Zoopla.co.uk gains market share as visitor numbers grow

Permalink: Zoopla.co.uk gains market share as visitor numbers grow
by Kay Murchie

Zoopla.co.uk, the online property website, has revealed double-digit growth in the number of visitors to its site.

According to the latest figures from Nielsen, which tracks internet traffic in the UK, those looking for properties online appeared to be swarming to Zoopla.co.uk after the group experienced a 16% rise in unique visitors for the month of September compared with the previous month.

Overall, visitor numbers to the well-known UK property websites grew to 6.99 million in September, from 6.97 million in August - a 0.3% month-on-month rise.

In August, Zoopla.co.uk completed its acquisition of PropertyFinder Group from News International Ltd and the REA Group.

The PropertyFinder Group includes propertyfinder.com, which is one of the best-known and popular property websites, with more than 2 million unique visitors per month.

The announcement came just two weeks after Zoopla.co.uk revealed its acquisition of ThinkProperty.com from Guardian Media Group.

At the time, experts said the acquisitions would undoubtedly challenge Rightmove, the rival property website, as the terms of the deal will see Zoopla.co.uk take over and integrate the propertyfinder.com and other websites, benefiting from an additional 3 million unique visitors a month.

Meanwhile, commenting on today’s growth in visitor numbers, Alex Chesterman, founder and CEO of Zoopla.co.uk said: “The latest figures highlight that the UK portal space has now crystallised around three key players and we are very encouraged by our increasing market share.”

“Despite the overall number of visitors to the leading portals remaining relatively unchanged in September, traffic to both Zoopla.co.uk and Propertyfinder.com grew strongly,” added Mr Chesterman.

Zoopla.co.uk was launched in January 2008 and has announced record growth despite a slump in the property market and has won many awards, including the ‘UK’s Most Promising Internet Company 2008′.