Before you object, we agree that the destination of a majority of your site visitors will be your IDX search page. That's where they want to be, so it's their destination. Only you can make it a guidepost or waypoint on the way to your destination, a transaction and commission. You can't do this with just any IDX solution though. There are some features you'll need in order to move an IDX search page visitor to a relationship and two-way communication.

Contact Information Capture

A comprehensive IDX solution will offer several ways in which to entice a search visitor to give you their contact information, name and email at a minimum. Of course, there's the "required registration" approach. It's considered by many to turn away visitors if you require registration simply to do any searches.

However, if you offer other incentives, such as the ability to create a custom saved search, and to get email alerts about new listings and information changes for listings matching the search, it's going to be received well. When a visitor likes your IDX search area, they'll be likely to register to save their favorite listings. The best IDX solutions will offer other goodies for registration, such as the ability to share their favorites with their friends.

Search Activity Monitoring

If you got the first part right, you'll get that name and email address. That's great, but if you sit on that information and do nothing with it, you're wasting a major opportunity. Sure, you can send them some emails, but there is a better way. The right IDX solution will allow you to monitor the search activity of your registered users.

When a searcher saves a favorite listing or creates a saved search, you'll know about it. The ability to monitor what they're doing, the price ranges of homes they're searching and the features of homes they're saving and sharing gives you a whole new way to approach them. If Jane Jones is marking homes as favorites in a certain area of town and price range, you can check out the features she seems to like. You find that she is drawn to 3 bedroom homes with 2+ baths and large yards.

You can email her and ask a question or two in the context of helping her to find the same features and price range in a nearby neighborhood she may have overlooked. Even better, if you watch your hotsheet and see a new listing before she finds it, send her an email with a link. Make some comments about the listing and ask if you can help.

What if she suddenly changes her search parameters, maybe lowering the price range or raising it? Maybe she drops a bedroom or bath. This is good information, and it could be an opportunity to email her and ask if she is aware that the current average discount from listing price to contract price is running 5%. Many people just assume they'll have to pay the asking price. Learning there may be room, she may be able to change her price range a bit or go back to the original bedroom/bath configuration. Your goal is to initiate a conversation and show her that you're knowledgeable and helpful.

Oh, and did we mention that WebsiteBox is a comprehensive IDX solution with all of the features your need to generate registration? Once they register to take advantage of the great search tools, you can begin to monitor their search activity for opportunities to make helpful contact ... from IDX search to a relationship.

To view the original article, visit the WebsiteBox blog.