Expert Tips From Real Estate PPC Pros
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is the digital compass that will guide your property listings on top of search results. It provides agents the unique advantage to place their website right in front of potential buyers and clients who are actively searching online. This results in reaching the correct audience and gaining quality leads. Overall, PPC is essential for real estate agents because it increases your visibility, and gives you control over your budget, who to target, and where your ads will show. Furthermore, you have the flexibility to adjust your campaigns in real time. Google Ad's dashboard. Cost and Budget The cost of PPC campaigns depend on keyword selection, competition, and the platform used (like Google Ads, Bing Ads, and social media). It is crucial to pick less expensive but effective keywords like long-tail keywords to lower your expenses and strengthen your PPC campaign. Don't forget to optimize your bidding strategies, ad copies, and landing pages to increase your return on investment. In PPC, you get charged every time someone clicks on your ads, which makes setting a clear budget very important. PPC is also essentially a bidding, but the highest bidder doesn't always emerge victorious. Platforms like Google Ads consider the quality of content, relevance of the ad, and which ad will offer the best answer to user queries. Target Audience Understanding your target audience is essential for your PPC campaign to be successful. This involves demography, their needs, pain points, and where they are in the buying or selling process. You also have to create detailed personas based on research and feedback from previous campaigns. Don't forget that there are existing restrictions in terms of targeting based on some demographic information like age, gender, ZIP code, parental status, and marital status. Landing Pages Your ads landing page is a crucial part of your PPC campaign. Your landing page should be relevant to your ad's promise, contain an effective call-to-action, and be mobile-optimized. Moreover, the design and user experience should be focused on. A clutter-free and easily navigable page encourages visitors to remain and engage. Selecting Keywords Keywords are the words or phrases that users choose when searching online. As mentioned above, long-tail keywords are more targeted and less competitive, which give you successful results. Try using "2-bedroom homes for sale in [specific location]," rather than general terms like "homes for sale in [specific location]." Always remember to also utilize local keywords, exclude negative keywords, and use Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs' Keyword Explorer for research and analytics. How long-tail keywords perform on search engines like Google. Conclusion In the real estate industry, you have to arm yourself with the right strategies to stand out. Ultimately, your goal is not just to showcase your listings, but to form connections and turn each click into sales. PPC advertising is a powerful tool that can help you with these, so learning how to effectively use it is a game changer. Alternatively, you can also reach out to Real Estate Webmasters to get professional support from PPC experts. This is a summarized version of a blog that was previously posted on Real Estate Webmasters' website. Thank you to Real Estate Webmasters for sponsoring this article on RE Technology.

How to Improve Your Touchpoints for Even More Organic Leads
According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 40% of all homes sold in a year typically close between March and July, and the busiest home-selling months are May, June, July, and August. That means most brokerages' busiest months are about to start! April is an excellent time to make sure all your lead touchpoints are optimized so you can tap into your brokerage's entire sphere of influence and keep the leads flowing! How to optimize real estate lead touchpoints There are so many different ways to make contact with potential homebuyers and sellers. Making sure each of these methods is working optimally together (and apart) is crucial if you want to make sure your brokerage is maximizing lead capture. The most common sources of real estate leads With Millennials comprising the biggest homebuying group today, digital touchpoints are more important than ever. However, the typical agent is between 55 and 60 and not exactly a digital native. The average home seller skews older, too, and seller leads are extremely valuable! For brokers and agents, this means that digital touchpoints are just as important as traditional analog ones to capture a maximum number of leads and keep their funnels full. Let's look at some of the most common lead sources brokerages typically rely on and how to make them work better together. Word of mouth Word of mouth is still one of the most important sources of leads. Are you likelier to try a new restaurant in your neighborhood because you saw it on social media or because your best friend told you they loved it? Nine time out of 10, you're trusting the recommendation. The same is true for real estate brokerages! The best way to optimize word-of-mouth leads and get people to sing your praises is to make sure everyone your team interacts with has an amazing customer experience. So many factors go into a top-notch customer experience: responsiveness, accurate advice, service, and ultimately a successful close. Technology is an amazing asset to improve every aspect of the customer experience, and the right combination of front office tools can help. More on that below. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns Maybe one of the easiest ways to get leads is to buy them. Companies like Market Leader and Offrs let teams fill their funnels by purchasing monthly subscriptions to lead feeds. PPC campaigns are a very common method many brokerages use to supplement their organic lead efforts. Over-reliance on PPC could handicap your brokerage in the long run, but adding it to the mix can help keep your streams diversified and flowing. Yard signs and flyers It may sound counterintuitive, but maybe the most traditional lead-gen method in real estate, the yard sign, is still a great way to drum up leads, especially those valuable seller leads! Brokers can optimize their yard signs by integrating recent technological innovations, like scannable QR codes, and other curbside marketing techniques, like text and voice codes for automating listing information sharing over the phone, to make it easier for leads to respond and for agents to capture leads' contact information (and interest). Takeaway listing flyers are another analog and low-budget way to get your name out to both buyers and sellers. Agents can distribute them via flyer holders on yard signs or at open houses. The biggest drawback is that branding, formatting, and printing flyers takes time, so brokers can optimize this touchpoint by automating the first two tasks and giving leads multiple ways to get in touch, including the same QR codes and phone numbers as yard signs. Digital touchpoints Now let's look at your brokerage's digital touchpoints. If your lead initially found you using one of the analog touchpoints above, you can be sure that the next thing they'll do is Google you. The rest of your leads will find you online from the start, probably by typing, "Homes for sale in…" into their favorite search engine. This means your online presence and digital touchpoints need to be spot on to make sure leads not just find you, but fall in love with you! Brokerage and agent websites Your website is your digital storefront. You want to make sure it lets you put your best foot forward and showcases your team, your listings, and your expertise in your market. The first key to any website is making sure people can find it. You could have the best, most stunning website in the world, but if it never shows up in search results, you won't see the leads you're expecting. This is where real estate search engine optimization (SEO) comes in. There's a lot you can do yourself to boost your site's SEO, but the best thing is work with a website partner who really knows how to help your website rank higher, so you can focus on why you have a website in the first place: attracting and converting leads. Once you've gotten traffic to your website, you'll also want to make sure it has plenty of ways to actually capture leads: savable property searches, free home valuations, recommended properties, a real estate blog, buyer and seller guides or other downloadable assets, contact forms, and more. Each of these resources speaks to a different kind of lead, so the more you have, the likelier it is that this particular touchpoint will result in more leads. Social media Social media is an incredible source of organic leads, and a great way to showcase your brokerage with minimal investment (after all, social media accounts are free!). But consistent posting is essential for success, and social media is time-consuming for already busy agents. Plus, the typical agent might not feel comfortable putting themselves out there on social media or reposting content from other sources. Social media publishing is an easy way to boost the effectiveness of your social media strategy without spending a fortune. Giving your team access to a digital marketing suite can also help them automate their posting on all their favorite platforms, including posts for their active listings, scroll-stopping homebuying tips, industry news, and more. That means every agent can have a consistent social media presence that serves as a foundation for their own unique content. Plus, with the right tool, each post can also be branded to your brokerage, letting your brand and expertise shine even more. Getting all your lead touchpoints to work together A well-balanced mix of lead sources means the top of your funnel will always be full. But no matter how your leads come in, it's important to action them quickly and efficiently and make sure none of them fall through the cracks. For that, you need an effective CRM that allows you to: Respond to leads quickly Most leads will go with the first agent who responds, so ensuring your team can follow up fast is crucial for making sure you get the lead instead of someone else. Responding within the first minute increases conversion exponentially! Route leads to the right agents Responding quickly is important, but so is pairing each lead with an agent who has complementary skills and expertise. This is where lead routing can be very beneficial, because if the lead doesn't feel like their agent is the right fit, they'll take their business elsewhere. Customize your nurtures So, you've captured the lead and paired them with the best agent. Great! But online real estate leads can incubate for anywhere from six months to two years! You also need robust nurture features to keep your leads warm and your brokerage top of mind. To view the original article, visit the Constellation1 blog.

Embarcadero Publishing Company

Embarcadero Publishing Company offers marketing exposure and advertising opportunities to local San Francisco, Bay Area real estate agents. They can advertise their personal service as a REALTOR®, or advertise a property they think their audience would be interested in. The Embarcadero Publishing Company is headquartered in Palo Alto, Ca. It is the parent company of six local weekly newspapers and an online division. It was founded in 1979 by Bill Johnson, President, and a group of local investors. In print and online they run the Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac, Mountain View Voice, Pleasanton Weekly, Danville Weekly, and Pacific Sun. They also run Palo Alto Online. This is an advertising resource for REALTORS® in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Online Advertising with HarmonHomes.com

HarmonHomes.com provides two types of online advertising on their home search portal. City Sponsor and Neighborhood Sponsor provide the opportunity for real estate agents to geo-target advertisements to online traffic, as do Block Buster Ads. With a City Sponsorship, agents will have their ads on HarmonHomes.com placed in front of homebuyers from their city. This is designed to help them gain exposure with their target audience. These ads are placed on every search results page in two places. With a Neighborhood Sponsorship geo-targeted advertisements are placed on HarmonHomes.com search results pages. This allows agents to position themselves as a local expert with 2 higher impact ads in their targeted zip code. With the Block Buster Ad Program, homebuyers will be able to see the large, square advertising message on every search result, and browse result. These ads include title, subtitle, call to action and the agent's photo. Harmon Homes showcases roughly 1.3 million Homes for Sale, New Homes, Commercial, Land, and Foreclosure listings in their nationwide database. HarmonHomes.com is designed to be the Internet resource for homebuyers.

Adwerx

 We make digital marketing for real estate brilliantly simple. Adwerx is a platform that offers ad retargeting to real estate professionals. If you've ever noticed ads that seem to follow you around as you surf the web, you've experienced ad targeting. It's one of the most effective forms of advertising today because it allows you to target only those consumers who are most likely to respond to your ad. In the case of real estate, this means people who are thinking of buying or selling a home. Adwerx zeroes in on these consumers by analyzing their online behavior. Consumers whose online activity includes things like visiting listing sites, using a mortgage calculator, or researching moving companies are most likely to be interested in real estate ads, and so Adwerx targets them. Despite sophisticated technology, Adwerx is easy to use. You can create and deploy a new ad in just minutes via a user-friendly interface. Agents and brokers can create the following types of ads: Zipcode based ads Sphere of influence ads Listing ads Recruiting ads for brokers

Homes.com

For Brokers Homes.com Connect for Brokers: All the tools you need to manage and market your real estate business from one convenient platform. Homes.com Social: Easily manage your online reputation by monitoring your online reviews, Facebook and Twitter performance, and much more. Listing Enhancements: Get maximum exposure for your brand or feature special properties with lising enhancement products from Homes.com. Broker Websites: On-trend website design with customizable elements and maximum lead generation potential for your business.

Adwerx Introduces Motion Ads to Boost Engagement for Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Network Members
New motion ads will help franchisees win more listings and retain agents with an ad format proven to increase consumer engagement over 50% January 13, 2022, Irvine, CA & Durham, NC -- Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices launched Automated Advertising powered by Adwerx to the franchise system's nationwide network of over 50,000 real estate agents in May 2019. Since the initial launch, the company and its network members experienced tremendous financial return, with both new network agents and top producers winning more listings as a direct result, according to the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices leadership team. The program gives every network member access to a suite of digital advertising services as part of a system-wide initiative to build the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand. Now, one of the world's leading franchisors of real estate brokerages has announced that it is working with Adwerx to power motion ads for every campaign it runs through the automated advertising program. This new feature allows for display advertising to be animated using HTML5 technology, an ad type proven to drive higher engagement and improved click-through rates. The company is one of Adwerx's first customers to receive access to this technology across every ad type, and the attention-grabbing display ads will equip network members with more memorable campaigns, influencing recall and recognition of their personal brands. "We've been continuously impressed with Adwerx's innovation over the last few years, their team is constantly bringing new ideas to the table," said Christy Budnick, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. "The ability to upgrade our automated listing and branding campaigns to a motion design creates another opportunity for our network members to enhance the marketing of the properties they are representing." In today's increasingly crowded digital environment, advertisers need to find new ways to stand apart from their competition and capture the attention of consumers. Adwerx Motion™ combines the effectiveness of precision targeting with the power of motion to create content that is seen by more prospects, increasing the visibility of each ad campaign. "Ads must stand out to get noticed," said Jed Carlson, CEO of Adwerx. "But ads also need to be 'on-brand' if they are to deliver the right kind of impact. Our new Motion Ads do both, automatically. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is one of the most iconic brands in the Real Estate sector, and these new Motion Ads deliver superior performance while enhancing the value of an already notable brand. It's a perfect fit." Adwerx Motion™ is now available to any current or future firm that automates advertising with Adwerx. Learn more at enterprise.adwerx.com/motionads. About Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices is a global residential real estate brokerage franchise network with more than 50,000 real estate professionals and nearly 1,500 offices throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, The Bahamas and India. In 2020, the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices global network represented more than $138 billion in real estate sales volume. The network, among the few organizations entrusted to use the world-renowned Berkshire Hathaway name, brings to the real estate market a definitive mark of trust, integrity, stability, and longevity. About Adwerx Adwerx provides Customer Relationship Advertising™ to over 500 enterprises and more than 400,000 sales producers. The platform provides personalized advertising at scale for distributed sales teams across real estate, mortgage, wealth management, financial services, independent software vendors, or any other sales organization that could benefit from humanizing their brand and keeping their sales producers top of mind, all the time, with the right audience. Ad templates are created using a FaceForwardTM method – an approach to advertising that puts the company's local salesperson or agent on every ad and is based on the psychological principles of trust and empathy that drive human behavior. Adwerx targets these customized ads programmatically to the salesperson's specific list of prospects or clients across popular websites, Facebook and Instagram, mobile apps, and streaming TV – increasing brand visibility, boosting productivity by 15%, and reducing turnover by 42%. Learn more at adwerx.com.

RISMedia, Inc.
RISMedia was founded in 1980 by CEO and Publisher John E. Featherston, as the residential real estate industry's Definitive source for news and information for real estate's most profitable and productive professionals-and all those looking to gain a competitive edge.

VScreen
  At VScreen, professional video production is just the beginning. We understand that producing a tightly focused professional video is only half the story. Without a strategy for distribution, what's the point? High impact social media sites like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have become overnight sensations in reaching tens of millions instantly. That's why a strategy for capitalizing on social media's massive influence to differentiate you from your competition is so critical. VScreen's turnkey approach covers you from start to finish. We'll craft a compelling website video to tell your story like never before, and then expand your Internet audience dramatically with strategically chosen social media. The end result...a single source for quality video production coupled with laser sharp targeting of your key audience. All under one roof at VScreen...the Internet Video Strategists. VScreen customizes an Internet, social media and blogging strategy that showcases your video. Social media sites have broadened video's impact like never before - and that's why VScreen covers you every step of the way. We'll not only license our industry specific video content for your website, but also compliment it by telling your story with compelling video and powerful testimonials. From script to screen and in between, VScreen is your one stop solution that cuts through the clutter. The bottom line? An online video presence, attracting more prospects for more reasons than ever before! At VScreen, we boast a background built on media production and distribution. VScreen's parent firm, Schweickart & Associates, began nearly 25 years ago as an audio production company, recording commercial messages for broadcast over a store's public address system. The operation enjoyed widespread success, serving national clients including Sears and Wal-Mart. Telephone "message on hold" service, for a variety of markets, was added in 1990. As technology evolves, so does our media delivery. The advent of the Internet provided additional opportunities for electronic marketing. As Internet video technology improved, video production and additional video-based products were added to the portfolio. VScreen was developed as a video management platform offering not only multi-channel delivery, but the ability to measure video viewership and response as well. Electronic viral marketing capability was also included to allow for maximum distribution and exposure of every video.

Flyer IO
The easiest way to create Real Estate flyer online. We are a single tool to build, share, and track Real Estate flyers.

Homes.com
Homes.com provides brand advertising, listing exposure, lead generation, and marketing solutions for real estate professionals. Millions of active buyers, sellers, and renters visit Homes.com monthly in search of their next home. Our advertising products are designed to help local agents connect with this engaged audience while our marketing tools and IDX websites turn those connections into business. We also take pride in our reputation as a “friend to the industry,” earned in part due to our commitment to positioning listing agents as a central part of each property inquiry. Each listing is clearly attributed to the agent who listed it and a copy of every lead the listing generates is sent to the listing agent.