Dedicated property search sites continue to lead newspapers’ own classifieds efforts, though DMGT is snapping at Rightmove for the top spot…
Market leader Rightmove’s doing something right – on Friday, it said half-year operating profit is 40 percent higher than the same period last year at £27.9 million, on 26 percent higher income of £42.3 million.
It says all its growth has come from estate agents advertising new and reopened business premises, rather than either agents’ or direct customers’ home ads. Indeed, the number of ads for new housing developments has declined significantly.
In this sense, Rightmove is not strictly competing with the kinds of housing-supplement ads that regional newspapers once had all to themselves. But the likes of Rightmove and Zoopla remain strong competition for ad pounds to the publishers.
ComScore (NSDQ: SCOR) tells paidContent:UK “almost 30 percent of the UK online population visited at least one site in the category during the month”.
Though it leads DMGT’s collection of property sites (under the Digital Property Group portfolio) on 3.1 million monthly uniques to 2.3 million, Nielsen tells paidContent:UK, on page views it cites Hitwise data showing it commands 82 percent of views to the top four sites.
Rightmove says it sold its HolidayLettings site, of which it owns two thirds, to TripAdvisor in June for £28.6 million, earnings it £19.1 million. It now has £22.9 million cash in the bank.