ADVERTISING AND SEARCHING FOR PROPERTY

By Graham Parker

Shopproperty.co.uk is the only open-acess retail-specific search engine for the listing of available shop units across the UK. At any time, it features fully updated letting details of more than 2,000 shop units and is used by most of the UK's main retail agencies as their principal Web-based marketing tool. The search engine is widely used by the retail industry and is particularly popular with independent and medium-sized retailers.

Shopproperty works closely with Goad and is the only open-access website with Goad street-trader plans for every shop listed. Typically more than 10,000 propery searches are carried out each week, with agents able to track the level of activity for each listed shop unit. More than 10,000 visitors have used shopproperty in the past three months and retail agents are finding the website generates impressive results - often mote than 150 vistors to each property. The search engine has recently been revamped and now features a new showcase for shopping centres. On Google-style seach engines, mall owners can ensure their centre is always returned first on any town search and the centre is given its own Web page to provide full details, links to its own Web site, centre layouts, etc. Many of the leading shopping centre owners use the facility to showcase their centres, including the Mall, Land Securities, Scottish Widows and Prudential.

Shopproperty is a free access website owned by the Propex Group, known mainly for the Propex and PrimePitch electronic exchange used by investment brokers.