propertyadguru.com occasionally receives requests for information on how to list a property online. While this may sound like a strange question to some, we think the fact that this question is still being asked in 2009 might reflect reluctance amongst some agents to make the jump to online advertising.

The reason we think online advertising is worthwhile is simple: it’s the fastest growing source of enquiry.

It’s a statistic that’s often quoted, but one worth repeating: the US National Association of Realtors states that 87 percent of buyers begin their home search on the Internet. In the UK, the amount spent on online advertising has outstripped even that spent on TV, and in Australia, traditional media is facing a loss of over a billion dollars over the next four years as ad spending moves to the Internet.

The fact is, many estate agencies look at how new media can be utilised in their business rather than looking at how they should perhaps re-structure their business and change to better suit this rapidly expanding online market.

To begin with, let’s look at property portals. Portals are more than just a place to list property. Most provide a number of additional advertising and branding products that allow you to profile your agency and drive leads to your business.

Investing in premium classified subscriptions and display advertising, and utilising tools like electronic brochures, can set your agency apart from the pack and position you as forerunner in your area when it comes to the growing online property audience. All at a fraction of the often quite exorbitant cost of print media.

Another great advantage of advertising online is that you can dominate your area, even if you are not the most well known agent around.

In theory, you could be a one-person operator working out of a back office, or even from home, and the online audience won’t know. In fact, they probably don’t care as long as you get the results. Let’s face it: the newspaper is perceived as profiling your agency rather than driving enquiry, and profiling it to a diminishing audience.

Would it not be better to try to own your online market – a market that is significant and continuing to grow at an astonishing rate?

Cutting your print costs can allow you to re-invest in online products and in your own website through better web design and functionality along with search engine optimisation (SEO), search engine marketing (SEM) and social media optimisation (SMO) opportunities.

In upcoming articles we will be having a closer look at some of the products offered by many of the property portals and how you can leverage them to build your brand, list property and increase enquiry.

If you are in a market where your competitors are not embracing new media to the extent they should, work it to your advantage.

What changes are you going to make to your business?

This article has been provided by PropertyAdGuru.com helping agents make the most of their online advertising.