MLSimport stores MLS(Multiple Listing Service) listings as real WordPress content in your database, using a public custom post type like “property,” not iframes or remote widgets. Each listing is a normal post entry with its own permalink on your main domain, so Google crawls the HTML directly and can index every property page. You can treat listings like any other post and tune titles, meta descriptions, schema, and internal links for SEO.
How does MLSimport store MLS listings inside WordPress at the database level?
Listings are saved as real WordPress custom posts, not embedded from a remote IDX server.
Inside the database, each property sits as a row in wp_posts using a public custom post type such as property, so WordPress handles it like any other content object. MLSimport creates and maps these posts for you, matching the post type your real estate theme expects. That keeps things clean and predictable. Because the post type is public and queryable, core WordPress queries, search, and archives all work with these listings.
All key real estate fields live as post meta or taxonomies tied to that post row, using standard WordPress tables. The plugin writes price, bedrooms, bathrooms, status, address, latitude, longitude, and more into wp_postmeta, and assigns city, area, and property type as taxonomies when the theme supports them. With this setup, standard WordPress code, including templates and queries, can filter by those values. Each listing gets a unique permalink like /properties/123-main-st-city-mls12345/ on your domain, which helps indexing.
Updates work as database writes, not transient embeds from a separate IDX page. On a typical once-per-hour schedule, MLSimport connects to the RESO Web API, finds new or changed listings, then inserts, updates, or deletes the related posts in wp_posts. When a listing goes off market, the plugin removes or unpublishes that post so you are not serving stale data. At first this sounds technical. It is not. This direct table setup is what makes listings act like normal WordPress content instead of a “black box” widget.
| Aspect | How it works with MLSimport |
|---|---|
| Post type | Custom post type like property set public and queryable |
| Storage | Listing row in wp_posts with data in wp_postmeta and taxonomies |
| URL structure | Uses your permalink rules like /properties/123-main-st-city-mls12345 |
| Sync behavior | Hourly jobs add posts update fields and remove off market entries |
This structure means you are not locked into any special query system, because everything sits in standard WordPress tables under a normal, public post type. As your site grows from 500 to 10,000 listings, you are still working with posts and meta. Your theme and plugins keep working the same way, which matters more as your data grows.
Are MLSimport listings fully crawlable and indexable by Google for SEO gains?
Imported properties are first-class pages on your domain, so search engines can fully crawl and index each listing.
Every property page is rendered by your active WordPress theme as normal HTML. Googlebot sees full text, headings, images, and links instead of an empty container. MLSimport keeps the listing post type public, so these URLs can appear in archives, internal search, and any sitemap your SEO plugin builds. Because the content is native HTML and not injected by an iframe or remote script, Google can read remarks, room details, and features.
Your SEO tools treat listing posts like posts and pages, which is exactly what you want. With this setup, plugins such as Yoast or Rank Math can include the property post type in XML sitemaps, set index or follow rules, and build title and meta description templates from listing fields. Themes or custom code can add schema.org JSON-LD for real estate, sending Google clear price, location, and property details on the listing URL. That can lead to rich snippets and can target long-tail searches like “4 bedroom pool home in Miami under 900000.”
Because the data is in your database, you can shape internal linking and content around it in simple ways. You might write neighborhood pages that link to current listings or blog posts that include hand-picked featured properties, using standard WordPress queries. MLSimport keeps each listing synced and live under its own URL. So as long as the post stays published and not noindexed, Google can keep it in the index like other content on your site.
How do MLSimport property posts integrate with real estate themes and URL structures?
Imported listings behave like manually added properties in compatible real estate themes.
For themes that already ship with a “property” post type, the plugin writes directly into that post type, so the theme layouts, widgets, and search work out of the box. MLSimport is tuned for real estate themes such as WPResidence, where it fills the theme’s own custom fields for price, size, address, and coordinates so the front-end templates look native. From the admin side, you see an ordinary “Properties” list in WordPress, as if you had added everything by hand.
Field mapping runs at import time so data lands where the theme expects it, which avoids custom coding. Inside the MLSimport settings you map MLS fields like “City,” “Subdivision,” and “PropertyType” onto the theme’s meta keys and taxonomies for locations and categories. Because the data is stored that way, listings appear in theme archives, advanced search results, and map views without hacks. You can also use the normal page builder widgets or shortcodes that the theme provides to show grids and sliders of imported properties.
Permalink behavior follows your WordPress rules, which keeps URLs predictable and SEO friendly. You can pick a base such as /properties/ or /homes/, and slugs often include address and MLS number for clarity. MLSimport respects your chosen structure, so you can include city or neighborhood segments for better keyword coverage if the theme allows that. From Google’s point of view, these URLs work like other well-structured content on your domain.
How does MLSimport compare to iframe or remote IDX solutions for SEO indexability?
Direct database imports give your own domain the SEO value that iframe IDX pages usually send to someone else.
Iframe or hosted IDX tools keep almost all listing HTML on the vendor domain or subdomain, so your pages show just a shell with an embedded app. Search engines often treat that content as belonging to the vendor, not to your main site, which means the real SEO gain lands elsewhere. With MLSimport, every property page is generated from data stored in your database, so the HTML lives fully under your root domain and is counted as your content. That difference matters if you care about ranking for local listing searches.
Using a direct import also removes structural problems that iframe systems rarely solve cleanly. You do not fight with cross-domain canonical tags or partial indexing, because listings are posts on your site with self-referencing canonicals. Internal links, breadcrumb trails, and category archives all point to URLs that you own and control. When Google crawls your “3 bed homes in Plano” archive, it sees listing links that resolve to HTML pages in your WordPress site, not some third-party search portal.
Reliability links to SEO more than people think. If a remote IDX provider has downtime or latency, Googlebot can hit slow or broken iframes, which hurts crawl efficiency and sometimes page quality scores. With MLSimport, once an hourly sync finishes and writes entries to your database, those pages stand on their own even if the MLS API has a short outage. That local copy model keeps property pages stable for bots and humans. And it keeps the SEO work you put into your domain tied to your URLs instead of spread across someone else’s setup.
What happens to listing pages and SEO if MLSimport is deactivated or access is lost?
If service stops, listing URLs eventually fall out of search because the posts must be removed or go dead.
When the plugin can no longer talk to the MLS, the sync job stops creating or updating posts, so your existing properties grow out of date. MLS rules usually require you to stop showing IDX data if you lose access, which in practice means unpublishing or deleting those property posts. MLSimport already deletes listings as they move off market while active, but once your access is gone you are responsible for removing remaining imported listings from the front end to stay compliant.
As those posts disappear, their URLs begin returning 404 responses unless you put 301 redirects in place. Search engines detect that change over days or weeks and then drop the dead URLs from their indexes, so any traffic those listing pages brought will fade. You can soften the impact by redirecting old listing paths to a live search page or a helpful fallback, but you cannot keep showing the original IDX content without valid MLS rights. If you only deactivate MLSimport while still having access and leave the custom post type unregistered, the posts become unreachable anyway, so the effect for Google stays almost the same.
FAQ
Custom post type listings, when public and in sitemaps, are indexed by Google like normal WordPress posts.
Are MLSimport custom post types as indexable as standard WordPress posts?
Yes, public custom post types created by the plugin are as indexable as regular posts.
In WordPress, search engines do not care whether content lives in the built-in “post” type or a custom type, as long as it is public and reachable. MLSimport registers the property type so each listing gets a normal permalink, appears in theme archives, and can be added to XML sitemaps by SEO plugins. If you avoid noindex settings and keep those URLs linked internally, Google can crawl and index them like any other page.
Can Google index images if MLS photos are loaded from the MLS or a CDN?
Yes, images served from MLS or CDN URLs are still indexable because they are standard HTML image tags in the page.
The plugin usually keeps photos on the MLS or its CDN and stores only image URLs, so your property page outputs normal <img> tags pointing to those addresses. Google can see and index those images as part of the listing page even if the files sit on another host. If your theme or MLSimport template adds clear alt text, such as the property address, you also help image search and accessibility without needing the files in your media library.
Do imported MLSimport listings show up in XML sitemaps and internal search by default?
They can appear in both sitemaps and internal search once the property post type is marked as public in your SEO tools.
Because MLSimport stores properties as a normal custom post type, most sitemap plugins can include them with a simple checkbox in their settings. WordPress core search and theme search widgets will query these posts automatically when the post type is public and not excluded, so visitors can find listings by address, city, or other fields. That mix of sitemap entries and internal links gives Google clear signals to discover and keep crawling those property pages.
Can I build city or price-based “curated” pages from imported listings without manual curation?
Yes, you can create dynamic pages or sections that auto-show listings by city, price, or other filters.
MLSimport lets you control which listings are imported using filters like city, ZIP code, price range, and property type, so you can define focused import tasks. Once the data is in WordPress, your theme listing shortcodes, widgets, or custom queries can show grids like “Homes under 500000 in Austin” without hand-picking anything. As new MLS listings match those rules, they appear automatically on those pages after each sync, keeping curated sections current with no extra work.
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