The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has confirmed that its warned OnTheMarket following an unnamed complaint about a ‘misleading’ claim by the portal that it had overtaken Zoopla’s website traffic, based on one month’s results.

Ads no longer running

The controversial claim originally appeared in a number of different adverts and marketing communications, but after being contacted by the ASA, OnTheMarket confirmed it had withdrawn all the communication and assured the regulator that future ads with similar claims would “prominently state the specific period for which the claim applies”.

As a result, the ASA has now closed the case informally without launching a full investigation, although you can still see an example of one of the adverts on the portal’s LinkedIn page (pictured).

The complaint comes after a very public spat between the two portals, with Zoopla’s CEO, Charlie Bryant, making a rare public statement criticising OnTheMarket’s traffic claims.

At the time, Bryant suggested that the rival portal’s traffic increase came from “low-quality display advertising” designed to ‘create a headline’ rather than engage serious property movers.

Figures highlight the month of September and do not accurately reflect the entirety of 2024.”

Zoopla also pointed out that OnTheMarket’s figures: “Highlight the month of September and do not accurately reflect the entirety of 2024”, and claimed that metrics showed people spending less time during each visit to OnTheMarket, with a higher bounce rate and lower page views per visit.

A spokesperson for OnTheMarket responded the ASA by saying its data was: “Based on the actual metrics provided by Google Analytics, which is the undisputed source of truth for web traffic.”

The Neg has approached OnTheMarket for additional comment.