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Estate Agency Launch Programme · Stage 7 of 10
Get Found
Get found by the sellers and landlords searching your patch, on the property portals and on Google.
How long
~1–2 weeks to set up, then ongoing
You’ll have
An agency that shows up where sellers look
Steps
4 steps
Resources
3 resources
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01 Step 01
Step 01
List on the property portals
The portals are where the overwhelming majority of buyers and tenants search, so for most agencies a portal presence is what makes your stock sell.
Do it yourself
- Weigh the big three by audience and cost: Rightmove has the largest audience and the largest bill (~£1,000–£1,500+ a month), Zoopla is lower (~£150–£250), OnTheMarket sits in between (~£180–£650). All rough, all negotiated per branch.
- Get live quotes before you commit. Those figures are indicative, and portals negotiate hard with new agents.
- Decide your opening mix by where your patch’s buyers actually look. Many start-ups begin on Zoopla and/or OnTheMarket to control cost, then add Rightmove as revenue allows; on some patches you can’t compete without it.
- Read the contract for minimum terms and get the negotiated deal in writing before you sign.
- Connect each portal to your CRM feed (Module 4) so a listing is entered once and updates everywhere.
Common mistake · Signing a long, full-price Rightmove contract on day one, before there’s stock or cash to justify it. Portal fees are your single biggest fixed cost, and the wrong one can sink a new agency.
Time~1–2 weeks to onboard Cost~£150–£1,500+/mo depending on mix DifficultyMediumResource for this step
PDFPortal mix planner
Model which portals your patch and budget justify, month by month, with the rough market costs seeded in.
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02 Step 02
Step 02
Set up and optimise your Google Business Profile
For a local agency the Business Profile is often the first thing a seller sees, and it drives your local discovery and your reviews.
Do it yourself
- Create or claim the profile with your exact name, address and phone, plus hours and service area.
- Set the category to “Estate agent” or “Letting agent”, add the website link and list your services.
- Add strong photos of the office, the team and your boards.
- Complete Google’s verification (postcard, phone or video, whichever it asks for).
- Keep it active with posts: new instructions, sales agreed, the odd market update.
Common mistake · Leaving the profile unverified, or letting the name, address and phone drift out of step with your website. It kills local ranking and trust.
Time~2 hours, then ongoing CostFree DifficultyEasyResource for this step
CHECKLISTBusiness Profile setup checklist
Every field to complete, every photo to add, and a monthly rhythm to keep it live.
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03 Step 03
Step 03
Local SEO foundations
Ranking for “estate agents in [your patch]” brings free, high-intent seller and landlord leads for years.
Do it yourself
- Keep your name, address and phone identical across the website, the Business Profile and every directory.
- List in a few relevant local and industry directories to build citations.
- Use your area pages (Module 6) as the local-SEO backbone.
- Earn a handful of genuinely local links: sponsor a club or an event, or get featured in the local press.
Common mistake · Chasing national keywords a start-up can’t win, instead of owning the handful of hyper-local terms you can.
TimeOngoing, a few hours a week CostFree–low DifficultyMedium -
04 Step 04
Step 04
Build a Google reviews engine
Reviews carry outsized weight for agents: sellers pick who to trust largely on social proof, and reviews feed your local ranking.
Do it yourself
- Build the ask into your process at natural high points: offer accepted, completion, move-in.
- Make it one tap, a short link or QR code straight to your Google review page, dropped into follow-up texts and emails.
- Reply to every review, good or bad, in a calm and professional tone.
- Aim for a steady drip of genuine reviews, not a one-off burst.
Common mistake · Never asking, so your profile sits near empty for a year. Or, far worse, faking reviews, which breaches Google’s rules and destroys the trust that makes them worth having.
TimeOngoing, minutes per deal CostFree DifficultyEasyResource for this step
PDFReview request kit
The words to use at each milestone, a ready SMS and email, and a prompt for your one-tap review link.
What you’ll have after this stage
- A portal mix costed against your budget, not signed on impulse
- A verified, complete Google Business Profile
- Consistent name, address and phone across every listing
- A few local citations and links behind your area pages
- A habit of asking for genuine reviews at the right moments
Next · Stage 8 of 10
Win Your First Instructions
Keep going yourself — carry your momentum straight into the next stage.
Prefer we build it?
Hand this stage to us
Setting up local visibility and keeping it running is one of the things we do most. We can build out your Business Profile, the local SEO behind your area pages and a steady review flow, then look after them so valuation enquiries keep coming in. No inflated promises, just the groundwork done properly.