As competitor products reach a point of maturity, IOL, a division of the Independent Group, looked at ways to enter the online property market and create an integrated on and offline relationship with the partners that already exist in print.
“IOL's recent creation of SA's online classified website was the first in the series of new commercial products and with the launch of IOL property, we wanted to ensure that when we did launch we would have a site that was the largest and most comprehensive site in SA. It was also vital to IOL to ensure that we have a site that was easy to use and offered what the consumers were looking for”, continues Brown.
IOL has teamed up with estate agents and independent newspapers to bring to the market the largest and most diverse selection of properties in South Africa and at launch, have over 130 000 properties online; making it SA's largest in terms of volume and selection. In addition, sellers are able to list their properties privately and illustrate their advertisements with five colour photographs which will appear the same day that they are posted all through an innovative e-commerce engine which means that rates are extremely attractive.
IOL's strategy to launch Property, first as a channel in classifieds, then into a standalone website, has ensured that traffic is there from the outset.
