Comments on: Weekend Discussion Thread: Online Advertising Slump?

By: Estately Blog » Schooling the competition

Estately Blog » Schooling the competition — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:05:45 +0000

[...] like AdBlock declutter sites and make you ask questions like “how does this company make money?” (lists of good extensions are [...]

By: Joel Burslem

Joel Burslem — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:24:38 +0000

@Morgan – You’re absolutely right, Zillow needs to reach out to the big institutions and public companies to secure more ad dollars, as their current base is pretty weak. I think that’s the goal when they hired Schwartz. The question is does Zillow have a compelling enough argument to make to the media planners?

By: Joel Burslem

Joel Burslem — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 23:20:14 +0000

@Michael Price – Great article from the Times. But if you read on in the article it also says that while big brand advertisers are boosting their investments online they are using the money to create a more direct connection with consumers on their own websites, not buying online ads like what Zillow offers.

By: retrove.com

retrove.com — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:24:56 +0000

If RE companies / agents don’t advertise online… where else are they going to advertise? As noted above the smart agents will transfer their traditional “farming” programs online.

By: Elizabeth Weintraub

Elizabeth Weintraub — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 13:52:10 +0000

My page views have been exceeding same-month numbers over last year’s, so my readership is expanding. People always want to get an inside scoop on the world of real estate and don’t stop reading about it simply because real estate sale numbers have declined.

Real estate is the religion of California and (many other areas of the country).

By: Michael Price

Michael Price — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:14:43 +0000

I doubt any slump in online advertising will be nearly as bad as the slump traditional advertising will continue to see. As marketers figure out how to succeed beyond the banner and keyword, more and more of the budget will shift online. Here’s a good example culled from an article in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/business/media/14ad.html?_r=1&ex=1350014400&en=d38a4ebd52ebf219&ei=5089&partner=rssyahoo&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Last year, Nike spent just 33 percent of its $678 million United States advertising budget on ads with television networks and other traditional media companies. That’s down from 55 percent 10 years ago, according to the trade publication Advertising Age.

“We’re not in the business of keeping the media companies alive,” Mr. Edwards says he tells many media executives. “We’re in the business of connecting with consumers.”

By: Morgan

Morgan — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 05:22:36 +0000

While Zillow may be getting eyeballs as people load up their zip code and cross their fingers, it is going to be difficult to monetize that traffic for their current ad partners. It will take a shrewd advertiser acquisition plan to find the right type of partners that will be able to see return from the site as their traffic goes from elated homeowners watching their house value soar to concerned ones watching equity slip away under the specter of an adjustable rate mortgage.

It will be a different type of traffic to ad partners and Zillow has to find the right partners who will see a return and pay for inventory.

Further, Zillow needs to find more institutional ad partners with deeper marketing budgets. Brokers don’t carry the deepest balance sheets, and individual agents and other easy ad buyers don’t have the deep pockets to continue spending marketing dollars on a diminishing return outlet.

Public companies, and those larger companies who can sustain spending during downturns are better targets in this market than those that have been previously courted (brokers, agents, individuals).

By: #1 Kansas City Real Estate Guy

#1 Kansas City Real Estate Guy — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 14:00:12 +0000

I guess I must be doing something right. I have 10-20 people register on my website a day. One day last week, I have 39 people register. My traffic has gone way up. I average 250 visitors a day on my website. September of ‘06 I averaged 110 visitors. I think traffic has decreased for most people realtors because there are more websites for consumers to view. It is more important then ever to have a good SEO program.

By: Inman News Blog: Will ad-dependent sites soon starve?

Inman News Blog: Will ad-dependent sites soon starve? — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 01:59:37 +0000

[...] Future of Real Estate Marketing sparks a weekend discussion thread on the future health of ad models. [...]

By: Glenn Weilbacher

Glenn Weilbacher — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 21:31:40 +0000

While the housing slump definately exists and conditions in some local markets are really bad, the activity on the Net has not dropped significantly. Monitoring the activity on over 100 Realtor websites across the country we see clients who are still generating more than 100 leads each month. There are definately lookers but few buyers. Many buyers are in a holdinmg pattern as they wait for their existing homes to sell. Other believe home prices will fall further and are waiting. Still others think that interest rates will come down. Unfortunately, the media continues to quote the worse stats and does not acknowledge the local markets that have remained stable with minimal price depreciation.

Realtors must communicate the statistics on their local market on their websites and in communications with buyers.