In an increasingly virtual world, renters’ needs are constantly evolving. As their needs evolve, it’s crucial for your community’s presence on Internet Listing Sites (ILS) to evolve as well. The good news is that many listing sites like Apartment Guide and Rent.com are adding features to modernize the renter’s search experience.

Listings are now a resource for apartment hunters to do in-depth research, tour the property, and even apply online. By optimizing your apartment listing for the virtual renter journey, you can cut down the time and resources your leasing team spends in getting a final signed lease.

These five tips will help you improve your property’s listings and attract in-market renters that are ready to take action.

1. Leverage virtual tours on your apartment listing

Our research shows that listings with 3D Tours receive three to six more leads per month than similar listings without a 3D Tour. This and other digital touring methods were critical tools for helping renters relocate during social distancing, and have remained popular options because of their convenience.

By including 3D tours and video with your property photos, you can empower renters to see the unit’s layout, space, appliances, and lighting — all from the safety of their home. From there, renters can quickly compare your rental unit to other listings and eliminate competing properties that either don’t meet their requirements — or don’t provide adequate information to move forward.

Live video tours are another option that can take place on apps like Zoom or FaceTime. This is ideal for renters who want to connect with leasing agents in real-time and ask questions. This option also gives both parties more flexibility in tour scheduling, making it easier and often quicker to set up meeting times.

2. Give renters the option to apply online

In-market renters are no stranger to competition, especially in metropolitan areas where multifamily housing is in high demand. If your property listing provides enough information to show renters that you meet their wish list, there’s a chance that they will want to apply online to get ahead of other interested renters. Knowing who is ready to apply will also give your team an idea of which leads have the highest interest upfront.

Many apartment listing websites allow you to edit the lead form so renters can select whether they are interested in an online application. With this information, you’ll have a head start in directing leads to your tenant screening software. If the application process is more manual, your leasing team can use this information to proactively provide renters with application documents needed before they even have to ask.

3. Create compelling descriptions

To make the most of your property details section, use persuasive language with descriptions of the grounds, neighborhood, and amenities.

The best way to craft descriptions is to have common renter questions top of mind. Renters will be looking at how amenities and policies impact daily life.

Whether it’s your pet policy, laundry facilities, parking, or deposit, provide all key points that a renter would reasonably have on their checklist. If renters have to go too far to get questions answered early on, they may set their sights on a competing property that provides more information.

4. Highlight savings and specials

In a renter survey, forty-six percent of respondents said that rent discounts or incentives were critical to their shopping experience (according to Rent. Internal Data, 2020). If you have lowered pricing or promotions, help your property stand out among other results with listing tools that highlight savings.

On ILS sites like Apartment Guide and Rent.com, you can add badges to your listing to quickly show renters a variety of special offers such as “Weeks free,” “New lower price,” or “Cash off.” This is a quick and easy way to communicate value to renters.

5. Beef up your list of features

You may have a stellar description in the property details section of your apartment listing, but selecting the right features will help you show up in search results. Don’t be shy about including all of your property’s assets. Pay attention to the keywords you can select in additional features, community features, and apartment features when crafting your listing to have full visibility.

In the “additional features” section, you can get creative and mention extra perks that renters may not find elsewhere like “walk-in closets,” or “onsite pet spas.”

Listings are often the first introduction renters have to your property, so make it count. By keeping up with virtual trends, crafting clear descriptions, and guiding renters through the process early on — you can build better relationships with prospects and drive them to take action.

Home to listing sites Apartment Guide, Rent.com, and Rentals.com, the Rent. Network welcomes over 10 million unique visitors per month (according to Rent. Internal Data, 2021). By continually innovating to offer sophisticated features and investing in over 85 million search engine keywords (according to Rent. Internal Data, 2020), we lead renters to your ad listing with less hassle.