How to optimise your student property listings

As the booking season for student accommodation is now in full swing, optimising your listings can help you enhance the visibility of your properties and get your beds filled faster. 

How to improve your listing score

When you list with StuRents, the order in which properties are shown in our search results relies heavily on your assigned listing score. Your listing score is based on four key factors:

• Basic information
• Facilities
• Photos
• Certifications 

You can improve your score by spending just a little time optimising each of these areas. Less than half an hour of your time could result in far greater visibility for your properties. Read on to find out simple listing strategies that could yield impressive results. 

Basic information

Each of your listings needs to include essential, high-level information, including the address, a description of the property, and when the property is available. Make sure to clearly state the location, number of beds, and rent price too.

When it comes to the description, don't be afraid to really sell your property. This is your chance to show off everything that sets your property apart. Have a think about what students want. Is your property close to a university campus? Does the area have good transport links or a vibrant nightlife? Is the location safe and student-friendly? Include all of these things in your description. After all, the devil's in the detail.

Facilities

When searching on StuRents.com, tenants are able to filter their property search by the facilities that are important to them. You should highlight any key facilities your property offers on your listing. This could include central heating, air conditioning, bike storage, parking spaces, double beds, outdoor space, and much more. Try to add at least five facilities, so students can filter their search down based on what's really important to them.

Photos 

A picture is worth a thousand words. Show off the spaces your tenants will have access to with at least four high-quality photos. Make sure the areas are well-lit and you are using a wide-angle frame, so your prospective tenants can really get a sense of the property. It also helps to stage the room nicely, so try and include bright, eye-catching colours where possible. The photos you include will be the biggest seller of your property, so invest some time into getting them right.

If you can, it's a good idea to embed a virtual tour or 360 degree video of your property into your listing too. This provides a much clearer sense of the layout of the property and offers a first-hand feel of the space. Floorplans are also useful, but they just can't compete with the clarity and personal touch that a video offers.

Certifications

You should include any key certifications your property has on the listing, including your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) reference number. This will help tenants understand how energy-efficient the property will be. 

Additional tips 

Of course, these aren't the only ways to improve your property listings. There are several other ways to enhance your visibility and streamline the booking flow. 

Carry out additional verifications

On StuRents, you can improve your listing score further by providing additional information and undergoing further verifications. This is as easy as inputting your phone number and website address to our site.

Integrate a viewings calendar 

You want to make it as easy as possible for students to view and book your properties. StuRents allows you to integrate a viewings calendar into your listings. Prospective tenants can book viewing appointments directly from the property listing at a time convenient for all parties. Eliminate the hassle of back-and-forth communications and jump straight to the viewing.

Utilise Channel Manager 

It can feel like an administrative burden to input the same details over and over again to different channels. With our Channel Manager feature, you only need to input your property information once: into StuRents. We can then feed your property listings to 40+ 3rd-party platforms, including your own website and well-known property sites, like Rightmove, Zoopla, and On The Market.

Is your property listing optimised this marketing season?

Students are searching for accommodation now, so there's never been a better time to invest time into improving your listings. These simple steps take just a few minutes, and could make a big difference to your bookings.

Want even greater visibility? Upgrade your StuRents Marketing plan to Pro or Business today.