A guide to your website's property search options
The property search on your website is one of your most important features of your website. Ensuring your house hunters can search and find your property listings easily is vital to the smooth running of your website, not to mention important for vendors trying to find their own online listing.
As such it's important to understand what search options you have available on the website and how each one works. If you want to change your property search, you can speak to your Account Manager at anytime.
What search options are available?
1) Free text search
One of the most basic search options.
The website user simply types in a search term into the search bar. If what they type matches a keyword in the address of the property, the property will appear.
Eg: if the user types in Chiswick any property with Chiswick in the address will appear.
Webdadi recommends:
Whilst this search is simple to use, there are more advanced search options on your site which you may want to consider.
Pros:
Simple for the property hunter
Cons:
Relies on the website user to type/spell correctly
Relies on your staff inputting all of the property address correctly and not missing out particular keywords from the address when they enter the data
Your SEO is diluted as many different keywords are entered into the search, not all of which could be relevant
2) Drop Down search
The website user simply selects a search location from a drop down list of locations that you specify.
Webdadi Recommends:
This search is perfect for estate agents with very defined areas of operation, or smaller agents with limited stock who want to reduce the chance of an empty search being returned. In our view, it is the most effective search to aid your SEO and a great all rounder.
Pros:
Simple for the property hunter
Ensures any property search always returns a list of results
Great for your website's SEO as it ensures every search specifically targets your key areas of operation
You can customise and control what areas appear and what properties are included in each of those areas
Cons:
Less freedom for the website user (although this can also be seen as a plus!)
You need to make sure your list of areas and the corresponding postcodes you want to define those areas are kept up to date in your VIA software
Works best when there are 5-10 drop down options. If you have more operational areas then this, then this search might not be suitable for you and you may want to consider a predictive search
3) Predictive text search (paid upgrade)
The website user starts to type in their search and a drop down list of all the available areas which match what they are typing appears below. They can then select the relevant option from the drop down options. The predictive search links to your own database of available properties rather than a central list of towns, cities and transport links.
Eg: if the user types Kensington every option where Kensington is contained in the address of a property listing you have appears as a search option, ie: Kensington, Kensington Drive, Kensington Road etc.
Webdadi recommends:
This search is perfect for agents looking to mirror the functionality of the property portals but limit the search to their specific areas of operation.
Pros:
Simple for the property hunter
More freedom for the website user
Drastically reduces the chances of a no results search
Great for your website's SEO as it keeps your keyword search terms consistent by funnelling them to use specific terms (although not as powerful as the drop down search)
Cons:
Relies on the website user to type/spell correctly
Relies on your staff inputting all of the property address correctly and not missing out particular keywords from the address
4) Predictive radius search (paid upgrade, UK only)
The most advanced search option that mirrors how the property portals work.
The website user simply types in a search term into the search bar. A list of all matching villages, towns, cities, airports, train, metro and tube stations in the UK appear. The user can select the relevant place and radius for their search. Eg: within 1 mile of Redhill train station.
Webdadi recommends:
Ideal for large and national estate agencies with stock across wide parts of the UK.
Pros:
Great user experience that mirrors the portal's property search
Doesn't rely on staff entering the full address of the property correctly (although they should always strive to do so)
Great for your website's SEO as it keeps your keyword search terms consistent by funnelling them to use specific terms (although not as powerful as the drop down search)
Accurate results based on the longitude and latitude of properties, not keywords
Cons:
Your SEO could be diluted if search locations not relevant to your operational area are entered into the search. However, we would assume most applicants searching on your website would be aware of your operational areas and be searching for property accordingly so this is likely to be a minor consideration
What search option would Webdadi Recommend?
What is the best overall search
It depends how you define best.
The drop down search provides is the best all rounder in terms of positive results for you agency and is the clear winner for SEO. However, it works best if you have 5-10 area options. If you have more than this, this search option might not suit you.
If you’re looking for a search that gives a great experience to the website user by mirrors the portals and guards against mistaken data entry by your staff, the predictive radius search is the one to choose. Just beware it uses a nationwide database of towns, cities and transport hubs, some of which might not be relevant to you.
What is the best search for SEO?
Again, the drop down search provides a great option. It ensure lots of searches are carried out on your website for very specific keyword search terms, helping you to rank more highly for search terms such as 'properties for sale in X.'
However, again, if you operate in more than 10 areas this search might not work for you and the predictive searches are a great option. They remove the risk of users typing incorrectly by allowing them to select a specific road, town, etc. This helps to concentrate on specific search terms which aids SEO.
What is the best search to ensure all my properties are found by my website visitors?
Firstly, all of the searches are capable of finding every property, it's just that some require more effort from your staff than others.
However, the predictive radius search is the safest bet to alleviate any issues relating to staff not entering the property address correctly or missing key information. It works by using the longitude and latitude of a property in relation to a key landmark, exactly like the portals.
The only downside it will pull in all 43,000 cities, towns, villages, hamlets and transport hubs across the UK, so if you don’t have a large coverage of properties, it might not be suitable.