We’re excited to announce that after months of BETA testing (and lots of Redbull), our new dsSearchAgent 3.0 is now available! If you’re not an existing dsSearchAgent Pro user, you can look through the video below for a quick over-view of the new features. Otherwise, dsSearchAgent 3.0 is offered as a FREE upgrade to all existing dsSearchAgent Pro users!
Inside you’ll find a slew of new features, search fields, and other changes that you’ve all been asking for so we encourage you to update your account right away and give version 3.0 a spin.
Here’s a list of some of the things you’ll find in the new dsSearchAgent 3.0:
Cleaner look and layout for easier navigation
- new fonts, colors and spacing
- new slider and input boxes
- location box now accepts street address and mls number searching
- most common search fields are larger and more prominent
- big and bright new call-to-action buttons:
- View Results gets visitors to properties fast
- Get Email Alerts gets visitors to register for email updates
- Schedule a Showing gets visitors to fill a contact form
- results instantly sync to match map area
- click any city on the map to add it to your search
- more sort options, plus faster sorting
- always see the top 250 search results on the map, even with broad searches
- new “infinite scrolling” for browsing through hundreds of listings with no reloading
- new PREV and NEXT buttons to jump between listings
- more photos on property page with larger thumbnails
- new immersive large format photo viewer
- better highlighting of your featured listings
- lead converting contact form on left side of every listing
- new search fields added
- number of garage or parking spaces
- property status
- street address
- mls number
Video Overview:
[youtube width=549 height=334]R41wGAdgFtA[/youtube]
Important Notes:
Switching to the new dsSearchAgent 3.0 WILL NOT cause any loss of data, settings or customizations (such as Custom Links). Additionally, it does not cost anything to upgrade to 3.0 (you just need to be an existing dsSearchAgent Pro user. Lastly, not all MLS have been approved but we’re working hard on getting the thumbs up for each and every MLS (it shouldn’t be long, we’re just waiting on their approval of version 3.0). If an version 3.0 has not been approved with an MLS, you’ll see a message that reads “Your account is not currently eligible”…don’t worry, sit tight and you’ll see the magic button soon enough 🙂
How To Activate the New 3.0:
Activating version 3.0 is a simple as the click of a button. Log into your Control Panel and click the big yellow button that says “Take me to the future!” and viola! you’re all set to go!
If you don’t have dsSearchAgent on your account and you’d like to get setup with the new version 3.0, email our Sales Department sales (at) diversesolutions (dot) com or call us at (877) 348-7654.
Over To You!
What do you think of version 3.0? Once you activate it on your site, show us (just drop a link to it in the comments)!
This upgrade looks awesome. i tried to upgrade my service today, and was told that it is not available through our MLS system, Trend, yet. Any idea when it will be available?
@Martin: Glad you like it! Unfortunately, I don’t have an exact ETA for you just yet. What I can tell you is that we’re actively working on getting version 3.0 approved. Once we are, you’ll see the notification in your Control Panel to switch on over. We’ll also be updating via our Twitter Account: @DiverseSolution
I’d sure like to see “Schedule a Showing” changed to “Ask a Question” on the Call to Action button. For a Buyer to want to schedule a showing, they are going to be far along in their search process and we’re missing lots of others that aren’t at that stage yet. Plus, “Schedule a Showing” means that the Buyer is making a commitment to a Realtor they haven’t even talked to yet.
“Ask a Question” won’t scare prospects away and it will generate more leads. I’ve already proven this to be the case with another IDX.
“Contact Us” is not as bad as “Schedule a Showing” but I’d choose Ask a Question over both of these terms for a call to action if the goal is to generate leads.
@Keith: Thanks for the feedback, I’ll certainly make a note of it!
For now, we went ahead an added a contact form right into the details page on the left. You’ll notice that it’s placed well within view and readily accessible. We did this to encourage users to easily submit questions, etc.
I saw the Contact Us form at the left but it’s not as prominent as the big yellow button (I didn’t even notice it when I first looked at the new layout). Plus, the verbiage under the contact form “Get in touch with us to learn more about one of these properties or schedule a showing” doesn’t even make it seem like this contact form is about the property they are currently looking at. It wasn’t until I enabled 3.0 today and tested this form to see if it even included the property address of the home being displayed. You also use “Message” in the form too. There’s no encouragement to ask a question that I can see.
Sorry, you’ve missed the boat in the lingo you are using. While 3.0 has improved the lead generating capabilities from 2.0 (I’d say from a C- to a C+/B-, I’d really like to see your product have an “A” in lead generation capabilities and just by changing some verbiage, can get you real close, IMO.
@Keith: We will be launching our new forum very shortly for open discussion about changes like this one. If there is enough support, we can definitely swap out the verbiage. We do have quite a few clients with great conversions using dsSearchAgent, but we are open to change if the numbers and user base support it. I sure we can do better for you than a C+/B- and look forward to seeing how the new forum feedback shapes dsSearchAgent 3.0!
I look forward to the forum.
Very nice. Love how quickly the properties load as criteria is typed in.
One question: I noticed with bathrooms they are at the FULL BATHROOM # but not necessarily the HALF BATH # unless you hover over the baths. I have a listing with 2 full and 1 half bath and it says 2 baths….when I hover it says 2.1 baths.
Great update nonetheless.
M Long
Might be more appropriate in the forum but I do slightly agree with some of the thoughts so far…only that I did not notice the contact form until I went back after reading here.
One though…making the box outline a different color from everything else or the option to change the color might help it stand out from the main column. Right now it does seem to blend with the search criteria. I first went through and said “sad that here is no more mortgage calculator” but realized that is is over there with the contact form. I like the color idea if it stays on the sidebar.
Nice job on the rest of it…the interface is very smooth.
Love the new look and feel. Great job! Just updated!
Updates look great so far, can’t wait to dig in a little more and get my hands dirty. I am sure this will help increase conversion.
I love the update! Come check mine out – http://www.sarasotapropertygroup.com/mapsearch!
I love the new version. We are getting at least a lead a day, often more. Thanks for the hard work! Once I moved my site to DreamHost on one of your support guys recommendation, we are in flight and soaring with the eagles. Best site in Colorado Springs I think–not bad for a small firm.
So far it looks good and I like the zippy search results. I really would like you to change the way the virtual tours are handled. I had to search for the tour and missed it completely the first time through. Buyers want pictures and tours and those should be the most accessible tools for them.
Then we need better conversion tools. I agree that it’s better than it was but it’s still not quite there. I know that buyers will click on schedule a showing buttons because they do it all the time on Zillow. But the difference there is more information is displayed to the searcher and it’s easier for them to do what you want:
http://www.josettere.com/bethesdarealestate/photos/contact.png
I look forward to a forum like the IDXpress community…
@Clint: That’s what we love to hear! Keep up the great work!
The layout of the search criteria is much cleaner and modern looking. The biggest enhancements include being able to search by MLS number, City and Street Address in the main search field. Also the size and number of pictures shown for each listing is much larger in size and in a slideshow format.
Every since I converted to v3 I am having problems getting my leads, registrations or forms to be e-mailed to us. Put a request into the Happniess Machine, but wanted to know if others are having the problem. I don’t want to have to go back to v2. A lost lead is lost money.
@Amy: Hi there, sounds like you like a lot of the new features, that’s what we like to hear!
In regards to the second portion of your comment, I’m going to take a look and test your account now. Version 3 works right on top of version 2 so you shouldn’t be experiencing any problems with leads/registrations, etc. In fact, we tested the solution and position of the Calls To Action rigorously to improve performance and conversion rates!
I’ll give you a call shortly after I’ve tested it to make sure everything is working properly 🙂
Everything with the leads and forms being sent to us is fixed (partial glitch on our end). Thanks for your help Ricardo!
Can’t wait to get an increase in leads and conversions as others are seeing with v3!
@Amy: Happy to hear it Amy! Glad we got to connect today and the solution looks great on your site. Anything else you need, just let us know 🙂
I noticed ever since I switched to 3.0 my stats quit counting visits. Only shows uses.
Thanks for your work on v 3.0. However, the scripting to display the large version of property images doesn’t seem to be compatible with Explorer 8 (or 7 or 6). Only the first image appears in the shaded window, but the remaining images do not appear. Have others seen this problem? All seems to be fine with Firefox and Safari.
Thanks
@Bill: Let me take a look at your account and see what I can find…
@Dan: I do believe we’re running some tests to make everything compatible with IE so we should have this resolved soon.
Love the improvements – EXCEPT…
1/. When I impersonate a Client to set up their search I cannot LOG OUT successfully to work on another Client. I hear this is only a problem on Internet Explorer but please fix ASAP.
2/. I have encountered a few time the inability to refine a search to a certian price point. I set the price for a Client, save a search, then check the search and it has NOT accepted the parameters of price but shows all available.
3/. In Version 2 there was the ability to modify a Client’s saved search while ‘Impersonating’ them and under ‘ Manage your Searches and Favorites’. You were able to click the ‘Edit Search’ tab to make changes. This is a great loss to Version 3
Keep up the good work, you guys are the best, Steve
…because of the problems outlined above I am switching my platform back and forth from Version 2 to Veersion 3 but am finding that AREA Searches set up in one version are totally messed up when being viewed on another. Not good for my 1,000+ Clients…
@Steve: Glad to hear you like the new and improved look of Version 3 (we worked hard on it so it’s always nice to hear good feedback). In regards to the points you referenced above, I do believe we are completing some compatibility issues in IE (Firefox and Safari are working great). Did you open a Support Ticket for any of this in the meantime? As soon as those are resolved, which should be soon, you’re all set!
Now in regards to editing a “Saved Search”, that is a feature that we have removed in Version 3. If you want to edit a search, technically, you will have to open a new search for a client and save it. With enough interest, we may reconsider enabling this as an option moving forward, but for the time being, we have opted not to.
In regards to searches, Version 3 runs directly on top of Version 2 so this should not be causing any errors in your Custom Links. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you out in this regard…
Thanks again for the feedback and look forward to seeing your rock Version 3!
I agree with Josette Skilling regarding the ‘hidden’ virtual tour link in v3. The virtual tour link is one of the most popular features for end users. The link needs to me made way more prominent for end users to find.
Regarding the ‘custom links’ bugs in v3. The issue is related to the search criteria “Constrain Results to Map”. In v2, custom links apply the “constrain to map” search criteria and in v3, the constraint is NOT applied. that’s why steve’s AREA custom link searches are not working in v3. It’s not constraining the Map search.
Our team’s original consumer facing search portal was a wordpress site with the diverse solutions plug-in. I loved the customization options but ultimately the load times for property pages was killing us. Keep in mind this was 2012. Was this a plug-in problem or a hosting problem? If it’s the latter we might be willing to give it another go.
Thanks for reaching out, Jason. Likely it was a hosting problem. Granted, a lot has changed since 2012, so either way load times should be solid today. We offer a free trial if you’re interested in giving it another try. Check out the specs and sign up HERE. Let us know how else we can help!