Zoopla The Latest UK Portal to Add New Tools

British #2 property portal Zoopla has announced that it is to launch a new set of functionalities including native ads on listings search pages and updated search functionality for its heavily marketed My Home 'property log book' area. According to a company press release, the added functionalities consist of:

• Roll out of ‘In-Search Ads’ gives agents and housebuilders the option to advertise on the listings search page in the style of a listing and with a message of their choice to highly engaged users
• Enhanced My Home experience with the launch of ‘Similar Properties for Sale’ will enable consumers to see similar properties to theirs currently for sale on Zoopla and easily compare attributes and asking price without having to create a new search
• Improved homepage experience means it’s easier than ever for consumers to request an agent valuation
• For housebuilders, Zoopla’s acquisition of Yourkeys will mean improved experiences for their consumers, faster sales, fewer fall-throughs and enhanced reporting on lead conversion

Andy Marshall, Zoopla’s Chief Commercial Officer, said:

“Providing value for our customers is our number of focus. This is why we’re constantly striving to innovate and improve the experience for agents, housebuilders and consumers alike. We hope these innovations continue to do exactly that and ensure we continue to provide a great service to customers.”

Perhaps the most interesting of the new announcements are the 'In-Search Ads' which will essentially be native ads that will be designed by Zoopla in house and will only be shown to certain "highly engaged users" on the portal's results pages. The new advertising product is to be sold at a flat rate meaning that the more impressions generated the less the advertiser pays.

Zoopla is the second British property portal to announce new innovations in its product suite in as many weeks after OnTheMarket announced the development of a set of tools that closely mirror those of recently launched rival Boomin.