What’s the difference between organic results vs paid ads vs local listings?

Let’s follow up on the Fourandhalf blog Daniel presented last week, where he discussed SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and why they’re important for your property management marketing plans. Today, we’re diving in a little deeper and talking about the differences between paid advertising, organic ranking, and local ranking.

Organic Results vs Paid Ads vs Local Listings:

Paid Advertising for Property Management

Paid advertising or search engine marketing (for example, Google Ads) is an important part of any online strategy, and we’re actually going to have Amanda talk about the topic further in our next blog. Until then, there’s one important thing you need to know about paid advertising online:

You have to pay to play.

This is a bidding system. What you pay and the results that are produced will depend on where you’re located and who your competitors are. The amount you have to bid to get your ad on the first page of Google will change from month to month and year to year.

Organic Results vs Paid Ads

One of the main and most important differences between paid advertising and organic search is the results that are produced. When people are searching and they see paid advertising, most of the time these results are short-tail searches. They already know what they are looking for and they already know they want to buy the service. They just need to decide on which service provider that’s going to be.

With organic searches, the people searching are not really sure what they need yet. Perhaps they’re wondering what property managers are or if they even need a property manager. It is still kind of up in the air for them. That’s when you show up organically in their search results based on the keywords they’ve used and even the questions they’ve asked. It’s an opportunity for you to take them on that journey to help them discover what they actually need.

Be the Search Result that Educates and Builds Trust

By educating your leads, you are building trust with them.

This relates to online searching because most of the time, online searches are long-tail questions. Things like:

  • How do I screen tenants?
  • How do I perform an eviction?

These types of questions will show up on Google all the time, and when your blog or article on the subject shows up, it demonstrates that you’re in their corner and you have their back. You are providing them with the answers they are looking for, and that builds trust with them over time.

Understanding Local Property Management Searches

Now we know how paid advertising and organic searches work, so let’s talk a bit about local searches.

The main difference with a local search is that you’re only going to show up if you’re located in the specific area that’s being searched. For example, if you’re trying to rank for “San Francisco property management” and you are not located in San Francisco, you won’t show up in those local searches.

There are pros and cons to local searches for property management companies. One pro is that you’ll be easier to reach for people in your community. You’ll show up in any searches that local owners and landlords are conducting for property management services. However, if you have a wide service area and your office is not located within the main city you’re trying to target, then it may be impossible for you to rank in those local searches.

As you think about the differences in organic results vs paid ads vs local searches, you have hopefully come to the conclusion that you really need all three to put together a property management marketing plan that captures as many leads as possible in your area.

Look for our next blog on paid advertising, and if you have any questions about marketing and growing your property management company, please contact us at Fourandhalf.


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