Name of your website?SPANISH PROPERTY PAGES
Your name?
Sue Davenport
Your Location (city, etc)
Alicante
Please give us a short summary of your website?
Spanish Property Pages provides a directory of properties for sale and to rent in mainland Spain and its islands. If they wish, the advertisers own contact details are shown on the web so they can be contacted directly and so give any interested parties the truly personal response, after all they know the property better than anyone else. We only charge the advertising fee and no commission. The advertiser does not pay for the advert until he is happy with the proposed layout.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
We moved to Spain in Feb 2000 and learnt the hard way how difficult it is to find the Right Place. Now that we are a little more wiser, and a lot more older, we hoped to pass on some of our experiences, good and bad, to help others.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
Sapnish Property Pages is my first and only website.
How did you decide on a name for your website?
I think that for a website dedicated to Spanish property for sale or to rent "Spanish Property Pages" says it all
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
My website was not created solely to make me rich. I maintain close and personal contact with my advertisers. The advertiser does not pay for the advert until he is happy with the layout of his ad. To sell something you must understand and love the product. I live in and love Spain so selling property here will, I hope pass this on.
What is your eventual goal? (To sell it, keep it for income, secure a book or other mainstream media deal?)
I have not considered a long term goal, until this question. As long as I can sit at a computer I would like to keep it going but if in the future I could sell it to make my retirement more comfortable then I would seriously consider this.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
How do we measure success? I do not spend hours working on my website but am happy when I do. I am happy when a new advertiser signs up and when someone sells their property and moves onto their next Life Adventure. I could work longer hours and so earn more income but money is not the beginning and end of Spanish Property Pages. So I guess if I wanted my success to be greater in terms of income I would spend longer on the website.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would you change your site?
I would pay someone to get it to No. 1 on all the search engines.
If your site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Not without employing more staff
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
Personal illness. Staff bringing personal problems to work
What has been your biggest challenge?
Getting the first advertisers to sign up. After all, who wants to be the first to pay to go on a brand new, empty website?
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Newspaper advertising
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
People get so personal when selling their property that you end up learning about themselves, the property and even their families. I thought that by doing this over the net things would be more formal. I was pleasantly surprised to find this is not so.
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don't enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Almost 6 years. Until I no longer enjoy it.
Would you start Spanish Property Pages again, if you knew now what you knew 6 years ago
Definitely. I have created a business that has brought in an income and through which I have made new friends
What is your website address?
SPANISH PROPERTY PAGES
