The Beginner’s Real Estate PPC Guide
Advertising is vital for any kind of business. Whether you’re going for traditional advertising or following current trends in digital marketing, it’s the one channel you can’t skip. It gets your business on people’s radars and helps you reach your target audience and potential clients in real estate.
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is one of the many ways to make your business visible on sites that get the most traffic. This, in turn, helps you generate leads and connect you to potential clients looking to buy homes or avail of your other services.
The greatest thing with PPC ads is that you’ll only pay when you get actual results. That is when leads click on your ad and get redirected to your business website. And so, the question arises: How much should you spend on your real estate ads to ensure you’re maximizing your profit?
How Much Do Real Estate Leads Cost with PPC?
Let’s start this off by making it clear that PPC advertising costs differ on a case-to-case basis. It always depends on your location, your target audience, and other similar factors.
A lead is usually determined by a user creating an account on your site or signing up for your newsletter. It’s different from a mere click on your ad.
The cost per lead in realThe cost per lead in real estate is generally much higher than the cost per click. Based on localIQ’s 2021 data, the average cost per lead (CPL) for real estate agents in Google is $75.94. The average cost per click (CPC), however, is only $1.17. CPL ads are inherently always more expensive than CPC because you’re paying for actual leads rather than just clicks going towards your website.
For social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, the rates are lower. The average CPL is $46.53. And the average CPC is only $0.82 for real estate agents.
If you’re expecting around 5 leads per month, you’re looking to invest anywhere between $300 and $1,000 in PPC advertising. But then again, not all leads you get will be qualified for sales. Some are bound to input random or unauthentic details. Some will just be window shopping as well, so to speak. You should account for these invalid leads when planning your PPC budget.
It’s also important to note that leads from social media ads are often lower quality because leads from Google are coming from people actively searching for a realtor. On social media, you’re interrupting people who fit your target demographic in their regular social media scrolling that might be looking for a realtor.
How to Set a Real Estate PPC Budget
Speaking of budget, how do you actually go about setting one for yourself so that you don’t incur any losses or take away from your profit?
Let’s say the properties you’re selling cost an average of $500,000 and you get a 2% commission for every sale or purchase you make (simplified for this exercise). That means you’ll get an income of $10,000 from each transaction. If you’re looking to earn around $30,000 monthly, you’ll need to complete 3 transactions per month through your PPC ads.
If you’re just starting out as a real estate agent, your client conversion rate might be about 20%.
That means you’ll need around 5 leads for each transaction.
So in this example, you’ll need 15 leads in total. Your website will likely have around a 2% conversion rate from your ads, meaning you will need to get around 50 visitors to generate 1 lead. This means that you will need to attract 750 visitors in order to get your 15 leads. Using the Google CPC data above, you’ll need to invest around $888 (average CPC of $1.17 * 750 visitors) for your real estate ads.
But then again, that’s just a ballpark figure. You might need a lot more than that to achieve your desired results.
The good news is that you can always adjust your budget depending on your advertising needs. PPC advertising doesn’t always give you immediate results. Just monitor your performance and your advertising strategies accordingly.
Real Estate Ad Examples
Here are some real estate ad examples that might inspire you to create your own ads.
These two ads hit the mark of PPC advertising in Google. Since Google search ads are text-heavy, you really have to know how to catch your audience’s attention. Use simple words and short phrases or sentences that get your message and branding across.
The first ad has clear calls to action for their potential clients-“reach out to us” and “let our dedicated staff assist you.” They also have a contact number on the ad as well as some important links that people might want to check on their site.
The second ad has a thumbnail picture of a listing, which definitely grabs attention. They market their properties as energy-efficient and sustainable, which may be attractive to some buyers looking for a house in Edmonton.
Unlike the Google ad examples above, this Facebook ad isn’t text-heavy, but all the important information is still included in the post. The selling price of the home and the number of rooms are in plain sight. There’s also a picture of the listing, which can catch the attention of potential buyers. The listing even links to the realtor’s website so that traffic is directed there.
This Instagram post definitely highlights the selling points of the home. Even on the picture itself, you can already see the information that people would want to know about the home. The caption also provides more details about the home to further hook potential buyers in. Also worth noting is the CTA to click the link in their Instagram bio.
YouTube
These videos by the same YouTuber are sure to catch the viewers’ attention. From the thumbnail, you can see the high-quality exterior photos and respective listing prices. The videos are also in 4K quality, and it instantly gives off the impression that the video is professional and the realtor is credible.
Videos and virtual tours are a great way to grab the attention of potential buyers as these allow them to imagine themselves within the property and see if it’s worth buying from the comfort of their home.
Realtor Advertising Ideas
Here’s a quick run-through of some realtor advertising ideas you can also use for your business:
- Set up a blog and make sure it’s optimized for search engines. SEO-especially local SEO-is a great way to make sure you get more leads for your real estate business. Also, don’t forget to make your website mobile-friendly!
- Go traditional. Invest in print ads or calling cards, as these still prove to be highly effective in advertising your business. Send out emails or text blasts to your target audience every now and then. It’s also a great way to keep in touch with them so they don’t forget you.
- If you have a little extra or if you have the skills yourself, try creating content on platforms like YouTube or TikTok. There’s nothing like taking your audience on a virtual tour of the house and highlighting its best features.
- Create a profile on third-party sites like Zillow. They’re effective in giving your business more visibility, too.
- Get in touch with your past clients and ask for referrals and testimonials. Word-of-mouth is still a reliable advertising strategy. Testimonials also give people more insight into your services and make you more credible.
- Don’t forget to keep an active social media presence-even on LinkedIn! This implies that you’re easy to reach and always available for your clients.
Real Estate Digital Marketing
There are a lot of ways in which you can do lead generation in real estate. PPC advertising is one effective way to do it. But there are also a lot of other options like search engine optimization (SEO).
To recap, here’s everything you need to know about PPC and real estate agent advertising:
- Investing in PPC advertising on sites like Google and Facebook is sure to boost your business’ reach. It’s important to exert efforts towards making sure that your target audience can find your business easily.
- The average CPL on Google is around $75.94. A user only turns into a lead when they provide you with their contact information so you can get in touch.
- The average CPC on Google is around $1.17. It’s fairly cheap, so if you’re looking to grow your business, you might want to consider PPC.
- A safe monthly budget for PPC advertising is around $1000, depending on your business goals and purposes.
- Use a variety of sites and platforms when creating your real estate ads. Google, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube are some of the most popular sites that could bring in qualified leads to your business.
- There are other ways to do advertising for real estate businesses, such as traditional methods or SEO.
With a company like Agent Awesome, we know that you’ll get a great return on your investment. And we’ll be there to assist you every step of the way to make sure your business grows to its full potential.
Get in touch with us today so we can get to work on getting real results for your real estate business!
