Nearly every person looking to buy a home does at least some research on the Internet, which means real estate agents are — or maybe should be — pouring resources into their online marketing.

And with the Internet, pictures are just the start of a successful online marketing campaign for selling a home. Many listings now include virtual tours, videos and interactive maps and features that let people know about as much as they can short of actually visiting a home.

The Internet has become a crucial avenue for selling your home, and everything from basic photography to well-produced videos can make the World Wide Web an interactive place for the real estate business.

People have become accustomed to the amount of information they can get anywhere online, and that has affected the real estate process.

A recent study by PropertyPreviews.com, a virtual home staging company, found that video tours increased the perceived value of a home nearly 6 percent, or $30,000 on a $500,000 home. Professional photography increased the perceived value of a comparable home nearly $60,000. Survey respondents also said professional photography decreases the time it takes to sell a home.

“I'd heard a long time ago that you either have to get on the train or get out of the way,” said Patsy Oakley, a real estate agent with Re/Max Preferred in San Antonio. “I just need to make sure it's all out there.”

All out there means that her marketing coordinator, daughter Amy, posts pictures of every one of her listings online, as well as virtual tours.

For Bradfield Properties marketing coordinator Chad Taylor, the Internet is the way to reach a wide audience.

“We're targeting people who are computer savvy, and most people are these days. The Internet is easy to use. It has plenty of options when searching; and if you need additional information, you can just fill out an online form.”

When using the Internet for marketing, two main aspects to consider are the quality of your Internet marketing and the ease with which people can access the information.

“(Today's home buyers) know how to shop, investigate, compare and therefore educate themselves,” said Steve Atkins, president of The Atkins Group, a San Antonio marketing and branding firm. “You will see people touring in cars who are using their handheld device to get them to their final bit of information.”

“More than ever, photography is important,” said Sherry Settles, vice president of marketing at Kuper Sotheby's International Realty. “It's the information age. People want as much information as possible about a house. In the old days, you went to a Realtor and that's how you found out information. But with the Internet, everyone wants it now and they want it in private. They don't want to contact a Realtor until they're ready to look at the houses.”

When highlighting your house, try to include as many interior and exterior photos as possible, working to provide images of all the rooms and features of a home.

The rooms should appear well lit, and the photos always should be in focus. Photos that are too dark or too bright won't do justice to a room.

“Sometimes a bad shot is the result of an awkward angle,” Oakley said. “A secondary bedroom may actually be a good-sized room, but in the shot it appears like a tiny box. Or a photo of a nice entry hallway can appear long and dreary.”

And the photos should be clear of clutter. The interior and exterior of your home should be as clean for photos as they would be if a prospective buyer were visiting it in person.

Once you've mastered marketing your house through effective images and easy navigation, you can add some extra touches.

“If you have good-looking pictures, you can make a house look a lot nicer and cleaner and at least draw their interest more than having bad pictures,” Taylor said.

On Web sites, buyers like to find other important information — or at least links to information — about taxes, schools and neighborhoods to make the home buying process even easier, Settles said.

By having information about the various tax rates home buyers would pay, they easily can compare those rates online.

Families who are buying homes often consider school districts, and the type and location of neighborhoods. If they can get all that in a one-stop-shop, their Internet home buying experience will go much more smoothly, Oakley said.

“It's all about customer service,” she said.

There are also an increasing number of homes for sale that have virtual tours online, which can help provide a better idea of a house's characteristics.

“Some still shots can lose the feeling of the spaciousness or personality of the home,” Oakley said.

When posting videos or digital tours, don't sacrifice quality just for the sake of posting multimedia. “People like virtual tours, but there can be some distortion and some of the tours are slow to upload,” Settles said.

One way to post a video is through YouTube, something that Bradfield Properties is beginning to do so people can search for videos.

Atkins said the online presence shouldn't stop at just a personal or company Web site. He said it's advantageous to target your audience on other Internet sites they visit.

“You can invest in a position to reach out to very targeted audiences and bring them to your Web site,” he said. “The other thing you can do in the online environment today is buy into the online strategies that help your client target other Web sites that are pertinent to your audience by geography, by context, by behavior, and you can literally follow them.”

Beyond just highlighting houses, real estate agents are highlighting themselves online.

“What we're trying to do is go after the buyers because we know a good 90 percent of the consumers are going to go to the Web before they go to a Realtor,” Oakley said. “I'm trying to push that consumer to the Web site so they see how I work and what services I provide.”

The Internet is a way for the public to search out their perfect agent rather than calling up strangers.

“They're doing clips about themselves, and explaining where they come from and what they'll do,” said Taylor, with Bradfield Properties.

Oakley said a wide range of online content also helps prospective buyers living out of town who can't visit a house on a whim, something especially important for San Antonio's military population.

“We've had people buy homes who haven't physically been in the homes,” Settles said.

An intriguing online marketing campaign is also something that people selling their houses expect. They could feel like they're getting cheated if there are blurry pictures, or if their house has only two or three photos while the next house for sale has 20, Settles said.

“People want their home represented like that when they're looking for a Realtor to help them sell,” she said. “The better the pictures, the better the home looks, the more appealing it is.”

Whether selling a home, buying a home or trying to find information about the best real estate agents, having access to vivid and plentiful online information — and providing that information — is more necessary every day.

“A professional agent needs to stay ahead of that curve to make sure they can change,” Oakley said. “You have to see what the consumer wants and be able to change your business model.”