Every business wants to create a powerful and effective brand on the internet. Fortunately, REALTORS® have access to a powerful digital branding tool to help them do so—a .realtor™ web and email address.
Exclusive Branding Opportunity
New top-level domains, including .realtor™, began rolling out in 2014. At the end of 2017, web addresses using new top-level domains grew to 20.6 million domain registrations, including those owned by Google, Amazon and Sony.
Of these, .realtor™ is unique in that it’s only offered to members, firms and boards of the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Why not leverage the power of a brand that’s highly recognizable to anyone interested in purchasing or selling real estate? A .realtor™ top-level domain is an easy and effective way to communicate who you are and what you do. After all, an agent who uses “KathleenFreeman.realtor” instead of “KathleenFreeman.com” instantly says, “I’m a real estate professional.”
Emerging Trends
Web addresses (also called URLs) have grown increasingly important for digital branding. With the availability of hundreds of new top-level domains, companies have many more options to create URLs that support their brand—and are easy to share.
Take, for example, the promotion of a movie. It’s now common to use a “.movie” top-level domain to create a memorable URL, like “The Hunger Games” (thehungergames.movie), “I Feel Pretty” (ifeelpretty.movie), or “The Post” (thepost.movie).
“The Hunger Games” uses “.movie” as the main site for their film series. In other cases, like “The Post,” the short and memorable URL is utilized in marketing materials and set up to redirect to a much longer address—foxmovies.com/movies/the-post. REALTORS® can do the same thing. Simply register and promote your .realtor™ web address on social media and in marketing materials.
Search Engine Rankings
In addition to offering important branding opportunities, a .realtor™ web address can also play a role in improving your search engine rankings. Consumers frequently use the term “REALTOR” when searching online, and search engines pay attention to the most popular keywords.
As a result, if you’re already satisfying other important search engine requirements, using the term “REALTOR” in your website address is a factor that can boost your position in search results. For example, try searching “Kathleen Freeman REALTOR” on Google and www.KathleenFreeman.realtor will be one of your top results, if not the first.
More Than a Domain
With a .realtor™ top-level domain, you get more than an address on the internet that says “REALTOR® “—you also get a professional email address. Instead of relying on a generic address, like “jennypage@yahoo.com,” you could opt for “info@jennypage.realtor.” Which sounds more like a real estate professional?
Additionally, you can take advantage of numerous other enhancements, including:
- Easy-to-build IDX-powered websites from Placester®, a REALTOR Benefits® Program Partner (for U.S. members only)
- A free realtor.com® profile website (for U.S. members only)
- The option to easily add on-the-go business tools with G Suite from Google
Get Your FREE .realtor™ Domain
Individual members can claim their first .realtor™ web and email address at no cost, for the first year, then $39.95 per year. (For firms, the cost is $79 per year; bulk discounts are available for both individuals and firms.) Get yours today at www.get.realtor/RIS.
Coming Soon: The .realestate Top-Level Domain
Watch for exciting developments later this year, when the .realtor™ web and email address is joined by another new top-level domain: .realestate. Visit www.get.realestate for more information.
For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
