Review your advert for each new season

You may resolve to get yourself into shape this New Year, but what about your online advert?

Now's the time to give your advert a facelift in preparation for the January holidaymaker rush. From perfecting your pictures to setting the scene, there's plenty that can be done.

Start the year the way you mean to go on: follow our top five tips and give your advert a new lease of life.

Price it right. Update your rental rates to cover dates through 2009. Without rates you won't appear in our budget search results. If you need a helping hand, take a look at our pricing advice page and the year's school holiday dates, to know when peak pricing should be applied.
Strike a pose. Holidaymakers rate photos highly - they form their only visual impression of their potential holiday home, so make sure any images do it justice.

Take new pictures every time you visit so you can refresh your advert and have a good selection to choose from. Use all the photo slots provided and include a mix of internal and external images.
First impressions. When reviewing your photos, pay particular attention to the first image on your advert. This appears on the search results' page and could be the difference between people clicking into your advert or passing over it.

Make sure it stands out from the crowd - have a look at what other people are using and go for something a little different, but keep it relevant.
Perfect prose. Use this opportunity to cast a critical eye over all the descriptions in your advert. If you mention anything that is no longer in the property, then take it out. Likewise, if you've added to your inventory or have a new unique selling point, then shout about it!

Remember, words such as 'luxury' and 'nice' are subjective and are best avoided.
Hit the spot. Want to get your advert seen 150,000 times in just six weeks? Think about investing in one of our Spotlight adverts.

Don't forget that for these to be as effective as possible, you need to take all the points above on board and make sure your advert is polished to perfection.

Checked all the points off? Give it one final look from a holidaymaker's perspective or ask someone who's never been there to cast their eye over it. Would you want to stay there? Keep on until the answer is a surefire 'yes'!