TL;DR
- Despite predictions that internet listing sites would decline, 75% of renters still use ILS platforms to search for their next home.
- Being listed is not the same as being found. Photos, response speed, review volume, and data completeness determine which listings actually generate tours.
- ILS traffic and owned-channel traffic — your website, Google Business Profile, SEO, reviews, and social — are not competing strategies. Renters use them together.
- Google Business Profile is technically not an ILS, but renters use it like one, and most communities under-optimize it.
- Track past raw lead count. Lead-to-tour and lead-to-lease by source are what show which listing sites are actually worth the spend.
Every few years, someone predicts that internet listing sites are dying. Renters have moved to Instagram, or Google has replaced them entirely, or paid listing directories are supposedly no longer worth it.
The data does not support that. Renters still show up on Zillow, Apartments.com, Rent., and other listing platforms. They just use those platforms differently than they did five years ago, and they use them alongside a wider set of channels than before.
The question for a lease-up team is not whether to use ILS platforms. The question is which ones, how many, and what makes a listing on any of them convert instead of sitting there collecting impressions.
Why ILS Platforms Still Matter
The most cited recent data point comes from the NMHC and Grace Hill Renter Preferences Survey, based on responses from more than 172,000 renters. It found that 75% of renters used an ILS platform during their most recent apartment search.
That is not a platform category in decline. It is a platform category that is no longer the only stop in the renter journey.
The same research ecosystem shows renters layering channels. Many renters visit the property website, check ratings and reviews, and look for the property on social media in the same search journey. One industry recap noted that 42% checked out a property's social media profiles while evaluating communities.
A renter finding you on Apartments.com is very likely to also Google your name, check your reviews, and look at your Instagram before calling the leasing office. That is why multifamily SEO and ILS strategy need to be treated as one connected system, not two unrelated budget lines.
Choosing the Right Mix of Listing Sites
Not every ILS deserves equal budget, and not every property needs every ILS. A strong mix depends on the property, submarket, audience, lease-up stage, and competitive landscape.
Market share in your submarket
Zillow Rentals has broad national reach and strong organic visibility, but Apartments.com still dominates paid placement and syndication reach in many metros. Rent. performs differently by region.
Check which platforms your direct competitors are actually using and paying to promote. That is usually a stronger signal than a national average because renter behavior can vary dramatically by submarket.
Audience fit
Student housing, senior living, affordable housing, and luxury lease-ups do not all need the same listing mix. Student properties may see disproportionate value from niche platforms built for that audience. Senior living has dedicated directories. A generic “list everywhere” approach wastes budget on platforms with the wrong audience.
Syndication relationships
Some ILS platforms syndicate your listing to secondary sites automatically, effectively multiplying reach from one paid package. Understand what is included versus what is an upsell before comparing packages that look similar on price.
Package tier vs. lease-up stage
A stabilized property with strong organic visibility can often scale back ILS spend. A new lease-up with no search history usually needs a heavier ILS presence in the first 90 days while SEO, reviews, and reputation are still being built.
What Actually Moves the Needle on Each Listing
Two properties can be listed on the exact same ILS platform and get completely different lead volume. The difference usually comes down to a short list of controllable factors.
Photo quality and count
Listings with professional photography, complete galleries, renderings, amenity visuals, video, and 3D tours outperform listings with a handful of phone photos. If the platform supports video or virtual tours, use them.
Complete, accurate floor plan data
Missing square footage, unclear pricing, outdated availability, or vague floor plan details cause renters to bounce to another listing in the same results page.
Response time
Several ILS platforms factor response speed into listing performance or placement. Slow response does not just lose the individual lead. It can suppress future visibility on the platform itself.
Review volume and recency
A listing with 40 recent reviews reads as more trustworthy than one with 8 reviews from two years ago, even if the average star rating is similar.
NAP consistency
Your name, address, and phone number need to match exactly across every listing and your own website. Inconsistencies create the same trust problem for ILS algorithms that they create for Google's local search ranking.
ILS vs. Owned Channels: Why You Need Both
ILS platforms are rented visibility. You pay for placement, and the moment you stop paying, the listing and leads can disappear.
Owned channels — your website, Google Business Profile, organic search rankings, email list, and retargeting audiences — compound over time and keep working even if budget gets cut for a quarter.
The properties that lease up fastest usually are not choosing one over the other. They use ILS platforms to generate volume early, especially before opening, while simultaneously investing in the owned search presence that will carry more weight once the property stabilizes and the lease-up budget tapers.
The Free Listing Most Communities Neglect: Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is not technically an ILS, but renters interact with it the same way. They compare basic information, photos, reviews, location, and contact options before deciding whether to click through or call.
Verifying a Google Business Profile is free, and Google offers several verification methods including postcard, phone, and video verification depending on the business type and eligibility.
Once verified, a complete apartment community profile should include:
- Accurate leasing office hours and contact information.
- A full photo gallery with amenities, model units, lifestyle imagery, and exterior shots.
- Floor plan or amenity highlights in the Products section where appropriate.
- A complete business description using the same terminology as the website.
- An active review-response habit for both positive and negative reviews.
Because it is free, Google Business Profile often gets deprioritized in favor of paid ILS packages that come with account managers pushing for attention. That is backwards. It is frequently one of the highest-visibility, lowest-cost pieces of the entire listing strategy.
Tracking ILS Performance the Right Way
The most common ILS measurement mistake is stopping at “leads generated.” A listing site can generate a high volume of leads that never convert to tours, while a smaller-volume platform sends fewer but more qualified prospects.
To actually evaluate ILS spend:
- Use unique tracking phone numbers per platform so call volume is attributable.
- Add UTM parameters to every listing website link so on-site behavior is traceable back to source.
- Track lead-to-tour and lead-to-lease rate by platform, not just lead count.
- Review performance quarterly, not annually, because package pricing and source quality shift often.
- Compare cost per lease, not just cost per lead, before changing package tiers.
If you cannot connect source to tour and lease outcomes, you are not managing ILS strategy. You are managing invoices.
Three ILS Mistakes That Waste Budget
1. Listing everywhere at the same tier
Spreading identical budget across five platforms usually underperforms concentrating budget on the two or three platforms that actually drive qualified traffic in your submarket.
2. Set-and-forget listings
A listing created at lease-up launch and never updated as availability, pricing, photography, or concessions change loses trust with both renters and the platform’s own ranking system.
3. Ignoring Google Business Profile
Paid ILS spend gets attention because a rep is asking for it. The free Google listing often gets the least attention despite being one of the most visible renter touchpoints.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are ILS platforms still worth the budget in 2026?
Yes, based on current data. Many renters still use ILS platforms during their search, but most also cross-reference a property’s website, reviews, and social profiles. ILS budget should be paired with owned-channel investment rather than treated as a standalone strategy.
How many ILS platforms should a lease-up be on?
There is no universal number. The right mix depends on submarket competition, audience type, budget, and lease-up stage. Two to three well-optimized listings usually outperform five under-optimized ones.
Is Google Business Profile considered an ILS?
Not technically. It is a free local search listing rather than a paid rental directory. Functionally, renters use it in a similar way: checking basic information, photos, reviews, and contact options before engaging.
What is the biggest factor in ILS listing performance?
Photo quality and response time are two of the most controllable factors. Both can improve performance without requiring a higher listing package.
How do I know if an ILS platform is producing leases, not just leads?
Track lead-to-tour and lead-to-lease conversion rate by source using unique tracking numbers, UTM parameters, CRM source fields, and weekly reporting.
Should a stabilized property still pay for ILS listings?
Often at a reduced tier. As organic search visibility and reputation build, many stabilized properties can scale back paid ILS spend while keeping a baseline presence for renters who start there.
The Bottom Line
ILS platforms are not going anywhere, but being listed and being found are two different things. The properties winning on ILS right now treat every listing like its own small landing page: complete, current, well-photographed, review-aware, and fast to respond.
They also build the owned search presence that matters even more once the lease-up stabilizes.
Not sure whether your current ILS spend is actually converting to tours? Get a free Marketing Snapshot and see exactly where the gaps are across every listing and channel.