Inman

Homes.com debuts ‘one of the largest banner ads in the industry’

Courtesy of Homes.com

Takeaways:

  • Homes.com has debuted what it says is “one of the largest banner ads in the industry.”
  • Ads can feature listings and logos or photos, along with links to websites and social networks.
  • The ads appear in city and ZIP code searches, can link to an outside website, appear on desktop and mobile devices, include a marketing tagline or social network links, and feature logos or photos.

Homes.com has enhanced the agent and brokerage ads that appear on the top of listing search results pages, claiming to now offer “one of the largest banner ads in the industry.”

The listing portal’s “Local Ads” eat up more space than the site’s previous search results ads and can now feature three of an advertiser’s listings. The previous version of Homes.com’s search results ads couldn’t show listings.

The ads appear in city and ZIP code searches, can link to an outside website, appear on desktop and mobile devices, include a marketing tagline or social network links, and feature logos or photos.

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Promotional image of new Homes.com ad product.

Homes.com also allows buyer’s agents to purchase ads that appear on the listing pages of all other agents except its advertisers. By default, both listing agents and advertisers receive the leads generated by these ads, said Patty McNease, director of marketing at Homes.com.

Homes.com claims that 90 percent of its page views come from consumers “actively searching for their next home,” and 80 percent haven’t linked up with an agent yet. Homes.com cited Web analytics software Omniture as the source of the first figure.

“While other real estate portals are chasing more and more traffic, our focus has always been about attracting the right audience,” said Dave Mele, president of Homes.com, in a statement.

Thirteen million consumers visit Homes.com every month, according to the listing portal.

Email Teke Wiggin.