The Q4 2025 benchmarking report for UK second hand mobile phone resellers has just been published. Learn how the top 12 resellers perform across the digital space.
The latest Q4 2025 benchmarking report for UK second hand mobile and technology resellers has just been published. It covers the largest 12 resellers' websites in the UK, including Mazuma Mobile, musicMagpie, Tech Market, Mobiles.co.uk, Back Market, The iOutlet, Envirofone, Handtec, 4Gadgets, The Big Phone Store, Smart Cellular, and MTR Group.
The research gives an inside track on who is winning the biggest share of voice online, and quantifies the gaps, risks and missed opportunities for other second hand mobile phone resellers to win brand exposure, drive traffic online, and increase both orders and the acquistion of new stock. The report highlights quick wins that will improve enquiries from your online strategy and identifies the barriers that may be reducing your site’s ability to optimise digital performance.
To see a preview and contents page of the Q4 report, click here. To get a copy of the full report and the key takeaways, please complete the enquiry form or schedule a call.
Q4 2025 winners leader board
For a glance into just 6 of the metrics we evaluated these top 12 second hand mobile phone resellers on, check out our quick-look table below;
Continue reading for further detail on this quarter's best and poorest-performing UK second hand mobile phone resellers or request a copy of the report for the full review.
What The Industry Research Report Covers
The 70+ pages of research benchmarks each retailer based on 50+ metrics and indicators of successful digital strategy, including organic visibility, domain authority, paid media ads, conversion performance, technical performance, site speed, universal search, content, social ads, accessibility, and mobile performance.
Driving Optimal ROAS from Paid Media Channels
Some of the leading players in the space are high spenders on paid media channels such as Google, Bing & Facebook - but have a poor or sub-optimal conversion improvement strategy. Without an optimised, sophisticated conversion strategy that maximises the conversion rate, the return on investment is unsustainable or will under-perform. Scaling spend on paid media is not achievable unless the conversion rate delivers optimal performance in the sector. Some in the space have paid media spend levels from 30k+ per month but dedicate minimal resources and budgets to conversion testing. Given the cost per clicks on ad networks will continue to rise, we recommend spending at least 10% of your paid media budget on ongoing conversion optimisation testing schedules to ensure your paid media ROI maintains long term viability, competitive advantage, and sustainability.
Pay-Per-Click Marketing
Pay-Per-Click marketing is constantly evolving, with more and more advertisers being forced to hand over a lot of control to Google's algorithms as the push for automation grows ever stronger. There are still key elements of control that we have though, the main one of these being budget which is ultimately something the algorithms can't take from you. That's why being smart with your budget and ad coverage is essential to achieving strong results and bettering what your competitors have to offer.
For Q4 2025, the average monthly budget wastage across these UK second hand mobile phone resellers was £14,484, with some of the top players in the market spending a considerable amount on areas and audiences unlikely to deliver a return. We can see this in more detail when looking at the average monthly cost per cost-per-click (CPC) amongst advertisers, with the average of this metric being £3 . This highlights how competitive the market is and how important it is to control your budgets effectively.
There are varying monthly ad budgets across the competitors in the report. While this gap highlights the competitive advantage that larger budgets can provide, it's not just about spending more; it’s about spending smarter. By focusing on driving efficiency in campaign management, targeting, and budget allocation, businesses with smaller budgets can still effectively compete with larger players. Investing in data-driven strategies and refining ad performance can help close the gap and maximise the return on every pound spent, enabling growth even in a competitive landscape. Relative to their spend, both Envirofone and The iOutlet reported the lowest monthly cost-per-click (CPC) at £1, and musicMagpie has the highest at £14.
The report highlights the importance of budget efficiency by comparing monthly ad spend with estimated CPC in relation to your competitors, see who has the highest and lowest CPC. To maximise the effectiveness of your budget, it’s essential to focus on driving CPC down while maintaining or improving campaign performance. In this report, Tech Market has the lowest estimate monthly ad spend at £157, and Mobiles.co.uk has the highest at £751,000.
By optimising targeting, refining ad copy, and leveraging data to identify high-converting opportunities, you can ensure every click delivers maximum value. This approach not only stretches your budget further but also boosts your return on ad spend (ROAS), enabling you to achieve stronger results without simply increasing expenditure.
Technical Website Compliance
Savvy digital marketers know that having a technically sound website is an essential component of a successful fully integrated digital strategy - plus a site capable of maximising conversion performance. Second hand mobile and technology resellers will want to ensure customers can find information on buy and sell rates for different models, along with details needed for postage and order tracking.
In our previous audit, musicMagpie reported the most 404 errors (207). This quarter, musicMagpie has reduced their 404 errors to 30, suggesting they’re regularly monitoring their site for broken links. Currently, the brand with the most 404 errors is Mobiles.co.uk, with a total of 830. On the other hand, MTR Group reported zero 404 errors — the goal for all brands. Search engines interpret 404 errors as signs of neglect or poor site management. Too many broken links can impact crawl efficiency, meaning important pages might not get indexed properly.
In our previous audit, musicMagpie reported the most 404 errors (207). This quarter, musicMagpie has reduced their 404 errors to 30, suggesting they’re regularly monitoring their site for broken links. Currently, the brand with the most 404 errors is Mobiles.co.uk, with a total of 830. On the other hand, MTR Group reported zero 404 errors — the goal for all brands. Search engines interpret 404 errors as signs of neglect or poor site management. Too many broken links can impact crawl efficiency, meaning important pages might not get indexed properly.
In our previous audit, musicMagpie reported the most 404 errors (207). This quarter, musicMagpie has reduced their 404 errors to 30, suggesting they’re regularly monitoring their site for broken links. Currently, the brand with the most 404 errors is Mobiles.co.uk, with a total of 830. On the other hand, MTR Group reported zero 404 errors — the goal for all brands. Search engines interpret 404 errors as signs of neglect or poor site management. Too many broken links can impact crawl efficiency, meaning important pages might not get indexed properly.
In our previous audit, musicMagpie reported the most 404 errors (207). This quarter, musicMagpie has reduced their 404 errors to 30, suggesting they’re regularly monitoring their site for broken links. Currently, the brand with the most 404 errors is Mobiles.co.uk, with a total of 830. On the other hand, MTR Group reported zero 404 errors — the goal for all brands. Search engines interpret 404 errors as signs of neglect or poor site management. Too many broken links can impact crawl efficiency, meaning important pages might not get indexed properly.
In our previous audit, musicMagpie reported the most 404 errors (207). This quarter, musicMagpie has reduced their 404 errors to 30, suggesting they’re regularly monitoring their site for broken links. Currently, the brand with the most 404 errors is Mobiles.co.uk, with a total of 830. On the other hand, MTR Group reported zero 404 errors — the goal for all brands. Search engines interpret 404 errors as signs of neglect or poor site management. Too many broken links can impact crawl efficiency, meaning important pages might not get indexed properly.
Site Speed & Conversion Rate Performance
When 62% of consumers are less likely to convert if they have a negative mobile site experience, ensuring that your site is quick and easy to load makes a significant improvement on your overall conversion rates. In a saturated market, second hand mobile phone sellers must ensure that both customers looking to buy and sell are getting a positive user experience from every touchpoint.
In our previous report, Smart Cellular flagged the slowest mobile site speed (17). This quarter, Smart Cellular has increased their mobile site speed to 28, no longer putting them at the bottom of the leaderboard. Currently, the mobile site speed ranged between 54 and 26, with Handtec reporting the slowest speed. Many users browse primarily on mobile devices, making mobile speed a crucial aspect of modern web design. A slow site can feel outdated or poorly optimised, damaging user trust.
Building Competitive Advantage with Domain Authority
Domain authority is an essential metric for measuring the effectiveness of SEO performance, and helps create a reliable overall gauge of how effective your site is at achieving organic traffic, i.e. ‘free’ traffic that isn’t gained through sponsored ads. Second hand mobile phone sites can look at exploring the environmental impact of using second hand technology, as an interesting central topic for a digital PR campaign.
A ‘good’ DA really comes down to how your competitors are performing, however it’s generally considered average between 40 and 50, good between 50 and 60, and excellent above 60. In our last report, Tech Market received the lowest DA score (9). This quarter, Tech Market continues to report 9 for their DA score, keeping them at the bottom of the leaderboard, and only musicMagpie scored in the ‘excellent’ zone (65). Visitors are more likely to trust and engage with a site that appears credible and recognised in search results. This reputation encourages repeat visits and brand loyalty, so it’s important brands take consistent steps to increase their DA score.
Organic Performance – Mobile & Desktop
A strong organic performance is strategically important as it ensures your site ranks above competitors for key, transactional keywords. When 93% of your customers won’t go past the first page of Google, your absence or lack of targeting for essential keywords will cost you conversions. Second hand mobile phone resellers have an opportunity to gain organic traffic, due to an increase in interest in both buying and selling second hand mobiles, due to the cost of living crisis. Customers are likely to be looking for a more affordable way to purchase a handset, along with selling their older models to raise some extra cash.
Eight brands reported a drop in organic traffic on desktop, with Envirofone receiving the biggest loss (-73%). On mobile, 7 brands reported a drop in organic traffic, with MTR Group receiving the biggest loss (-96%). Understanding the differences in user behaviour between mobile and desktop is essential. Mobile users often seek quick answers, while desktop users may spend more time exploring. Designing content and layouts to suit each context can significantly improve engagement.
Universal Search Opportunity
Google Universal Search Results is an evolving opportunity to make your pages visible on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page). Universal results often appear before traditional listings and are eye-catching for users. Universal Search results refer to rankings on a SERP that are not the traditional ‘blue line’ Google link, and a site can appear for universal search results without being strong in standard rankings. Second hand mobile phone resellers will want to ensure they have a strong performance for 'reviews' results, ensuring that potential customers can feel confident in getting a good deal, from both buying and selling their old technology.
Back Market remains the brand to beat for the most Universal Search appearances (12,665) — a decrease from 12,811 in our previous audit. The majority of their appearances came from ‘images’ (10,900).
The Longtail Keyword Opportunity
Longtail keywords are often considered high intent and potentially more likely to convert as a searcher is being more specific. Optimising for longtail keywords also puts your content strategy in a strong position to rank for retailer new search terms as they enter Google’s index. Second hand mobile phone resellers can optimise towards high purchase-intent phrases, such as 'fast delivery', 'payment plan', or even specific models.
musicMagpie continues to secure the most longtail keyword appearances for position 3 (2,717) — a decrease from 3,061 previously. musicMagpie also secured the most appearances for positions 4–10 (7,753) — a decrease from 7,983 previously. Incorporating longtail keywords throughout a website improves content relevance. By aligning with the exact phrases users search for, websites can better meet audience needs. This enhances both user satisfaction and search engine performance.
Facebook Adverts
With the number of Facebook users in the United Kingdom (UK) hitting over 44 million users in 2023, it is not surprising that companies have jumped at the opportunity to advertise on the social media platform. Facebook’s UK digital advertising revenue has been estimated to have breached 2.6b GB pounds in 2019.
We’ve included screenshots of Back Market’s sponsored Facebook posts. This UK second hand mobile phone reseller should make their content topics original, as rewording the same idea can still seem repetitive to social media users.
Top Social Shares & Content
When it comes to social media and on-site content strategies, it is important to release content that has a longer shelf life. An article is considered 'Evergreen' if it has maintained its relevancy to an audience for longer. It's great for your brand engagement, but great for Google too, who will recognise content which achieves traffic over a long period of time. Second hand mobile phone resellers can create shareable social content that details cost saving, environmental impact, and other key benefits of using a second hand mobile phone.
Back Market secured the most Facebook Likes (535,300) and the most Instagram followers (178,400). Twitter was the most popular social media platforms of all brands. Mazuma Mobile received the highest total engagement rate (463) and the highest average engagement (12).
Website Readability & Accessibility
20% of people in the UK have a disability – 2 million of which are people living with sight loss. In addition, 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women have some degree of colour vision deficiency. When websites are not designed to meet these needs, retailers lose customer interest as they turn elsewhere. Sites which have large volumes of products, with different models that may only differ slightly in their specifications, must ensure that information is presented as clearly as possible, to improve accessibility.
In our previous audit, Smart Cellular received the most accessibility alerts (163). This quarter, Smart Cellular remains the brand to watch, and they’ve since increased their accessibility alerts to a total of 221. Accessibility alerts often highlight issues like missing alt text, low colour contrast, or poor keyboard navigation. Fixing these problems not only helps users with visual or motor impairments but also improves usability for everyone.
Get the full 70-page Q4 2025 report
To get a copy of the full report, please complete the enquiry form. If you want to talk to us about accelerating your digital performance, please call us on 01543 410014 or schedule a call with Rory Tarplee.
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