What's the Best Advertising for Realtors? Google Business Profile vs Zillow vs Your Own Website
The best advertising for most Realtors is the kind you own: a complete Google Business Profile and a website that answers the questions buyers and sellers in your market actually ask. Zillow can buy you conversations now, but you pay for every one, and the flow stops the day you stop paying. Build what you own first. Rent attention second.
Every agent asks which advertising works best. The better question is which advertising is still working for you a year after you stop paying for it.
Zillow, a Google Business Profile, and your own website all put your name in front of buyers and sellers. They just do it on completely different terms. One charges you for attention, one is free but takes work, and one is yours outright. Mix them up and you end up paying every month for something you could have owned.
This guide compares the three on what actually matters: what each costs, who owns the lead, how fast it works, what happens when you stop, and whether AI tools like ChatGPT can see it when a buyer asks who to call.
Full disclosure: Oak & Algorithm builds Google Business Profiles and websites for agents. I don't sell Zillow advertising or take a cut of it. I'll tell you when Zillow is the smarter buy anyway.
How do Google Business Profile, Zillow, and your own website compare?
A Google Business Profile and your own website are assets you build once and own, while Zillow advertising is attention you rent for as long as you pay. Here's how they stack up side by side.
| What matters | Google Business Profile | Zillow advertising | Your own website |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it costs | Free. The cost is your time or someone else's | Premier Agent: monthly ad spend by zip code. Flex: a share of your commission, paid at closing | A build cost, then hosting and upkeep |
| Who owns it | You do | Zillow does. You buy access to its audience | You do |
| How fast it works | Weeks once it's fully built | Days, as soon as you pay | Months for search. Immediately for the people checking you out |
| When you stop paying | It keeps working | It stops | It keeps working |
| What AI tools can read | Your categories, services, reviews, and posts | Your Zillow profile, not your ad spend | Every page you publish |
| Best for | Every agent, starting now | Agents who need conversations this month and have the budget to test it | Agents who want to be found for a specialty or a town |
Why does it matter who owns your advertising?
Ownership matters because most real estate business still starts with a referral, and every referral gets checked online before anyone calls. According to NAR's 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 43% of buyers found their agent through a referral, and 66% of sellers used a referred agent or one they had worked with before (Virginia REALTORS summary).
Think about what happens right after a referral. Someone's sister says, "Call Jen, she sold our house." The very next thing they do is search Jen's name. If what comes up is a thin profile with six reviews from 2022, the referral cools off. If what comes up is a full profile, recent reviews, and a website that answers their exact question, they call.
That's the job your owned assets do. They don't replace referrals. They close the gap between "I heard about you" and "I'm calling you." And that gap matters a lot, because most buyers hire the first agent they actually talk to: 67% of first-time buyers and 76% of repeat buyers, per the same NAR report (BAM summary).
Is a Google Business Profile worth it for Realtors?
A Google Business Profile is the highest-return advertising most Realtors have, because it's free, it shows up on Google Maps, and AI tools read it when someone asks for an agent. The catch is that most agent profiles are half-built: wrong category, empty services, no description, and reviews that stopped two years ago.
Here's what I can show you from my own business. On October 19, 2026, I ran "google business profile optimization for realtors raleigh" from 49 points across North Raleigh. My profile showed in Google Maps' top 3 at all 49. I didn't pay Google for any of it. That's just a complete profile, matched to a website that says the same thing.
What does a Google Business Profile need to actually work?
- The right primary category, the most specific one that's true for you
- Services listed one by one, named the way clients search
- Service areas that match the towns you really work, instead of your home address
- A steady stream of reviews that mention the neighborhood and the kind of deal
- Posts and photos so it looks like someone's home
The full checklist lives on the Google Business Profile optimization for Realtors page, and the review side is covered in how to get more Google reviews as a Realtor.
Is Zillow advertising worth it for real estate agents?
Zillow advertising is worth it for agents who need buyer conversations now and can afford to treat it as a test, not a foundation. Zillow has the audience. What you're paying for is access to it, on Zillow's terms.
Zillow sells agents two main ways in. With Premier Agent, you pay monthly for advertising in the zip codes you choose, and leads are routed based on how much ad share you've bought. With Flex, you pay nothing up front, then pay Zillow a success fee at closing. That fee is a percentage of your commission, and it varies by market and price (The Close, June 2026). Ask Zillow for the current numbers in your market before you sign anything.
When does Zillow make sense?
- You're newer, you need reps with buyers, and you have time to work leads fast
- You're buyer-heavy in a market Zillow dominates
- You already have the owned basics built and want to add volume on top
When is Zillow the wrong first move?
- Your Google profile and website are thin, so leads who look you up find nothing
- You're listing-focused. Sellers mostly come from referrals and past clients
- You can't respond within minutes. Paid leads cool off faster than referrals
One distinction gets missed constantly: your free Zillow agent profile and its reviews are worth keeping current no matter what. That's different from paying for Zillow advertising. The profile helps people who are already checking you out. The ad spend rents you strangers.
Do Realtors still need their own website if they have Zillow and Google?
Yes, because your website is the only place online where you control the whole story, and it's where people go to decide whether a referral was right. A Zillow profile shows your listings and reviews. A Google profile shows the basics. Neither one can explain why you're the right agent for a downsizing couple in Wake Forest or a family relocating from New Jersey.
The website that does that job isn't a brochure with an IDX search bolted on. It's built around the questions your clients ask, one clear page at a time. That difference is the whole point of a Realtor website vs a Realtor authority website, and if you're still deciding whether you need one at all, start with do real estate agents need a website.
Which of the three can AI tools like ChatGPT see?
AI tools recommend agents based on what's written about them online, so your Google profile and your website count, while your Zillow ad budget doesn't. When a buyer asks ChatGPT or Google's AI who the best agent for their town is, the answer comes from profiles, reviews, and pages it can read. It can't see what you spent on ads.
Think of AI as a referral source. It works like your best past client: it recommends whoever it knows the most about. I see this in my own business every week. As of early October, 15 of my 17 clients found Oak & Algorithm through AI search, and none came from referrals. None of that was paid advertising. It was pages and a profile that AI could read. If that part is new to you, start with how Realtors get found in AI search.
How should a Realtor split an advertising budget?
Spend in this order: build the free and owned assets first, then pay for attention once there's something solid for paid leads to land on. Paying for traffic before the basics are built is like running ads for an open house with no sign in the yard.
- Google Business Profile. Free, and the fastest to show results. Do it this week.
- Reviews. Build a simple habit of asking at closing. It costs nothing and helps both Google and AI.
- Your website's most important pages. One clear page for each town or specialty you want to be known for.
- Follow-up. A CRM that actually reminds you to call people back. Every paid lead is wasted without it.
- Paid attention. Zillow, social ads, or portals, tested with a budget you can afford to lose and a clear number to judge it by.
If you want more on the organic side, how agents get leads without paying for them goes deeper. And if you're not sure which of these your business is missing, that's exactly what the Google Visibility Audit answers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best advertising for real estate agents?
The best advertising for most real estate agents is advertising they own: a complete Google Business Profile and a website that answers local buyer and seller questions. Both keep working after you stop spending. Paid options like Zillow can add conversations on top, but they stop the day the payments stop.
Is Zillow Premier Agent worth it?
Zillow Premier Agent can be worth it for buyer-focused agents who respond to leads within minutes and treat it as a test with a clear budget. It's usually the wrong first move for agents whose Google profile and website are still thin, because the leads who look them up find nothing that builds trust.
How much does Zillow charge real estate agents?
Zillow charges agents either a monthly advertising cost by zip code through Premier Agent, or a success fee through Flex that's a percentage of the commission, paid at closing. Both vary by market, so ask Zillow for the current numbers in your area before you sign.
Is a Google Business Profile free for Realtors?
Yes, a Google Business Profile is free for Realtors and every other business. The only cost is the time it takes to set up the categories, services, service areas, description, photos, and a steady review habit, or the cost of hiring someone to do it.
Do I need a website if I have a Zillow profile?
Yes, because a Zillow profile only shows your listings and reviews on Zillow's terms, while your website can explain exactly who you help, where, and why. It's also where referrals and AI tools look to understand what you specialize in.
Does Zillow help me show up in ChatGPT?
Your free Zillow profile and reviews can be read by AI tools, but your Zillow ad spend can't, so paying Zillow doesn't make ChatGPT more likely to recommend you. AI recommendations lean on what's written about you across the web: your Google profile, your reviews, and your own website.
What should a new real estate agent spend money on first?
A new real estate agent should spend time before money: build the Google Business Profile, start collecting reviews, and set up one clear website page about the area they serve. Paid advertising works far better once there's something solid for those leads to find. The guide to marketing for new real estate agents walks through year one.
Not sure which one you're missing?
The Google Visibility Audit looks at your Google profile, your website, and how AI tools describe you, then tells you what to fix first. Before you spend another dollar on ads.
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