The Rightmove Test
The purpose of your Rightmove advert is not to sell your house but to sell the viewing. Take our 8 point test to make sure your advert is producing you the best results.
It’s all about making sure house hunters click on your listing and ultimately book a viewing.
There are 8 key points you need to make sure you have correct, in order to get the best possible response.
Up until now, estate agents in the know have tried to keep this secret. However, the secret is now out.
I want you to rate each of the following points of your Rightmove listing out of 5. You will finish with a score that is marked out of 40.
1 - A Strong Headline - Make sure your summary words stand out
Your headline is what buyers will first read about your home. It is on the summary page of Rightmove. How does yours read?
This summary is critically important to your marketing apart from the main photos on your listing this is what your potential buyer will see first. It is your agents job to sell your home and put across key benefits.
The first few words should immediately portray your properties positive points not state that "XXX Estate agents are favoured with sole agency instructions or XXX Estate agents are delighted to present this to the market".
If it is missing - Score 0
If the agent mentions their own name - Score 2
If when reading it sounds like it could be any property - Score 3
If it stands out and makes you want to click - Score 5
2 - How Is Your Home Priced - No 999, 995 or 500 please!
Rightmove likes round numbers. Look at the Rightmove price banding and always price yourself at the top of a bracket whenever possible.
This is much easier to do if you are below £300,000 as the price bands are in £10,000 increments.
The benefit behind round number pricing is your property is higher up in the listings and appears in dual searches. Example if you are on the market for £250,000. You will appear in a buyers search if they are searching up to a maximum of £250,000 or put a minimum threshold of £250,000.
Typically a buyer will have a large search radius especially when looking in new areas to them so it is critical to get you as high up on the listing pages as possible.
If it is priced at 999, 995 or 500 - Score 0
If you are in between two brackets i.e £255,000 - Score 1
If you are a nice round number and hitting a bracket - Score 5
3 - The Bullet Points - highlight your key features
Bullet points should be used to highlight the key features of your home. If a buyer is taking a quick browse they are likely to use these bullet points to get a quick overview of your key features.
Do yours do this? Are they interesting?
If you have none - Score 0.
If they focus on the basics such as double glazing and gas central heating - Score 2.
If they highlight the best bits - Score 5
4 - Correct Google Street View
8/10 Buyers will always check street view whilst looking at your listing.
This gives them a good idea of the area and neighbouring properties.
This type of technology has been around for a long time now. Some agents still don't use it though.
If it is nowhere near score 0
If you are in the right road score 3
If it is bang on score 5
5 - The Photos - Do your photos really show off your home?
Your photos are the first thing any potential buyer will look at once they have clicked in to view your advert.
How do your photos look? Are they bright & Clear? Do they show the room off? Has your agent come back in better weather?
You need professional quality photos.
Most people will look at the first 4 photos first so it is key to make sure these are the very best ones in order to entice them to look further.
If you have mobile phone or tablet photos - Score 0
If you don't have the best 4 images at the start - Score 2
If your photos are perfect with the best as first 4 - Score 5
6 - Too Many Or Not Enough Photos - Do you have the correct amount?
Too many photos can damage your advert, buyers get bored and stop engaging. The same as if you have barely any.
Rightmove recommends between 9 and 12 photos is most engaging. Some properties do require more.
If you have photos of literally every single room of your property at multiple angles the other thing to consider is a buyer might feel like they have already seen everything. Its always best to leave something to the imagination.
If you have over 20 or less than 5 - Score 0
If you have between 5 and 9 - Score 1
If you have between 20 - 30 - Score 2
If you have between 12 - 20 - Score 4
If you have between 9 - 12 - Score 5
7 - Floorplan - This is absolutely critical
If your listing does not have a floorplan you could be losing up to 33.33% of buyers as they simply will not interact with your advert without one.
The general preference seems to be 2d Floorplans as they serve more of a purpose to a potential buyer when trying to plan what they would do, where furniture would go etc.
3d is fine, a floorplan is still a floorplan.
If you dont have a floorplan - Score 0
If you have a 3d floorplan - Score 3
If you have a 2d floorplan - Score 5
If your floorplan doesn't have measurements - Minus 1 from your total.
8 - Video Viewings - The rise of video
Video viewings are becoming more and more important and viewership of these videos is on the up.
The video viewing should be a true reflection of your home and will give the buyers the impression they are within the home. This is not only a great way to advertise but also a way in which to get rid of those time wasters who just want to see your lovely kitchen to get ideas for their own home.
We always recommend having a walk through video as if the agent was doing a viewing. Our research shows that a slideshow of photos that the potential buyer can see anyway is ill recieved and doesn't hold a buyers attention.
If you dont have a video viewing - Score 0
If you have one but it is mainly moving photos - Score 2
If you have one but the audio is music - Score 4
If your video has a text or voice over commentry that leads buyers through - Score 5
We hope you have found this content useful. If you would like a chat about how to improve your marketing please feel free to get in touch, there is no obligation at all. We would love to see you moving.