Do Real Estate Agents Need a Website If They're on Zillow?
Yes, most agents who plan to be in the business for years need their own website, even with a strong Zillow profile. A portal profile is useful for being found by strangers, but the portal owns the page, the traffic and the buyer's attention, and it is built to keep people browsing the portal, not to keep them with you. Your own site is where people land after they hear your name, where your neighbourhood knowledge lives, and where past clients and referrals can find you without a competitor's face sitting beside yours. Keep the profile. Just stop treating it as your home base.
What a portal profile is actually doing for you
Portals are very good at catching buyers who are already shopping, and reviews there carry weight. But the portal's goal is to keep the buyer on the portal and to connect them with whichever agent its own system picks. Your profile sits inside that system. The layout, the agents shown nearby and the rules about what you can say are set by someone else, and can change without asking you.
The portal rents you access to an audience it owns. That is fine as a channel, and a weak foundation for a business that runs on repeat clients and referrals.
What your own site can do that a profile can't
| Job | Portal profile | Your own site |
|---|---|---|
| Someone searches your name | Often shows up, next to other agents | You own the result and the whole page |
| Neighbourhood expertise | A short bio field | Full pages for each area you know well |
| Staying in touch with past clients | No list you control | Your own sign-up list and contact form |
| Referral sends someone to check you out | They see a template like everyone else's | They see you, your work and your story |
| Design and wording | Set by the portal | Set by you |
Scroll the table sideways for the rest of each row.
Name search matters more than most agents think. A referral rarely starts on a portal. A friend says your name and the person types it into Google. If a portal page comes up first, the next thing they see may be other agents. If it is your site, the conversation stays with you.
What the site should actually include
An agent site does not need to be big. If you are starting from nothing, build these in order.
The pages that earn their keep
- A homepage that says who you serve and where.First-time buyers in Gwinnett, downsizers in a specific set of towns, whatever is true. One sentence, above the fold, with your phone number.
- One page per neighbourhood you genuinely know.Schools, commute, the streets people ask about. This is the content a portal cannot write for you, and people search for it months before they call anyone.
- A real about page.A proper photo, how long you have done this, why you work the areas you do. Referrals read this page closely.
- Past sales and client stories.Only real ones, with permission. A few specific stories beat a wall of generic praise.
- A simple way to stay in touch.A short form or newsletter sign-up, so past clients and future sellers become a list you own instead of a list the portal owns.
How neighbourhood pages get found
Neighbourhood pages are the slow, compounding part. Someone thinking about moving searches for what a town is like long before they search for an agent. An honest, useful page written by someone who sells there has a fair chance of showing up for those searches over time. Keep each page specific and update it when things change. Our SEO work covers the technical side of getting those pages indexed, but plenty of agents do well simply by writing what they know.
When a profile alone is enough
Not every agent needs a custom site right away. If you are brand new, your brokerage gives you a decent agent page, and you are still working out which areas to focus on, start there and put your energy into closing deals. A builder like Squarespace is also a fine first step if you have time to write good neighbourhood content yourself. What matters is having something you own.
Should I stop paying attention to my portal profile?
No. Keep it complete and keep collecting reviews there. Just link it to your own site, so people who find you on the portal can learn more on your ground.
Won't my brokerage site do the same job?
Partly. But it sits inside the brokerage's brand, and if you move firms, that page and its search history stay behind.
How many neighbourhood pages should I start with?
Start with the two or three areas where you do most of your deals. Better to have three excellent pages than fifteen thin ones.
Where to start
If you are ready for a site that is built around your areas and your name, our real estate website design page shows how we approach it, and the broader website design page covers how builds work. We build a free working demo first, so you can see your own site before you commit to anything. Call (404) 500-6167 or reach out through the site.