Review of Showcase IDX for Lead Generation 2022

If you’re in the market for a real estate IDX solution to generate leads for your business, then you’ve probably come across Showcase IDX. It’s one of the most popular choices for real estate websites, and for good reason.

The Showcase idx website plugin is a great way to engage with clients and showcase your properties and the ones listed in the MLS.

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! ShowcaseIDX is the leading idx wordpress plugin on the market.

I’ve been a REALTOR for 29 years and counting so this article is from someone just like you. I’m giving you a different perspective verse a website designer or programmer. I only use products that work and generate leads and help me to follow up with them effectively.

In this blog post, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons why Showcase IDX is such a popular choice and explore some of its key features. In future posts, I will compare other companies so you can decide for yourself and make a good investment decision.

The number one reason to have a website is to generate consumers that YOU want to work with now and into the future

All real estate agents want to help home buyers and sellers. You have a deep desire to help others.

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 2022, 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.

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 Your City real estate on one page and Your City homes or condos on another page. You can become more hyperlocal than your competition and create a page for Your City homes with swimming pools or another popular feature.

People are searching for features as well as a phrase like “Your City homes for sale”.

Let’s say the goal of your website is focused on homes for sale with ocean views. With Showcase IDX, you could create Hot Sheets for custom content like the phrase “Huntington Beach homes with ocean views“.

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.

Flexibility of Property Searches

Another reason Showcase IDX is a popular choice is its flexibility. There are 300 different features that you can create custom searches for over time for your city.

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):

Why I Chose Showcase IDX for my Real Estate Website

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 really 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.
Zillow has pages for every feature in the MLS. Whether it gets just 10 visitors a month or 2,000, you need to look for an advantage. Add local content about pools, spas or anything else and you can beat Zillow 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, 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. Pay attention to the “Friends and Family” section of the property details…ssshh.

Video for Showcase IDX

This is a consumer video I made to help consumers that is on my real estate website.

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. 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
Make it unique about the special feature
Give visitors to your website the “insider” information about the area.
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. 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 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.

Affordable Property Search Tool for Realtors

Showcase IDX has two pricing models: the essentials plan $59.95 per month or 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 some other type of website.
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 trial when you click on the link that says Showcase IDX.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did you choose Showcase IDX over other vendors?

Flexibility. I have over 2,100 custom searches at Showcase. 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? Not exactly. Read about Target Markets. They are on the cutting edge of technology now.

Which Real Estate Idx Platforms have you used?

I used to beta test for several idx real estate companies. 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…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 reliable as Showcase IDX platform.

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. I use Follow Up Boss. I will have a blog post about soon to show you the benefits.

Do new leads automatically transfer into a 3rd party CRM?

If you are using the Premium product of Showcase IDX, you can integrate Lion Desk, Follow Up Boss, Boomtown, Real Greeks, Prospect Converter, Real Synch, Salesforce, Sierra Interactive and Slack to receive leads as soon as they register. Premium plan is $99.95 a month. 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.

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?

Exp World Holdings invested in Showcase in 2020 to make it better for all real estate professionals. Showcase was able to hire more programmers and support staff to enhance the product and keep the pricing affordable.

Is the product mobile friendly?

Yes. I get about 54% mobile traffic that use the search tools to find houses, condominiums, income properties, commercial and land for sale.

Can I or my web developer use powerful css to customize it?

Yes. There lots of ways to do that. The company 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 them. Try the 55+ communities or luxury homes or ocean view properties. You carve a niche in just about anything other than Your City homes or Your City condos. 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.

Competition to Consider

Leading IDX Plugins Software	Setup Fee	Monthly Pricing	Free Trial
Showcase IDX	$0.00	$59.95 to $99.95	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

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