A Search Alert is an automated email sent from BoldTrail that contains properties of interest for a specific contact. Search Alerts will send all newly listed properties and properties that have been reduced in price or gone off-market that match the search criteria set, in an email. This makes Search Alerts a complete and simple automatic email that your contacts will look forward to in order to keep up with their chosen search or market.

You can also pre-configure searches to be automatically assigned to leads with specific hashtags.

You can see at a glance if any alerts are configured for your contact from their summary on the right-hand side, after opening their details page.

Open the contact you want to set search alerts up for, and click on the 'Alerts' tab at the top of their detail page.

1. Click 'Alerts' from the top of the contact profile.

2. Criteria

Search Alert Title - Include the title you'd like applied for easier identification.

TIP: The title is important if you want to mass apply a Search Alert!

Where to Send Alerts - Add a dynamic or set subject line, the Search Alert frequency and add an email cc if necessary.

Areas - Areas are defined in the MLS and queried when you type into this field.

The Area types are listed with the name of the area that matches as you type. In many cases both a neighborhood and a city and a county/parish can have the same name, so choose carefully.

​Draw On Map - Beneath the area selection you'll see the 'Draw On Map' button in blue, as an alternative to restricting your area to MLS Area Names, it might make more sense to draw out the area on a map. Click the green 'Draw Area' button, then click consecutively to draw a polygon shape on the map until you trace back to your first click.

Listing Types - All of the listing types available from your MLS will be selectable here unless a specific type has been excluded in your website settings. If you don't choose any listing type, then BoldTrail will automatically select 'Single Family, Condos, & Townhouse for you.
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​Keywords - Keywords are an advanced search function that finds and uses the data fields from your MLS. If you're looking for a very particular field that is not in the standard options list or found in the rest of the criteria on this form, then keywords will solve that problem.
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You probably already have in mind what exact filter you want to set here. It might be a particular style of house, or ventilation system, or some other specific variable. Before you can choose that specific variable, you must first select the field that variable is grouped into. Then, after the appropriate field is selected, the system will show you the possible options from what it can see of all the active listings currently in your MLS.

To add more keywords, simply click the green 'Add Keyword' button to add another field/value pair row.

If you do not know offhand what group a variable, like 'Cottage', is grouped under you can simply go to your BoldTrail website and attempt to perform a search. Go to the 'Filters' and click 'More Options', and search for that variable in the Keywords field.

The group that the keyword falls under will come right before it, and is separated by an equal sign.

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​Options - These options are standardized across all MLS' on BoldTrail. They include common items such as Garage Capacity, Stories, Pet Policy, Short Sales, Reduced in Price, etc. In many cases, you will more quickly find what you are looking for in options as opposed to digging through keywords, so consider browsing that list first.
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Beds, Baths, Ranges for Price, SqFt, Acres, and Year Built - These fields are all manual entries. Select or type in the numbers for the ranges you want.
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​Save & Send - Save the criteria and send out the first Search Alert right away. If you selected a longer frequency such as weekly, the system will send it out every 7 days after that first email is sent.
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​Update Alert - This will save your criteria and leave it to the system to select when to send the first email. It will send the first email within the specified frequency (for example, daily will send within the next 24 hours) and then consistently send at the correct interval after the first email is sent.

However a contact is added to BoldTrail, be it from following an advertisement to being imported from a file, or if you manually added them yourself, they are all subject to the same rule for automatically generated Search Alerts.

A Search Alert will be created automatically for your new contact if:

If both of those conditions are met then BoldTrail will create an alert automatically based on the property/properties they viewed within 24-48 hours after the lead has visited a property/properties on the website.

​When this occurs, BoldTrail will email your contact informing them that they are now set up on an automated email:

The criteria it selects automatically are generated from averages based on the home(s) they looked at. You can of course edit the alert at any time!

If you are running ads via Squeeze Pages or Landing Pages, and are leveraging hashtags, one very simple solution is to connect those hashtags for those ads to pre-built Search Alerts that can be automatically assigned as soon as those new leads are filed into your BoldTrail Smart CRM. This means that you will want to use different hashtags for your different advertisements that cover specific areas.

First, open the Marketing tab from the main navigation.
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Then, click on 'Learn More' in the 'Search Alerts' tile.
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Scroll down to the 'Auto Assigned Search Alerts' section.

Click on the green '+ Create Alert' button.

There are three basic steps to configuring the alert:

1. Global Settings

2. Alert Settings

3. Save

When a new lead is created, and there are no Search Alerts set for it, and if they match your hashtag Search Alert rules, they will have the alert set for them by end of the day.

If the rule was created within your scope, you can edit or delete it using the controls to the right of each listed item.

The scope is indicated in the 'Scope' column. So, if you encounter a rule that needs adjusting, contact the Administrator for that scope/entity to change it.

To add Search Alerts en masse, select the contacts in the Smart CRM (up to 250 at a time), then click the 'More Actions' button. Select 'Add Search Alert' from the menu.

Then, select the Alert from the dropdown menu and select 'Done'.

In order for your contacts to view their saved searches on your BoldTrail website, they'll need to first log in. They can do so by navigating to your website and clicking 'Login'. The information they enter must match the contact profile you have saved in your Smart CRM.

At the top of your BoldTrail site, your contact can view the current search that they are subscribed to via the Search Alerts feature, by clicking on 'Alerts Result.'

This will simply load their criteria into a search page, with the properties sorted by 'Days On Website.' (Showing the most recent listings first.) This will match the properties sent to their email recently, provided those properties are still active in the MLS.
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Since your contacts will be getting emailed automatically, you might let them know or show them that they can change their saved search settings by clicking on their name in the top corner of your website.

There is a very simple control panel that has a few functions:

If they click on a search name, they will be taken to the search page that has their criteria entered. They can edit the criteria on the page, and then click 'Save Search.'

If a contact says they accidentally deleted the search email you sent them, you can re-send the properties that would have been included. The fastest way to grab the link is to open the contact you want to send the alert results to. Select the 'Alerts' tab and click 'Results' from the Alert they'd like resent.

And then select how you'd like to send the recent results.

If you click text or email, the contact is already selected and the link will be inserted into the body of the message. You can then personalize however you please.

If you want to use the link in an advanced email or elsewhere, select the 'Copy Link' option and you will get a confirmation it's been copied on the bottom left.

Where and how can Search Alerts be created?

There are four ways a Search Alert can be created:

Can my contact create or modify their own alerts?

Yes! Everyone in your Smart CRM has an account on your website they are able to log into. The 'Login' link is on the top right of your website.

Once they're logged in on your website, the login link will be replaced by their name which they can click on to access their saved searches.

Should every contact have a Search Alert?

It depends on the contact. Generally speaking, every Prospect, New Lead, and Active Lead should have search alerts enabled to keep them coming back to your website and to keep yourself in front of them as much as possible.

However, different contacts have different needs:

A Seller Client may benefit from search alerts if they are looking to buy as well, but a

Buyer who enters the Client stage may already know which properties they are interested in and may not want to continue with the alerts.

Your family member who is in your Sphere may like receiving search alerts for new listings in their neighborhood while a New Seller Lead doesn't.

We do recommend either manually setting alerts or allowing BoldTrail to do it automatically within 24-48 hours for New Leads and updating or disabling them as needed after speaking with the lead.

How many search alerts can one contact have?

Within the 'Alerts' section of a contact record, you have the ability to create five separate search alerts.

What is the difference between 'Save and Send' versus 'Set Alert'?

When you choose to "Save and Send" a search alert, an email with a list of matching properties will immediately be sent to that contact, unless there are no matching properties.

If you choose to "Set Alert", BoldTrail will look at the frequency you chose when setting up the alert to determine when the email should be sent:

If you choose 'Never' and then click 'Set Alert' an email will never automatically be sent; you will have to send the list of matching properties manually.

If you choose 'ASAP', the email will be sent immediately after you click 'Set Alert'.

If you choose one of the other frequencies, the email will be sent within the next 7 days and that will determine the frequency's date. For example, if you set an alert with the frequency of 'Once Weekly' and BoldTrail sends the email two days later on a Thursday, that contact will receive an email every Thursday as long as there are new or updated listings to send.

Why didn't anything happen when I clicked on 'Save & Send'?

This is most likely due to no matching listings in the selected area. If you see that there are matching listings displayed under the Results section, you may need to refresh the page to see the sent email in the contact's Timeline.

If the email still has not been received by the contact after a few hours, please contact our Support team via the blue chat bubble on the bottom right of your Dashboard.

What is the difference between the Sqft and Acres sections?

Sqft: Square footage of the home

Acres: Lot size

If the property size is not a full acre you do have the option to use .1, .2, etc. Or you can leave the 'Acres' section blank!

What is the difference between the Summary section and the Results section?

The Summary for a specific contact is aggregated based on their activity and may not always match the search alert criteria. This occurs when a contact goes to your website and clicks on or favorites listings outside of the criteria which might indicate a need to update their criteria, especially if it's a brand-new lead.

The Results simply show a preview of listings matching that contact's Active search alert and will always match the search alert criteria. It only displays up to 6 matching listings with a link to see the full list on your website.

What does "Send Recent Results" do?

In short, it only sends the most recent results of the search alert, but it can do much more. The "Send Recent Results" tab is within the Alert Settings and you can click on it to view a dropdown, and this will allow you to send the results to the leads as it includes the options "Email Recent Results", "Text Recent Results", and also has the option to "Copy Link" directly.

Why do I see more or less matching listings when searching my MLS versus the amount of matching listings BoldTrail shows?

There are two main reasons for any discrepancy between BoldTrail's list of matching listings and the list in your MLS:

If you confirm that neither of these scenarios applies to your specific list of properties then please reach out to our Support Team via the blue chat bubble on the bottom right of your Dashboard.

Why does the search alert email only display 5 listings when there are more?

Search Alert emails and texts limit the results to 5 to prevent overwhelming the lead with a long list of properties and also to drive them back to your BoldTrail website. Doing this allows the system to track their activity and behavior, and provides you with more opportunities to engage with them.

The email contains a link at the top and bottom of the properties listed so contacts can easily navigate to the full list.

What do Search Alert emails to my contacts look like? Can I get an example?

Absolutely! Please see below for a Search Alert email example.

Why did a Search Alert not get sent to a contact even though it is set up to send alerts daily?

Search alerts will only be sent to contacts if there are New or Updated listings within the past 14 days. This avoids repeatedly sending the same list of properties to your contacts and possibly risking them unsubscribing.

Why did my Mass Search Alert not apply to a contact with the related Hashtag?

There are three reasons why an alert triggered by a hashtag would not be automatically set up for a contact with that hashtag:

How do I set up a Search Alert to only send listings over or under a certain amount?

This is very dependent on your MLS and the format of the information they pass to us to display on your BoldTrail website, including property feature fields and the variations of that feature available.

For instance, searching with HOA considerations as a feature is very popular, however, most HOA data only comes with specific amounts, like "HOA=$20", "HOA=$50", "HOA=$100", etc...

In this scenario, setting up a Search Alert with one of the above HOA amounts would mean the system looks for listings with that specific amount to the exclusion of all else. There is no way to set the alert to look for listings with HOAs up to a specific dollar amount or under.

However, a handful of MLS boards provide HOA data in ranges and a rare few provide the option to choose "HOA=under[dollar]". If you see this option in your Keywords drop-down you will be able to set up an alert using this option.

I imported leads with Search Alert criteria, but there isn't a spot for frequency. Is that intended?

Yes. Search Alert frequency for leads imported with Search Alert criteria is set to weekly. If you wish to update the frequency you must do so manually.

Have more questions? Please reach out to Customer Support via the blue chat bubble to the right or by emailing support@insiderealestate.com!