We have been receiving a lot of questions regarding our new Listings Web Service and are excited to answer. I’ve put together the following FAQ but please don’t hesitate to reach out to me or our sales team if you have further questions.
What is Onboard’s Listings/IDX offering?
Onboard provides access to listings (IDX content) via a Listings Search Web Service for use by agents and brokers who participate in and have credentials for the respective MLS they are accessing. This is NOT an offering to allow those without MLS approval to access listings content. Clients must still have appropriate MLS credentials and must still follow all MLS compliance rules in order to access, use and display the respective MLS content.
What does Onboard’s Listings/IDX product currently do?
Onboard Informatics builds direct relationships with each MLS to gain access to IDX data on behalf of our clients. We organize and clean the data and enhance it with various standardized search parameters, tagged with Onboard content and make it available for searching on our customers’ websites while ensuring compliance with MLS rules and regulations.
Why should I use Onboard’s Listings/IDX (Internet Data Exchange) solution?
• Quality. Dependability. Support. And the simplicity of accessing the data from a single interface no matter how many feeds needed
• Integration of Onboard’s additional product offerings
• Minimize technology & licensing costs
• No hidden fees for photos and other services
• Minimize internal maintenance costs
• The benefit of additional features to the product, as they are developed
How is Onboard’s Listings/IDX product offered?
There are two ways a client may access this content:
1) We provide a web service that allows search across all MLS feeds through one consistent interface.
2) We provide individual bulk data feeds that allow clients who are MLS approved participants, to load the data into their own databases for search and other purposes. Clients can choose what works best for them.
Who are the target clients for Onboard’s Listings/IDX offering?
There are two main audiences that will benefit from Onboard’s offering:
1) Real estate brokerages that provide services in multiple geographies (typically regional or national brands)
2) Real estate application developers who build websites, CRM solutions and other systems for agents and brokers that require IDX content
What makes Onboard’s offering unique?
There are three primary differentiators of Onboard’s offering:
1) Onboard is the only company that provides access to IDX listings via a web service
2) We undergo a rigorous process to ensure the data associate with these listings, is cleansed and normalized to ensure it is consistent, accurate, and searchable.
3) We optimize the listings with our own content to enable unique search based on parameters that are currently not offered in the marketplace.
How long will it take to implement Onboard’s Listings/IDX offering?
Once approval from the MLS to use IDX on a client’s website is completed, which can take several days, the technical integration of the search web service can be accomplished in a few weeks time, depending on the technical abilities of the development team. If a client chooses bulk feeds, the integration to the client’s database may be completed in even less time.
What is the pricing model for Onboard’s Listings/IDX offering?
There are pricing models designed to fit both the needs of value-added reseller partners and direct clients. We also offer discounts for current customers and multi-year commitments.
For more information on our Listings Web Service or for how our solutions can best fit your needs contact us at 646.747.3899 or info@onboardinformatics.com.
Image Credit: Photosteve101 on Flickr.com
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