What's included for the one-time fee?
See our features page for a list of the major features. Your CCDRealtyOne account representative will assist you with domain registration and web hosting configuration. We'll consult with you on the appearance and functionality of your site so that it's not necessary for you to expend any initial setup effort. We will also consult with you about the various methods of implementing MLS search features on your site and set that up for you. If you don't know what MLS options are available, we'll research them for you. When your new CCDRealtyOne web site is ready for public viewing, you will receive instructions and access to all of the administrative and customization features so you can make minor changes and keep your listings up-to-date (or, alternatively, you could hand that responsibility over to a staff person or a webmaster).
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Do I have to choose from a limited set of templates?
You can have as many as you'd like. The setup and design - per your specifications - of the first template is included in your purchase of CCDRealtyOne. We offer fantastic choices of design, or we'll create a unique theme for you.
In addition, you will receive two other appearance templates which can be set up later with different designs, images, layouts and colors. We do the basic graphics work for you, including displaying your logo and any images you select. We set up the page layouts, background colors, type and menus per your instructions. If you already have design elements and photos you wish to use, we will include them on your site and place them where you want them.
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I like the way my site looks. Can you duplicate it?
Yes. Our flexible template system can accommodate any design style. As long as your design elements and content are not copyrighted by a third party, we will be happy to transfer them to your new site, while adding all of CCDRealtyOne's features and capabilities.
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How many pages of content am I limited to?
The sky's the limit. New pages are created with a mouse click, and automatically set up with your template elements (logo, headers, footers, menus, etc.) as well as your custom style. You can then use the built-in easy-editor to add content on your new pages and to tweak your editable, movable content blocks. We'll be happy to include up to five custom pages, in addition to all of the standard site pages and features already included. If you want to expand, we'll show you how (it's easy), or you can have us do it for you.
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MLS, BROKER RECIPROCITY, IDX
Are you capable of handling IDX and MLS downloads?
Yes. According to NAR rules, most boards must provide their participating agents and brokers with a free, frames-ready IDX solution if they provide a public MLS search online. CCDRealtyOne is ready to handle this solution at no extra charge. We also have a built-in sign-up feature which collects prospective buyer contact data before a visitor can see the full details of listings. (Actually, this is a feature which you can toggle on or off for each page of your site on a page-by-page basis.)
Perhaps you subscribe, or are interested in subscribing, to a third-party IDX solution. We can accomodate that, too.
Most Multiple Listing Services provide for the download of listing data so that you can store and display it all on your own site instead of just framing the MLS pages on your site. Advantages of this include the ability to format the style and presentation to match your website, and the ability to limit search results to criteria of your choice. In most cases, we can set this up for you so that you never have to do a thing for all of the listings on your local MLS to be updated to your site's database regularly. Your site will go out and "talk" to your local MLS site and collect the data.
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MARKETING AND LEADS
How about search engines and marketing?
We'll consult with you about that, too. We pay close attention to the competition in your geographical area(s) and code your pages carefully for the absolute best chance of good rankings based on page structure alone. Depending on your location, your competition may be fierce...that is, a search for real estate in your area will bring up a very large number of results. In this case, you may want to use a pay-per-click service such as Google AdWords until such time as your site floats to the top of the engines on its own.*
*Search engine placement depends on a number of things, and varies from search engine to search engine. At this writing, we recommend that our clients have their sites linked from as many other sites as possible, since this is currently a major site rating factor in the search engines. The more sites which link to your site on the web, the higher your site's rank will be in the search engines. Placing reciprocal site links in the hidden source code of the web page, such as some other site packages do, is no longer effective because the search engines are now analyzing the page code for link visibility. A great way to effectively accomplish this task is to offer a reciprocal links exchange to agents and brokers outside of your local area. We have a great automated solution for this, offered as an additional option for only $150 (again, a one-time fee - and you can add it at any time). You could also create your own custom links page and contact potential link exchangers on your own.
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Another company guarantees top placement in all the major search engines. Can you do that? How much will it cost?
There are two elements involved in providing search position assistance: the advertising cost and the service charge. The truth is there's no way of knowing how much it's going to cost to get attention tomorrow or next week. Search engine visibility for real estate sites doing business in heavily populated areas often requires a search engine bidding process. Your cost depends on how much competition you have and how much your competition is willing to pay per site visit.
As part of our service to you, we'll guide you to the same services "web marketing" companies use to bid on keywords on your behalf. Without careful attention to your specific geographical area, they may make costly mistakes by bidding too low on certain search terms and not enough on others. They may be too general in their terms (i.e "Washington Real Estate" vs. "Washington DC Real Estate") which results in wasted advertising money.
If you're a do-it-yourselfer, or want it handled in-office, we'll quide you through the initial process. If you want to hire a traffic manager, we'll work with you to set a budget and manage your bids with precision to get the kinds of viable leads you need in order to be successful. Management services for search engine placement start as low as $25/month.
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MANAGING YOUR NEW REAL ESTATE SITE
I don't want to "manage my own site." That's why I have a webmaster. Why would I use CCDRealtyOne?
You don't have to lift a finger with CCDRealtyOne if you don't want to. If you rely on a webmaster to make updates to listings, he or she will be able to use a simple form with foolproof image uploading and automatic thumbnailing, so updates to your site will absorb far less time (a few minutes per listing) and expense. If you have multiple agents working for you, they can each manage their own listings and personalized web pages, with permissions customized to your needs, while leaving access to leads and site logs visible only to you and the associates or staff people you select to monitor those features.
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Can I use whatever domain name I choose? Will I own that domain name?
Yes. You can use any domain name(s) you might already own or wish to purchase. If you need a new domain name, we'll guide you to a reputable, inexpensive domain registrar, and even walk you through the process over the phone if you'd like to have us do that. Expect to pay $9 or $10 per year to own a domain name. This fee is not paid to CCDRealtyOne but we provide the service free for our clients.
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LICENSING AND USAGE PRIVILEGES
I have more than one web site. Can you install this package on all of them?
Our standard licensing agreement includes one installation per domain. Please see our Terms and Conditions. In most cases, we recommend that if you are taking advantage of satellite websites, you make them simple HTML pages which point to your main installation of CCDRealtyOne. With the right domain registrar, you won't even need to host your satellite sites. You can have a search-engine-friendly parking page for free.
If it is not practical for your needs to work from one database and one web site, we will give you a $100 discount on the price of each additional installation of CCDRealtyOne.
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I'm a developer. Can I buy your package to re-sell?
All purchases of CCDRealtyOne are subject to the same Terms and Conditions, and we have a strict policy of one installation per domain name. We will ask you to agree to our terms and conditions before providing you with your installation of CCDRealtyOne and reserve the right to reject sales to developers at any time for any reason. We have strict provisions against re-selling the code in any form, whether original or modified, and use or public display without visible credit to Cape Cod Design and CCDRealtyOne are prohibited.
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AGENT CONCERNS
The company I work for already has a web site. Why should I have my own web site?
Being a successful agent requires name recognition and the ability for prospects to contact you. If you have your own web site, you'll always have a home base for leads no matter what career moves are in your future. Without your own web site, changing companies means you lose the ability to attract prospects on the web and will have to start all over again. With your own web site, your domain name and email address will never change, and your site can easily be transformed to reflect your new company and even your own company, if that's your goal.
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TERMS AND CONDITIONS
We will ask you to a sign an agreement to protect our rights to the CCDRealtyOne code elements and services. You can read these terms and conditions here.
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