gOOglE
PROPERTY
CHALLENGES AHEAD FOR THE “Google has shown they are great at
MOUNTAINVIEW GENIUSES… algorithmic solutions developed by
Ed Freyfogle, CEO of property portal geniuses in Mountain View,” Freyfogle says,
Nestoria, warns that “property search “But as we’ve learned at Nestoria in rolling
is very different in different markets”. out to multiple countries, property is not
He believes this is a major challenge that a one-size-fits-all service – a human touch
Google will have to overcome. Not only is required, and I’m not sure that’s Google’s
do end users want to search in different strong suit.” He also wonders whether
ways, and value different attributes – for simply mapping properties is a rather blunt
instance, square metreage in France against instrument for Google. “Of course, as the
number of bedrooms in the UK – but the saying goes it’s all about location, location
market structure is also different from and location, and in that sense maps can
Google has already
country to country (notably in terms of the be very useful, but it’s not a magic bullet
prevalence of FSBO and agent exclusivity). that solves all problems.”
been in the
While Nestoria offers mapping, it also
makes its API (Application Programming
Australian market
Interface) available to encourage others to
experiment with different ways of
for six months, yet
presenting the property search. For
instance, Wherecanilive.com uses
REA Group – the
Nestoria’s data to help commuters find
appropriately priced property within
leading Australian
a commutable distance of London.
portal – has been
… AND MAYBE FOR RIGHTMOVE
Despite the lack of definition on Google’s
As we’ve learned
increasing its traffic
plans, the stock market quickly decided
that Google would be a major threat to
at Nestoria in
and revenues
dominant portal Rightmove, and the shares
were marked down 10 per cent on the day.
rolling out to
despite the new
Analysts are aware that with over 80 per
cent of the market, Rightmove is currently
multiple countries,
competition.’
winning the battle against other portals,
but worry that if greater competition SIMON BAKER PROPERTY PORTAL WATCH
property is not a
enters the market, Rightmove’s £300 plus
monthly fees could come under pressure. also likely to see further erosion of their
one-size-fits-all
The share price reaction might have share of property listings – Johnston Press
been overdone. Simon Baker of Property has already seen property ad revenues
service – a human
Portal Watch points out that Google has more than halve this year.
already been in the Australian market for Google will face a number of challenges
touch is required,
six months, yet REA Group – the leading if it wants to rival Rightmove. First of all, it
Australian portal – has been increasing will have to build comprehensive listings
and I’m not sure
its traffic and revenues despite the new data, whether it does so through agents or
competition. It seems more likely that through second line portals. It will have to
that’s Google’s
Google will put increased pressure on be canny in the way it does this – agents
some of the less successful portals, which won’t be keen on entering data manually to
strong suit.’
are already struggling against Rightmove’s yet another portal, even if it is free.
domination and the entry of second-
ED FREYFOGLE CEO NESTORIA generation portals. Local newspapers are BRANDING AND MARKETS
Secondly, Google will have to establish its
brand in the property market. Ed Freyfogle
says that while Google has a massive
brand, it is not particularly relevant to the
market. “Users perceive Google as exactly
one thing: a general web search engine. So
how do they get users to think about using
Nestoria offers mapping, it also makes its API Google for other services? Really the only
available to encourage others to experiment with
way is if they start featuring these services
more in their search engine. But then users
different ways of presenting the property search.’ have to ask if Google search is giving the
best answer or just the Google answer?”
PROPERTYdrum FEBRUARY 2010 15
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