Whathouse.co.uk – the portal for the best new homes in Britain
The UK’s longest established new home brand What House? is relaunching its consumer facing portal www.whathouse.co.uk, featuring new homes listings and editorial content, covering all aspects of the property market.
A test site has been running for seven months, with key word research, pay-per-click campaigns and an SEO consultancy used to ensure the site’s performance through organic non-paid traffic. Focus groups have also been held to ensure the functionality works correctly, easily and efficiently and that the design and content of the site and the user experience are of the highest quality.
Enhanced features, such as video content, will also add value and interest to the customer journey.
In terms of advertisers, with meetings taking place with leading housebuilders, housing associations and estate agencies, each client account allows for content to be uploaded simply and delivers a comprehensive tracking system for click-throughs, page impressions, brochure downloads and enquiries to be easily monitored.
The new site has been developed under the project management of Globespan Media director Daniel Hill. Globespan Media owns www.whathouse.co.uk and also runs the What House? Awards, the most prestigious event in housebuilding, showcasing the best new homes in Britain. Globespan Media publishes Show House, one of the most popular trade magazines in the new homes sector.
“This is the right time to re-launch the product. We recently carried out an MBO of the business and after a full review of all our products felt that this brand needed to be more than the highly successful Awards ceremony once a year. With the position the brand holds in the market, we wanted to continue the heritage of What House? and its commitment to and support for the new homes industry. We believe that a portal, updated daily and offering consumers the ability to view new homes nationwide, along with expert specialist advice and up-to-date editorial is what the homebuyer is crying out for,” said Hill.
“The market place is extremely competitive, but having looked at each one, we found that consumers are faced with such a diverse range of products within each search that they cannot often find what they are looking for. The internet consumer is now well-informed and unforgiving. We have a simple offer to the consumer, backed by unrivalled editorial. If you want to view a new home in your chosen area, come to What House?” added Hill.
The site will also feature affordable homes from developers and housing associations, explaining the various schemes on offer and eligibility criteria.
Daily new homes news, with features and interviews with key players in the housebuilding industry, will be uploaded by specialist property journalists with many years experience in the market, led by Globespan Media editorial director Rupert Bates.
All content and advertisements on www.whathouse.co.uk will be duplicated on affiliate site www.tailoredhome.net for no extra charge to the advertiser.
“Tailored Home sponsored the What House? Awards in 2009 and are supporting us this year, both in terms of award sponsorship and Show House advertising. They are keen to be as aggressive as us to help housebuilders sell new homes. If the advertiser is paying one price for two audiences there is twice the opportunity for the development or banner to be clicked on,” said Hill.
During the seven months of testing, the content on Whathouse.co.uk attracted around 50,000 visits a month. The aim is to exceed 100,000 per month and this will be achieved through strategic PPC, SEO, PR, social media and natural listings, as well as advertising campaigns.
“50 percent of our revenue for 2010 will be re-invested into the site. To achieve more qualified visits, we have commissioned industry specialists to build the site so that it is SEO friendly, functional and user friendly. A top class SEO consultancy is on board and with the pedigree of our editorial team and contacts, led by Rupert Bates, we feel we are perfectly positioned to make the site grow. What House? has a heritage dating back 100 years. The term What? holds enormous value in the eyes of both consumer and trade,” said Hill.
To advertise or receive more information on whathouse.co.uk please contact Laura Thompson on 0207 324 8000 or ljt@globespanmedia.com
Whathouse.co.uk to sponsor Scottish Home Awards
Whathouse.co.uk has announced a two-year sponsorship deal with the Scottish Home Awards to extend the promotion of the What House? brand into Scotland and drive more Scottish new homebuyers to the website.
“What House? already has the premier awards in UK housebuilding the What House? Awards and is delighted to sponsor the Scottish Home Awards and help promote outstanding developments being built in Scotland,” said Rupert Bates, editorial director of Globespan Media.
“We have always enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Scottish builders; many of whom have won What House? Awards over the years. We feel supporting such a prestigious event as the Scottish Home Awards will raise our profile in Scotland still further and we wish all entries the very best of luck,” added Bates.
The Scottish Home Awards were founded in 2007 to recognise excellence in the Scottish housebuilding industry. The entry deadline is April 1, with the awards ceremony taking place in June. www.scottishhomeawards.com.
Kirsten Speirs, Director of KDMedia, which operates the Scottish Home Awards, said: “This is further evidence that the Scottish Home Awards is the most prestigious property event north of the border. We are delighted to have What House? on board and look forward to celebrating with them at the event in June.”
To find out more about listing new homes on www.whathouse.co.uk or to register interest in entering the 2010 What House? Awards please contact Laura Thompson. 020-7324-2800. Email: ljt@globespanmedia.com.
.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.rupertbates.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png "whathouse.co.uk to relaunch"){kind=icon}
