Google Ads for Real Estate Agencies
Generic leads are not closing. Qualified buyers and sellers are.
We run Google Ads for brokerages, independent agents, and developers across the US. Our approach focuses on qualified buyer and seller intent, not the inflated volume that Zillow and Realtor.com already own.
What breaks
Zillow and Realtor.com own the head terms
Bidding against portals on generic 'homes for sale' keywords is a losing game. Agencies waste 40-60% of their Google Ads budget competing on terms the portals will always outrank them on.
Long sales cycles break attribution
A click today can close 90-180 days later. Without multi-touch attribution and offline conversion imports, most agencies cannot tell which keywords actually produce commission revenue.
Lead quality collapses at scale
Scaling a real estate campaign without CRM integration floods agents with price-shoppers and tire-kickers. Volume goes up, close rate collapses, agents stop responding.
What works
Hyperlocal neighborhood keywords
Target at the neighborhood and ZIP level, 'homes for sale in Westwood 90024', 'Los Feliz condos', not metro-level head terms. Lower CPCs, higher intent, less portal competition.
Separate buyer and seller funnels
Buyer intent and seller intent are fundamentally different campaigns. Seller keywords ('sell my house fast', 'home value estimate') need different landing pages, bid strategies, and follow-up sequences than buyer keywords.
Call tracking as primary conversion
Real estate buyers still call. Phone calls from ads convert at 3-4x the rate of form fills. CallRail or equivalent tracking, with click-to-call extensions, are non-negotiable for lead-gen campaigns.
CRM-offline conversion import
Import closed-won deals from Follow Up Boss, KvCORE, or your CRM back into Google Ads as offline conversions. Smart Bidding then optimizes toward keywords that produce real commissions, not form fills.
IDX search campaigns
Drive paid traffic directly to your IDX property search, not a generic homepage. Capturing the visitor inside your search experience (rather than bouncing to Zillow) materially improves lead capture.
Our playbook
Week 1: Audit + neighborhood keyword strategy
We identify the 20-40 neighborhoods that match your agency's actual listings, build a hyperlocal keyword map, and audit your existing account for portal-competition waste.
Week 2: Dual-funnel account restructure
Separate buyer and seller campaigns with dedicated landing pages, ad copy, and bidding strategies. Call tracking installed across both funnels with dynamic number insertion.
Week 3: Launch + offline conversion setup
New campaigns live with Smart Bidding on target CPL. CRM integration built so closed deals flow back into Google Ads as offline conversions. First optimization cycle on day 7.
Week 4+: Scale with conversion data
As offline conversions accumulate, we shift Smart Bidding from target CPL to target ROAS based on commission value. This is where agencies start seeing compounding efficiency.
Questions, answered
What is a realistic cost per lead for real estate Google Ads?
Buyer lead CPLs typically range from $15-$75 depending on market competition and price point. Seller leads (listing inquiries) run $35-$200. Luxury markets can go higher. CPL alone is misleading though, closed commission value matters more than lead volume.
Should real estate agencies use Performance Max?
Not as a primary channel. Performance Max is AI-driven and works best with strong conversion data volume. Most real estate accounts don't generate enough weekly conversions to train PMax effectively. Run Search first, add PMax only once you have 50+ conversions per month.
How long before Google Ads produces real estate leads?
New campaigns generate first leads within 48-72 hours. Stable, efficient performance takes 60-90 days because Smart Bidding needs conversion data to calibrate. Agencies expecting profitable campaigns in month one will be disappointed.
What's the minimum ad spend for real estate PPC to work?
$2,000-$3,000/month for single-agent or single-neighborhood campaigns. $10,000+/month for multi-neighborhood or brokerage-wide campaigns. Below $2,000/month the budget gets absorbed by Google's daily-budget smoothing before you can test meaningfully.
Can Google Ads compete with Zillow and Realtor.com?
Not on generic head terms, don't try. You compete on neighborhood-specific and intent-specific long-tail terms where the portals are not optimized. With the right keyword strategy, a local agency can outperform the portals on the queries that actually produce closed deals.
Related reading for real estate.
Best Google Ads Agencies for Real Estate Agents in 2026
Google Ads agencies actually running profitable real estate campaigns in 2026, what each does well, what they don't, and how to pick the right one.
Google Ads for Real Estate Agents: The Complete 2026 Playbook
How real estate agents should structure Google Ads in 2026. Hyper-local targeting, high-intent keywords, competing with Zillow on a smaller budget.
Estate Agent Vendor Acquisition vs Portal Listings
Most UK estate agents spend 70% of marketing budget on Rightmove + Zoopla. The 30% on direct vendor acquisition is where the real ROI lives.
Lead Generation for UK Estate Agents: 2026 Playbook
Rightmove and OnTheMarket don't run your business. The five lead-gen channels UK estate agents should run, ranked by ROI, with GBP CPL benchmarks.
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