Google AdWords is the best marketing strategy for Real Estate.

[Robert Samayoa]

Google AdWords is the best choice to get buyer and seller leads for Real Estate. I´m open to addressing any questions you may have about Google AdWords and Real Estate.

[Angel-Ty L.]

What has your experience been like using Google AdWords? Are you running your own ads, and if so how long did it take you to cross the break-even point to were you're generating a positive ROI?

[Grayson Graham]

Hi Robert thanks for taking the time to answer questions. Would you mind elaborating how you would use AdWords to find renters? Would you create a listing (Cozy.co, Realtor.com, Doorsteps.com, Craigslist.com, etc) and then use adwords to drive people to that listing? 

Thanks again!

[Robert Samayoa]

Hello Angel-Ty Lebron,

My experience with Google AdWords and Real Estate has been very positive. The leads that you get from Google are much motivated than Facebook. The break even and positive ROI point vary a lot but I would suggest giving it at least 3 months.

[Robert Samayoa]

Hello Grayson,

I wouldn´t use AdWords just for something small like a few renters because the management fee for Google AdWords and the budget for the clicks would eat up your profit. 

AdWords is feasable if you are going to find renters on a large scale, statewide, nationwide etc. You would need to have a large page with multiple renting options in each location in order to have success with AdWords. 

[Grayson Graham]

@Robert Samayoa Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I hope you don't mind that I have a follow up!

The other way that i have contemplated using Adwords is to find clients for my construction lending business. My target audience is very small and niche, contractors who build and sell spec homes in the state of Oregon. Although the audience is small, i have a large budget (say $3k per successful lead) for finding these clients. Would Adwords be a practical method? 

Thanks again!

[Muhammad Hayat]

Google Adwords for real estate agents always worked pretty well no doubt. What you do when you need something ? Turn on your laptop, open your browser and search in google right ? And where do you click first ? Obviously all of us go to the links that are on first page. That’s why i always say customers are always looking for you but if you are visible for them. Imagine you are a Real estate person in New york and there are hundreds of people probably looking for a real estate agent on daily basis in Google and if they can’t find you who’s is responsible for this ? Customers or You ? So make sure you keep yourself on the first page in order to generate massive leads. That’s what Google adwords ads do for you.

[Angel-Ty L.]

Great point! @Muhammad Hayat

Page 1 results generate 92% of all traffic from the average search. Nobody is really looking further than the 2nd page. Respectively paid traffic receives about %15 of the clicks on an average search. so being able to get in front of your potential customer is a must. Easit way to do this rather than waiting for SEO to kick in would be to utilize paid traffic. 

[Justin Schneider]

Hello everyone this is my first response/post on bigger pockets!  

Paid Google Search (Ad Words) or as Google is calling it now (Google Advertising) is one of the most effective forms of online lead generation.  The reason, when potential clients type in the correct sequence of keywords it offers a win-win direct match.  If correctly managed PPC can generate a windfall of new leads.  But, be very careful if you don't believe you are on an "expert" Google Advertising level because some of the top converting keywords in the markets that I work in are in the range of $50.00 and up!  I'd suggest doing research in the target market you want to go after and then create a cohesive plan of attack based on your budget and the amount of capital you have access to.

[Kay Barnes]

@Justin Schneider this was great information. Thank you for sharing. Do you recommend focusing on a certain amount of keywords for the first Google AdWords campaign? When drafting my GoogleAdwords post, at least 100 relevant keywords came up.

[Justin Schneider]

@Kay Barnes I'm happy to try and answer your question!  

I would try to split your campaigns into two tests.  Both campaigns would have the same target areas, but different keywords and ad copy.  

In your main campaign (roughly two-thirds of your paid Google search budget) I would use keywords that have a higher conversion rate (Motivated Seller Leads).  

Examples:

Sell House

Sell Home Fast

Houses for Cash

Home Buyers

These are more generic keywords that will get the most searches, impressions, and likely paid Google search clicks.

In your secondary campaign (roughly one-third of your budget)  I would suggest experimenting with niche keywords that have a lower search volume.  Typically, the niche keywords have a lower cost per click and can generate quality leads.  In some cases, the leads generated through this campaign can have a longer lead acquisition to close.  

Examples:

Stop Foreclosure Now

Avoid Foreclosure

Sell Inheritance Property

Sell Investment Property

These are some niche keywords that will have a lower search volume.  This means that you may get one click a month per word.  The cost will be lower in most cases and the leads that are generated are very targeted.  Make sure to only use keywords that will generate the type of leads you are looking for.

The reason you want to split up the campaigns is because the main campaign will dominate the overall spend.  This means that your niche keywords could not appear on the Google search platform if your campaign is limited by budget early on in the day.  Since there are limited niche searches you want to be "in the air" for every one of those click-to-conversions.  This will allow you the flexibility to try out niche keywords while still going after the $$$ keywords.

In the secondary campaign make sure to create unique ad copy to the keyword it pertains to.

Try to create demand in your ad copy by offering an incentive that is better or unique to one of your competitors in the paid Google search ad space.  

Thanks for reaching out!

[Jeremy Ferguson]

Especially now that Google allows you to target "In-Market" audiences you can really drill down to those that are actively looking to buy / rent / relocate -- https://cl.ly/461Z0I1m3m3i

Then to take it a step further, retarget this traffic through Facebook ads, you cost will be much lower and you can stay in front of them with various followup ads!

[David Whitaker]

Hi All, I wanted to reactivate this discussion because I think it's super-valuable. I'm a tech guy, and I'm a little intimated by Google Adwords, so I can imagine what it's like for investors with less technical backgrounds.

For those with experience with Google Adwords (@Jeremy Ferguson, @Robert Samayoa@Justin Schneider, and others):

• - How much are you investing in your campaigns per month?
• - What is your conversion rate?
  
• - What other tools are you using to manage or track your campaigns?
• - What resources (blogs, youtube, etc.) were the most instructive in learning adwords?
• - Did you use a marketing agency? Which one?

Thanks in advance for any information you can share!

`

[Jeremy Ferguson]

Originally posted by @David Whitaker:

Hi All, I wanted to reactivate this discussion because I think it's super-valuable. I'm a tech guy, and I'm a little intimated by Google Adwords, so I can imagine what it's like for investors with less technical backgrounds.

For those with experience with Google Adwords (@Jeremy Ferguson, @Robert Samayoa@Justin Schneider, and others):

• - How much are you investing in your campaigns per month?
• - What is your conversion rate?
  
• - What other tools are you using to manage or track your campaigns?
• - What resources (blogs, youtube, etc.) were the most instructive in learning adwords?
• - Did you use a marketing agency? Which one?

Thanks in advance for any information you can share!

`

• How much are you investing in your campaigns per month? I would rather not give a specific number but its several thousand across various markets. Different markets will vary greatly in terms of cost per click or cost per lead so that will usually determine your overall spend.
• What is your conversion rate? Lately, we have been around 20%
• What other tools are you using to manage or track your campaigns? We have Google Ads integrated to track all conversions from the website (form leads and phone calls) all that data is brought back into the Google Ads platform. We use CallRail for call tracking which sends the call data back to Google as a conversion as well.
• What resources (blogs, youtube, etc.) were the most instructive in learning adwords? There are a bunch of courses out there (search Udemy) but none that I have taken or would recommend without taking.
• Did you use a marketing agency? Which one? No, but this is what I did for 10+ years.

[Robert Samayoa]

Hello @David Whitaker,

The monthly investment in the campaigns

• - How much are you investing in your campaigns per month?
• It varies a lot by business and industry.
• - What is your conversion rate?
  
• Conversion rates vary by campaign type so there isn't a right or wrong answer. Getting conversion tracking set up correctly and using the correct attribution model is most important. 
• - What other tools are you using to manage or track your campaigns?
• Not so much the tools but more the metrics that you need to look at inside Google Ads to get the best insight and analysis of performance. For example, I highly recommend you always check your keyword quality score (the higher it is, the less you pay per click and the easier to outrank your competitors. You should also look at your impression share, lost IS due to budget and Lost IS due to rank. This will tell you how much of the market you are getting. The bounce rate is important to find things you can improve on your website or within your campaign audience targeting. There's several other important things to look at. Feel free to reach out and we can jump on a call.
• - What resources (blogs, youtube, etc.) were the most instructive in learning adwords?
• I received formal training at a larger Google Ads agency and we also received training directly from Google Advisors.
• - Did you use a marketing agency? Which one?
• I now run my own Google ads agency and we've received the Google partner status.