What do I get when I buy a directory pages feature?

By Last Minute Vacation Homes

Posted on 07.14.05

Purchasing a directory page listing is a good way to highlight your home in the directory. The directory feature is similar to the front page feature in that is creates a list of up to ten homes down the left side of a page and up to three homes at the top of directory pages (except for the top level). The difference is in how the homes are pulled from the database—the odds of your home being viewed changes depending on where in the directory visitors browse and/or what visitors are searching for.

The directory page feature is designed to be a marketing tool for you, the home owner, as well as useful for the visitor who knows what he/she is looking for. The closer your home is to matching the requirements of a visitor’s search, the higher the odds it will appear on a page. On the reverse side, it also lessens the odds that your home will be featured on pages that do not closely match what a visitor is looking for. While some home owners may not like that fact, it is actually beneficial for home owners because it lessens the likelihood of getting enquiries for bookings that are unlikely to turn into business.

To explain how the directory page works, consider the following example. If there are 100 featured homes in the United States Directory, and your home is a four bedroom Villa in Orlando, Florida, your home would have a ten percent chance of appearing in feature list along the left side for a search that simply goes to the United States. If the visitor goes to Florida, United States and there are 50 home owners in Florida, then your feature will have a twenty percent (20%) chance of appearing. If the visitor further restricts the range to Orlando, and there are 20 featured homes there, your home has a fifty percent (50%) chance of appearing. If the visitor further restricts the results to 4 bedroom Villas, your chances of appearing as a feature are 100% (unless the visitor includes amenities you cannot accommodate—for example if they check that they need a private pool that you don’t have).

The examples above only include the left feature list. The top feature list (up to three homes) increases the odds that you will appear on pages.

If a visitor browses to pages that match exactly your home (country, state, city, home type, bedrooms) and does not include amenity requirements that your home does not offer, your home has a 100% chance of appearing because there can only be ten homes featured in a specific directory at a time, and the left feature list will show up to ten homes that match a search.

Considerations:

This system is fair: This system is fair because it does not give preference of one home over the other that matches a visitor’s requirements. It also makes sense, since it always shows visitors homes that are likely to accommodate their needs—meaning their enquiries for booking quotes are more likely to turn into positive results than indiscriminate results.

The system is focused: Your home is likely to appear as a visitor refines his/her searches to more closely match your home. On the reverse side, your home will not appear in directory pages that are precluded because of a visitor’s search requirements—if your vacation home is in Orlando, Florida, it will not appear for visitors browsing the France directory or a specific city other than Orlando (such as Las Vegas). This makes sense, since a visitor who has specifically selected Las Vegas, Nevada is not going to be interested in homes half a continent away.

Learn More about how to purchase a feature. Directory Page Features are sold at a first-come, first-serve basis.

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