Creating Custom Search Links

Creating Custom Search Links

A great way to give your visitors quick access to specific listing searches is by creating custom search links for your website. Whether you're highlighting properties in a undefined area or showing homes within a certain price range, custom search shortcuts make navigation easier for your users. Aliases shorten the path for the URL, also making for great links to share on social media. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of creating custom search links and adding them to your website menu or widgets.

How Can I Create A Custom URL/Shortened Link to a Search I Created?

  1. Navigate to the Map Search page of your website (Menu > Property Search is an easy way to get there).
  2. Use the search bar to find the city, region, or neighborhood you want to target for your custom search.
  3. Apply additional filters if necessary (e.g., price range, listing type, or number of bedrooms).
  4. Once your search results match your preferences, copy the long URL from your browser’s address bar.
Don’t worry about the long URL; we will shorten it in the next step to make it more user-friendly.

2. Creating an Alias for the URL

  1. Open a new tab and log into your website’s Dashboard.
  2. Navigate to Configuration > My Aliases.
  3. Click + Add New Alias.
Idea
What is an Alias? — A URL alias is a simple, custom URL that redirects to a specific page on your site, replacing a long or complex URL with something easier to remember and share.
  1. In the Path field, paste the long URL from the map search page you copied earlier, but remove the website name (highlighted in the example below). Only keep the part starting after ".com/"

  1. In the Alias field, create a short, descriptive URL. For example, if your search result shows "Detached Homes in Toronto," you can use "toronto-detached-homes" or "toronto-detached " as shown above.
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Make sure to avoid spaces in your URL alias; use hyphens (-) or underscores (_) instead.
  1. Once finished, click Create New Alias.

3. Using Your Custom Alias

Now that you've created the custom alias, you can link it to various parts of your website. There are two main ways to do this:
  1. Navigate to Content > Menu Manager in your Dashboard.
  2. Click + Add Item.
  3. Provide a relevant title for the menu item (e.g., "Detached Homes in Toronto").
  4. In the Path/Page Name field, enter the alias you created earlier (e.g., toronto-detached-homes).
  5. Position the new menu item by dragging it up or down in the Menu Preview located on the right.
  6. Once satisfied, click Submit to save.
  1. Navigate to Content > Widgets Manager in your Dashboard.
  2. Scroll down to the widget section you want to edit (or add a new widget if needed).
  3. Click on the edit icon  in the top-right corner of the city properties widget.
  4. In the widget settings window, enter a name and select a thumbnail image for the widget.
  5. Scroll to the Links section and expand it.
  6. Change the relevant default values by selecting the custom alias link you created (e.g., replace the “Detached” link for "Search in Toronto" with your custom alias).
  7. Click Save and close the widget settings window.
And that’s it! Your custom search link is now live on your website, making it easier for visitors to explore tailored listing results.

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