The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the real estate industry as more and more people struggle to afford to pay for their homes. It’s the perfect opportunity for the smart real estate investor to hone their marketing strategies and find motivated cash buyers and sellers.
Investors are increasingly turning to inbound marketing techniques to encourage their customers to come to them. While having a high-quality real estate investing site is essential, you also need to dedicate time to improving your online presence. The two most common and effective ways to do so are through SEO and PPC.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising for the Real Estate Investor
Services like Google Ads allow investors to pay for a premium spot in a given keyword search. If someone enters a search term and then clicks on your ad, you pay Google a small fee. Google still has some discretion as to whether to show an ad, so you will need to keep your website’s quality score in mind. The better your score, the more often your ad will show up.
PPC ads can quickly ramp up in price, so it’s essential to work out the ROI of the campaign. Usually, if you have a strong landing page and a high lead conversion rate, the cost per click is easily offset. However, if you only convert 15% of your leads, the cost per lead can quickly become unsustainable.
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine marketing–in particular, SEO–focuses on long-term, organic growth. Instead of paying for a visible ad, SEO uses several strategies to put your website high on search results organically.
Search engines use an algorithm to evacuate whether your site meets the customers’ needs. The algorithm looks at a whole host of factors, from your site’s coding to the end-user experience.
Unlike PPC, SEO doesn’t produce immediate results. It can take months to generate increased traffic and is therefore expensive, time-consuming, and labor-intensive.
SEO vs. PPC for Real Estate Investors
Instead of picking one, most companies will opt for both SEO and PPC in their marketing campaign. The two methods work together very well, especially if you don’t have an established SEO strategy in mind.
The immediate results from PPC can help mitigate the long-term nature of SEO, while SEO’s high ROI will eventually make PPC redundant. The trick is knowing when to transition between the two.
Transitioning from a PPC Campaign to SEO
Despite appearing simple, PPC campaigns can be resource-intensive and expensive and may eventually conflict with a dedicated SEO campaign. Understanding when to transition your focus from one to the other is essential, especially if you have limited resources or time.
However, once you have your SEO in place, you may find that sudden algorithm changes negatively impact your ranking. Using PPC at this point is an excellent way of remaining visible while you adapt your current marketing plan.
There are many instances where a single method is superior and many cases in which you need to focus on both. Instead of relying on absolutes, take a look at your situation before deciding on your strategy. Or call us at Clicks Geek (917-310-1597) and let us handle every aspect of your marketing plan so you can leave every competitor in the dust.
Ed Stapleton Jr.
http://clicksgeek.comEd Stapleton, Jr is a ‘Google Partner’ marketing expert who’s sold over 1,500 Google Ads clients and managed millions in ad spend. He heads up the front of the house at his marketing agency Clicks Geek where he manages sales and strategic relationships.
