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PPC marketing becoming more reasonable

Now may be the time to start your Internet "Pay-Per-Click" (PPC) marketing campaign. It appears that Google and Yahoo are now feeling the national slump in the real estate market. I suspect that many advertisers have totally withdrawn from this form of advertising.

Over the last few weeks I've observed the average cost per click waffling very dramatically. This weekend's overall prices are about 40% less than the average for the month of September. This just doesn't add up because the numbers of on-line Buyers are holding steady ... traffic for the sites we monitor are down no more than 5% and a few are even showing growth.

If you've experimented with PPC in the past and given up because of a low Return-On-Investment (ROI), I would take another really close look at this as a potential opportunity. If you've never tried, this is definitely a good time to give PPC a shot. You can expect the ultra-competitive search phrases like "Seattle real estate" and "Bellingham real estate" to remain expensive. But you should find value prices available when targeting the surrounding communities like "Puyallup real estate" and "Granite Falls real estate".

I believe that CONSISTENCE and DIVERSIFICATION are keys to success in all market conditions. So don't rob Peter to pay Paul by shifting your budget from tradition marketing (unless its not working). But if you have a budget of $50 - $500 per month you should consider a self managed PPC campaign. For $501 or more, you should consider hiring a firm or assistant to manage a PPC campaign for you. If you are already paying someone to manage your PPC campaign, ask for a report to make sure you're getting the exposure that your paying for in accordance with current PPC market pricing.

Posted by Larry Wright on 10/08/2007 12:41 PM

Comments (9)

ppc, washington real estate, google, yahoo, advertising, marketing

9 Comments on PPC marketing becoming more reasonable

Hi Larry, T

hank you for the tip, we need all the help that we could get.

Anthony

10/08/2007 01:04 PM

by Anthony Stokes-Pereira (Prudential Rand Realty)

Larry, my 2 cents is that the Big Lead Generators quit due to the market. I do believe it is a good time to play with PPC.

10/08/2007 01:09 PM

by Daniel Sundberg Foreclosure Specialist (Crystal Springs Real Estate)

Thanks Anthony and Daniel. Make sure you have a plan for evaluating results of your PPC campaign.

10/09/2007 10:46 AM

by Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com)

Larry, I like what you posted. I believe that many real estate firms who had previously had bigger budgets have dried up. This means it is time to check and see what the PPC costs are today and compare it to what you would have paid 6 month to a year ago. I am guessing that many of the prior advertisers have fallen out of the picture and the pricing may have come down.

10/09/2007 09:59 PM

by Sam Miller (RE/MAX Stars Realty)

Thanks Sam,

I noticed another drop this morning ... roughly 45 - 50% for real estate related search terms.

10/10/2007 04:11 PM

by Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com)

Larry,

Great post. I tried Google PPC 3 years ago - very pricey - I might try it again now though. Do you do any print advertising anymore????

Mike Lewis

10/10/2007 11:45 PM

by Mike Lewis San Diego Realtor (Dawn Sells San Diego)

Mike ... yes, I absolutely believe in print advertising. Right now we run two full page ads ... one in Pierce County and one in Thurston County. We hope to start a third ad in a King County publication very soon.

10/11/2007 10:42 AM

by Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com)

Larry, I too, knew about PPC from another Internet Marketing business I was associated with and heard it was pretty pricey if you didn't get a sale on about the 15th click. In print advertising do you do direct mail post cards and are they effective for you, or you only do magazines?

11/03/2007 09:35 PM

by Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty)

Gary ... we stick to monthly print advertising. It has proven a productive marketing method for several years.

11/11/2007 02:54 PM

by Larry Wright (nwRealty.Com)