If you’re a REALTOR®, you may wonder how or if you can use the term/word in digital marketing. The good news is yes, you can, as long as you follow the trademark guidelines set out by the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. (source)
Can I use the term REALTOR® in my domain name?
A. The correct answer is yes! As long as you don’t use any descriptive words, and it refers to a member or member’s firm, (obviously, you must be a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®), you can use it.
Correct Usage
Correct usage of “REALTOR®” would be, “your-name-realtor.com” or “realtor-your-name.com” as there are no descriptive words.
Incorrect Usage
Incorrect usage of the term, REALTOR®, would include using it to describe a business or occupation and/or using the term with descriptive words or phrases. Examples of incorrect usage include: “best-realtor-your-name.com”, “san-antonio-realtor.com”, or “your-texas-realtor.com”.
Good to know:
The public has adopted the use of all lower case letters when writing domain names, even those containing trademarks. Therefore, for purposes of domain names and internet addresses only, there is an exception to the rule on capitalization of the term REALTOR® and it may appear in lower case letters.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Can I use the REALTOR® Logo in digital or traditional marketing?
A. Yes! You may use the REALTOR® block R logo as long as it is not hyperlinked when used in digital marketing, as this could suggest an endorsement or recommendation by NAR’s. It is permissible to hyperlink the block R logo directly to NAR’s official site at https://www.nar.realtor or it’s official listing site; https://www.realtor.com. The complete Membership Marks Manual can be found here: https://www.nar.realtor/membership-marks-manual.
Of course, all of the above information only applies if the professional or business is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR).
If you’re interested in a webpage or website to help market yourself or your business, we’re here to help! A webpage is a very inexpensive way to consolidate your digital marketing on one webpage, (one easy URL that you can send via text, any messenger app, or email), that can link to all of your other sites. See an example here: https://www.sanantoniotx.city/welcome.