Rent.com.au Google maps optimisation workshop
Maps drive the real estate business
Australia’s largest rental dedicated website, Rent.com.au, allows users to search rentals in an area of their choice by focusing on budget and location-based criteria. The company adds additional value for tenants and landlords by offering services including rental checks, insurance and bond applications.
For a new renter, the first stage of finding a rental requires searching for a property based on ideal location and budget. Rent.com.au uses the Google Maps API to shows the user where properties are located that match their criteria.
With around 600,000 unique users every month and millions of sessions and map requests, Rent.com.au relies on the mapping element of their website to be optimised to its full potential.
Significant price increase causes shock
In June 2018, Google introduced a new model, which significantly changed the Google Maps licensing and billing structure. Rent.com.au received their bill and noticed that the cost had surged substantially.
“I was expecting a cost saving when Google reached out about our usage. Instead I got an email saying the bill would be about ten times what it used to be. I was in shock. Google said we were best to go to a Google Cloud Premier Partner to receive a discount and that is how I found Liveli”, said Adam Tohovitis, Head of Development at Rent.com.au.
Under the old Standard Plan model there was no reason to optimise code. When the usage was counted and charged under the new pricing model, it resulted in a large bill increase. In order to continue using Google Maps, they had to adapt to the change and get the billing under control.
“Liveli has proven that they can add value, if we want to do something more complex with maps we know we can consult them”
Adam tohovitis, head of development, rent.com.au
Eliminating unnecessary calls for maximum value
Liveli provided Rent.com.au with a Google Maps optimisation workshop where a developer examined the code and provided recommendations to Rent.com.au.
Liveli’s team knowledge of the Google Maps Platform terms of service and commercial model gives us a unique ability to bring usage down without affecting compliance or the user experience for clients.
Rent.com.au made the recommended changes while maintaining the user experience and without needing to make significant changes to the code. As a result, the costs associated with their Google Maps dropped by roughly 40 percent.
Focusing on renting houses, not data costs
The Google Maps optimisation workshop gave Rent.com.au the opportunity to cut their Google Maps Platform costs and make their code more efficient without requiring lots of man hours to get the job done.
“After working with Liveli, we can afford to continue to use Google Maps and we are able to do so by maintaining the user experience and making only minor changes to code,” said Adam.
Rent.com.au also benefits from the volume discounts and advice provided by Liveli as a Google Cloud Premier Partner. A central part of their user experience, the mapping component on Rent.com.au has the potential to evolve. Adam Tohovitis says that Rent.com.au would consult Liveli about online mapping advancements they might consider in future.
