Google Ads is an extremely powerful tool that can help real estate agents reach more potential clients and generate more leads. When real estate agents, teams, and brokerages use Google Ads, they are setting up their own real estate lead generation systems so they can stop relying on third party websites to supply them. By creating and running effective Google Ads campaigns, real estate agents can:
- Increase brand awareness
- Generate more leads for less cost than alternatives
- Scale traffic to fit seasonal needs or team size
- Control the niches and areas they want the most leads coming from
If you’re a real estate agent who wants to take advantage of the power of Google Ads, this step-by-step guide will help you get started. While we build and manage these Google Ads systems for real estate agents, we hope these tips will be enough for you to try it on your own and see if you can start to get more traffic and start owning your leads.
We have a Free Google Ads Worksheet that you can use as a template.
1. Set up your Google Ads Account
The first step is to set up a Google Ads account. You can do this by visiting the Google Ads website and clicking on the “Start Now” button.
2. Choose your Campaign Type
There are two main types of Google Ads campaigns: “Search Campaigns” and “Display Campaigns”. To put it simply, you will want to do a “Search Campaign” to show your ads to potential clients searching on google for real estate near you. We use “Display Campaigns” to retarget those who have visited your website, but more on that in another post.
Search campaigns are designed to show your ads when people search for keywords related to your business. For example, if you’re a real estate agent in San Francisco, you might create a search campaign that targets keywords like “San Francisco real estate” or “homes for sale in San Francisco.”
Display campaigns are designed to show your ads on websites that are part of the Google Display Network (using Google Adsense). The Display Network includes millions of websites, so your ads can be seen by a wide audience. This is very popular to retarget visitors to your site so that your branding is always in front of them and they may return to “convert”.
3. Choose your Keywords
Once you’ve chosen your campaign type, you need to choose the keywords that you want to target. Keywords are the words and phrases that people use when they search for information online. When you choose the right keywords, your ads will be shown to people who are actively looking for the services that you offer. Below are a few ideas for keywords you will want to use for your Google Ads campaigns and ad groups.
- Homes for Sale in San Francisco
- San Francisco Real Estate
- San Francisco Properties for Sale
- San Francisco MLS
- Condos for Sale in San Francisco
Resource: Google Keyword Planner
4. Write your Ad Copy
Your ad copy is the text that appears in your ads that displays to potential clients once they search your keywords. It’s important to write clear and concise ad copy that will grab people’s attention and make them want to click on your ad.
Remember to have different ads, and ad groups, for each set of keywords that you want to target. For example, if someone searches “San Francisco Homes for Sale”, they should see your ad that directs them to listings in San Francisco. However, if they search something more specific or a nearby area, the ad should also mirror what they’re looking for. For example, someone searching “Palo Alto Homes for Sale” or “Potrero Hill Homes for Sale” should see an ad that reflects their search, not an ad for homes in San Francisco.
5. Optimize your Landing Page
When a potential client clicks on your ad, its very important that they see the information they were searching for. Ideally, you should send them to a page of listings in the area you’re targeting (not a property page where they will need to search themselves).
Your website should have forced registration for a visitor to view property details. This way, a potential client will create an account to view properties.
6. Set your Budget
You’ll need to set a daily budget for your Google Ads campaign. Your budget will determine how many times your ads are shown and how high they appear in the search results.
This step can get deep. Along with a daily budget, you should be measuring conversions, the cost per conversion, and bidding accordingly. For a deep dive into this, we’ll have another post in the future.
At the beginning, your daily budget will be used to “maximize clicks” on your ads and you can gauge the performance based on the click-through rate, cost, and leads you are seeing come in.
7. Launch your Google Ads Campaign
Once you’ve set your budget and written your ad copy, you can launch your Google Ads campaign. Your ads will start showing up shortly thereafter, and you can track their performance in the Google Ads dashboard.
Many Google Ads campaigns will go through a “learning” phase when started or when significant changes are made to the budget or campaign. Don’t be alarmed. This is when Google is finding ways optimize your ad placement through testing based on user demographics and location, timing, etc.
Using Google Ads is a great way to reach more potential clients and generate more real estate leads for way less than you’d get through buying them. By following these steps, you can get your feet wet and start your path on creating effective Google Ads campaigns that will help you grow your real estate business and start owning your leads.
By following these tips, you can start to create an effective Google Ads campaign that will help you grow your real estate business. If you are looking for a tailored, customized lead generation system for your real estate team or brokerage, we can always help with that. In the meantime, we hope this roadmap will give you the tools to get the process started.
Additional Tips & Resources:
- Use negative keywords to prevent your ads from showing up for irrelevant searches. For example, if you’re a real estate agent who sells homes in San Francisco, you might add the negative keywords “rent”, “cheap”, or “news” to your campaign so that your ads don’t show up when people search for things you aren’t looking to target or that may not end up converting into a motivated client.
- Use ad assets (A.K.A. “extensions”) to add additional details to your ads. This can make your ads more informative and appealing as well as provide more information about prices, locations, and similar offerings.
- Track your results and make adjustments to your campaigns as results come in. The Google Ads dashboard provides detailed reports that show you how your campaigns are performing. This information can help you identify what’s working and what’s not, so that you can make changes to improve your results. If certain ads or ad groups aren’t performing as you’d hoped, tweak them or pause them altogether.
Google Ads is a powerful tool for real estate agents who are sick and tired of paying third parties for leads. It allows you as a real estate professional to garner the traffic yourself and puts you. in the driver’s seat to own the lead generation system that is fueling your business. It’s the very reason why we believe that if you have a consistent and productive Google Ads lead generation system, you can be a Lead Owner.
By following these tips, you can start to create an effective Google Ads campaign that will help you grow your real estate business. If you are looking for a tailored, customized lead generation system for your real estate team or brokerage, we can always help with that. In the meantime, we hope this roadmap will give you the tools to get the process started.
