Adding AdWords

Using Pay-Per-Click Campaigns

By Geneva Ives on Jan 4, 2016 in Marketing

By now we’re sure you’ve heard of Google AdWords, those pay-per-click (PPC) ads that pop up in search results on the largest search engine in the world. Whether you do a Google search from your desktop or mobile device, you’ll see them—serving up the most relevant results to get you to click through to the advertisers’ websites.

If you’re interested in learning how to use Google AdWords for search engine marketing (SEM), this blog post will help you get started. First, we’re going to teach you the basic terminology and functions. Then we’ll share three best practices that will help you get results. And finally we’ll introduce you to a service that will help power your AdWords campaigns and deliver measurable results.

Ready to learn more about Google AdWords for property marketing? Ok, here we go!

Getting Started

Get your ad on Google, the search engine that processes over 3.5 billion searches per day. Google AdWords helps you advertise your business or community directly to potential leads at the very moment that they’re searching for the things you offer.

Creating Ads
Creating an AdWords ad is a three-step process. First you write the ad, including a headline that identifies your product or service, a link to the landing page you want people to go to, and some text with a call to action. Then you choose the search terms that will prompt your ad to appear in Google search results. And finally, you set your daily budget.

Ad Groups
Ad groups are groups of ads with slight copy, url, or delivery (desktop vs. mobile) differences that target the same set of search terms.

Campaigns
A campaign is a set of ad groups that have the same budget, location targeting, and more. You might have one campaign comprised of several ad groups tailored for students and another campaign running at the same time that is focused on attracting senior renters.

Budgets
Google AdWords is different from other forms of online advertising in that you don’t just pay one lump sum and hope it works. Instead, you only pay when it’s working. That’s right, you don’t pay a penny unless someone clicks through to your website or gives you a call as a result of your AdWords ad. So you determine your budget—whether it’s several thousand dollars a month or just a couple hundred—and you are free to adjust it (or even cancel it) at any time.

3 Best Practices

1. Match your ad to your landing page.

If your ad talks about studio apartments, don’t confuse (or lose) your audience by linking to your homepage or a page with two-bedroom apartments. For the highest conversion rate, link directly to a landing page that delivers what the ad promises… even if that means you have to take the time to create one.

2. Include your phone number in mobile ads.

If someone is searching on the go, there’s a good chance they need it now. Use call extensions to give mobile users the option to call you instead of forcing them to go to your website for more information. That way they can find out if you have any pet-friendly units available right now, instead of scrolling and clicking on a small screen. And you’ll still be able to track conversions.

3. Try something new in every ad group.

Since ad groups have multiple ads, do some testing by adding one with messaging that is notably different from the rest. Google automatically rotates ads to show the best-performing ones more often, so you will know what works and what doesn’t.

RENTCafé Reach

For a lot of people, the thought of finding the time to learn, manage, track, and optimize yet another advertising program isn’t exactly a thrilling prospect. If you see the value in AdWords campaigns but simply don’t have the time, why not leave it to the experts?

Yardi clients that use RentCafe to manage their property marketing efforts are in luck. Fully integrated with RentCafe, RentCafe Reach supplies expert SEM services that drive clicks via Google AdWords. Additional SEO services also work for your communities to earn top placement in organic search results.

As an official Google Partner, Yardi provides Google AdWords Certified Specialists to manage your ad campaigns. You’ll get:

• Strategic PPC advertising tailored to your goals
• Campaign management by Google AdWords™ Certified Specialists
• Ad targeting based on demographics, location, timing, and mobility
• Ad extensions and landing pages to increase conversions
• Ad ROI tracked by ad group. Placement, timing, and more
• Campaign flexibility informed by ad performance analytics

Reach more people to attract them to your community. Deliver relevant content to get them to click through to your website and take the next step. Then analyze results to continually improve your ROI. Our experts can help! Click here for more details.

Learn more by contacting the RentCafe sales team at (800) 866-1144 or emailing [email protected]

Have you tried Google AdWords yet? Is it part of your marketing budget for 2016?