We often receive queries into the team about Location Handling, where a property isn't showing a search term/region. This article goes through troubleshooting steps if we need to add/update a region.


If an address needs updating, this will sit with Customer Care and you can refer to this article- https://rightmove.freshdesk.com/a/solutions/articles/7000063758?portalId=7000000318

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS


How do we create our Regions?


Our search terms are based on region shapes and in order to appear in a search term the postcode for the branch would need to be included in the region shape. In order to ensure the best user experience, we try to keep our regions as a direct representation of the region (i.e. the village, town, city, county etc.) itself.

Often the address for postcodes in villages or small towns will include the name of the nearest post town, which is nearest large town to the postcode. This does not necessarily mean to that postcode is actually within that town and we wouldn’t add a postcode to a region based on its post town.


How do we order our Regions on the search bar?

Next to each region in our database there is a priority level, a number which was calculated a few years back based on the number of searches performed on that region, and it determines which order the search results appear in the typeahead. The priority level is based on popularity i.e. the number of searches performed monthly on the region, so those which appear in the most searches will appear as the first region.


Amending Regions

There are a few reasons why a property may not appear when searching a village/town/city. Some addresses will include a Post Town (shows in capital letters on Royal Mail), this doesn't necessarily mean that the property is located in that Town, so we wouldn't amend a region base don this. 


If the property is plotted correctly on map view then it may be falling outside of the current boundaries we set. If the property should be showing in a certain search, then the boundaries can be amended as per the below:

  1. Go to Atlas >Locations Mods > Region > Edit Region
  2. Enter the Region that needs amending
  3. Enter the property postcode in the field on the right and select 'Plot Postcode'
  4. If the property should be included in that search then move the boundary pins to cover that property/street. When amending please ensure you aren't just dragging one point. Please ensure changes follow boundaries and do not cut through houses or streets.
  5. Click 'View Impact' 
  6. On the next page, if you are happy with the new boundary lines select 'Apply Change'. Once selected the property will show within the search within 24 hours on Rightmove. 


An agent may question whether a property can be relisted as new because it's gone out in the wrong alerts due to it's location. In this situation, you can check which alerts a property went out in vs it's pin location here:


https://siteadmin.rightmove.co.uk/atlas/reports/queries?query=Get%20Postcode%20-%20from%20DB%20Utils&page=0


What Is PAF?

Property Address Finder (PAF) is data we receive from the Royal Mail for addresses. This is updated to our systems on a monthly basis. When PAF runs the Location Mods tools within Atlas will be locked, so addresses can not be added or regions amended during this time.


Amending Postcode Coordinates

If you are made aware the pin marker for a property is in the wrong location

  • Use https://gridreferencefinder.com/ to find co-ordinates
  • Select the location of the property on the map to show the ‘Grid Reference’ information.
  • RM+ and Datafeeds use X(Easting) and Y(Northing) to determine the location.


Agents who use a datafeed (i.e Vebra, Reapit) – provide the easting and northing coordinates so this can be updated via their feed provider.

RM+ users can update this manually by 

  1. Locate the property in ‘Property List’
  2. Selecting the address of the property
  3. Select Details
  4. Update the Latitude and Longitude under ‘Set Property Location’
  5. Save and Continue
  6. Save


Updating or correcting Trains or Airport information

 

If we are informed that the nearest station on the property advertisement is showing incorrectly or it is not the nearest train station to the property, we can now correct this with the help of the support analysts.

The support analysts now have a tool, which allows them to remove or to correct the train station. 

 

**As the crow flies from the centre point of the postcode**
 

Raise to the Support Analysis via FreshService – providing information and relevant screenshots on the changes required


Creating a new Region

  • Identify the new search’s name and location, and boundary.
  • In Atlas, go to Location Mods -> Region -> Create New Region and enter its Name, Region Hierarchy, and Centre Postcode
  • Region Hierarchy would include the new search’s Name, and the region it’s in. For example if creating Milton Keynes, its hierarchy would be Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, which displays in the type ahead in searches on RM. If there are any errors/typos in creating these, SAs will be able to update this.
  • A postcode can be identified by plotting a point in UK Grid in a central location, which should generate a postcode example.
  • It will take up to 24 hours for the new search to display on site.
  • Raise a ticket in Freshdesk with Commercial Finance Team (CFT), advising the new region name and ID, and request they track searches and apply a price value to search based products.


Sometimes, Royal Mail will remove searches and these will be deleted on Rightmove. Regions can be undeleted:

  • In Atlas, go to Location Mods -> Region -> Change Region Status and enter the Region ID. Select Proceed to update its status from UNSEARCHABLE to SEARCHABLE.

Duplicate regions

If there is a duplicate region area, such as Goring and Goring-by-Sea, then we need to raise with Rev Ops to check if there are any products against the incorrect region before we look at removing it. If there aren't any products against the region, we can make it unsearchable. We will need to research into which Region is correct and give this as evidence before we remove any region. 


What is a Civil Parish or Ward?

Civil Parish: In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. A civil parish can range in size from a sparsely populated rural area with fewer than a hundred inhabitants, to a large town with a population in the tens of thousands. Typically a civil parish consists and is named after a main town or village, and surrounding villages.


Ward: A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes.