Rentals
Rent, rental, lease, apartment and property management terms belong to a different business.
Search advertising
Google Ads for Real Estate Agents: Separate the Sellers From the Buyers Before You Spend a Dollar
An ad that tries to speak to both a person selling a house and a person shopping for one tends to speak well to neither. Their words differ, their urgency differs and the thing they want you to do next differs. The most useful way to run Google Ads for a real estate agent is to build sellers and buyers as separate campaigns, each with its own keywords, ads, budget and landing page. This page explains how we structure them, which search terms we want and avoid, how geography and timing work and how to count what the ads produce.
Campaign structure
Five Campaigns an Agent Might Run, and the Searches Behind Each
| Campaign | Searchers it targets | Sample search ideas | Landing page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller valuation | Homeowners curious about value | "what is my home worth [town]", "home value [neighborhood]", "how much can I sell my house for" | A valuation page with a short form and a plain explanation of what you will provide |
| Listing agent search | Owners ready to hire a listing agent | "listing agent [town]", "sell my house with a real estate agent", "agent to sell my home" | A listing process page with your approach and a phone number |
| Buyer search, general | Buyers searching by town | "homes for sale [town]", "houses near [school area]" | A search page for that town, with original introduction |
| Buyer, niche | Buyers of one type of property | "condos in [building]", "new construction [community]", "55 plus communities [town]", "waterfront homes [area]" | A community or property type page |
| Agent name and brand | Referrals and past clients checking you out | Your name, your team name, "[name] real estate" | Your homepage or contact page |
Most agents start with one or two of these. A brand campaign is inexpensive protection when competitors might bid on your name.
Keywords
Match Types, Negatives and the Searches You Should Pay Nothing For
Real estate agent searches attract plenty of people you do not want to pay for. Renters. Students looking for classes to get a license. Job seekers looking for a brokerage. People hunting for an apartment or for a property manager. Homeowners trying to sell without a real estate agent. Investors searching for wholesale deals. Folks reading the news about the market. A good campaign begins with a negative keyword list that screens these out, then grows it every week as real search terms come in.
We lean on phrase and exact match for core terms, and add broader matching only after tracking is trustworthy. Google's automated bidding performs better when conversion data is accurate, so we invest early in measuring the right actions and keeping junk submissions out of the count.
Negative keyword themes
Six Groups of Words to Block From Agent Campaigns
Careers and licensing
Jobs, salary, license, exam, classes, hiring and recruiting words attract the curious, not clients.
Do it yourself
For sale by owner kits and flat-fee listing searches may be worth a separate campaign, not a mixed one.
Wholesaling and investor deals
Cash offer, we buy houses, wholesale and flip searches suit investors, which have their own guides.
Forms and legal documents
Template, contract, form and PDF searches look for documents, not representation.
Wrong places
Neighboring cities you do not serve and national queries. This list grows as the search terms report fills in.
Geography and timing
Pick Real Service Areas and Know Which Setting Google Uses for Location
Location targeting in Google Ads lets a real estate agent choose between reaching people located in your area and people who merely show interest in it. For a seller campaign, you usually want homeowners physically in or near the towns you list. For a relocation campaign, you may deliberately want people searching from elsewhere about your area. Those are different campaigns with different settings and different landing pages, which is another reason to keep them apart.
Scheduling is less rigid for a real estate agent than for emergency trades. A form submission at ten at night is welcome, and the phone is not the only goal. But speed after the inquiry matters, so we set up a system for who answers and when. A campaign sending calls at times nobody picks up produces a poor impression for a lot of money. If you cannot answer personally, consider call routing or an answering service that can book an appointment, and let us know about it so tracking reflects it.
Tracking
What We Count, and What Each Count Tells You
| What we track | How | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Phone calls from ads | Call-only or tracked numbers, with call length | Shows which searches bring real conversations and which bring wrong numbers |
| Valuation and contact forms | Form submission tags with source | Separates sellers from general inquiries |
| Registrations on search pages | Account creation events on your site | Shows buyers who raised a hand, as long as the sign-up is not forced too early |
| Appointments set | Manual or CRM stage updates from you | Moves the count beyond clicks and form fills toward real business |
| Signed agreements and closings | Notes in your CRM tied to lead source | The slow but important measure; tells us what the ads are truly worth |
Call recording rules differ by state, and consent requirements apply to calls and to text follow-up. Check with your broker or an attorney before recording or messaging, and tell callers when you record.
Landing pages and copy
Write Ads You Could Show Your Managing Broker Without Flinching
An ad is a public statement made by a real estate agent, a licensee, so we treat it like one. The headline describes the offer in plain terms: a home value estimate, a local search, a consultation. We include or link to your brokerage name as your state and brokerage require. We avoid superlatives, promises about price or time on market, and any language that points to protected classes. The landing page repeats the ad's promise, shows who you are with a photo and license information where required and asks for the minimum: name, address for a valuation, phone or email.
Valuation forms deserve a note from every real estate agent who uses them. Visitors are wary of being chased after a form fill, so we say what will happen next: a market analysis, how it is delivered and how many times you will contact them. Then you keep that promise. A page that is honest about what an automated estimate can and cannot do will earn trust better than one that implies precision.
Ad copy
A Do and Do Not List for Search Ad Copy
| Do | Avoid | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Describe the service: a home value estimate, a listing consultation, a local home search | Words like "best", "top" or "number one" about yourself | Superlatives are hard to support and may breach advertising rules |
| Name your brokerage in the ad or the landing page, as your office requires | Using only a team brand or nickname | Many regulators expect clear brokerage identification |
| Mention the place you serve in natural words | Stuffing in every nearby town name | Ads that read like lists perform poorly and look careless |
| Say what happens after the form is sent | Promising a sale price or a quick sale | You cannot control price or timing, and promises create liability |
| Describe homes and places | Describing the type of buyer a neighborhood suits | Fair housing rules discourage language that can read as steering |
| Use plain calls to action such as "Get your home value" | Urgency tricks and false scarcity | They erode trust and may breach platform rules |
Bidding and automation
Let Google's Automation Help Only After the Tracking Tells the Truth
Google offers automated bidding that aims at conversions, and for a busy real estate agent it can save time. The catch is that automation learns from whatever you tell it counts as a win. If every form fill counts, including spam and wrong numbers, the system will happily find more of them. We begin with careful manual control on a small campaign, check that conversions reflect real inquiries and move to automated bidding when there is enough clean data to guide it.
The same caution applies to broad match and Performance Max-style campaigns. They can surface useful searches and also burn money on irrelevant ones, especially in a category as varied as real estate. We use them selectively, with tight negatives and close review, and we explain what is happening in plain language rather than hiding behind a dashboard.
Budgeting
A Way to Think About Spend Without Using Someone Else's Numbers
Write down what one closing is worth to you
Take the average commission a real estate agent earns after splits and costs. It is the ceiling for what an ad-driven closing can cost.
Estimate your conversion path
Roughly how many inquiries become appointments, how many appointments become agreements and how many agreements close. Rough guesses are fine at first.
Choose a test budget you can afford to lose
Set aside a modest amount for the first quarter. A small budget in a narrow area teaches more than a big one spread thin.
Review monthly, decide quarterly
Look at searches and calls monthly. Decide whether to scale, change or stop at the end of the quarter, once the slow leads have had time to mature.
Fee schedule
Google Ads Management Priced by the Month
Our monthly fee covers the build, the tuning and the reports. Google bills you for clicks separately. No sign-up fee, no commitment.
Google Ads questions
What Agents Ask Before Running Search Ads
How much does Google Ads management cost for a real estate agent?
Google Ads on its own is $895 a month, or $1,595 with a second platform added, and there is no contract. Google bills the click budget to you separately.
Should I use a free home valuation offer?
Valuation pages are one of the clearest seller hooks. Be honest about what the estimate is, describe what you will do next and follow your brokerage's compliance rules on how it is worded.
Do I run ads for my own listings?
Sometimes, if the seller and your brokerage agree and the wording is approved. A listing-focused campaign often helps the listing and builds your brand. Make sure attribution and MLS rules are followed.
Why not just buy leads from a portal?
You can, but you will often share the same person with others and pay for names. Your own ads bring people to your pages, and you own the data. We do not sell leads.
Can I target by age or income?
Housing advertisers face limits on audience targeting in major ad platforms to prevent discrimination. We focus on geography, search intent and good creative, which also tends to work well.
How quickly will I get inquiries?
Often within the first weeks once tracking is live, but the pace depends on your market and budget. We will not promise numbers. We will show you each inquiry and its source.
Explore more
Keep Going: Pages That Support a Seller or Buyer Campaign
Start Here
- SEO for Real Estate AgentsHow agents and brokerages earn organic visibility: town and neighborhood pages, buyer and seller guides, listing search, reviews and honest expectations.
- Real Estate Agent Marketing GuideThe whole picture for agents and brokerages: channels, client types, costs, seasonal calendar, measurement and a first 90 days.
- Real Estate Agent MarketingMarketing for agents, teams and independent brokerages: search, maps, ads, AI answers and a personal-brand site that turns visitors into conversations.
Get Found in Search
- Google Maps for Real Estate AgentsSet up your Google Business Profile as an agent, team or brokerage: category, address and service area, photos, reviews and how to avoid profile suspensions.
- AI Search for Real Estate AgentsHow buyers and sellers ask AI tools about agents, neighborhoods and closing costs, and how to publish clear, consistent facts about you and your market.
- Citations for Real Estate AgentsCitations and local links an agent can actually earn: association and brokerage profiles, chambers, lenders, charities, local press and neighborhood groups.
Paid Advertising
- Paid Ads for Real Estate AgentsWhere an agent should spend ad money first: seller valuation search, buyer search, retargeting and housing ad rules on each platform.
- Google Ads for Real Estate Agents (you are here)How to structure Google Ads for an agent: seller valuation campaigns, buyer and niche searches, negatives, geography, landing pages and call tracking.
- Meta Ads for Real Estate AgentsHow agents use Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram): neighborhood video, retargeting, listing announcements, lead forms and the housing special ad category.
Website and Content
- Websites for Real Estate AgentsWebsite design for agents and teams: personal-brand structure, listing search and IDX, valuation tools, disclosures, speed and lead capture.
- Content for Real Estate AgentsWhat an agent should publish: neighborhood guides, process explainers, dated market notes, video and newsletters, plus a review step for compliance.
Strategy and Lead Generation
- Lead Generation for Real Estate AgentsWhere agent leads come from, what a good one looks like, speed to reply, CRM habits, portals versus owned channels and consent rules for calls and texts.
- Grow Your Real Estate BusinessSteady ways for an agent or small brokerage to grow: choose who to serve, build repeat and referral flow, sharpen the listing appointment and add marketing in order.
- Scale Your Real Estate BusinessHow a successful agent turns a solo practice into a team or a small brokerage: roles to hire first, systems, supervision duties and when marketing spend should rise.
Get in Touch
Show Us Your Last Three Home Valuation Requests and Where They Came From
If you track the source, great. If you do not, that is the first thing we would fix. Tell us your towns and your usual price range, and we will draft a campaign outline. You can phone 610-825-4363 or write to hello@getphound.com, and our CEO will join the call.