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Zillow is giving Listing Showcase an update that will provide users with a series of metrics for determining a property’s performance on the portal, an April 15 statement from the portal said.
Available to agents whose sellers’ properties are leveraging Showcase, the insights dashboard is designed with transparency in mind, allowing agents to unravel what home features may be leading to more online attention specific to location, for greater market-by-market accuracy.
“Now, agents have a clear picture of how their Showcase listing is performing over time with detailed insights, including page views, saves and shares, compared to similar non-Showcase listings on Zillow located in the same area,” Zillow said.
Showcase is an advanced service offered by Zillow that includes a suite of elevated marketing features, such as high-end photography and digital tours, interactive floor plans, prominent listing agent branding and other agency-grade benefits. The service was announced in 2023 in limited markets under the ShowingTime+ wing of Zillow, the consolidated offspring of its many marketing-focused acquisitions, including ShowingTime.
Upon its rollout, Mike Lane, vice president of ShowingTime+, described the tool in a statement as creating an “unmatched listing experience for agents and sellers.”
Zillow said it’s found listings enriched with Showcase sell for more money, to the tune of 2 percent. Its data also found that agents who use it in pitches to win business land the listing 20 percent more often than non-users.
Todd Chapman is a licensed real estate agent and the chief operating officer with Delhougne Realty Group in St. Louis, Missouri. He said in the Zillow statement that clients “love” seeing the statistics associated with their listing.
“We have more than a marketing tool,” Chapman said. “We have a way to bring more traffic to the home, which for us is turning into more showings, more offers and better outcomes for our sellers, and that is winning us more business.”
Website traffic statistics are powerful drivers of marketing decisions when used correctly. Most website content management systems (CMS) offer them down to the page level, and countless third-party software providers can do the same. It’s a big part of search engine marketing and website optimization. However, implementing such tools is commonly an afterthought, and a lot of sellers don’t think to ask about it, either.
Zillow’s advantage in this case is its vertical integration, not specifically the innovation. The fact that it’s included with what agents buy under the Showcase brand means a user can benchmark hard numbers against their marketing investment and also use the insights when working with stubborn or anxious sellers, as reports are downloadable.
“Showcase is all about helping agents deliver exceptional experiences to sellers and buyers. In doing so, agents build their own brand — which leads to winning more listings and growing their businesses,” said Cynthia Taylor, Zillow’s senior vice president of Agent Software & Advertising, in the release. “We’re integrating more insights and solutions into the tools agents use every day to make agents more efficient and ultimately more successful.”
Zillow’s impact on how listings are marketed is the industry’s hottest topic. The company has thrust itself into the now industry-wide Clear Cooperation melee by stating it will withhold properties from its website unless they are publicly marketed from the outset.
The decision, considered a gamble by many and a strong show of support by others, has been part of an inferno of hot takes, commentary and related moves, such as Washington-based Northwest MLS temporarily shutting down its IDX feed to Compass amid an ongoing conflict over private listings.
