The UK housing market is on the rebound. Transactions in England and Wales reached a six-year high in March, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), with the number of homes changing hands rising by 9.6% compared to the same month last year.
This is good news for estate agents who have been feeling the pinch since the 2008 financial crisis. But while the market is definitely picking up, there are still some tough times ahead. In order to make the most of the opportunities that are out there, estate agents need to be smart about their marketing – and that means thinking carefully about pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
PPC can be an effective way to generate leads and drive traffic to your website, but it can be a minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s why we’ve put together this guide to help you make the most of PPC in your estate agency business.
What is PPC?
PPC is a type of online advertising that allows you to buy visits to your website rather than earning them organically through SEO or other marketing activities. You can think of it as a way of “buying” traffic, rather than waiting for it to come to you naturally.
When you set up a PPC campaign, you choose certain keywords that you want to bid on. When someone searches for one of those keywords, your ad appears in the search results – and if they click on your ad, they’ll be taken to your website. You then pay each time someone clicks on your ad, hence the name “pay-per-click”.
Why use PPC?
There are several reasons why PPC can be a good idea for estate agents:
It’s instant: Once you’ve set up your campaign and chosen your keywords, your ads will start appearing in search results straight away. There’s no need to wait for weeks or months for organic traffic to build up.
It’s targeted: With PPC, you can specifically target people who are searching for properties like yours – meaning that you’re more likely to generate leads that convert into sales.
It’s flexible: You can control how much you spend on PPC, and you can adjust your campaigns at any time if you need to change your approach.
What are the dangers of PPC?
PPC can be an effective way to drive traffic to your website – but it can also be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. Here are a few things to watch out for:
You could lose money: If you don’t manage your campaigns carefully, it’s easy to spend more money than you make from sales – meaning that PPC could end up costing you money rather than making you money. It takes time and effort: Managing a successful PPC campaign takes time and effort – so if you don’t have the staff or resources to do it properly, it could end up being more trouble than it’s worth.”
