Did you know, each year online advertisers waste $37 billion on ads that miss their target. Yes – that’s $37 billion dropping straight into Google’s coffers for no return. As a Letting Agent, do you use Google Ads? How sure are you that your precious marketing spend isn’t contributing to Google’s windfall?
In this article, we’ll show you how to:
The key is to begin by researching your target market. Succeed in this, and you’ll be well on the way to achieving a successful ROI on your Google spend.
Your target audience is the group of people most likely to be looking for your Letting Agency services. A clearly defined target audience of Landlords will form the foundation of every marketing strategy you undertake. Are you looking for Commercial Landlords or Residential Landlords? If it’s the latter, are you aiming for Landlords of HMO properties or single occupancy properties? Which geographical area are you targeting?
You need to divide your various target audiences into distinct categories. The more specific you can be with each one, the more successful you’ll be with your Ad campaigns.
Here are seven steps that will help you better identify who your target audience is.
Keyword research will form the basis of any digital marketing campaign. You’ll use the results of your research to develop your strategy for blogs, web page SEO and Google Ads.
Keywords are a word or phrase that an individual uses to carry out a search in a search engine. Having identified your target audience, developing your keyword research strategy should be the next step in creating your Google Ads campaign.
Your task is to find out what words Landlords are entering into Google when they’re looking for the kind of service that your Letting Agency offers.
Begin by putting yourself into the shoes of your Landlord clients and think about the kind of words they might enter into Google. Why not ask a handful of your Landlord clients what word they might use when searching for a Letting Agent. Examples you come up with might include:
Next, try entering one of these terms into the Google search bar. As you enter each character, you’ll notice a list of possible alternatives appearing below. These will give you an idea as to the kind of similar searches people make. Note down all these search terms.
At this point, you need to start using a Keyword Research Tool. There are many available – some are free, others paid for. The Google Keyword Planner is free and should be perfectly adequate. You’ll need to set up a Google Ads account before you can use the Keyword Planner.
You’ll also need to prepare an excel spreadsheet to store your keyword data. This will have to include column headings, such as Keyword, Monthly Search Volume and CPC (Cost Per Click).
Google is more sophisticated than ever before in the way it interprets users’ search behaviour. These days it identifies ‘user intent’ – what the user was trying to achieve when doing the search. It does this by analysing the connection between the words in the search – or their context.
User intent can be informational, transactional or navigational. Here’s an example of each:
Google Ads that you place, as a Letting Agent, might well perform better if you include words that support an intent that’s transactional. You might use the phrase –
‘Looking for a Bedford HMO Letting Agent?’
For your Google Ads campaign to be successful and cost-effective, you need to develop a strategy and structure. You might decide to structure a Campaign to attract Landlords of HMO properties. Within that campaign, you might choose different Ad Groups – for example, one for Landlords of HMO Properties in Brighton and one for Landlords of HMO properties in Lewes.
Here are the steps to take when you create your campaign:
This is where you’ll use the data you’ve collected to create the Ads that will give you the best chance of achieving your goals. Your Google Ads will be divided into two parts – the headline and the description.
You’ll need three headlines for each of your Google Ads. To catch the eye, each one needs to be brief and punchy. You have just 30 characters with which to persuade the reader to read the main part of your Ad.
Your three headlines need to work as a team – the second and third adding to the previous one.
These three headlines work well because they clearly explain what you provide, the benefits of your service, and there’s a Call To Action too.
Notice also how the first letter of each word is in upper-case. Research shows that this is always more effective.
You need to write two descriptions. These need to be carefully worded to make your Google Ad appear irresistible.
The character limit is 90 characters. Here’s an example of a description you might use –
HMO Landlords – Save Money With Brighton’s Most Experienced HMO Specialist Letting Agent.
This description works because it:
It also connects well with the headlines.
It’s one thing to set up your Google Ad Campaigns – but just as vital is monitoring and reviewing them. You need to know how well they’re working, and you need to be prepared to constantly tweak them to make them more effective. You do this within your Google Ads account by, first of all, setting up and monitoring Conversion Tracking. This will enable you to measure your ROI – Return On Investment. You’ll be able to check your Quality Score and test the effectiveness of each campaign.
It’s important to remember that, for very good reasons, Google has strict Ad policies. Break these, and you’ll soon find your account suspended. Find out about these policies here.
Here at Agent Extra, we use our years of Google Ads experience and know-how to create and manage Google Ad campaigns for estate and letting agents throughout the UK. Find out how to make your Google Ads campaigns work for you. Contact us today.
If you are looking for other avenues and methods for targeting landlords, check out our article on 40 ways to find landlords.
Our marketing journey outlines the benefits of a hyper-targeted marketing campaign which beats competitors