Fast Leads or Sustainable Growth? The PPC vs. SEO Debate for Real Estate Investors

Getting visitors to your website is an important part of online lead generation. PPC and SEO are two tools you can use to attract motivated seller leads. These options are not mutually exclusive. You can run a PPC campaign while optimizing your website for SEO.

The question is: how many resources should you allocate towards SEO and PPC? When will you see results from your marketing efforts? And what does it take to be successful with SEO or PPC?

What is PPC for Real Estate Investors?

Try searching Google about “we buy houses+ [location]”. You’ll see ads appearing at the top of the search page. Those are PPC ads trying to gain clicks from motivated property owners.

PPC stands for pay-per-click. Two popular PPC platforms are Google Ads and Facebook Ads. You are going to pay a set amount for each click your ad receives. PPC brings instant visibility and results for real estate investors nationwide.

You can target specific demographics. You can track campaign performance while analyzing cost, profit, views, clicks, and visits.

How to Run a Successful PPC Campaign

A PPC campaign has several moving parts. In this section, we’ll focus on the most crucial aspects:

What Is Your Goal?

You might be looking for motivated seller leads, or you may simply want to raise brand awareness for your company. Your goals will shape your keyword strategy, ad copy, and landing page. Choose tools like Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to find high-intent keywords. A good keyword should be local to your market and address why a motivated seller wants to sell.

Long-tail keywords are specific and less competitive (e.g., “How to sell an inherited property in Miami”). You should also apply negative keyword filters. These are the keywords you don’t want to target.

How to Write Your Ad Copy?

The ad should be unique, specific, and compelling. Homeowners are exposed to ads daily. Over time, this leads to ad fatigue. The solution is to write unique ads that can stand out. Notice the difference between:

Sell Your House Fast for Cash Get a Cash Offer in 24 Hours

AND

Sell Now—Stay Rent-Free for 30 Days

The first ad appeals to motivated sellers. The second is more specific toward homeowners who need time after closing.

Optimize Your Landing Page

Businesses earn $2 in revenue for every dollar spent on Google ads. Your PPC ad can drive visitors to your site—but your landing page must convert them.

That’s why you need strong content, a compelling offer, a conversion form, and trust signs (testimonials, BBB ratings, and affiliations).

PPC allows precise local targeting by city or region. You can specify age, income level, and homeownership status. You can also use retargeting to reach users who visited your website but didn’t convert.

Track Your Campaign Performance

Once the campaign is live, test the ad. Test your ad copy and CTA. Review performance metrics and make adjustments as needed. Run different variations and choose the ad that delivers the best results.

SEO for Real Estate Investors

Search engine optimization helps you attract high website rankings. It’s about gaining organic, non-paid traffic to your website. SEO delivers high ROI and steady traffic without higher costs. The challenge is that SEO takes time and has a complex mechanism. Google uses different algorithms to rank websites, and it’s challenging to stay current with the trends. SEO rankings are a trust signal because it takes time and hard work to achieve organic rankings.

The conversion rate for SEO in the real estate industry is 2.8%, while its counterpart (PPC) has a comparatively lower conversion rate, standing at 0.8%.

PPC Ads

How to Achieve Results with SEO Marketing for Investors?

• SEO starts with the right keywords. If Google Keyword Planner seems overwhelming, choose paid search tools. You need to find long-tail keywords suitable for your city/neighborhood.

• Next comes technical SEO, which is often the most challenging aspect. Hiring a technical SEO professional can help ensure your website is mobile-friendly and loads quickly. Google prioritizes user experience, and a good website delivers that.

• You can set up a Google business profile for local SEO. You can also request testimonials from past clients on your Google listing.

• Publish high-quality website copy and blogs. Focus on seller pain points and educate them on their options.

• Google trusts businesses that are mentioned on reputable websites. Get featured on real estate podcasts, news articles, and forums to attract high-quality backlinks and local citations.

• SEO is a long-term investment. While it takes time and effort, investors who commit to it benefit from lower lead costs and increased customer trust.

Is PPC More Effective than SEO?

PPC typically has a lower conversion rate for the real estate industry. While it can attract potential clients, converting them into actual sellers is challenging unless you’re an established brand. Real estate is a trust-based industry. A homeowner might click on your ad, but that doesn’t mean they’ll sell their property to you. Homeowners want to see an established history and past client testimonials. In other words, PPC can get you visibility, but it won’t increase brand value. And that’s why you need to invest in SEO.

A good rule of thumb is to invest in SEO and PPC with a 75% and 25% distribution ratio. Create authentic content and a brand following. Use PPC to give your business the immediate lift while utilizing SEO for long-term, cost-effective results.

When to Choose SEO:

• Choose SEO as a long-term and sustainable marketing strategy to attract motivated seller leads.

• Opt for SEO if you’re patient and can wait for ranking to improve.

• SEO is great for having a lower cost per lead over time.

When to Choose PPC:

• Run a PPC campaign to attract immediate leads.

• PPC is a good choice if you have a marketing budget and don’t mind paying per lead.

• PPC is a great choice to test different markets quickly.