The Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Guide to Real Estate Marketing for 2021

What is PPC?

As the name invariably suggests, PPC is Pay-Per-Click. As with the case with several other conduits, mediums and methods of advertising and marketing through the internet – PPC – is one of the most widely used ways & means of not only generating leads, but, also driving traffic.

All forms & types of advertising and marketing done in the digital era are paid. There are no free lunches. Though, there are always ways in which one can help another out without a charge. However, even here – a sort of barter system prevails. Sharing links or reposting content on sister websites goes towards strengthening not just one side of an aisle, but, depending on how it has been used and carried out – quite a bit more than just one.

Although PPC is sometimes considered as a sort of umbrella term that encapsulates any kind of ad that charges money when clicked upon, to many – it is still the bid-and-paid-and-fought-for ads that turn-up on search engines.

Therefore – the biggest marketplace for PPC can be found on search engines. The biggest (and most obvious) one is Google. However, there are a few others that have been picking up steam over the years – Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Yelp, etc.

What is Real Estate PPC

PPC is a general principle and term that can be applied and used by just about any field or industry. This doesn’t mean that every time it is used in a different sector – the meaning would change; no – such is not the case. When used to fulfil a particular purpose – the process and method of using PPC will adapt and alter some of its aspects to better suit the domain in which it is being employed.

Thus, when it comes to real estate – PPC would contain the exact same rationale as – for example – when used in the automobile industry. Here – the only difference would be to know the industry and practices of where it is going to be employed and adjust the parameters of the digital technology accordingly.

So, let’s take a good local example. There is a builder in Pune – XYZ Group – they are among the best and most highly-reputed builders in the city. Now, no matter how big – one still needs to always pump-in resources to advertise itself – so that it’s not only forgotten but, also still be ahead of the curve.

Benefits of PPC For Real Estate

1) Focused Lead Generation

This stems directly out of the fact that when there are a group of in-the-moment active-enquirers i.e. searchers using a search engine in the present moment of time – there are way better chances of getting real conversions – than performing most other forms or types of digital advertising or marketing.

The fact that the people who are going to be seeing the search ads on the search engine are actively seeking something that is of benefit and relevance to them. This direct approach, rather than being fed a wide variety of ads that – in most cases – do not resonate with their plan-of-action in their lives.

This is a point – more to do with common sense, because it is obviously better to advertise as-close-to-relevant-as-possible forms and types of advertisements than targeting a much larger group – most of whom would not be interested in the ads they are seeing.

2) PPC is the faster way to get leads/conversions

There is only one alternative other than PPC to getting leads – the organic way. Nevertheless – you should know that even PPC cannot function to its optimum capacity without fulfilling a few prerequisites of the organic method.

The Ad itself comes in the form of text – that holds in it a link to a particular landing page or a website page. This means that no matter what you do or how much you spend – your ad will not even show on search engines until you duly comply with many of the principles that are deeply ingrained within the organic way. This means that (at least) the page to which the text ad redirects a user to – will have to be duly optimised for SEO.

Once the SEO bit has been taken care of – a webmaster can make use of the benefits of PPC. By following this process – the webmaster has a lot more chances of their ad showing-up in a higher and much better position on the answers list in search engines.

3) More accurate & strategic than other conventional forms of advertising

Yes, a newspaper, radio or TVC will get you a huge amount and volume of visibility. There are going to a large number of people who are going to see, listen-to or view your ad; but, is that all that one is looking for?

Rather than merely throwing yourself out there to a large and heterogeneous plethora (of mostly uninterested) eyes and hears – wouldn’t you rather have your ads seen by the people who are most likely looking for a product or service that you offer?

Such is the power of PPC. Through it – one can easily target the right audience or potential customers – who are most likely to click on your ads because it is in distinctive similarity to what they’re browsing or looking for.

4) All your leads are yours alone

Unlike many other forms and types of generating and sourcing leads – PPC – gives one a superior benefit over the others. PPC is a form of advertising and marketing that brings a user or a potential customer to one’s specific page; this is the main premise of paying for the click.

When this happens – the user – may or may not enter their personal information in-to the advertiser’s website. In any case – they become a part of the advertiser’s database (mostly because of shared cookies). The way in which this occurs is that each person who clicks the ad and comes on-to a landing page or webpage leaves some information behind. This information is of vital importance to a digital advertiser or marketer, because it contains some basic information about the visiting person.

Quite naturally, this person then becomes a part of the advertiser’s database. These people can not only be exclusively followed-up with, but, can also be retargeted to show more ads in the future. However, the one of the better parts of this aspect remains that the advertiser

5) ROI

One of the most significant aspects of using PPC for real estate marketing is its solid return on investments (ROI). The tremendous amount of yields that PPC ads give a company is almost unparalleled to some of the other forms of digital advertising or marketing.

Without knowing the amount and sheer value of returns - there aren’t as many reasons that could convince someone of making investments in anything. Digital history has always provided hard evidence and facts when it comes to portraying the benefits of the PPC.

These days, the internet is increasingly being designed to provide more valuable overall content than during the times when most of what was found online was a more incomplete version of what else could have been. Now, providing value - comes at a price. Some amount of investments have to be made in order to reap benefits out of anything that time, energy and money has been invested into.

Some factors that affect Cost-Per-Click

1) Quality of the Ad

Ads should be designed in such a way that they will not only capture a reader/viewer’s attention, but, would also create the right of alibi in-to converting them in-to a customer. This helps improve significant aspects of fulfilling the process; like quality score, click-through rate, ranking, etc.

2) Website quality

The objective of a PPC ad is to finally (re)direct a potential customer to an area of a business that can show who it truly is and what it does. Focusing on improving the overall quality of website not only helps in converting potential customers in-to sure-shot ones, but also helps search engines and the internet in general - understand that the business - it’s products and services - is of value to real people.

3) Competition/Scores for Keywords

This is one of the factors of PPC that has been giving businesses a run for their money from the very start. Not only is it sometimes not feasible to heavily invest in the process of bidding for keywords, but the more advertisers competing for your keyword, the higher you have to bid - the more you have to compete and the more you have to restructure your budget. Ad-bidding prices are always going-up, hence it is an important aspect to take in-to consideration.

4) Location that is being targeted

Another important aspect to consider when choosing to employ PPC as a marketing tool is the location that is being targeted a.k.a as the location where the target audience is - the exact geographical location where the viewers/readers of the ads are located. Location targeting is something that is done when a marketer wants to target only a specific location. When this is the case - an analysis of the costs and bidding prices of the overall going-to-be campaign must be considered.

5) Seasonality

This aspect means that there is almost always a season during which certain products, services and businesses are advertised. For example - a company that provides a seasonal product like an umbrella would only advertise it before and during the monsoon season. The same goes for someone who produces winter jackets and sweaters.

RELATED POST - SEO vs PPC – Know What Your Business Needs

How can one measure their PPC campaign(s)

There are quite a few variables to consider when it comes to knowing what, why and how to measure the flow of a PPC campaign. Depending on the objective - the number and type of variables to consider would be different.

For example - if one wants to measure their ranking on search engines - they would check metrics of average impressions and average ad positions. Another example would be if you’re trying to evaluate the cost of conversions - you would check metrics of the total cost incurred and the number of leads converted in that cost.

Thus, depending on the goal of the person or enterprise - the method of measuring the success of a PPC campaign would vary accordingly. Listed below are some of the main metrics that are almost always considered when thinking of a PPC campaign -

How can one optimise their PPC campaign to reduce their costs

1) Create highly impressionable Ads

Ads need to be created in such a way that it gets a hold of a reader/viewers attention in such a way that it makes them inquisitive enough to not only click, but also find out more.

2) Landing Pages should be highly compelling

The main objective of an advertiser is to convert a potential customer in-to a loyal one. This is done in a way such that all of the information and data within the landing page/website is optimised for both - people and search engines.

3) Choose and monitor high-performing keywords

It is important for a business to optimally analyse their PPC campaigns at all times. This mostly includes keeping track of the kind of keywords that have been helping the company maximise their marketing efforts.

4) Experiment with different ad formats and extensions

There is no perfect campaign when it comes to PPC. Like many other businesses and ventures - it is a process of trial and error. There is always room for expansion and to do things that would enhance and improve the current state of how the process is being conducted.

5) Keep up with the latest Google Ads trends

How to further improve the ROI of your PPC campaign

1) Strive to lower your overall campaign expenditure

A PPC ad campaign manager must always strive to reduce their overall costs. This can be done in a number of ways. Depending on the objectives in mind - the manager must figure-out the most optimal way of achieving them. Costs can be reduced by picking the right kind of mix when it comes to deciding upon the amount of money that needs to be spent versus the volume of results that one needs.

2) Work harder to convert your leads

Although this is quite an obvious point, it must not be taken too lightly. A campaign manager wouldn’t need to spend too much if their leads are getting converting in-to paying customers because of their relentless sales’ approach. Catering to this aspect can seriously reduce PPC campaign costs because future budgets are reduced because of the business’s better performance.

3) Make long-term use of PPC

Whether small or big - today - almost every single enterprise who wants to get-in on the online advertising/marketing action - has to invest in PPC campaigns. In this world that has got a plethora of options for almost every field of business - paying for better space for better visibility has become the norm. This makes it more or less mandatory to invest a portion of money towards the kind of ads that your target audience would find beneficial, and, PPC fulfils this requirement quite generously.

4) Make use of Negative Keywords

When it comes to saving costs, cultivating a practice of making the use of negative keywords is highly recommended. Negative Keywords are those keywords that you do not want your ads to display/show-up when searched for. This means that when a searcher makes an enquiry and the use the words that you mark as negative - your ads will not be displayed to them. This makes it so that the enterprise will save on its money that it would otherwise spend on those keywords that aren’t as relevant for them as others.

5) Learn more about how a search engine assesses Quality Score

Search engines are always evolving and changing i.e. they are dynamic in nature. They need to keep on doing this so they can provide the best possible service to people who use their platform (mostly by the millions). Constantly learning more about the perpetually evolving process can be of great benefit when it comes to optimising any campaign in the best possible way. This saves a lot of otherwise wasted money.

Pro Tip: In order to accomplish a good quality score, one must meet the following parameters without any fail.

To Conclude

Today, it is important to find the best possible mix when it comes to getting it right in the world of digital advertising and marketing. There are numerous forms and channels of getting a business to the world outside. Although this is a good thing - it is important to know and learn the forms that would best suit one’s own business.

PPC is a form of advertising and marketing that allows a large volume of people to see and witness ads. The potential is massive. But, it is not always easy. PPC is a vast field and several agencies have dedicated entire departments to cater towards this segment.

Although PPC has huge potential, it is essential to know that using only one form of digital advertising/marketing is never enough. The best possible way to get the best possible results is to optimally employ a variety of different approaches towards fulfilling an enterprise’s overall goals.

Get out there - research, learn and implement the best methods for your advertising/marketing goals today! And, stay tuned to this space for more content on real estate marketing!

RELATED POST - How Inbound Marketing Is Helpful for Real Estate Businesses?