According to the National Association of REALTORS®, searching for real estate agents and properties online is how most buyers initiate buying a home. Since this trend is only growing, real estate agents can use Google Ads to target their audience. If you haven’t made Google Ads a part of your strategy yet, here’s how you can:
Step-by-step guide to creating a Google Ads Account (with screenshots)
Using Google Ads with no plan in mind could lead to you spending $500 without getting any results. So, take our word and use this guide to set up your campaigns. As you will see below, the process won’t take that long. We have added screenshots for each step to simplify matters even further.
Start by:
- Log in here if you already have a Google Ads account. If you don't, register for one here. We are using the latter approach.
- As you encounter each new screen, keep filling in the blanks, and pressing Next.
- When you reach this stage, uncheck Search Network. Doing so will keep your ad only on Google's paid search results.
- After that, you will have reached the screen shown above. Start a new campaign by clicking on Campaigns.
Click on the + sign.
Choose the option for New Campaign.
- Next, click on Website Traffic.
Choose Search Network
By doing this, your ad will only run on Google SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). If you select Display Network, your ad will also find its way to thousands of other smaller search engines and sites. But that isn’t what we want. For now, we are interested in potential buyers who are using Google.
Give your Campaign a Relevant Name
Once you start using Google Ads, you may be running multiple campaigns. Naming this one properly will aid in keeping track of it.
Pick the Bid Strategy
Select Clicks and then the option to set the bids manually. These are the two most common options for a Pay Per Click campaign. When you become adept at them, you can research the others and see if they suit you.
Enter the Bid Amount
While this might not necessarily be what you will pay for clicks, it will limit the maximum amount bid on a campaign. We suggest putting in $5.00, so the bid will vacillate between $0.40 and $2.50 for each click. Keep in mind if you want Google to take your campaign seriously and show it in the paid SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), don’t use a bid that’s too low.
- Click Save and Continue to complete the process.
- The next screen you will see is shown below. Start on it by naming your Ad Group.
Choose the Best Keywords
Finding out which keywords are the right ones will take some testing. Let’s look at some of the types you can use:
Broad Match
A broad match keyword means that your ad will show both when your specific keyword is searched for, as well as, other variations associated with it. Does your real estate business target a huge area? Then you can use a broad match keyword for a broad ad. For example, Real estate in Houston will create an ad that helps buyers find the best real estate in the whole of Houston.
Broad Match Modifier
Adding a + between the terms in your broad keyword can make a difference. Then, your ads will only show fall words from it are part of the search query. For example, +real +estate +Houston will allow your ad to show if someone searches for, I need a real estate agent to help sell in Houston.
Phrase Match
This limits your ad to showing only if someone searches for the exact phrase in your keyword and the same order. For example, for the keyword real estate, your ad will show up for both cheap real estate and real estate agent salary.
Exact Match
It is self-explanatory. Only when the exact term is entered will your ad show up.
Close Matches
These refer to any misspelled words, singular vs. plural, acronyms, or abbreviations. Your ad may show up in all these cases.
Match your Keywords to your Strategies
Geo-targeting to Reach Out to your Target Audience
By using geo-targeting, you can target buyers who aren’t situated locally. Your in-depth knowledge of the area will come in handy to help such buyers move into the areas that you service. Relocation buyers are a lucrative market for real estate agents who function where military posts are common, corporations with high hiring rates operate, or a large part of the population consists of retirees. For best results, pick somewhere you know that relocation buyers frequently relocate from.
Geo-targeting to Reach Within for your Target Audience
Instead of using a broad match keyword and targeting the whole area, such as Houston, go as specific as you can. Since you operate in this area, you may already be familiar with great niches like towns, communities, neighborhoods, school districts, and even street intersections. This can offer an advantage to small real estate businesses since the big fish will likely be using broad match keywords
So, play with smaller area name + street intersection or area name + school district + homes or real estate for best results.
Creating an Ad
Start by adding the most important keywords to the Headline. Use the description section to really sell your ad to your potential buyers. Don’t forget to add in your main keywords without going overboard. Look at the example above.
Using Ad Extensions
Small links that appear below an ad may increase your (CTR) click-through-rate since they give more choices to your audience. Buyers who may ignore your ad based on its Headline may not feel the same way about the ad extensions:
Add Brand name in the Headline
Even if people are more likely to click on the organic searches that show up below your ad, they may still get a peek at your brand’s name. If they come across it often enough, they might decide to look you up!
Tracking ROI and deciding on KPIs (Key Performance Indicator)
Track the conversion rate when using Google Ads. For example, for the $2000 you spent in a week, you got 250 clicks that generated three leads. If only one out of the three converted into a customer, you earned $3000.
That brings us to the KPIs (Key Performance Indicator), some of which are:
- Number of people who see the ad is called Impressions
- How much did 1000 impressions cost you is CPM (Cost Per Mille)
- Percentage of people clicking on your ad gives you the CTR (Click Through Rate)
- How much it cost you to get someone to click on your ad is known as CPC (Cost Per Click)
- Amount you spent on the clicks vs how many times your visitors decided to take action is the CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
For hot leads, use the keywords that have serious buyers/sellers and aim for a high CTR (Click Through Rate). For consistent leads, focus on your CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) and build a landing page.
Negative keywords and their importance
These represent Google searches you won't want your ads to show for since they are irrelevant. It can increase the cost when people looking for Dog House or Boat House see your ad. Depending on your campaign, you might have to use a huge list of negative keywords to keep that from happening.
Changing the Bidding Amount
You could continuously increase the bid amount and maintain your position. However, doing so will up the cost of advertising for you. It may also bring in low converting traffic. Reduce your bid amount to determine the ad position resulting in higher conversions. The traffic may be low, but the conversion rate will be higher.
Examples of Great Ads
Use competition research tools, like SpyFu and SEMRUSH, to find out which ads are already profitable. Then incorporate their elements into your own for best results.
Creating a Landing Page
Don’t ever link your ads to your website homepage! It will bring down your ad quality score without getting you any leads. It will also increase your (CPC) Cost Per Click! That is why you need a landing page. Use the phrase from your ad as its title to draw in potential buyers.
Using a CTA (Call to Action) on the Landing Page
The main objective of getting a potential buyer to your landing page is so they will part with their contact information. So, your landing page should have something of value for your potential buyers. It should be clear that the information would be theirs in exchange for their email address. Therefore, don’t forget to add a CTA (Call to Action) to your landing page.
And that’s how it’s done. We hope getting real estate leads via Google Ads is beginning to look doable to you after reading this guide!