Real Estate Lead Gen: Google Ads Case Study

Real Estate Lead Gen: Google Ads Case Study

Real Estate Lead Gen: Google Ads Case Study

Marketing Strategies

Mar 15, 2025

Learn how a Southern California brokerage slashed lead costs by 61% and boosted lead volume by 900% through optimized Google Ads strategies.

Key takeaway: A Southern California brokerage cut their cost per lead by 61% (from $360 to $140) and increased lead volume by 900% in just 60 days using intent-driven targeting and optimized campaigns.

What worked:

  • Precise targeting: Focused on high-intent buyers and sellers using real-time data.

  • Better ad content: Tailored ads to reach serious prospects.

  • Optimized landing pages: Designed for conversions and lead tracking.

  • Smart retargeting: Automated follow-ups for visitors who didn’t convert.

Results in numbers:

Metric

Before

After

Improvement

Cost per Lead

$360

$140

61% reduction

Monthly Lead Volume

50 leads

500 leads

900% increase

If you’re struggling with high ad costs and low-quality leads, this case study shows how data-driven strategies can transform your results.

Client Profile and Problems

About the Real Estate Company

To understand the challenges Premier Homes & Properties faced with Google Ads, it's important to know who they are. This Southern California real estate brokerage specializes in luxury residential properties. They cater to high-net-worth clients across affluent neighborhoods in Orange County and the Los Angeles metro area. With a team of 25 agents and an in-house marketing crew, the company had clear business goals:

  • Expand their portfolio of high-end property listings

  • Attract serious buyers for current listings

  • Grow their presence in upscale neighborhoods

  • Maintain a steady flow of seller leads for their experienced agents

However, these goals highlighted significant gaps in their advertising strategy.

Lead Generation Problems

Premier Homes encountered several hurdles in generating quality leads. As 24/7 Intent puts it:

"Most businesses are wasting their ad budgets... Facebook, Google, etc. cast a wide net, hoping for bites, but they don't know who's ready to convert..." – 24/7 Intent

Here’s where things went wrong:

  • High Costs, Low Returns: Their $5,000 monthly budget brought in 1,000 clicks, but only 50 of those turned into qualified leads. This meant 95% of their ad spend was wasted on traffic that didn’t convert.

  • Poor Targeting: The ads failed to focus on high-intent buyers and sellers, instead attracting unqualified prospects. They also lacked tools to identify active property seekers.

The numbers tell the story:

Metric

Pre-Optimization Performance

Cost per Quality Lead

$100

Click-to-Client Conversion

5%

Monthly Ad Waste

$4,750

Quality Lead Rate

5%

Premier Homes needed a way to target serious buyers and sellers, cut down on wasted spending, refine retargeting efforts, and gain better insights into visitor behavior to improve lead quality.

Campaign Planning and Setup

Keyword Selection and Audience Targeting

Premier Homes used 24/7 Intent's platform to analyze 50–70 billion weekly online behaviors, aiming to identify buyers and sellers with strong purchase intent.

Here’s how they refined their targeting approach:

Targeting Criteria

How It Was Done

Result

Search Intent

Real-time behavior tracking

Found individuals actively searching for properties

Buyer Stage

Analysis of intent signals

Reached buyers who were ready to make a purchase

Ad Content Creation

After pinpointing the right audience, the focus turned to creating effective ad content. Using the data, the team developed ads tailored to high-intent buyers. These ads were designed to connect directly with prospects who were most likely to engage.

Landing Page Setup

With the ads ready, attention shifted to building a landing page optimized for conversions. The page featured lead capture forms strategically placed to encourage visitor engagement. To take it a step further, the team used 24/7 Intent's "ExactMatch" technology. This tool tracked and identified website visitors - even those who didn’t immediately share their contact details. Automated follow-up sequences were also set up to reconnect with visitors who didn’t convert right away, boosting the campaign’s overall performance.

Campaign Management and Updates

Initial Launch Results

Premier Homes launched a Google Ads campaign using high-intent targeting powered by 24/7 Intent's platform. The results in the first month showed a dramatic shift:

Metric

Before Integration

After Integration

Cost per Lead

$360

$140

Lead Volume

50 leads/month

500 leads/month

These improvements came from accurate audience targeting and real-time data integration, ensuring ads reached people actively searching for real estate services. With these promising results, the team moved forward with adjustments to boost performance further.

Performance Improvements

To address early challenges and make ad spending more efficient, the following strategies were implemented:

  • Automated Follow-ups: ExactMatch followed up with non-converters instantly using targeted remarketing campaigns.

  • Budget Reallocation: Real-time data helped shift budgets toward the best-performing ad groups, cutting costs and improving results.

Data Tools Integration

Advanced data tools were added to fine-tune the campaign strategy:

  • Real-time Intent Tracking: 24/7 Intent's platform identified prospects with strong purchase intent in real-time, feeding these insights directly into Google Ads for quick adjustments.

  • Smart Retargeting: Lost visitors were re-engaged through retargeting, recovering a notable portion of potential revenue.

  • Performance Monitoring: The team used regular updates and detailed monthly reports to track key metrics, adjust targeting, and refine ad content. This approach delivered actionable insights into cost savings and return on investment.

Google Ads for Real Estate: 200+ Monthly Leads - PPC Case Study

Campaign Results

The campaign management updates led to a noticeable improvement in both lead quality and cost efficiency.

Lead Quality and Volume Metrics

By using intent-focused targeting, the number of qualified leads jumped from 50 to 500 per month - a massive 900% increase. This was achieved through refined targeting methods and data-driven tweaks during the campaign optimization process.

Cost and ROI Data

The campaign achieved impressive cost reductions while improving performance:

Metric

Initial

After 60 Days

Improvement

Cost per Lead

$360

$140

61% reduction

Monthly Lead Volume

50

500

900% increase

These savings directly contributed to better sales outcomes.

Sales and Revenue Impact

The boost in lead quality helped lower acquisition costs and speed up the sales process. With a 61% drop in cost per lead, higher conversion rates, and quicker deal closures, average transaction values also grew.

"Lower your cost per customer by up to 50% and increase closing rates up to 3x - ensuring that you maximize every penny of ad spend." - 24/7 Intent

The combined effects of higher lead volume, better lead quality, and reduced costs created a strong foundation for sustained growth through Google Ads campaigns.

Lessons and Guidelines

Success Factors

Our campaign's success came down to a few key factors that made all the difference:

  • Data-driven targeting: By analyzing real-time search habits and offline records, we pinpointed high-intent property buyers - users actively searching for properties.

  • Automated follow-ups: These kept potential leads engaged, especially those who showed interest but didn’t convert right away. Consistent communication throughout the buying journey was key.

"Instead of wasting money on random clicks, your ads reach the exact people who are ready to buy what you're selling." - 24/7 Intent

These strategies offer clear, actionable steps for creating real estate ads that work.

Real Estate Ad Guidelines

If you're in real estate and using Google Ads, here are strategies that deliver results:

Strategy

How to Implement

Why It Works

Intent Tracking

Monitor billions of online behaviors weekly

Helps find active property seekers

Data Integration

Combine online activity with property records

Builds precise audience segments

Smart Retargeting

Use automated follow-ups with warm leads

Keeps potential buyers engaged

Performance Monitoring

Optimize campaigns in real time

Cuts wasted ad spend

Done right, these strategies can transform your ad results. But knowing what not to do is just as important.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Casting too wide a net: Targeting a broad audience often wastes money on people who aren’t ready to buy.

  • Skipping lead follow-ups: Many businesses lose out by failing to reconnect with website visitors who don’t leave contact info.

  • Ignoring data insights: Without monitoring and adjusting based on performance, costs go up, and conversions drop.

Summary

This case study highlights how using intent-driven data with Google Ads can transform lead generation in the real estate sector. By combining real-time intent data with Google Ads, businesses achieved impressive outcomes.

For instance, a software company reduced its cost per lead by 61% - dropping from $360 to $140 in just 60 days. Meanwhile, a mortgage company saw a tenfold jump in qualified leads within 30 days, all without increasing their ad budget.

Metric

Before

After

Timeframe

Cost per Lead

$360

$140

60 days

Qualified Leads

1x

10x

30 days

Revenue Recovery

$0

$200K

90 days

These numbers illustrate the campaign's success in cutting costs and improving lead quality. The key? Real-time intent data paired with automated follow-ups. By tracking 50–70 billion niche-specific online behaviors weekly and refreshing lead data every 24 hours, businesses targeted active property seekers with precision.

"We don't replace your team or agency. Instead, we supercharge your current campaigns with data that pinpoints ready-to-buy leads, helps lower your costs, and increases conversions. No complicated tools or processes - we plug into what you already use." – 24/7 Intent

For real estate professionals, using intent-driven data to focus on high-intent leads, automate follow-ups, and apply smart retargeting can significantly boost lead quality, cut acquisition costs, and drive long-term growth. This approach offers a clear strategy for refining Google Ads campaigns.

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