Advanced Field Types
Many of you feature custom links on your home page. Often these custom links filter MLS search results by neighborhood, subdivision, price range, or a combination of search criteria. Sometimes the MLS data presented does not offer any naming standards. Agents may be able to enter typos, or just their interpretation of the Subdivision name. This can make it difficult to predefine searches for a particular Subdivision.
Below, we'll explore three different ways to customize an Advanced Search field. These changes give you "broad" predefined search filters that may include all of the properties in a specific Subdivision.
Let's start with the Customize > Advanced Search tab. On this page you will see a small dropdown menu above each field. This menu gives you several search "type" options for that field. By default, most of your advanced fields will be presented as a LIST. Our goal here is to change the field type to one of three text type options; wild text, text, and keyword:
Wild Text will search for listings containing the word or phrase entered into the field. For example, if we type in "Brookside" into the Subdivision field for Mid Florida Regional, we'll get listings with subdivision names that contain the word "Brookside." So, on our results page, we'll see listings from the Brookside, Brookside 1, Brookside Bluff, etc. subdivisions.
Text will search for listings that match the word or phrase entered into the field exactly. For example, if we type in "Driftwood" into the Subdivision field for Mid Florida Regional, we'll only get listing with "Driftwood" as the subdivision name. We will not see listings in Driftwood Ests, Driftwood Isles, etc. in our search results.
Keyword allows you to enter in multiple search terms separated by spaces and acts as an OR operator. For example, if we type in "Crystal Waters" into the Subdivision field for Mid Florida Regional, we'll get listings with subdivisions containing either "Crystal" or "Waters." If you want to search for the phrase "Crystal Waters" using a keyword search, you can place quotes around the search term.
Simply choose the field type that produces the most results for a given search. One way to do that is to open your Advanced Search page in another tab and hit refresh each time you make a change to your Advanced Search field(s). Type your Subdivision or other criteria into your new textbox and hit the Search button to see evaluate your results. |
Customize Email Updates For Assigned Leads
Many Agents sign their clients up for daily Email Updates that show new listings based on the clients' saved search criteria. Did you know that your Agents can also customize their own Email Updates Page Header? This is another IDX feature to promote to Agents who work with, or who want to work with your Brokerage. The Email Update Settings for each agent can be found on their profile page in the User Management area of the IDX Broker control panel.
Here, the agent, or your web designer, can add text or HTML to create a custom header that will replace your main header. Note that this Email Update Header will apply ONLY to emails sent to leads assigned to this particular Agent. This custom email update header gives your agents a way to personalize their emails to clients, and provides an additional way for them to market their listings, expertise, and your Brokerage. |
A Closer Look: Agent Permissions
The User Permissions feature of your IDX Broker Office account can help you limit the items that certain Agents can and cannot do while logged into their IDX Broker account. Click on an Agent Bio page link under the User Management Tab to view the User Permissions.
Below, we'll go over each preference and how it works.
- Manage own Email Update Subscribers: Use this preference to allow the agent to view any leads assigned to them. They will also be able to edit their lead's contact information, saved searches, and saved properties.
- Modify Own Username & Password: This one is straightforward - let your agents choose a username and password that is easy to remember.
- Modify own Bio Page: Giving your agents permission to edit their own bio pages will allow them to add content to their bio page, upload/change their photo, edit their contact information, change their MLS agent ID, etc. If are using a web designer to fully customize your IDX roster and bio pages and do not want your agents to be able to alter any of that customization, then you may want to set this permission to No.
- Manage own Listings: This permission will allow your agents to see their active MLS listings in their agent-level control panel. From here, they can edit limited information about each listing and update photos, open houses and virtual tours.
- Can re-assign leads: When filling out a contact form, a lead may select an agent that does not cover the market area that the lead is interested in. In cases like this, giving your agents this permission can be useful. This will allow the assigned agent to re-assign their leads to a different agent on your account.
- Shown in Featured Agent Widget: If you are displaying the Featured Agent Showcase on your website, you can specify which agents will be in the rotation for this showcase by using this permission.
- Show Agent Bio Subheaders: This permission will allow you to turn off/on your agent's subheaders. For more information about how agent subheaders work, please see this article from our Knowledge Base.
Setting User Permissions individually by Agent provides a way for you to pick and choose which agents have access to the information and features provided in your IDX Broker control panel. If you would like to set permissions globally for all agents, there is an easy way to do that too. Global permissions for all agents are found in your control panel in the User Management area. Expand the "Reset Agent Bio Settings To:" menu by clicking the plus sign to display User Permissions. Saving permissions here will overwrite permissions for all Agents in your account.
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