Just a decade ago, being able to go to a Web site and find information about one topic—like homes for sale—seemed little short of a miracle. But times change, and consumers want more. 

Today’s real estate professional can take a service from one Web site and pair it with the data from another site, creating a hybrid Web application whose value surpasses the original components. Web designers call this form of content publishing a "mashup," borrowing a music industry term referring to songs containing parts of other songs. Today’s real estate mashups often include maps, listings, and community news.

What it Looks Like

To help you understand the potential benefits of a mashup for your business, I suggest looking at two very good examples: HousingMaps.com and ChicagoCrime.org. 

Both sites use the Google Maps service to display data in a geographically aware layout. HousingMaps.com simplifies the process of searching for homes for sale and rentals on Craigslist.org by merging the RSS data feed of those listings with a map. 

ChicagoCrime.org consolidates and indexes all of the recently reported crimes in that city. It aggregates information from a variety of sources, such as the Chicago Police Department’s Clear Geographic Information System, and then creates an easy-to-use, browseable directory that can be viewed by area, intersection, or block.

Why do it?

Ultimately, you’ll derive two main business benefits from adding a mashup to your Web site. As you add more content to your site, more users will find you through your higher rankings in search engines.You’ll create a stream of leads as users return again and again to your site because it’s a prime source of information. 

This "stickiness" is what every commercial Web site hopes for. In addition, as you expand your content through mashups, other Web sites will want to syndicate your content on their sites and blogs.

How to do it

Although advanced mashups will probably require assistance from an IT professional, there are a few turnkey solutions out there that, with some creative thinking, will let you produce your own mashup. 

A good place to start is Google Maps. From this page, click on My Maps. This feature lets you easily select specific locations, area boundaries, and routes to create your own custom maps. You can also add text descriptions and images on a map. 

Then you can e-mail the result to another person or publish it on your Web site. (You’ll need access to the programming on your site to add the mashup.) This simple type of mashup is a great way to display all your listings, create a group of listings of interest to one client, or set up a home tour route.

You can create another easy mashup by taking RSS news feeds from local or national syndicated sources, such as REALTOR® magazine’s online Daily Real Estate News or The New York Times Real Estate, and display the summary articles on your Web site. Adding news content to your Web site creates a one-stop real estate destination for consumers who want to stay up-to-date on real estate news. 

You can take this concept one step further by using Yahoo’s Pipes feature. You, or more likely your IT professional, can use the interactive feed aggregator and manipulator capacity of Yahoo Pipes to create feeds that are more relevant to your site visitors. Pipes lets you create RSS listing searches based on site visitors’ search preferences.

As you can see, the value of mashups as marketing tools is limited only by the available data and your creativity.

Chris McKeever is managing director of NAR’s Center for REALTOR® Technology. Before joining NAR, he was chief technology officer at Prudential Preferred Properties in Chicago, where he worked on a variety of technological innovations—including mashups. He can be reached at 312-329-8610 or mcgmckeever@crt.realtors.org.