Over the years, there has been a boatload of information made available out on the web about the CREA‘s Data Distribution Facility (DDF). It can be a rather daunting task for new agents to filter through pages and pages of Google results to find the info they’re looking for.
We’ve taken the liberty of doing the research for you. Below this paragraph, you’ll find quotes about DDF from reliable websites and real estate writers. We’ve listed all our references at the bottom of the page. Happy reading and comment on this post if you have any questions.
The key advantage that the DDF® provides to real estate websites is that it will allow websites to rank higher in search engines such as Google. In terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), the added text and images from all the listings captured from the DDF® will act as keywords that are indexed within search engines. If the all this data from the DDF® is indexed properly, the real estate website will gain a significant SEO (Search Engine Optimization) boost. [1]
DDF not only will save you time and energy, but it will also give your business yet another unique selling point when approaching prospective customers. You can now guarantee to clients that their listing will be live on numerous social media channels and 3rd party websites almost immediately, reaching thousands if not tens of thousands of people within the first 24 hours. If packaged correctly, DDF would serve as an excellent added-value feature to your business. [2]
Participants are given access to an online dashboard that allows users to direct where listings are shared, while providing reports on the marketing success of information being disseminated.
Agents contribute listings to a national data pool, can create their own customizable listings feed, all while being able to gauge the effectiveness of their advertising efforts with built-in analytics. The end result, or by-product, of both feeds, is an ever-growing, robust, and accurate database of listing information directly accessible by the public online. [3]
An even greater benefit of showing other brokerage (IDX) listings on your website is that all consumer enquiries for any listing on your website are directed to you, the website owner, giving you leads that can increase your business. [4]
Its important to understand that it is NOT every listing in your market or board has. It is all the listings of the brokers that have agreed to participate in DDF. This number is growing all the time and is well above 80% in most markets in Canada. Some very close to 100%. Naturally, in the case of a real estate board that had no data sharing prior to DDF this is a huge improvement. [5]
One of the main benefits for a Realtor is that the DDF listings reside on your site and each listing represents a page on your website. This helps greatly with SEO with quantity of pages and as each page is named by the street address and city. IDX listings are installed on your website by an iframe so when a visitor searches it goes to an outside url for results and the properties do not reside on your site. [6]
Internet Data Exchange or IDX is not something new, however not widespread in Canada as only a handful of Boards/Associations make this service available to their members. The CREA DDF™ National Shared Pool provides for greater opportunities for members who want to be involved in IDX and providing the ability to filter listings by property type or even geography. [7]
Once your listings hit REALTOR.ca, they are visible across all platforms including the REALTOR.ca apps. But did you know that you can extend their reach even further through CREA’s DDF®? Choose from a list of 15 additional third party sites to advertise your listings for even greater reach! [8]
Participants will be given access to an online dashboard that allows users to direct where listings are sent or shared. The dashboard will also provide reports on the marketing success of information being displayed on websites, so that, according to CREA, “any member can see how their listings are performing and assess the effectiveness of their advertising efforts.”
This new online solution will have several benefits. Primarily, the solution is being heralded, and advertised by CREA, as a time saver. Agents spend countless hours nowadays posting and reposting listings to several websites in order to generate leads which can translate into sales. The Data Distribution Facility simplifies all of this tedious grunt work, allowing agents more time to do what salesmen and women are supposed to do: meet people and network. [9]
Today we have over 65,000 listings in the National Shared Pool and this number continues to grow as more and more REALTORS® look for opportunities to market themselves and the listing inventory to consumers. The Third Party Destination Pool has also been embraced by several REALTORS® and now we have over 53,000 listings being distributed to other marketing websites in a controlled environment. DDF™ is not for everyone; however it does provide for controlled advertising, peace of mind, and knowing that your consumers and vendors will be well served as this is something only REALTORS® can bring to the table. [10]
At the end of the day, each and every one of us is different. Reading is a great way to get an understanding of most product benefits, but until you actually dig in and try using it you will never know for sure if DDF is right for you and your team. Roll up your sleeves, dive in and see for yourself. You don’t have anything to lose, and tens of thousands of real estate professionals around the country can’t all be wrong!
If you’re looking for a Real Estate Website Provider that integrates with DDF, you’ve found us. Check out a list of the boards we currently support: www.realtyninja.com/boards
Best of luck, from the Ninjas!
References:
- http://www.realestatewebarea.com/crea-ddf/
- https://www.realtyninja.com/blog//10-things-about-ddf/
- http://agentaccelerate.ca/the-treb-idx-vs-crea-ddf/
- http://www.slideshare.net/jumptools/ddf-feed-tutorial-agents
- http://myrealpage.com/blog.html/ddf-is-here-data-distribution-facility-ddf-feeding-myrealpage-websites-2354184
- http://socialwebmedia.ca/crea-ddf-for-real-estate-listings/
- http://realtypress.ca/crea-ddf-helping-real-estate-agents/
- http://www.creacafe.ca/7-ways-for-realtors-to-unlock-the-marketing-potential-of-realtor-ca/
- http://jasonquintal.com/bringing-order-to-a-realtors-chaotic-online-world-creas-data-distribution-facility/
- http://www.creacafe.ca/ddf-is-helping-realtors-make-the-web-work-for-them/
