What are paid portals?

These are property portals that require an account or an agreement before they'll accept your listings.

You may already be familiar with these examples:

• Property 24
• Private Property
• Gumtree
• IOL Property Property
• Property Tube

The fees and structures vary and fluctuate, so we haven’t listed them here.

Advantages over free portals

Free portals can be an attractive option if you’re on a tight budget. However, they do lack some important features that paid portals offer:

Exposure: When a prospective home buyer or renter searches online, they'll likely find a paid portal website along with, and often above, your website and your competitors. Paid portals boast SEO-friendly websites that get a ton of website traffic and page views. They also have the budget to ensure they appear in paid adverts for the most competitive search terms.

Reputable: Searchers are aware of the property scams online. As paid portals have a greater presence, they tend to be more trusted and respected.

Lead quality: Paid portals are better organised. You can expect more information when your listing receives a query. This translates to a better quality lead.

Advert free: On a free portal, your listing will often be placed next to banner advertising. The danger lies in the unknown. The advert could contain distasteful subject matter that would tarnish your brand. It could also be a competitor’s advert which would draw attention away from your listing.

Listing quality

When you place your listing on these websites, you’ll want them to stand out. Paid portals give additional weight to what they consider quality listings and, much like a search engine might, rank these listings favourably. The higher the perceived quality of a listing, the more exposure it will gain on a particular property portal.

Below is a quick overview of what two of South Africa's largest property portals, Private Property and Property24, consider when judging the quality of a listing:

Private Property:

• Include a virtual tour or a related video.
• 12 Unique images. Dimensions should be at least 1267px (width) x 848px (height).
• Full address, or scheme name if applicable.
• Show the property on the map.
• Provide rates and levies information.
• Detailed property information should include information such as the property size.
• Videos (through their service)

Property24:

• 16 Unique images. Dimensions should be at least 1024px (width) x 768px (height).
• Supply and allow the address to be displayed (on Property24).
• Show the property on the map.
• Give your listing a strong title.
• The description should consist of a minimum of 2 short paragraphs - 250 characters or more and should also include a descriptive marketing heading.
• Include the erf size.
• Provide rates and levies information.
• Upload a Virtual Tour and/or video.

If your listing system doesn’t automatically highlight requirements and quality listing factors, then make certain you understand the above before your listings reach the portals.

PRO MOVE - Publish to multiple property portals with the click of a button. Choose a syndication service, that manages the sending of your data, and save yourself time and headaches. Support is the biggest benefit as the providers will act as mediators with the portals. If you find your listing isn’t published, it’s comforting to have someone to turn to who can help.