Intro to Zillow Process Template

Purpose & Targets

Purpose

If you've already been in the real estate space for a while, you probably know about Zillow. If you're just starting out...you probably already know about Zillow 😉. It's become a staple in the industry and we want to make sure you know everything about it. That's what you'll find in this Subject. From setting up an account, to advertising, to using the full range of available tools, when you're done here you'll be able to leverage Zillow to increase your sales.

Targets

When you've completed this Subject, you will be able to:

• Set up a Zillow profile.
• Use Zillow Premier Agent Advertising.
• Create and manage teams.
• Manage Premier Direct ads.

Creating an Agent Profile

Creating an agent profile is the first step to unlocking the power of Zillow in your real estate work. This will show you how to get this done.

Why Register on Zillow

Don’t have a free profile on Zillow yet?

I get it. Maintaining a multitude of online profiles and social media networks is tough work and takes precious time. BUT...

Here’s a HUGE reason why you should be on Zillow:

A free profile gives you top placement as the listing agent on your active listings and a single point for profile and account management.

Your profile will be faster to update, your advertising simpler to manage, and your ROI easier to track. It’s prime exposure on the largest online real estate network for zero dollars.

How to Create a Profile

1. Register on Zillow

First things first, you’ll need to register on Zillow by clicking Join in the top-right corner of Zillow.com. Enter your email address and choose a password.

IMPORTANT: Make sure to check the I am a landlord or industry professional box.

After you register, click Agent Hub on the main menu and then click Profile. Your profile will look pretty bare to start, but building it up is quick and simple.

2. Add a profile photo

Start building your profile by adding your photo. On the Profile page, click Edit Photo on the photo icon. On the Edit Photo page, click Choose File to upload your picture.

Agents generally have two schools of thought about what to use for their profile photo: a professional headshot or a company logo. I’m in the headshot camp; I think they’re more personable — but no selfies, please. If you need some tips, this post will help take your profile photo game to the next level.

3. Add your professional information

On the Edit Profile page, you can also add your business name, contact information, licenses, and service areas. Don’t forget to add links to your website and social media accounts, but avoid linking to old social media accounts that you don’t use. A stale, three-year-old Twitter handle with only one post doesn’t help communicate your brand.

After you finish updating your professional information, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.

4. Promote your brand in the about me section

The about me section is the best place on Zillow to share your story. You can update the section through the Edit button on your profile.

Keep it crisp. Leave out the lengthy sales pitch and real estate jargon — that’s a quick way to turn off potential clients. Focus on your background and why buyers and sellers should work with you.

5. Add your past sales

Updating your sales history shows buyers and sellers how active you are in their local area. If you have past sales to add, click Add your past sales to your profile on the Promote Yourself on Zillow menu or click Agent Hub under the Past Sales header. You’ll need to know the home’s full address, sold date, price, and which side you represented in the transaction.

6. Request reviews

Along with adding your sales history, reviews help agents stand out and win new business on Zillow.

Learning how to request reviews through the request form is easy, but getting your clients to actually submit them for you can be a struggle. If you’re not getting much luck, try some of these tips for getting more reviews. And remember, reviews can come from anyone you’ve helped with real estate, not just from closed transactions.

7. Connect your listings

The last step is checking that your active listings are connected to your new profile. Click Agent Hub and then click Listings to go to the My Listings page. Click one of your listings. You should see your new profile (labeled as the listing agent) at the top of the contact form. If that’s not the case, you have a few options: you can troubleshoot the issue, claim your listings manually, or reach out to the Zillow listings team at AgentCare@zillow.com.

That’s it! You’ve created a free profile in 7 easy steps.

Not only are you getting prime face time on your listings, but you’re also branding your expertise to the millions of home buyers and sellers on Zillow every day.

But don’t stop there. Set a reminder in your calendar every month to continue requesting reviews and keep your recent sales up to date.

Zillow Premier Agent Advertising

At its most basic level, Zillow Premier Agent allows real estate agents like you to connect with quality leads looking to buy or sell a home across Zillow, Trulia, and (in New York City ZIP codes) StreetEasy*. These sites comprise the largest real estate network on the web and create immense opportunities for you to expand your client base quickly. Bottom line: If you’re interested in growing your real estate business through online leads, this is the place to be. This Topic will teach what you need to know to get rolling with Zillow Premier Agent.

*If you’re a New York City agent, click here to learn more about advertising on StreetEasy.

Agent Exposure in Zillow Premier Agent

There are two key places where home shoppers gain exposure to real estate agents through Zillow Premier Agent:

• on the buyer’s agent list, which sits on each home’s detail page on Zillow sites
• in the Agent Finder, Zillow's online directory of agent profiles.

Let’s walk through each of these.

Buyer’s agent list

The buyer’s agent list is a standard placement across all for-sale properties on Zillow, Trulia, and StreetEasy. It is displayed below the listing agent on for-sale listings, and also on home and property pages on Zillow Group sites. It looks a bit different on each site but the intent is the same: to showcase agents when it matters most — when users are actively searching for a home.

As a Premier Agent, your brand and contact information is featured prominently regardless of the device the home shopper is using to search, be it desktop or mobile phone. This makes it easy for a home shopper to find and contact you while on the go.

The buyer’s agent list contains four agents; the first is always the listing agent (who does not pay to be featured on his/her listing). The other three agents are advertisers paying for a share of voice in that ZIP code. The position in which agents appear on the buyer’s agent list is random.

When you purchase Premier Agent Advertising you’re purchasing a certain share of voice in a given ZIP code. You determine what you want your share of voice to be. If you purchase 100 percent share of voice, that means home shoppers will see you in that ZIP code 100 percent of the time.

Home shoppers on Zillow's network of sites have the freedom to choose the agent they want to work with. You can influence their choice with a strong profile. Having a professional profile picture, adding reviews and past sales to your profile can help you stand out from the competition. Check out this article for more details on how you can make your profile shine.

Agent Finder

Premier Agents also receive prime placement in Zillow and Trulia’s Agent Finder directory at no additional cost.

Understanding the Cost

As a Premier Agent, you can target your advertising to the ZIP codes of your choice, letting you pick where and how often you want to be featured. There are two factors that influence the cost of Premier Agent Advertising in a ZIP code: market and competition.

Market

The base cost for advertising varies by market, with high-demand ZIP codes being more expensive than those with less demand. For example, it’s more expensive to buy advertising in Malibu, CA, where the average home on the market is a multimillion-dollar listing than in Naples, FL, where the average home value is around $400,000.

Beyond the base cost of Premier Agent Advertising in a given market, price is driven by market demand — more simply put, competition.

Competition

Beyond the base cost, the price you pay for Premier Agent Advertising is driven by market demand in each ZIP code. The more agents who participate and buy advertising in a ZIP code, the higher the price.

Here’s a simplified example of how this works:

Let’s say there are three Premier Agents advertising in 98121, each spending $100. Since the buyer’s agent list has space for three Premier Agents, each of them has a 100 percent share of voice in 98121. If one of these agents decides to increase their budget in 98121 to $400, this agent will now have a 200 percent share of voice ($400/$600 times the total share of voice pool of 300 percent). The other two agents will have a 50 percent share of voice each ($100/$600 times the total share of voice pool of 300 percent).

What does it all mean?

While it might seem like the most expensive ZIP codes are the “best,” if the resulting share of voice at your budget is low or the estimated leads associated with that share of voice are too low, you may want to investigate other nearby ZIP codes that will yield a better ROI for you. Deciding what ZIP code or set of ZIP codes is best for you depends on your budget and the number of leads your business is equipped to handle. If you need assistance with determining how to optimize your current advertising, a Zillow Business Consultant can help.

Exploring & Updating Advertising

Once you have made your initial purchase and become a Premier Agent, you can browse ZIP codes, check out new opportunities, and purchase advertising independently in the My Ads section of your profile. In My Ads, you’ll have visibility into metrics to help you make the right decisions to fit your business goals. When you see changes in your local market, you can quickly build a presence in new neighborhoods and use your knowledge of your area to seize every opportunity.

Exploring My Ads

To get to My Ads, you need to log in to your agent account on Zillow.com and access Agent Hub. Here’s how to do it:

1. Log in to your agent account on Zillow.
2. In the Agent Hub, click Advertising, then My Ads.

Note: If you have not yet purchased Premier Agent Advertising, the My Ads section will not be available to you. If you want to start growing your business with Premier Agent Advertising, please contact Zillow's sales team.

Key stats in each ZIP code

Before we get into the details of what you can do in the My Ads section, let’s cover definitions of some of the key stats and metrics you’ll see there.

• Average home value: The average value of homes in a given ZIP code based on the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI).
• Estimated leads: The estimated average number of leads you’ll receive each month over the next six months in a given ZIP code.
• Estimated cost per lead: The estimated cost you’ll pay for a lead based on current market conditions.
• Estimated 6-month ROI: The estimated return on your marketing dollars based on the average home value for that ZIP code, assuming a 2.5 percent buyer agent commission and a 4 percent conversion rate for your leads. You can change these assumptions using the ROI calculator.
• Share of voice: The percentage of exposure you’ll receive in comparison to other advertisers. Share of voice values may be manually entered above 100 percent to acquire additional leads; doing so may allow you to appear as the only advertising agent on the page.
• Monthly budget: The amount you’ll be charged every month. You can adjust this value at any time.

ROI calculator

You can customize your ROI by using our ROI calculator, located at the bottom of the My Ads page. Once you do this, your customized ROI is reflected when you browse ZIP codes.

Browse ZIP codes

Use the search bar at the top of the My Ads page to look up information for specific ZIP codes you’re interested in. Enter a ZIP code to see key ZIP details and compare against ZIP codes in the surrounding area.

Purchase ZIP codes

Select a ZIP code in the map view to reveal more details about costs and competition, including a list of other agents advertising and their share of voice. The slider shows what your share of voice and rank in this ZIP code will be at different budgets.

Once you’ve settled on a budget, you can easily add it to your cart or check out.

Make changes to existing advertising

You can add or remove budget in a ZIP code anytime you want in the Active ZIPs section. To make changes to your advertising in a ZIP code:

1. Click on the menu icon on the right side of the ZIP code you want to update.
2. Click Edit.

This will take you into the ZIP details page, where you can make changes to your advertising. Note that some larger changes to your advertising package may require assistance from a business consultant.

Contract and Billing

As a Premier Agent, you have the flexibility to choose where and how you want to advertise. You also can choose how long you want to commit to a given spend. Premier Agent Advertising gives you the option to advertise month-to-month or to sign a six-month contract for a minimum monthly budget.

In addition to your regular exposure, if you decide to sign a contract you will receive an Ad Bonus and the opportunity to opt into Seller Boost. Let’s dive a little deeper into these benefits.

Benefits of a contract

Ad Bonus

Ad Bonus is a reward for committing to a contract. Bonus advertising is delivered seamlessly to your account based on your spend level. Your Ad Bonus is distributed proportionally to your budget in each of the ZIP codes that you own. You can browse the dollar value associated with your Ad Bonus in the My Ads section in your agent account.

Auto-renewals

If you are in a contract and receive an Ad Bonus, you may opt into auto-renewal, a feature that ensures you continue receiving your free Ad Bonus advertising without disruption. If you enable auto-renewal, your contract will renew automatically for six-month terms at the end of each contract term.

Seller Boost

Seller Boost is an advertising add-on that connects you with interested homeowners who want to learn more from an agent. Seller Boost is available to a limited number of agents in each market, and only agents with a six-month contract are eligible. To find out if Seller Boost is available near you, contact your Zillow business consultant.

Billing

Each month at the start of your billing cycle, you’ll receive an invoice for the total amount of Premier Agent Advertising you’ve elected to purchase across all ZIP codes. Your credit card will be charged for that amount, which covers payment for your advertising through the end of the billing cycle. This cycle will repeat monthly.

Cancellations

Premier Agents with month-to-month advertising can send a request to cancel at any time. Termination will occur at the end of their current billing period. Premier Agents with a current contract can cancel their agreement prior to the end of their current term but are subject to an early termination fee equal to twice the monthly minimum spend stipulated in their contract. Please contact your business consultant if you wish to cancel your Premier Agent Advertising.

Appear as the Only Buyer's Agent on a Listing

It’s no secret that after getting a Zillow or Trulia lead, agents often send their clients to personal sites to continue their search.

But what about the rest of the time, when clients are searching independently?

Zillow and Trulia are the real estate sites that home shoppers love to use: After a buyer contacts an agent on Zillow, they return to Zillow an average of 27 times and visit 77 listing pages in 30 days. 

In Premier Agent Advertising, Zillow has a feature called My Agent that addresses how and when they appear on listings.

Be the only buyer’s agent clients see

My Agent gives agents the benefit of appearing as the only buyer’s agent on the for-sale listings their clients view.

When an agent creates a My Agent relationship with a client, the buyer’s agent list will update on all listings to show only the agent connected to the buyer. That way, when the buyer goes back online to Zillow or Trulia, they’ll see their agent on the listings they view. Please note that the listing agent is always visible on their own listings.

Deepen your relationships with clients

When clients are shopping for their next home, agents will also be able to see much richer information about their clients’ activity and the homes they’ve viewed. This information helps agents zero in on the ideal homes to show a client as well as gain visibility into when a client is ramping up their search. If they’ve created a My Agent relationship with a client, agents can find the client’s activity by opening their contact in the Premier Agent CRM.

In addition, clients can send messages directly to their agent from Zillow or Trulia, making it much easier for them to communicate about the homes they love or want to go see in person. 

How to create a My Agent relationship

Establishing a relationship with My Agent can be seamless with Premier Agent Concierge. When agents pick up a live transfer from Concierge, we’ll automatically create a temporary relationship between them and their clients.

After agents connect to a client through Concierge, they’ll receive a notification that lets them know they’re now working together on Zillow or Trulia. This relationship will last for 30 days.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to extend the relationship by sending clients a message to confirm it with the Premier Agent App. To do this:

1. Find the contact you want to connect with in Contacts and click or tap to open.
2. In the section titled “Be this lead’s agent on Zillow,” click or tap Get started.
3. Preview the message you’ll send to your client, then click or tap Send email to send the message to your client.
4. Once your client confirms your relationship, you’ll appear as the only buyer’s agent on listings.

If the client did not pass through Concierge, agents can still establish a relationship with them at any time using the process above.

Remember: Your clients can end the relationship if they choose. This can happen if you’ve finished the transaction or they have decided to work with another agent.

Integrating My Agent into your process

Here are a few best practices to keep in mind when you message your client to confirm your online relationship:

• Establish a real, live relationship first. Home shoppers are more likely to confirm a My Agent relationship with agents they recognize from a recent conversation.
• Send a message face-to-face. When you meet with a client, take a moment to explain that you’ll be sending them an email asking them to connect online, and why. Then send the message while you’re together, and ask them to check their email so they can confirm on the spot.
• If you’re not face-to-face, text a client to let them know to check their inbox. Send clients a short text as a follow-up to your message: “Hey, I just sent you a message to connect on Zillow/Trulia. Can you let me know if you got it?”
• Don’t send a client too many messages. Home shoppers receive an email every time you click “Confirm,” so don’t spam them. (Our system has checks and balances in place to make sure you don’t over-message.)

If you’re not sure where to start, here’s a sample script you can use to explain the process to your clients: 

“I’m going to send you a message to connect on [Zillow/Trulia]. You’ll receive an email that asks you to verify that we’re working together. When you get it, confirm in one click directly from the email.

You’ll be able to contact me directly from the listing, so it’ll be really easy to send me questions or request home tours for the listings you love.”

Team Features

The team profile is a powerful feature that helps agent teams create a solid presence on Zillow and Trulia. This will teach you how to use this feature so you can build your team, make yourselves known, and increase your reach.

The Team Profile

Team profiles consolidate all team members’ reviews and past sales onto one page to provide a central location for home shoppers to better understand the structure and scope of a team. Team member reviews and sales are aggregated to the team profile. While team profiles provide a combined view, team leaders and team members still retain their individual agent profiles.

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Team profiles also enable team leaders to route leads to team members based on different criteria.

NOTE: When a team member leaves a team, reviews and past sales made during the time they were a member of the team will remain on their profile. New reviews and sales added after they left the team will not be counted toward the team profile.

Creating Team Profiles and Adding Members

If you’re a team leader, you can create a team profile and add team members to it.

To set up a team profile:

1. Log in to your agent account and click Profile.
2. Click Team Management.
3. Click Start team to create your team.

Naming your team and adding members

Once you’ve created a team profile, you’re now the team leader and can name your team, start inviting agents to become team members, and set up routing rules to send the right leads to the right agents. To set your team name, Click on Add team name and enter your team name.

To add team members:

1. Go to the Team Management page.
2. Click on Add team members, then search for team members by name or location to invite them to your team. Note: agents you invite must have an agent account on Zillow or Trulia.

They will get an email notification to accept the invite. Done!

Team Membership Types

When you add a team member, you have the option to designate them as a member agent or a referral agent.

A member agent receives leads from their team leader. The member agent’s reviews and past sales are attributed to both the team leader’s profile and their own. Their profile photo also appears on the team leader’s profile page. 

An agent can only be on one team as a member agent, but they can be on an unlimited number of teams as a referral agent. Referral agents also receive leads from team leaders, but their information is not shown on the team leader’s profile. Team leaders can use this option to facilitate lead routing when they want to send leads to agents whom they don’t want to be displayed as part of their public-facing team.

A team leader might select the referral agent option when they simply want to refer out certain leads. Other reasons could be to allow a new team member to build up reviews prior to being publicly part of the team profile, or if a team leader is expanding to a new region but wants their profile to still focus on their current region.

Joining a team

Only team leaders can create team profiles. If you are a team member, ask your team leader to log in to their Zillow profile and create a team profile so you can join the team. When your team leader creates a team and adds you as a member, you will receive an email notification to accept the invitation.

Premier Agent Direct

How about another tool to help you maximize your reach and exposure to potential buyers? Well, alright then! Let's talk about Premier Agent Direct. This feature allows you to promote your listings and brand online by combining the reach of Zillow and Facebook. This will show you how to leverage this tool to find more prospective clients.

Overview of Premier Agent Direct

With Premier Agent Direct, you get premium ads on high-traffic Zillow search results pages that showcase your listing, video, or profile. You also get personalized ads on Facebook that are targeted at Zillow’s audience of high-intent buyers and sellers.

Also included with Premier Agent Direct is a professionally shot video that you can use on your Zillow profile, Premier Agent Direct ads, and email autoresponders to clients. Zillow's Agent Care team schedules the video shoot as part of the purchase process.

If you don’t yet have Premier Agent Direct, visit the product page to learn more and get in touch with a member of Zillow's sales team.

Premier Agent Direct ad placements

Premier Agent Direct ads appear in a few places, and we’ll walk you through what those look like below:

Zillow search results

Your ads appear on Zillow search results pages. You can choose from branded listing, video or profile ad formats.

Facebook

Ads are targeted at Zillow Group’s audience of active home shoppers as they browse on Facebook. Your ads can display listings, past sales or a profile photo from your Zillow profile. Facebook ad units are automatically generated with no additional work required on your end. If a home shopper clicks on your Facebook ad, they are taken to a landing page with your branding to drive interest and leads. If you would like to change the featured listing, please contact Zillow's Agent Care team at agentcare@zillow.com.

Why Premier Agent Direct is different

You may be asking yourself what the difference is between Premier Agent Direct ads on Facebook and traditional Facebook advertising. Premier Agent Direct ads build upon the capabilities of traditional Facebook advertising by leveraging Zillow consumer browsing data to reach a more targeted audience. Instead of simply getting exposure to Facebook users in your area, your ads get placed in front of the Zillow audience of active home shoppers as they browse on Facebook.

Manage Premier Direct Ads

Facebook ads are personalized with information from your agent profile without additional work on your part. We encourage you to keep your profile up-to-date with your latest listings, profile photo, and past sales. To select which properties appear in your Facebook ads, contact Zillow's Agent Care at agentcare@zillow.com.

Update your ads

To update or preview your Zillow search results ads, submit a ticket to Agent Care or call us at 888-466-3501.

Add video to your emails 

Emails with video receive a higher response rate and help you stand out. Use your video in:

• Lead auto-responder email
• Email templates

Lead auto-responder email

Auto-responder emails are sent as soon as a lead comes in. It’s often your first point of contact with potential clients.

To add a video to your auto-responder email:

1. Log in to your inbox and from the Settings page, click on Message Templates.
2. You will see a video email template with your video pre-populated.
3. Toggle the button to ON to use the video in your leads auto-responder.

Email templates

Add video to your email template so your potential clients will see it in any email replies you send.

To add a video to your email template:

1. Log in to your inbox and from the Settings page, click on Message Templates.
2. Click on the template icon in the compose a new email screen and select the video template; your video will be prepopulated.

NOTE: This feature is not available on mobile devices; you can access it from your desktop or laptop computer.

Email reports

Premier Agent Direct customers will receive a monthly report via email that summarizes ad performance. This includes information on total impressions delivered, clicks, and a breakdown by ad type.

Training Resources

Videos

Zillow YouTube Channel

Help Docs

Zillow Training Center

Zillow Help Center

Zillow Premier Agent Resources

Other Resources

Zillow Mobile Apps