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Does your Rightmove listing pass our ultimate 40 point marketing test?

Posted on Saturday, October 15, 2022

Eight weeks ago, I was contacted by an old school friend.  Becky is trying to sell her home in Surrey.   It’s struggling.   She’s only had 1 viewing in 4 weeks and wondered if I could give her some advice.   Becky has staged her home to perfection.   Her home ( in her opinion ) is competitively priced.   Yet still, she is just not getting the viewings.    I asked Becky to send me a link to her Rightmove listing so I could give her some advice.  

 

The purpose of your Rightmove listing

The purpose of your Rightmove listing is not to sell your house but to sell viewings. Nobody actually buys a home direct from Rightmove. For example - you don’t add it to your online basket and pay for it at a virtual checkout! It’s all about making sure house hunters click on your listing and ultimately book a viewing. There are 7 key points you need to make sure you have correct, in order to get the best possible response.

The 7 key points

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. We’ve given you a sample idea of how to score under each section.


1. A strong headline

Your headline is what buyers will first read about your home. It is on the summary page of Rightmove. How does yours read? If it is missing, score 0. If the agent mentions there own name score a maximum of 3. If it reads like it could be any similar home again score just 3. If it stands out and makes you want to click, score 5!

 

2. The Pricing Strategy

How is your home priced? No 99p’s, please. Rightmove likes round numbers. Look at the Rightmove Price banding and price yourself if possible at the top of a bracket whenever possible.
It’s easier to do if you are priced under £300,000 as the prices bands are in groups of £10,000.  Score 5, if you have marketed with nice round numbers AND appear on Page 1 of your Rightmove search. Score 3 if you are on Page 2.


3. The bullet points

Bullet points should be used to highlight the key features of your home. 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 just 2. If they highlight the best bits - score a full 5!


4. The property staging

How does your home look? Are your photos clutter-free? Are the beds dressed and bathroom free of everyday toiletries? Have you taken the magnets off the fridge and are the dustbins out of sight? If so, score yourself a 5! If not, rate yourself honestly knocking off 1 point for each failed area.

 

5. The photographs

How do your photos look? Are they bright and clear? Are they straight? Was the sky blue on photo day? Do they show off the room? You don’t need professional photos however they do need to be of high quality. If you think your photos are perfect score yourself a 5.


6. A floorplan

This is very simple. You either have a floor plan or you don’t. Knock 1 point off if there are no measurements or if it is so small it is hard to read!


7. Your description

How easily does your description read?  Avoid using cliches and long sentences.  There also needs to be a flow that takes you through the home.   The brochure will highlight your home's best bits.  Just be careful though not to oversell,  this can be just as bad as underselling! If the description is too minimal give yourself a low score. If it’s too lengthy, that can also be a problem. Score yourself out of 5


8. A link to your full brochure

Is there a link to your property brochure? There either is or there isn’t. It’s either full points or no points!

 

 

How did you score? If you have scored a full 40 points and your home is sensibly priced, you should be getting viewings and expecting an offer soon. If you have scored 30 or more, you just need to make a few little tweaks. If you have scored under 20, your property listing needs help!


Becky scored just 19. She got full points for both staging her home and there was a link to the brochure. However the photos were poor, the headline was weak and there were no bullet points at all. We also helped improve her wording so it was more enticing. 3 weeks later she had agreed on a sale and is now looking forward to her move back North!


Can we help you? If you are unsure about how to score your own Rightmove listing, why not send me your Rightmove link to take a look at. I’m Michelle Gallagher and at JDG we are to help. You can email me at michelle@jdg.co.uk or call me on 01524 843322.