One the most important key performance indicators that real estate agents look at is their CPL, or Cost Per Lead. How many leads are you getting and how much money are you spending on them? You can ask your website provider how many leads you might get, but it is not ethical to guarantee leads as there are a few variables that will affect your CPL.
Before we explore the other variables, we should first peak at something that might be overlooked…the ad itself. When I refer to the “ad” I mean the photo and text that accompanies it. If you are marketing to a New England real estate market but are using photos of Floridian homes, the ads will not have a high click rate.
Likewise, the verbiage can affect the click rate. Does your ad using a call to action or give a reason to click on the ad? “Click here to find out what your home is worth” or “Get a free comparative marketing analysis” are motivating reasons a homeowner would want to click on an ad.
A simple landing page is necessary to track your results. Keep in mind the way the landing page is set up can make or break your success. Sending a visitor to a 20-question survey will send most people running. On the opposite side of the spectrum, requiring a phone number to search for homes will turn off some home shoppers that are only starting their home search process. Be sure your landing page has an easy to fill out form that doesn’t ask too many questions, or is too demanding of a casual internet use.
If you have a $500 budget on your paid ads, that can go a long way in the Phoenix market. Take that same budget, and apply it to a market like San Francisco, then it might not go as far due to the competition. Also factor in the state of the market. Is there an abundant listing inventory in your area? Is there a boom of tech companies bringing in employees from outside the area?
There are many places online you can advertise your website. The two most popular are Google and Facebook. Agents are still able to find success through paid ads on Bing, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Your average internet user will be on either Google or Facebook, so it is wise to put your adspend there…however, there will also be more competition. If you are looking to cater to a less tech-savvy demographic, perhaps Bing might be the place to go. If you have experience in a particular industry, LinkedIn ads might work for you.
Certain times of the year are better than others when it comes to advertising. You’ll notice that during the summer months you will be out almost every day taking clients to see homes. This is because most of their research takes place during the winter months. Don’t be upset because you aren’t closing as many deals in the 4th quarter of the year as you would like. This is the time to ramp up your online marketing, because people will start doing their research for when they want to make that big move.
Brace yourselves, because the winter is coming. Zurple will help you get leads from Google, Bing, and Facebook. What we do that is even more valuable, is nurture the leads for you until they are ready to have a meaningful conversation with you. During that nurture period, we want you to spend time with your family this holiday season.