Google Ads for real estate agents. One campaign for each kind of client you want more of.

Every build is read by Sean Cooney before it is sent.
Running Google Ads since 2001.

Sellers

The owner thinking about selling

real estate agent in a suburb · property appraisal · what is my house worth

The enquiry every agency wants, and the slowest. They look into agents, fees and prices for weeks or months before they ask anyone for an appraisal.

In the campaign: separate ad groups for people checking a value, people comparing agents and fees, and people ready to book an appraisal.

Landlords

The owner who needs a property manager

property manager in a suburb · property management fees · change property manager

A smaller group of searches with a long payoff, because a management can last for years. Some are already with another agency and looking to switch.

In the campaign: its own campaign and budget, kept apart from sales, with ad copy about fees, service and how switching works.

Buyers and renters

The person looking for a property

houses for sale · apartments for rent · open homes

The largest group of searches by far, and the one that will absorb a whole budget. Many of them are on their way to a listing portal, not to an agency.

In the campaign: usually negative keywords, so the budget goes to owners. A campaign of its own only for a development or a listing worth advertising directly.

An example for one service. In Performance Max the groups are asset groups and audiences, and they still lead to the one page.

Three services to advertise is three builds.

Count the pages you want to send paid traffic to. That is the number of campaigns your real estate agency needs.

See the Search build →

See the Performance Max build →

Or open a complete sample build, made for a fictional retailer: Search sample · Performance Max sample. Free, no email.

Australia · consumer law and underquoting

What your ads can claim

• Claims to sellers must be provable. Number one in the suburb, record prices and days on market are statements of fact. Consumer law does not allow false or misleading claims, and an ad is a claim.
• Property prices are regulated. New South Wales has underquoting laws covering how a property’s price is advertised, and tougher ones were announced in 2026. If a campaign advertises a listing, check the current rules before a price goes into an ad.
• Other states have their own rules. Check with the regulator that issued your licence before you launch.

Sources: ACCC, false or misleading claims · NSW Government, underquoting guidelines.

United States and Canada · Google’s housing policy

Who your ads can be shown to

• Housing is a restricted category. In the United States and Canada, Google’s housing policy covers homes for sale or rent, listing sites and real estate services.
• Five targeting options are barred. You cannot target by gender, age, parental status, marital status or ZIP code.
• What still works. City targeting, a radius of at least one kilometre and Google’s own predefined audiences. A Search campaign targets what someone types, so it is the least affected.

Source: Google Ads policy, housing in personalised advertising. It does not apply in Australia.

A build fits if

• You know which clients you want more of: sellers, landlords or both
• Your website has a page for each of them
• You, your office manager or your marketing person will run the account
• You want to know whether the numbers work before you spend on clicks
• You already have a marketer or freelancer and want the campaigns they manage built properly

Hire a Google Ads agency instead if

• You want someone to manage the account every week and report every month
• You want an audit of an account that is already running. We do not review accounts
• You want to talk it through on a call. We work by email and do not take calls
• You have no service pages yet. A campaign needs a page to send people to
• You run enough offices that one person should be watching the account full time

Does Google Ads work for real estate agents?

It can, and it depends on three numbers: what a click costs in your area, how many enquiries become listings or managements, and what each is worth to the agency. Every build includes a budget forecast that works this through before you spend. If the numbers do not hold for a service, the build says so.

How much should a real estate agent spend on Google Ads?

There is no single figure, because click costs change with the service and the area. The build forecasts what your budget can buy, using live search data for your own market, so you can set the spend with the numbers in front of you.

How many campaigns does a real estate agency need?

One for each page you want to send paid traffic to. An agency advertising appraisals, property management and one suburb needs three campaigns, because the searches, the ad copy and the budgets are different for each.

Should a real estate agent use Search or Performance Max?

Search shows your ad to someone who has just typed what they need, which suits an owner looking for an agent. Performance Max also runs across YouTube, Maps, Gmail and Display, and works best once conversion tracking is in place. You can order either, or both for the same page.

Should I advertise my listings on Google Ads?

Usually the campaign worth building is the one aimed at owners, because buyers and renters are the largest and loosest group of searches. A build can be made for a development or a listing page, as a campaign of its own.

Are there targeting rules for real estate ads?

In the United States and Canada, yes. Google’s housing policy bars targeting by gender, age, parental status, marital status and ZIP code for real estate services and listings. It does not apply in Australia.

Do you manage the campaign after it is built?

No, deliberately. You own the campaign and run it yourself. If you later hire a freelancer or an agency to manage it, they start from a properly structured account.

We already have a marketing person or agency. Can they use the build?

Yes. The build is an editable spreadsheet that you own. Hand it to whoever manages your account.

Do I need to give you access to my Google Ads account?

No. You receive a spreadsheet. Access is only needed if you add the optional $79 upload, where we load the finished campaign into your account, paused.

Which countries do you work with?

Any. Builds use live search data for your own market and currency. Prices are in US dollars.