Real estate advertising is any marketing you pay for by the placement: search ads, social ads, portal ads, signs, print and mail. This page is mostly about paid search on Google, with a short look at where the rest fits. Facebook and Instagram have their own page.
Marketing For Realtor is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
How Google Ads works, in Google’s words
Google Ads shows your ad when someone searches for words you choose, in places you choose. It is an auction, and Google publishes how it works:
- Ad Rank decides “whether your ads are eligible to show and if eligible, where on the page your ads are shown”. Google runs “different auctions for each ad location”, and Ad Rank is “calculated based on several factors, including your competition, the context of the person’s search, and your ad quality at that moment.”
- Quality Score has three parts: expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance (“How closely your ad matches the intent behind a user’s search”) and landing page experience (“How relevant and useful your landing page is to people who click your ad”). Each is rated Above average, Average or Below average against other advertisers on the same search over the last 90 days.
- What you pay. Actual cost per click “is the final amount you’re charged for a click. You’re often charged less, sometimes much less, than your maximum cost-per-click bid.”
- Budgets. You choose a daily budget for each campaign and can change it at any time. Google says to divide a monthly budget by 30.4 to get the daily figure.
- Location. Ads can target countries, cities or a radius, and the broad setting reaches people in, or showing interest in, the places you target.
For an agent, the practical lesson is that the ad and the page it leads to matter as much as the bid. An ad for homes in one neighborhood should land on a page of homes in that neighborhood.
Google Ads campaigns agents run
| Campaign | Who searches | Where it should land |
|---|---|---|
| Area home search | Buyers looking for homes in a town or neighborhood | An area page with live IDX listings |
| Home value | Owners wondering what their home is worth | A home value page on your site |
| Agent search | People looking for an agent in a place | Your about page or an area page with your story |
| Your name | People who already heard of you | Your home page |
Local Services Ads
Google also runs Local Services Ads, a separate product. Google says advertisers “receive leads directly from potential customers” as phone calls and messages, and “pay only for leads related to your business and the services you offer.” The ad shows prominently when people search for those services in the areas chosen. Google also notes that if you regularly fail to answer calls or messages, your ad ranking may be affected. Eligibility depends on the profession and the area, so check eligibility for real estate in your area in Google’s Local Services Ads sign-up.
Signs, print, portals and mail
Yard signs, open house signs, postcards, local print and portal advertising are still part of many agents’ marketing. They work best when they point to the same place your online ads do: a short web address or a code that leads to the listing or the area page, so you can see what each one brought.
The rules on every real estate ad
Paid search, social, print and signs are all housing advertising. The Fair Housing rule (24 CFR 100.75) makes it unlawful to publish a housing ad that indicates a preference, limitation or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin. Your state’s license-law advertising rules also apply; ask your broker what they require. This is general information, not legal advice: for a legal question, ask a lawyer.
What to ask an advertising agency
- Will the Google Ads account be in my name, with me as an owner?
- Which searches will you bid on, and where will each ad land?
- How is ad spend shown apart from your fee?
- How will you track which ads produce calls and forms?
- How often will I see a report, and what will it show?
Paid ads bring people while they run. Google says appearing in its regular search results costs nothing, so many agents pair ads with real estate SEO and send both to the same strong pages on their website.
Want Google Ads that land on the right pages? Get a written proposal.
Questions agents ask
Do Google Ads work for real estate agents?
They reach people at the moment they search. Whether they pay off depends on your market, your ads, the pages they land on and how fast you answer. Ask an agency how it will measure each campaign.
How much should I spend on Google Ads?
There is no figure that fits every market, and this site publishes none. You set a daily budget per campaign and can change it at any time. A proposal should explain the budget it suggests and why.
Are Local Services Ads available for real estate?
Eligibility depends on the profession and the area. Check in Google’s Local Services Ads sign-up for your area.
Does this site run ads?
No. Marketing For Realtor is an independent referral service, not a marketing agency. When you send the form, your details go to an independent marketing agency that prepares any proposal and does any work.
Request a proposal