The Meteoric Rise Of Thinkproperty.Com
Released
on: May 29, 2008, 4:17 am
Press
Release Author: The Drum Consultancy
Industry:
Real Estate
Press
Release Summary: thinkproperty.com, consumer property portal,
reports phenomenal growth to become number three in the Hitwise
Business and Finance - Property category
Press
Release Body: The thinkproperty.com consumer
property portal, has reported experiencing phenomenal growth over
the last 18 months, leaping from rank 420 in Hitwise’s
Business and Finance – Property category, to rank
number three in December 2007 based on share of UK visits. thinkproperty.com
now welcomes over 2 million unique users a month (Source: Hitbox,
March 2008) and forecasts show that users will grow by 50% in
2008.
thinkproperty.com
holds over 600,000 properties from the UK and overseas and is
currently working with over 6,000 agents who are uploading their
stock to the site and benefit from an increasing number of leads
originating from the property portal.
thinkproperty.com
believe that the major factor separating the firm from the rest
of the major players in the property market is that since its
launch in 2006, the site has constantly strived to lead the way
in innovative functionality, with the continual development of
its offerings to both estate agents and home movers. Since the
launch an interactive Google map has lain at the heart of the
site’s search functionality, highlighting the location of
properties in a visual format. This functionality was first to
market amongst the major property portals and attracted many new
and loyal users.
Enhanced
Google functionality was introduced a few months after the initial
site launch, with the introduction of innovative Google map overlays.
thinkproperty.com also provides topline data on the most recent
performance of schools, with percent figures on the number of
pupils that have reached Government performance targets and a
url link to the full performance report. The new thinkproperty.com
Google map overlays also include information on mainline railway
stations and hospitals, whereby site users can find key local
information and contact details at the touch of a button, all
displayed clearly on a map.
thinkproperty.com
was also the first property
portal to fully embrace Web 2.0 functionality as a core part
of its strategy. The functionality also included the ability for
visitors to save their searches and receive instant updates on
new instructions.
Other
innovative features on thinkproperty.com include
‘Video Tour’, which gives home
movers an enhanced visual experience of each property advertised.
Tours can be created from existing images, providing seamless
integration. Over 95% of UK
properties listed on the portal now have an exclusive ‘Video
Tour’.
All
of the new enhancements to thinkproperty.com are designed to increase
both property viewing dwell time and emotional engagement. thinkproperty.com
has already experienced a massive 60% increase in dwell time since
the launch of ‘Video Tours’.
Mark Goddard, Managing Director of thinkproperty.com,
commented: “We are still experiencing tremendous growth
in site traffic as we continue to gather momentum in building
our market share of the online property audience. The largest
portal still only receives 20% of available traffic, which leaves
a huge opportunity for players like us."
He
continued, “We are delighted with the success of thinkproperty.com
so far and are looking forward to reaching our next goal of 3
million unique users over the next 12 months. We are very excited
about the prospects for this year and will see ongoing growth
and development in the site.”
The
portal remains a very affordable advertising medium, and for many
estate agents, it is becoming the second option to the leading
player.
Ends
About
thinkproperty.com
At thinkproperty.com, usability is at the heart
of what the sites does on all development. The site was designed
to be clean and simple in order to give homemovers a fresh, new
approach to property portals.
thinkproperty.com
is wholly owned by GMG Property Services Group, a division within
Guardian Media Group, one of the UK's leading multimedia companies.
Web
Site: http://www.thinkproperty.com/
Contact
Details: For further information, please contact:
Karen Hughes
The Drum Consultancy
18 Soho Square
London
W1D 3QL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7025 8044
Fax: +44 (0)20 7025 8100
www.thinkproperty.com