Properties on Google Maps - a little bit of history repeating?

After our recent article Google defies Rightmove throne; Rightmove shares gutted, there has been much interest and feedback regarding the likelihood of Google consuming the property portal market. Luckily Google already hosts properties for two countries - Australia and the U.S.

Google started listing properties on its Google Maps in Australia back in July of this year. With exactly the same affect, the main portal company realestate.com.au (REA group) had an initial 7% drop in shares. Six months later, the REA group has not only regained ground but the shares have increased 53% since the drop.

Therefore on a purely historical sense, Rightmove is likely to rebound from the primary shock and 'the end is nigh' predictions. Estate Agents against property portals need not cry too much over the possible survival of Rightmove, Google maps listing properties can work towards an Estate Agent's advantage.

Estate Agents that have fantastic Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and unbeatable web design do not have to fear. Google is not a property portal and it is going to stick at what it is good at - being a search engine. Therefore this has to be viewed as an extra medium for potential traffic. Users will click round the map till they find a property that they have interest. From there, the user will be directed to the agent's website.

Uh-oh - Bad news for Estate Agents that does not live up to today's standards. Without design that has that 'WOW' factor, functionality of property portals, and rich user-experience, you can guarantee that the user will press the 'Back' button. Right now a possible customer has just been lost within a few seconds of accessing your website.

On the other hand, it is fantastic news for Estate Agents that have a website that they are proud of. The extra avenue of traffic means that Estate Agents with stunning web design will retain more users than those that do not have that WOW factor.

Troy Stanley, CTO of Resource Techniques comments, 'This change is truly exciting for estate agents that taken the positive step towards improving their website from the awkward designs of the 90s. If your website does not have that WOW impact then it is certainly time for a redesign.'

Visit our portfolio page or call Resource Techniques on 0208 457 4777 to achieve the type of web design that will keep old customers and capture new ones.

Estate agents - internet users loves animations on your property website.

So you've got people accessing your property website, what's next? Well animation or 'flash' has come a long way and website designers do not now make websites completely in flash. Combining a good balance of flash and text impresses users and also caters for your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) needs.

Ideally estate agents do not need a website with too much animation, just something that gently introduces the internet user to the website. Below are some examples of estate agents that have some of the best animations for property websites.

www.dartandpartners.com

This is a fantastic animation. The image starts off as a drawn outline and then changes into a vibrant image with billowing clouds. There is a flag on top of the castle that flaps in the wind. This adds a very subtle movement that makes the user study the animation before moving onto the desired property search.

Their website also has fantastic SEO. The SEO provided by Resource Techniques has boosted their page rank to second on page one when you type in 'Estate agents in Teignmouth'.

http://www.penyards.com

This is another animation that makes the website stand out from other property websites. It starts off with an impressive country estate in black and white and then has a steady transition into colour. The sky starts moving and completes the animation. This animation fits perfectly for a high end estate agent.

The SEO for Penyards is perfect. The SEO provided by Resource Techniques has put the Penyards to page one, position one when users type in 'Estate Agents in Winchester'. This SEO will guarantee a very healthy stream of customers looking for property in the Winchester area.

http://www.turneyassoclettings.co.uk

This is the latest estate agency website released by Resource Techniques. It shows a realistic river with a punt floating down the river. The impressive aspect of this animation is that the punt has waves and a shadow on the water, whist increasing in size as it moves down the river.

Resource Techniques are almost limitless with the animation that we can produce. Why not try calling Resource Techniques on 0208 457 4777 to see what we can do for your estate agent website.

Troy Stanley

Twitter out ranks UK property Portals

As Twitters popularity continues at pace, its impact on the UK's property market has seen huge growth in 2009, technically in tune estate agents, large and small, are Twittering in a big way, now even the portals are joining in the fun.

For serious Twitter fans it will come as no surprise that last month, for the first time, the site has entered the much coveted UK's top 100 most visited websites, according web analyst Hitwise, Twtter entered the top 100 at position 91

Social media is now an integral part of online marketing for estate agents and although it might have taken some a while to realise it, no one wants to be left behind.

The Times Money blog compiled a list of the 'Top 20
British property profiles on Twitter' and gave two spots to
globrix.com for @Globrix and their clever @PropertyPorn

identity, which twitters fabulously expensive and luxurious eye
candy from globrix.com for the property obsessed.

Twitter profiles from other portals which made the Times list
include: @zoopla, @nestoria, @findaproperty and @primelocation.:

Off the list there are plenty more, including UK market leader
@rightmove with over 200 followers and @enormo_uk with
almost 400 followers. Loads of agents are also getting themselves
onto Twitter.

Perhaps more important than who is twittering, is the question
of how Twitter can be beneficial to your business, check out my
blog post on Twittering for more
information.

For the low down on all things technical relating to the UK
property industry follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/RTechniques