software?
I use Follow Up Boss. I will have a blog post about soon to show you the benefits. For now, you can check out my YouTube Channel for how I use Follow Up Boss with Showcase IDX. or read my blog post on “Why I choose Showcase IDX for my Real Estate Website“.
Do new leads automatically transfer into a 3rd party CRM?
If you are using the Premium product of Showcase IDX, you can integrate with:
- Lion Desk – our MLS in California allows us to use it for free but I like Follow Up Boss better for a variety of reasons. (Watch my training video for agents who work with me about FollowUpBoss.)
- Follow Up Boss,
- Boomtown,
- Real Greeks,
- Prospect Converter,
- Real Synch,
- Salesforce,
- Sierra Interactive and
- Slack to receive leads as soon as they register.
- The premium plan is $119.95 a month for Showcase IDX will let you do this.
- Zapier integration will make it seamless to other CRM (contact relationship manager).
Can you do lead routing to other agents on your team?
Yes. Lead routing is available with the Premium plan. I’m not using the feature right now. I have several agents on my referral team inside my office and in other offices in Southern California.
Is there a map search with Showcase IDX?
Yes. You can search by map, quick search tool or click on the +Advanced search link under the search bar. You can show a map of listings for a particular city, neighborhood, condo building, zip or more. Or leave the map search off. It is up to you.
Is it hard to install?
No. You can add this leading IDX WordPress plugin from the dashboard of your website. Just go to Plugins > Add New. Search for Showcase IDX as a keyword.
Click Install now and activate.
Who owns Showcase IDX?
In 2020, eXp World Holdings Inc, purchased Showcase IDX to make the IDX product even better. Showcase was able to hire more programmers and support staff to enhance the product and keep the pricing affordable.
- Will eXp Realty have access to your data?
- NO.
- Will eXp Realty be sending your solicitations from your use of the product?
- No. But, there are some eXp agents that may call you on their own just like every other real estate company does.
- Do you work at eXp Realty or Showcase IDX?
- Nope.
Is the product mobile friendly?
Yes. I get about 84% mobile traffic that uses the search tools to find houses, condominiums, income properties, commercial and land for sale. I host my website empire and other clients’ websites and the fastest hosting company I could find. I charge $50 per month to host a website that I build for a client.
Can I or my web developer use powerful CSS to customize it?
Yes. There are lots of ways to do that. The company’s main website gives you or your developer a few ideas on how to tweak the look and feel.
Why should I have my own website if “everyone” goes to Zillow, Redfin or Realtor.com?
Because you are you. Like I have mentioned in this article and others on my website, you can carve out a niche that separates you from the big real estate portals. I have lots of target markets that don’t include the real estate portals.
You may love the 55+ communities in Tuscon or luxury properties. If you do, you could create a website about Retirement is not Boring in Tuscon Arizona.
- Feature all of the communities.
- Add photos, videos, and content
- Pros and cons of living in each one
- Fun things to do in the communities
- etc.
You carve a niche in just about anything other than Tuscon homes or Green Valley houses. Get creative. Put on your agent market cap and think outside the box. How about a website for First Time home buyers or first-time home sellers? Brainstorm.
I have local top producers that ask me how they can dominate their real estate farms. I have several ideas that work well online and offline.
Competition to Consider
| Leading IDX Plugins Software | Setup Fee | Monthly Pricing | Free Trial |
| Showcase IDX | $0.00 | $79.95 to $119.95 | Yes |
| ihomefinder.com | $99 to $499 | $59.95 to $199.95 | Yes |
| IDX Broker | $100 | $55 to $140 | N/A |
| Diverse Solutions dsIdxpress | $99.95 | $49.95 to $74.95 | Yes |
| Realtyna | see website | One-time fee | N/A |
| Flex MLS | Check with your MLS | $85 to$499 per year | N/A |
| Kv Core | see website | ||
| Home Junction | View more details | $100 per month (I think) | N/A |
Real Estate SEO Options for IDX
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Which of these Popular Tuscon Neighborhoods do you want to generate clients from in 2023 and beyond?
Q.) How do you plan to dominate online in 2024 and generate clients while you sleep at night and while you are helping clients during the day?
Could you dominate each of these neighborhoods online and offline using an IDX plugin for Southern Arizona? Tell your story about the Arizona neighborhoods that you know. Tell your visitors what you love about the area and what they can expect when they move there.
- Tucson Park West
- Houghton
- Prince Tucson
- Catalina Foothills
- Skyline Homes
- Pima Canyon Homes
- Saguaro Miraflores
- Rita Ranch
- Ironwood Ridge
- Western Hills
- Eastside
- Desert Palms Park
Free 10-day Trial of Showcase IDX
Take about your online real estate and dominate the internet.
