How do your apartment's Google Ad campaigns measure up?
WordStream published Google Ads benchmarks for 2024 for both all and individual industries.
They averaged the click-through rate, cost per click, conversion rate, and cost per lead.
Here are our takeaways from the data, including how our partner communities' Google Ads stand compared to these benchmarks.
Paid Search Benchmarks for 2024 (All Industries)
Though click-through rates (6.24%) are improving, every other benchmark for Google Ads in 2024 is moving in the wrong direction.
Cost per click ($4.66) and cost per lead ($66.69) are rising, while conversion rates (6.96%) are declining.
WordStream attributes the rise in click-through rates to Google featuring ads in more space above the fold of the search engine results page (SERP), increasing clickability.
Seeing where these benchmarks stand after Google introduces generative AI overviews to the SERP will be interesting.
Paid Search Benchmarks for the Real Estate Industry
The average cost per click for Google Ads in the real estate category in 2024, $2.10, has increased 35.5% year over year.
Despite the increase, real estate's CPC remains among the lowest.
Meanwhile, their conversion rate was 2.91%, among the lowest of any sector.
And their average cost per lead of $87.36 was also much more expensive than other industries.
Remember that these benchmarks represent a wide array of Google Ads for residential, commercial, and multifamily companies, their properties, and even their real estate agents. They are not a definitive measurement of Google Ads exclusively for apartments.
The reality is that it's challenging to make real estate ad campaigns work and perform efficiently—apartment ads included.
But with the right Google Ads strategy, you will not only be able to achieve much higher performance benchmarks than your peers but also turn paid search advertising into your greatest source of leads.
RentVision's Google Ad Benchmarks for Multifamily
RentVision manages millions of dollars worth of Google Ads for hundreds of apartment communities nationwide annually with our multifamily pay-per-click solution.
Here are how our partner's communities Google Ads are performing in 2024:
Average Cost Per Click: $0.87
(64.1% less than the industry benchmark)
Average Cost Per Lead: $41.33
(52.7% less than the industry benchmark)
On average, RentVision’s partners generate website traffic at less than half the cost of typical real estate Google Ads.
But it's not just about the price of those ads; it's also about the quality of the traffic they create.
Though our partners' average click-through rate of 4.8% is less than the real estate industry standard, it confirms that their campaigns are performing well.
After all, more clicks do not equal more leads.
And more clicks at low costs directly result from ads mistargeted to irrelevant, easy-to-rank-for keywords.
And since the real estate industry's typical Google Ad converts at a lower rate, a higher click-through rate means you're paying for more only to get less.
The best benchmark for your apartment's Google Ads is getting qualified renters—those genuinely interested in your apartments or ones like yours—to click and visit your website, where they ultimately become a lead ready to lease.
You can do this by aiming for lower costs per click and conversion, as these indicate that you're getting the most qualified traffic by targeting ads more precisely while avoiding overspending on Google Ads that generate wasted clicks.
And by implementing Predictive Advertising by RentVision, you can improve your apartment's website traffic, leads, and conversions at costs far better than the industry average with your Google Ads, too.
Continued Reading
- Need help getting started with Google Ads for your apartments? Check out our beginner's guide to multifamily digital advertising.
- Here's more detailed information on how Google Ads for apartments work.
- How much do Google Ads cost? See our review of PPC costs for apartments.