To those (including myself, oops) who said Google's property listings would not have an immediate impact, it might be time to eat your words.
Google are already marketing their UK offering to people searching for property for sale or rent. Not only are they near the top of many AdWords results ("property for sale in London", Brighton, Crawley, etc.), they have also redirected the 'More results near..' links at the bottom of the search map straight into their property search screen.
These links are highlighted in green in my screenshot below, which you can click for a larger image.
For those portals who generate much of their traffic through the search engines via SEO and PPC marketing, the competition just got a lot tougher. Zoopla's announcement of a brand-focused marketing campaign couldn't have been better timed.
Website listings for estate agents will also be affected, with a portion of traffic likely to be drawn into the Google map search. This makes own-branded Google Base listings (rather than portal driven) even more of a priority.
How long before we see the TV ads that have run in Australia I wonder?
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