Is Google Ads a Waste of Money for Your Property Management Business?

Today we are addressing something that we hear from a lot of property managers when we talk about marketing strategy: ” Property management Google Ads is a waste of money.”

A lot of you tell us that Google Ads, formally known as Google Adwords, is a waste of money for your property management company. In reality, property management is a tricky industry to get right on Google Ads and there are a few different ways ad campaigns can be set up incorrectly that will lead to poor results.

What Is Google Ads?

Google Ads is a pay per click (PPC) advertising platform created by Google. It allows businesses to display ads on Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs), as well as other Google properties such as YouTube and Gmail. These ads are shown based on keywords that users type into the search bar, making it a highly targeted form of advertising.

Why are Google Ads for Property Management Companies Challenging to Manage?

So what makes Google Ads seem like a waste of money to so many property management companies? What we’ve found is this: up to 80 percent of all searches related to rental properties are done by tenants.

Tenants are frequently online looking for a place to live in your town, and whether they are looking for a single family residence, a condo, or an apartment, the majority of those online searches are going to be done by tenants. This means that most of our clients who are running their own campaigns aren’t converting many, if any, property owners because most of their ad spend is going to tenants.

What’s Wrong with Tenant Clicks?

On the surface, these clicks by tenants seem like a good thing because their cost per click tend to be lower. But when you take a deeper look at these metrics, you’ll notice that although they are driving down cost per click, your conversion rate is suffering. No one is filling in your contact form!

Why? Because tenants don’t care about property management services; they just want to find a place to live.

As a result, many property managers end up wasting their ad budget on clicks from people who aren’t even in the market for their services. This can lead to a negative perception of Google Ads as a waste of money.

So, is Google Ads Actually a Waste of Money?

The simple answer is no – Google Ads can be an incredibly effective tool for generating leads and growing your property management business. However, the key lies in understanding how to properly target your ads to the right audience and setting the right monthly budget.

When managed correctly, a ppc campaign can help you reach potential property owners who are actively searching for your services. This means you’ll be spending money on clicks that have a higher chance of converting into actual clients.

Tips for Running Successful Property Management Google Ads

If you want to pay for and get property owner related searches, Google must understand your goal. Remember that Google is only as smart as you tell it to be. It cannot read your mind.

If you want to make sure your Google Ads campaign is not a waste of money, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Target the right audience

As mentioned earlier, targeting your ads to tenants may seem like a good idea due to lower cost, but it’s not an effective strategy for generating leads. Instead, focus on targeting keywords and demographics that are relevant to potential property owners. This will increase the chances of converting leads into clients.

You can do this by using keywords like “property management services” or targeting specific locations where your target audience is likely to be searching from. Unfortunately, there will be overlap between how property owners and how tenants search online. However, if you’re thoughtful about which specific keywords you’re adding to your ppc campaign, the phone calls will start rolling in.

Use negative keywords

One of the best ways to ensure that you’re targeting only property owners is to create a robust negative keyword list. Negative keywords help you filter out search terms that are not relevant to your services. This can save you money by preventing your ad from showing up for irrelevant searches.

Set a realistic budget

One of the biggest mistakes property managers make when it comes to Google Ads is not setting a proper monthly budget. While Google Ads can be effective, it’s important to set a realistic monthly budget as setting your budget too low may limit your ability to show up in the Google search results.

Take the time to research and determine a suitable budget for your campaign based on your business goals and the average cost per click in your industry and location. You can do this by using the Google keyword planner.
Google Ads may be out of budget for new property managers. That’s okay! There are many other online marketing channels that you can use to generate leads.

Regularly review and optimize your campaign

Don’t just set up your ad campaign and forget about it.

To properly manage your Google Ads campaign, you need to give it a lot of attention. You need to know what the negative keywords are and you need to be able to avoid and root out any tenant searches and unrelated searches that are not going to bring you new landlord and property investor contacts.

Exercise for an Existing Google Ads Account

Here’s an exercise you can do right now. Log into your Google Ads account. Go to the main screen and click on Keywords. Then, click on Details and you’ll see a drop down menu. Click on “Search Terms” and highlight “All.” You’ll see what people typed when they clicked on your ad and you’ll see how much you paid for that click.

You can take the last 40 or 50 search terms and figure out how many tenant searches you received and how many landlord searches you received. Usually, when we take a look at this information on behalf of a property manager who was doing a self-managed campaign, we can see that 60 to 80 percent of all searches are tenant related or unrelated to landlords.

Think about what this means to your bottom line. If your budget is $3000 per month on Google Ads, you are essentially throwing away 60 percent of that budget. You are taking $1800 and you’re putting it in the garbage. That money won’t be used to attract new business.

This is why professionally managed campaigns are more advantageous to you. Even with a small management fee, you’re keeping your money out of the trash and invested in new business acquisition.

In Conclusion

While Google Ads can seem like a waste of money if not managed correctly, they can actually be a valuable tool for generating leads and growing your property management business. By understanding the unique challenges of marketing in this industry and implementing effective strategies, you can make property managers Google Ads work for your company and see a positive return on investment.

So, don’t give up on Google Ads account just yet – with the right approach, they can be an invaluable asset for your property management company.

Let’s get your money out of the trash.  At Fourandhalf, we can take a look at your Google Ads campaign and tell you exactly how much money you’re throwing away. We can create a custom Google Ads campaigns for your business, including ad copy and a landing page.

To get started, or if you have any questions, please contact us.