Russian Property Portals - History and the Future

Winston Churchill's comment way back in 1939 that "Russia is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma" remains true today. Whilst many destinations around the world report growing property sales to Russian investors the path to successful sales in Russia remains rocky and full of contradictions.

This is true when considering Russian property portals. Many offer great statistics but what results do they provide? Other International portals claim to also cover Russia through auto translations, but what complications can be encountered on this route?

Internet penetration is now massive at 61.5 million and is in second place in Europe to Germany with 67.4 million. With so many users in the population, the internet is a major marketing and promotional tool.

So how to choose your partner? Firstly Russians speak Russian! Statistics prove that more than 89% prefer to research and search in their native tongue, Russian! Multi-lingual portals providing auto-translations should only be used at your peril. Some translations are ludicrous where others can even be offensive!

Leading portals in Russia rely on manual translations as the only way to accurately describe the properties advertised. Generally there is no charge for this and the result is a well translated and informative description.

To interpret the claims of some portals requires a degree in rocket science with claims and counter-claims promising ludicrous numbers of hits/views to the substantial numbers of listings.

In choosing your Russian portal partner look for transparency and moderated claims. Russians do like choice but having to wade through vast numbers of similar offers, many of which are out-dated, tends to have a negative impact. Look for portals with a targeted, quality audience to a limited number of current, 'live' offers.

Also look for active marketing. Does the portal of your choice apply cross-marketing with printed media and promotions at Property Exhibitions in Russia? Just having an internet presence is no longer sufficient as integrated marketing and promotions ensure continuous coverage to the target audience.

The costs do vary. Pay by click is not prevalent in Russia to date with most portals offering fixed prices per object for certain periods of time.

Russia remains wrapped in mystery but as the numbers of Russian buyers increases around the world, clever marketing will provide substantial results.

About the Author:

Olesya Zubova is one of the leading specialists in the Russian overseas property portal field with 6 years experience in building 1-Property.ru to it's position as the leader on the market. With in excess of 5,000 targeted visitors per day 1-property.ru offers integrated packages with print media and exhibition attendance to ensure high results. Olesya can be contacted through the 1-property website
www.1-Property.ru