According to Realworks itself, 80% of Dutch estate agents (makelaars) work with its software (Realworks). The listings on an agency’s own website can come straight from Realworks, through a website from Realworks itself or through an integration. The question we hear most about this: can such a website be found in Google, and what do you need to arrange yourself?
This article covers what you as an agent can check and improve yourself. We base it on Realworks’ documentation and on Google’s guidelines. Where something is not in those sources, we say so. Most sources are in Dutch.
Two ways your site connects to Realworks
A website from Realworks itself. On a page about its websites for estate agents, Realworks states that they meet Google’s technical requirements for findability (Realworks). According to Realworks’ FAQ, you set the title and description per page in the website management (Realworks FAQ).
Your own website with an integration. Realworks has an API that lets a web builder of your choice show your Realworks listings on your own site. The agent takes the API in the Realworks CRM Marketplace, after which the developer sets up the connection (Realworks). Your listings are then fetched in real time, and the rest of the site, such as your service pages and your copy, you manage the way the builder set it up.
Which of the two you have determines what you can change yourself. If you are unsure what your website can and cannot do, ask Realworks or your web builder. Lists online of limitations of “the Realworks website” we could not find in Realworks’ documentation, so we do not repeat them here.
Your listings appear in more places than your own site
A property you publish can appear on Funda, on your own site and, if you use Realworks’ property presentation, also on Move.nl, where according to Realworks every property gets a public page with a unique URL (Realworks). The same property, the same photos and largely the same text are therefore on several addresses.
Which of those pages Google shows for a search for that property is up to Google. Do not count on your property page beating Funda. Your time is better spent on pages that exist only on your site.
Do not try to fix that by putting a property on your own site first, either. The appendix to the NVM code of ethics assumes that a new property is offered on all platforms chosen by the seller at the same moment and under the same conditions (NVM). That agreement was made with, among others, the Ministry of the Interior (BZK), VBO, Vastgoedpro and the Dutch homeowners’ association Vereniging Eigen Huis.
Where your own site does make the difference
Many buyers look for properties on Funda. Sellers look for an agent, and that is where your own site has to be found: for “makelaar” plus your town, for “what is my house worth” and for questions about selling. Those are pages that do not come from Realworks, but that you write yourself:
- a page per town where you are active, with what you know and sell there;
- a page per service: selling, buying, valuation, letting;
- a valuation page with a short form;
- an explanation of your fees and how commission works.
How to build those pages is covered in detail in SEO for estate agents. If your current website cannot add standalone pages outside the listings, that is the first question for your supplier.
Reviews: Google looks at your Business Profile
Realworks writes in its FAQ that Funda reviews are not picked up by Google (Realworks FAQ). For the map results in Google, the reviews on your Google Business Profile count. Google writes that more reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’s position in local results (Google). So ask satisfied sellers for a Google review as well.
Two rules for that profile from Google’s guidelines: an estate agent counts as an individual practitioner, and a business without a staffed office may not list a “virtual” office address (Google).
What to check this week
- Titles and descriptions. Does every page have its own title with your town and service in it? On a Realworks website you set these in the website management.
- Visible to Google. Set up Google Search Console (free) and use URL inspection to check whether Google can read the text on your main pages, including a page with listings.
- Sitemap. Check whether your site has a sitemap and submit it in Search Console. If it has none, ask your supplier whether that is possible.
- Standalone pages. Can you add pages per town and per service? If not, discuss that with your supplier.
- A scan. Run a free SEO check on your homepage. You get a total score and a score per area; the individual findings are in the paid report.
And mind the professional rules in everything you put on your site. The code of ethics of Vastgoed Nederland asks members to refrain from misleading or incorrect communication (Vastgoed Nederland). A claim like “the fastest seller in town” is one you must be able to back up.
Frequently asked questions
Can a Realworks website do well in Google?
Realworks writes that its websites meet Google’s technical requirements, and you set titles and descriptions per page yourself. Whether you are found then depends mostly on the pages you add yourself: per town, per service and for valuations. Use Search Console to check what Google sees of your site.
Should I put my listings on my own site first for SEO?
No. The appendix to the NVM code of ethics assumes that a property is offered on all platforms chosen by the seller at the same time and under the same conditions. Besides, the same property is also on Funda. Your own site gains ground with pages for sellers.
Can I move to my own website and keep Realworks?
Yes, through the Realworks API a web builder of your choice can show your listings on your own site. The agent takes the API in the Realworks CRM Marketplace.
Where to start
Search in a private window for “makelaar” plus your town and for “wat is mijn huis waard” plus your town, and see where you stand. If you want your own site with your Realworks listings and pages that attract sellers, see our websites or get in touch.
