Switching Brokerages

Changing brokerages can be time-consuming, and a downright hassle. However, if you are planning to make the switch, it is important to keep a few things in mind during the transition to make it as smooth and seamless as possible. Let’s take a look at the “Must Do Online” list for any change of brokerage:

• Website: Notify your website provider as early as possible. Make sure they have all the new brokerage information to update your website with, including address, telephone numbers, logos, and any branding or awards that might need to be adjusted or removed.
• Listings: To continue downloading your listings automatically, a new TREB Data License Agreement is required. Remember you must return the completed agreement before your listings can be automatically downloaded.
• Social Media Networks: Make sure that your profiles have been updated; delete old posts that pertain to the previous brokerage.
• E-mail Headers / Footers: Another commonly overlooked area to update. Make sure that your new brokerage information is displayed here before sending out your next mass e-mail.  The same goes for your Outlook, webmail or any other email client.!
• Default Browser Title and Website Description: Don’t overlook updating these – otherwise Google and other search engines will likely have your old brokerage name and number still posted. This is especially important to update quickly, as it can take several weeks for search engines to reflect the changes in their search results.
• Other Websites: Sites such as Homezilla, Agent Locator, et al are excellent resources to help draw traffic to your website, but make sure they’re up-to-date.

Although switching brokerages requires some initial effort, if you follow through with these suggestions, your transition period will be significantly shorter and a lot less complicated. Another benefit of being proactive with making these changes is that your online presence will transition with you, and not lag behind with outdated information.

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