Every agency knows the portals matter. Rightmove and Zoopla are still where most buyer and tenant searches start, and we’re not suggesting you come off them. But look at where the agencies pulling ahead in 2026 are putting their time and budget, and it isn’t more portal spend. It’s their own website, their own local search presence, and video, because a listing with a proper walkthrough is now generating 403% more enquiries than one with photos alone. Google’s Map Pack, not the portals, is deciding most “estate agents near me” searches. And the fastest-growing agencies are putting close to 12% of income into channels they actually own, against a market average nearer 6.8%.
The portals still matter. What’s changed is how much else needs to sit alongside them.
The portal habit is costing agencies leads
97% of UK homebuyers start their search online, and for years that was simple: get listed, get found, wait for the call. The trouble is a portal lead was never really yours. You don’t own the data behind it, you don’t own the relationship until someone actually enquires, and every month you’re paying more for the privilege of standing next to every other agent on the same street.
The agencies growing fastest have split their spend differently, putting roughly 11.9% of income into their own website, email list, local SEO and content, against that 6.8% market average. It sounds like a small percentage difference on a spreadsheet. In practice it’s the gap between a pipeline you control and one you’re renting a month at a time.
Video isn’t a nice-to-have anymore
This is the single clearest number in all the research: listings with a proper video walkthrough get 403% more enquiries than photo-only ones. Roughly four times, for the same property.
It doesn’t need to be an expensive production either. A steady, well-lit walkthrough with the agent actually talking through the property, rather than a silent pan set to music, does the job. And it earns its keep twice over, because the same clip works as a listing video, a Reel, and content for the agent’s own LinkedIn or Instagram.
Facebook still has the highest click-through rate for property ads at 12.45%, with Instagram Reels close behind at 10.4%. Worth a mention too: for anything commercial or higher-value, LinkedIn is generating 277% more leads than other channels for agencies working that end of the market.
Google, not just the portals, decides who gets the call
When someone searches for an estate agent near them, the Map Pack, the three local listings that show up with a map above the organic results, captures most of the clicks. Getting into it isn’t complicated, but it does have to be done properly:
- A fully completed Google Business Profile, every field filled in, not just the basics
- Weekly posts with consistent, real photos rather than stock imagery
- Name, address and phone number matching exactly across the website, the portals, and any directory listing
- LocalBusiness schema on the website, so Google and the newer AI search tools can read who you are and where you cover without guessing
It’s the same groundwork that makes any local business easier to find, and it compounds over time. An agency that sorted this six months ago has a real head start on one starting now.
What to actually post
A split that holds up across the data: roughly 40% property showcases, 40% educational or market content, 20% social proof.
| Content type | Share | What it looks like |
| Property showcases | 40% | Video walkthroughs, new instructions, price changes |
| Educational | 40% | Local market updates, “what’s changing” explainers, first-time buyer guides |
| Social proof | 20% | Sold boards, client thank-yous, milestones, team wins |
The educational third is the one most agencies skip, and it’s doing the most work for search. A listing has a shelf life of a few weeks at best. A useful post on stamp duty changes or local price trends is still earning traffic a year later.
New rules mean new content jobs
2026 has brought genuine change to the sector, and it’s shifting what “good marketing” even looks like. The Renters’ Rights Act has added compliance requirements that most clients don’t understand and don’t especially want to. An agency that explains those changes clearly, without being asked, is doing marketing and building trust in the same move.
The wider shift in the sector is heading the same way. Agents are being pushed to act less like listers and more like consultants, guiding people through a transaction that’s more complex and more regulated than it used to be, while AI tools quietly take over more of the admin behind the scenes. Speed and how clearly you communicate are turning into the real differentiator between one agency and the next, more than which board is biggest outside the most houses.
The bottom line for 2026
Volume isn’t really the goal anymore. The agencies doing well are chasing value per instruction, better fall-through rates, stronger margins, not just a bigger number of leads coming in. Marketing built for that looks less like “as many enquiries as possible” and more like getting the right ones, and keeping them once they’ve enquired.
Practically, that’s a website and a local presence that actually work, video that shows the property honestly, and content that answers the questions people are already typing into Google before they ever pick up the phone.
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FAQs
How much should an estate agency spend on marketing in 2026? There’s no fixed rule, but agencies pulling ahead are putting close to 12% of income into owned marketing (website, content, local SEO), roughly double the market average of 6.8%.
Do estate agents still need Rightmove and Zoopla? Yes, they still capture most of the volume of buyer and tenant searches. What’s changing for 2026 is building owned channels alongside them, so leads and data don’t sit entirely with a third party charging rising fees.
What’s the single highest-ROI change an agency can make this year? Video. Listings with a proper walkthrough are generating 403% more enquiries than photo-only ones, and it’s one of the cheapest changes on this list to make.
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