Zoopla Search Optimisation

Behavioural analysis showed:

70% of users who click Filters or Sort By, and 78% who click Map View, reach a listing detail page.

Only 11% of all Call/Email clicks happen on the SRP; the vast majority occur on listing detail pages, suggesting SRP shortcuts are underused.

1 in 6 mobile users exit immediately after opening the search bar, and 16.8% of those users leave the site without viewing another page.

In parallel, long‑term analytics revealed that users who perform more searches and use more filters are significantly more likely to send a lead, making refinement an important value lever for the business.

1. ​Landing and journey behaviour

• The For Sale SRP is the most common landing page on both mobile and desktop.
• Around 70% of mobile and 58% of desktop users who view SRPs land on them directly, or arrive via a listing detail page and navigate back.
• Journeys for To Rent and For Sale are structurally similar, but renters are more likely to refine searches and to convert once on listing details.

2. ​Interaction with core SRP controls

• 14% of users click Filters, and 6% click Sort By; both features strongly correlate with reaching an LDP and later conversion.
• The search bar has high click‑through, but for mobile users, it is a drop‑off point; 16.8% exit after using it, versus 2.7% on desktop.
• Search radius changes are among the most popular refinements on both devices, reflecting how people naturally widen their area to find options.

3. Map view behaviour

• On mobile map view, 20% of users exit after their first glance at the map, and another 24% immediately switch back to list view.
• Almost half of mobile exits from map view occur within five seconds, indicating first‑impression issues.
• Users who exit map view actually engage more with the map, dragging 42% more and pinching more, but click fewer listings, indicating usability friction.

4. New Homes and secondary features

• The “New homes only” toggle has a 0.5% click rate, around 30 times lower than the main Filters entry point.
• 15% of users who click 'New Homes' immediately then click “All listings” to dismiss it, and some click “All listings” multiple times, indicating confusion.
• Travel time search and Draw your search have very low click and hover rates on For Sale SRPs, and Travel time converts poorly compared to other options.

5. Save search and account creation

• Create/Save Search is most effective at prompting users to Call/Email, but only 7% of those who click it log in or sign up.
• 90% of users who see the pop‑up exit without interacting with the form, indicating significant friction due to perceived effort.
• Signed-in users are approximately twice as likely to convert on most elements compared to non‑signed-in users, making registration a crucial business lever.

6. Search volume and conversion over time

• Consumers searching For Sale perform an average of 3.3 searches, but those who send a lead perform 6.1 searches.
• People who visit 10 For Sale SRPs are four times more likely to send a lead than those who only view one, highlighting the value of encouraging iterative refinement.

7. Filters as an intent signal

• On For Sale pages, users typically apply an average of 1.3 filters; those who generate a lead use 2.3 filters.
• Consumers who apply up to 5 filters are 3.8 times more likely to send a lead than those who apply none.
• Most filters have a long tail of low usage, but some, like garden and parking, are frequently used and have strong conversion, whereas others, such as balcony, fireplace, rural, porter, and wood floors, see very low adoption and may be removed.

8. High‑value, underused filters

• For Sale “Help to Buy” buyers show the highest likelihood of sending a lead, but the filter is not often used, indicating discoverability issues.
• Retirement home, shared ownership, and auction filters, when used, are strongly associated with a higher conversion rate.
• To rent, the most important filters include furnished condition, bills included, and rental duration, which are commonly used by more experienced searchers.

9. Price and bedroom filter behaviour

• For Sale: users are more likely to set a maximum price and minimum bedrooms than the opposite, and those only using a minimum price filter perform as poorly as users with no price filter, indicating “dream browsing”.
• Users who set only a maximum price are 21% more likely to send a lead than those who also set a minimum and maximum.
• Setting minimum and maximum bedroom counts for both For Sale and To Rent listings is a strong indicator of conversion likelihood.

10. Radius and multi‑search behaviour

• As users perform more searches, search radius and max price become increasingly important in converting sessions, indicating users develop market understanding as they iterate.
• More than half of searches that lead to results use the radius filter, supporting the idea of making it a main search control rather than a hidden “advanced” feature.

11. What buyers look for

• Among new homes, detached houses are the most searched property type, and off-road parking is the most sought-after feature.
• Bungalows are the second most searched‑for type, likely driven by downsizers and older buyers seeking single‑storey living.
• Outside London, Help to Buy is present but modest in share; in London, around a fifth of keyword searchers look for Help to Buy, even after a drift down from 2019.

1. Unified layout and hierarchy

• Simplified the SRP header so that core search inputs (location, radius, price, bedrooms, property type) are immediately visible and scannable, reducing the need to dive into buried filters.
• Repositioned Save Search / Create alert into a more central, visible area near the primary search controls, reflecting their strong conversion impact.

2. Filters and high‑value options

• Promoted search radius and maximum price into primary controls, reflecting their high correlation with conversion.
• Rationalised the long tail of low‑usage filters, recommending deprioritisation or removal of features like balcony/terrace, rural, fireplace, wood floors, porter, and Include Sold (For Sale) while planning alternative ways to express user “preferences” without excluding inventory.
• Surfaced high‑intent niche filters (Help to Buy, retirement home, shared ownership, auction, furnished state, bills included, rental term) in more discoverable clusters for relevant channels.

3. New Homes and segmentation

• Proposed moving “New homes only” into the Filters panel as a clearly labelled checkbox, rather than giving it top‑level toggle status that confuses users and consumes space.
• Aligned copy and behaviour with research on user confusion between “new homes” and “newly listed homes”, clarifying expectations.

4. Map view redesign

• Set a more zoomed‑in default based on typical search areas, so users see recognisable streets and a manageable number of pins immediately.
• Added clearer zoom‑in/out controls on mobile, matching desktop patterns and improving accessibility.
• Introduced a visible “Reset view” to recover from being “lost on the map”, directly addressing the behaviour of highly interactive users who drag and pinch themselves out of context.

5. “Outside radius” results and empty states

• When a user scrolls through all matching listings, the page now communicates that there are no more properties in that exact area and then offers nearby properties just outside the radius with clear messaging.
• This supports exploration and reduces bounce for users who would otherwise leave after reaching the end of the list.

6. Save search & sign‑up journey

• Shortened and visually compressed the sign‑up form, bringing the primary CTA above the fold and defaulting to the Register view for new users.
• Reduced optional explanatory text and visually de‑emphasised secondary elements (e.g., long “public device” copy) to make the task look quicker and more approachable.

7. Platform and system alignment

Partnered with engineering and stakeholders to align on a React‑based SRP across web and app, streamlining implementation and making future experiments faster to ship and maintain consistently.

Map view zoom and controls

By default, a more zoomed‑in map and clearer zoom controls reduce exits and increase listing pin taps. Users who exited on the first map view were now more engaged, with improved call and email lead rates to 2.1% on For Sale SRPs.

Unified save search sign-up flow

A shorter, unified, and passwordless save search sign-up form with a prominent CTA increased registration completion rates and boosted call and email lead conversions to 8.76 for Sale SRPs.

Each experiment was monitored for changes in: SRP bounce rate, SRP→LDP reach, Calls/Emails per SRP session, filter usage per converting session, and signed‑in conversion rates.