It is estimated that approximately 70% of renters start their search for a new apartment at craigslist.com, and 60% of them will eventually rent something they have found there.  In Apartment.com’s 2009 survey of 1600 renters, approximately 90 percent said they “will search multiple apartment Web sites for their next apartment this year.”

These are pretty amazing numbers and send a resounding message to property managers that being on-line needs to be a critical element of any business plan.  Although there are some costs associated with on-line rental advertising sites, even tech-savvy managers might do well to consider using more than one listing site in a competitive market.

Several new companies appeared in 2009.   One of these that stands out is RentShout.com who announced in November of 2009 that they had formed a new association with RentalHomesPlus, a national online advertiser affiliated with Apartments.com.  RentalHomesPlus offers a free search of single family homes, condos, and townhomes for rent, a service which will add to RentShout.com’s lead-generating base for its clients.

RentShout.com’s mother company, Go Smart Solutions, LLC, has been operating since 2002 as an on-line advertiser and seems to have created a smart professional advertising vehicle with its new venture.  According to Dataopedia, RentShout.com’s traffic (last rated November 18, 2009) was up to almost half a million visitors a month, with a three month average of 1.2 million.  With five employees listed in their Grover, California, office, it is a small company but seemingly on its way as a top listing site.

Their standard charge is $9 per vacancy (less for bulk ads).  If their services fail to generate leads and phone calls, their listing agreement has a written money-back guarantee .  As the company has only been on-line since May 2009, their track record may not be fully-vetted, but the guarantee is a reassuring touch.

RentShout.com posts its listings on many free sites as well as other for-fee locations.  Clients do have some control over this, however, but additional fees may apply for co-posting on the premier and popular listing sites like RentalHomesPlus , Homes.com , HomeAway,  and Condo.com.

The list below shows  several companies where a manager can list rental ads independently. This list is by no means complete nor should our publishing of this list be construed as an endorsement of any of these particular service providers.

Advertisers like RentShout.com can also set you up on MySpace, Yahoo Bookmarks, FriendFeed, Digg, Wordpress, Blogger and many other blogging and social network sites.  RentShout.com does offer some other benefits  landlords may find of value.   They include:

• A click-to-call feature that connects a prospective renter’s information request to manager’s cell phone anytime.
• Renters can download a rental application from the listing site.
• The service comes with Craigslist-friendly HTML to upload your listing in a professional and appealing form.
• Prospects’ phone numbers are tracked and recorded.
• Full tracking reports are also maintained so that managers can gauge the effectiveness and draw of particular ads.
• An separate email account for each listing is provided.
• Rental flyers for local distribution can be printed for off-site use.
• Managers can also copy/paste and embed the provided HTML code  and add it to a website and blog.

Not many managers expect their rental advertising to go ‘viral’ via YouTube, Blip.tv or Vimeo, but RentShout.com also offers this type of media outlet.

Managers of larger complexes can negotiate bulk pricing from advertisers and may want to consider setting up  ‘Apartment Community Webpages’.   The latter can provide an on-line presence highlighting your building and perhaps become a mechanism for starting a vacancy waiting list.  The rental companies also suggest that video tours – compiled from photos you supply –  be uploaded to add important visual appeal.

In short, managers should ensure their advertising is readily searchable on-line or expect to lose 70% to 90% of prospective tenants to competitors.

Other Articles of Interest:

• Please… Just Answer the Phone!
• 51 Searchable Hotlinks for Apartment Hunters
• Awwww…Your Very First Apartment