In the competitive world of real estate, having a strong online presence is crucial for attracting potential buyers and sellers. A popular feature on many real estate websites is IDX (Internet Data Exchange) property pages, which allow agents to showcase listings from their local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). However, despite their importance, these pages often face challenges when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) and indexing. This can be frustrating for agents looking to boost their website's visibility on search engines like Google. Below are some key reasons why IDX property pages often fail to rank and index well, and how you can work to address these issues.
1. Thin Content on IDX Property Pages
One of the primary reasons IDX pages don’t perform well in search engine rankings is that Google generally sees these pages as "thin content." Thin content refers to pages that don’t offer much valuable or unique information to users. IDX property pages typically display property details such as photos, prices, and descriptions. However, the information on these pages often lacks in-depth, original content that search engines value.
Additionally, IDX property data must be presented exactly as it is provided by the MLS due to compliance requirements. This means agents cannot alter or enhance the property descriptions or data in any significant way to make it more SEO-friendly. As a result, IDX pages often feature generic, identical listings across many different websites, which Google tends to overlook because it doesn't offer much original value. Since IDX property pages are essentially just a list of properties pulled directly from the MLS, they often don’t offer much beyond what's already available on thousands of other websites. This makes it difficult for these pages to rank highly because they don’t stand out as authoritative or unique. They still have value on the website to show visitors the properties available it’s just a different goal than SEO and Indexing.
2. Duplicate Content Across Multiple Websites
Another challenge that IDX pages face is the issue of duplicate content. IDX listings are syndicated across many different websites, meaning that the same property information can be found on thousands of agent websites. Google’s algorithms are designed to avoid ranking multiple pages with the same content. As a result, when search engines encounter multiple pages with identical or nearly identical property data, they may choose to index only one version of the page and ignore the rest.
For real estate agents, this presents a significant challenge because the content on their IDX property pages is not unique. Google may consider these pages to be duplicate content and either ignore them or rank them lower than pages that provide more unique or authoritative content. As a result, agents may find their IDX property pages not appearing in search results, even though the listings may be relevant to potential buyers.
3. The Impact of Changing Property Statuses
IDX listings are often updated dynamically as property statuses change. For example, a property may be marked as "for sale" initially, but later changed to "pending," "under contract," or "sold." As these statuses change, the URLs for these listings may also change, creating further challenges for indexing. When the status of a property changes, the URL or the structure of the link may be altered, which means search engines must re-crawl the page to update the listing’s status.
Moreover, some IDX systems do not provide "sold" data, which means properties that are no longer available may still appear on the website, causing outdated listings to clutter search results. This can confuse search engines. Since the links themselves change as the status of a property evolves, it becomes more difficult for Google to keep track of these pages over time, further complicating the indexing process. As a result, IDX property pages may have a lower chance of being indexed properly, as Google may perceive the pages as unreliable or outdated.
4. Limited Control Over SEO Optimization
Many IDX systems are designed to display listings in a standardized format, and while this is convenient for agents, it often leaves little room for customization. For example, agents may have limited control over meta tags, page titles, and other on-page SEO elements that are crucial for ranking on search engines.
In addition, the design and structure of the IDX property pages may not be optimized for search engines because the focus is for visitors to search and use those pages instead of SEO purposes. This lack of flexibility can hinder an agent’s ability to implement best SEO practices, making it harder for their IDX pages to rank well.
5. IDX Sitemap and the Premium Plan
Some IDX providers, like SIDX, offer a Premium Plan that includes an IDX sitemap, which can help search engines crawl and index the pages more effectively. The sitemap lists all of the pages on the website that the agent wants indexed, helping Google discover and process new listings more easily.
However, while an IDX sitemap can improve the chances of indexing, it does not guarantee that all IDX pages will be indexed. Google’s algorithms will still prioritize pages based on factors like content quality, relevance, and uniqueness. Even with a sitemap, many IDX pages may remain under-indexed or fail to rank well if they do not meet the quality standards that Google expects.
6. A Common Issue for All Real Estate Websites
It’s important to note that the challenges surrounding IDX pages are not unique to one agent or website. This is a common issue faced by all real estate professionals who rely on IDX listings to populate their websites. Because these pages often contain duplicate content, lack unique value, and experience frequent changes, it can be difficult for agents to leverage IDX property pages effectively for SEO.
Despite these challenges, real estate agents can still take steps to optimize their websites for search engines. By creating valuable, original content around their listings—such as local market insights, neighborhood guides, and in-depth property analyses on other pages—agents can supplement their IDX pages with SEO-friendly material that Google will prioritize. You could also use our My Listings tool to create manual custom pages for the listings that would give more flexibility to help with SEO.
Conclusion
IDX property pages can be a valuable tool for real estate agents, but they often face significant challenges when it comes to indexing and ranking on search engines. The thin, duplicate content, frequent changes in property status, and lack of control over SEO elements all contribute to the difficulties in getting these pages to perform well in search results.
While an IDX sitemap and premium plan may help improve indexing, agents must also consider adding original, high-quality content to their websites to improve their chances of ranking. By diversifying content and focusing on SEO best practices, real estate agents can enhance the visibility of their listings and attract more traffic to their websites.
That said, it’s important to remember that IDX pages serve a different primary purpose: providing real-time property listings for visitors. While they may not be optimized for SEO, they still play a crucial role in offering potential buyers a seamless experience and access to up-to-date listings. Their value lies in their functionality, not just search engine ranking.