Today's buyers are much more highly informed about the market where they intend to buy real estate.  They tend to use multiple on line search sources to gain a full picture of the area they are considering.  It is therefore important to you, the seller, to be sure that the Realtor you choose to represent you is part of the growing network of home search venues.

Starting at the national level there are real estate search companies such as Trulia.com, Realtor.com, and Zillow.com.  I mention Zillow because many people do use it, but my personal opinion is that it falls short in providing reliable data on all markets.  Trulia offers ease of use, and not too many loopholes to jump through before you are actually searching for your property.  Over 5 million people a day use this search to look at homes.  That in itself speaks to it's viabiltiy. Realtor.com has been around a long time, and many find it to be a great tool. It also has a high number of users. However, an agent can post a listing here, and if it sells and the agent does not remove it, you may receive some outdated information.

At the next level, are the regional players.  That would include my favorite for the west coast, Windermere.com.  I think Windermere offers a mulititude of ways to search in an easy to use format.  You can read about agents in an area that you are considering, and contact them directly from the website.

But when you get right down to listing your home, be sure the agent you are choosing has a viable website of their own. Their website should be able to be used as an informational tool to more fully explain about the community and the property available there.  It should be where people are directed from the national and regional websites when they click on information on your home. It is the hub, and when the final choice of homes to view is being made, you have your best chance to be on the list.