For local businesses, Facebook ad campaigns are an excellent opportunity to boost advertising ROI. Campaign settings are diverse and the cost is affordable even for the small businesses. While this sort of advertising gains more and more traction, the real estate industry is rapidly learning to capitalize on the opportunities it provides.
With Google AdWords campaigns getting somewhat less effective in terms of reaching target audiences, advertisers turn to alternative channels. If done right, a few marketing dollars can deliver a huge ROI. So it’d be great to get hold of some real-life numbers showcasing strengths and weaknesses of Facebook ads for real estate before launching a campaign of your own.
Mark Irvine with WordStream did a wonderful job of collecting benchmark data for a variety of industries including real estate. The new data is invaluable for realtors aspiring to run better Facebook ad campaigns, at the same time setting them with realistic ROI expectations right from the start.
Let’s take a look at the benchmark data with regards to the real estate industry and the full post can be found here: Facebook Ad Benchmarks for Your Industry [New Data].
1. Facebook ads for real estate: Average click-through rate
0.99% average CTR (source: WordStream)
A click-through rate, or CTR, is one of the basic metrics in digital advertising. In a nutshell, it’s a ratio that shows you how many people clicked your ad after seeing it. A high CTR means your ad copy is engaging and attention-grabbing.
Facebook ads can perform better than search ads because they face less competition. If your ad copy is good enough, chances are big that people will click on it from their news feeds. Unlike search results, there are no similar offers from your competition so it’s easier for advertisers to grab your attention.
To compare, the highest CTR on Facebook goes to the legal industry and lawyers. According to the benchmark data, legal has an average 1,61% CTR.
2. Facebook ads for real estate: Average cost per click
$1.81 CPC (source: WordStream)
Cost per click is exactly how it sounds: the money you have to pay each time someone clicks on your ad. Of course, you’d want more ad clicks. At the same time, you need these clicks to come in from qualified leads so your ad budget actually pays off.
An average CPC of $1.81 on Facebook ads for real estate is quite good. Compared with other industries, it’s somewhere in the middle. For example, the highest CPC on Facebook is $3.77 (finance industry) while the lowest is $0.45 (for apparel).
3. Facebook ads for real estate: Average conversion rates
10.68% CVR (source: WordStream)
Facebook ads deliver remarkable conversion rates for agents. An average 10.68% CVR is among the top-performing results on Facebook, the highest CVR being 14.29% for the fitness industry.
This is good news to hear especially since the average conversion rate on Google search and Display network is 4.40% and 1.49% respectively.
Such goods results are probably due to the amazing targeting options Facebook provides, down to targeting specific neighborhoods and zip codes. Also, real estate ads are visually compelling thanks to the property photos. Of course, people are more compelled to click and learn more.
4. Facebook ads for real estate: Average cost per action
$16.92 CPA (source: WordStream)
Cost per action is a better way to control your ad budget. In a nutshell, you choose to only pay for specific actions, for example link clicks, page likes, mobile app downloads, video views, etc.
Again, real estate benchmark data for CPA is somewhere in the middle. It’s neither too expensive nor cheap to advertise here – of course, this is just an assumption because in the end it’ll depend on your ad budget. For example, for the IT industry, CPA runs as high as $55.21 while the education industry has a remarkable CPA of just $7.85. If you don’t want to pay for impressions (i.e., the number of times your ad was shown whether it was clicked or not), CPA might be an alternative option to consider.
What’s next?
Facebook ads for real estate could be an exciting avenue for growth. Whether you’re an advanced user or just considering it, this benchmark data might inspire you to learn more about the business opportunities this channel can deliver.
