I’m Kayla. I set up LoopNet search on two WordPress sites this spring. Both were for small brokerage teams that needed listings live, fast. I’ll be straight: it works, but it’s not perfect. I’ve got real examples, little wins, and a few facepalm moments too.
If you want the granular, step-by-step breakdown, I wrote a separate case study here.
First, what “integration” really means
There’s no official WordPress plugin from LoopNet. (For a quick comparison of manual embedding, iFrames, or LoopLink, see this breakdown.) What you get (through CoStar) is LoopLink. It’s a chunk of code that shows your LoopNet listings on your site. Think of it like a little window to LoopNet living inside your page. That line matters, because it limits how much you can change.
You paste the code on a page. It loads the search, the filters, and the detail pages. It looks like your site… about 80% of the way.
Example 1: Dallas team, Astra theme, Elementor
- Goal: one “Search Properties” page with filters (office, flex, industrial; for lease vs. for sale).
- Tech bits: WordPress (Astra + Elementor), Custom HTML block for the LoopLink code.
How I did it:
- CoStar sent the snippet with our account ID. I pasted it into a full-width page.
- I set the iframe height to 2000px to stop the double scrollbar on phones. Kinda clunky, but it worked.
- I hid the WP header on that page to give the map more room.
What worked well:
- Data was always fresh. No manual updates.
- Filters felt familiar to clients. “Show me office space under 5,000 SF” was easy.
- It took me one afternoon to set up (after CoStar turned on our code).
Where I bumped my head:
- Styling. Fonts and buttons inside the LoopLink area didn’t match. It sits in an iframe, so you can’t style it much.
- SEO. Google can’t read the listing content inside that window. So, I made separate landing pages for key properties.
- Speed. That one page ran heavy. I moved the search off the homepage to keep it fast.
A real listing moment:
- 1011 Elm St, Dallas. The photo gallery was slow the first time it loaded. My fix was simple: I added a big, sharp hero photo above the embed, so the page felt alive while the gallery caught up. Sounds small. Helped a lot.
Tracking leads:
- I used Google Tag Manager to track clicks that jump out to LoopNet pages. I named the event “LoopNet Click.”
- Inside the iframe, I couldn’t track much. That’s a limitation.
Bonus tip:
- I added a sticky bar under the header with “Call” and “Email” buttons. Old-school, but lead volume went up.
Example 2: Solo broker, no LoopLink plan
This agent had eight listings and didn’t want extra monthly fees. So I used a lighter plan. (If you’d rather lean on purpose-built tools, some third-party WordPress plugins let you host a custom property database while syncing feeds.)
What I built:
- A “Properties” grid, each as a WordPress post.
- I wrote short copy for each. I used the main photo, a bullet list (sf, price, parking), and a big “View on LoopNet” button.
- Leads stayed on our site with a Gravity Form. When they wanted full docs, they clicked out to LoopNet.
On a larger multisite install, I’ve locked sensitive offering memorandums behind login screens; the exact method I used is outlined in this walkthrough.
Why this worked:
- SEO from our own pages. We could write unique content and get indexed.
- Full control of style and layout.
- Fewer moving parts. Faster pages.
What I had to manage:
- Manual updates. If a suite leased, I had to update the post. I kept a simple spreadsheet and spent 15 minutes every Friday.
A real property:
- 2450 W River Dr. It ranked on Google for the address plus “warehouse suite” in about three weeks. Calls came from folks who never touched the LoopNet button. That made the agent very happy.
What surprised me (the good and the messy)
Good things:
- Fresh listings without me babysitting.
- Filters that brokers understand right away.
- Quick launch. One afternoon, plus CoStar setup time.
Messy bits:
- Styling mismatch. The iframe looks “close,” not exact.
- SEO gap. Content in the window isn’t your content to Google.
- iPhone quirks. A few users with content blockers saw a blank search until they reloaded. Not common, but it happened.
- Speed hit. That page alone ran heavier than others.
Money and time:
- LoopLink is a paid add-on. CoStar took five business days to enable ours. Support was kind, but replies were not fast.
If you’re weighing other fee-heavy plugins (think payments or memberships), my notes on WooCommerce’s cut of each sale might save you a surprise bill—read them here.
My simple setup steps (that I’d repeat)
- Create a full-width WordPress page named “Search.”
- Paste the LoopLink code in a Custom HTML block.
- Set the iframe height around 1800–2000px to avoid double scroll.
- Add a short intro above the search with keywords (city, asset type).
- Put a sticky contact bar on that page.
- Track outbound clicks to LoopNet with GTM.
- Keep top listings as separate WordPress pages with real copy and a “View on LoopNet” button. I used Yoast for meta and a basic schema plugin for structured data.
Who it suits (and who will hate it)
Great for:
- Small teams who need listings now and don’t want custom builds.
- Brokers who value accurate data over pixel-perfect style.
Not great for:
- Marketing teams who live on SEO and want total control.
- Anyone who needs deep analytics inside the search box.
Final take
LoopNet + WordPress works fine when you treat it like a window, not a full system. It’s fast to launch, steady, and simple to manage. But you give up style, SEO, and deep tracking.
You know what? For many broker sites, that trade is okay. If you want polish and search traffic, pair the embed with your own property pages. That mix gave me the best results, and fewer headaches.
And if you’re still deciding whether WordPress is even the right base or you should write on something like Substack instead, my candid comparison lives here.
And if you ever graduate to a platform that lets you own the entire data flow—without iframes—check out CandyPress for a fully customizable approach.