As a UK estate agent, you’d probably agree that property portals like Rightmove and Zoopla are crucial to your business.

The go-to property search option for most prospective buyers and renters, they certainly deliver on boosting visibility, generating vendor enquiries and helping to close deals.

But there’s a downside that agents are only starting to recognise – that becoming dependent on the portal model comes with risks.

What is portal dependency?

Portals are an incredibly effective tool, but they come with one big drawback. As a user you don’t own the pipeline – meaning you have no control of the platform or the traffic being generated by your properties. It’s a bit like a leasehold property owner; you are operating on rented ground.

Becoming too reliant on Rightmove etc, at the expense of your own website, means that fee rises that may make the portals unsustainable could leave you without a reliable source of new leads to generate business.

The cost problem

This is already an issue for many agents, who are finding that business growth is linked to how much they are willing to spend on the property portals.

Portal fees have been rising for years, with no sign of that slowing down.”

It’s a problem that isn’t going away – portal fees have been rising for years, with no sign of that slowing down.

It comes at a time of increased competition for instructions with fewer properties coming to the market in some areas. More agents are chasing the same sellers, putting margins under pressure.

For many agents the answer is to increase their spend on the portals in exchange for greater visibility. This may bring more enquiries, but it pushes up costs across the industry and is unsustainable, long-term.

As reported by the BBC, cost is such an issue for some agents that they have accused Rightmove of charging ‘unsustainable fees’ and are mounting a class legal action against the portal.

Visibility vs control  

While portals give agents visibility, this is at the expense of control – the ability to generate your own valuation leads through your website, other digital channels and your reputation as a recognisable local brand.

Your website is probably your most crucial tool in driving lead generation. Yet many agencies view theirs as little more than a digital brochure – a place for property listings and contact information.

The best-performing agencies treat their websites very differently. They build them from the ground up, based on intention and purpose to actively grow the business.

They use their sites to capture valuation leads, through carefully placed and worded calls to action. In addition, they look to attract landlords and sellers, by offering valuable content in return for email sign-ups. And they will ensure their site is property optimised for local searches.

How agents are building their own pipelines

1. Targeting high-intent search (SEO and GEO) 

Alongside the portals, agents are controlling the pipeline by ensuring they have a steady supply of customers coming direct to their site from Google or generative AI search.

This means ensuring your site is optimised for local high-intent search – vendors or landlords specifically looking in your patch by searching: “estate agent in …”  or “letting agent for landlords in …” etc.

These are people already looking to instruct an agency, but who haven’t chosen yet. They are a much more enticing prospect than customers who put out a random call to multiple agencies via a portal.

2. Creating landlord-focused or seller-focused content 

Life for a landlord can be a minefield of changing legislation, not to mention ups and downs in the market. Agents are well placed to step in and become a source of knowledge – yet most underinvest here.

By creating useful, localised content that is up-to-date and relevant, agents can build trust, stay visible and capture landlord and vendor enquiries before competitors even know they exist.

3. Optimising for conversions (not just traffic)  

Lots of traffic to your website is gratifying, but it isn’t enough if it doesn’t result in new instructions. The best performing estate agency sites focus on their calls to action and make them clear and unambiguous – ‘book a valuation’, for example.

They make sure their instant valuation tools are visible too – and that they are done properly. They big-up those signals of trust such as reviews, testimonials and case studies. And they ensure their site’s design is mobile-first because that is where the majority of searches start.

4. Owning the audience 

Agents who are thinking long term are seeking to build an audience rather than relying entirely on third parties. They are doing this using remarketing techniques and by building their email lists and connecting with people in meaningful ways. This involves creating touchpoint – so when someone is ready to sell or let their property with a new agent, they know who to call.

Making the shift: from rented leads to owned leads  

We’re not suggesting anyone replaces the portals – they are still absolutely critical channels.

Agents are shifting from 100% reliance on these rented pipelines.”

But, as we’ve tried to illustrate, the smartest agents are shifting from 100% reliance on these rented pipelines by mixing and matching with their owned channels.

Rightmove will continue to play a huge role in the industry. But relying on it alone is like building your business on land you don’t own.

We predict that the agencies who rise to the top in the coming three to five years won’t be the ones with the biggest portal spend alone. They’ll be the ones who build strong local digital visibility and invest in their own platforms, turning their website into lead-generation assets.

Because when you own your pipeline, you’re not just competing – you’re controlling the game.

Got a question? Need help with your website or marketing? Visit www.artdivision.co.uk