Google Ads for Australian Real Estate
realestate.com.au and Domain own the portals. Google Ads is where you reach buyers and vendors earlier.
We run Google Ads for Australian real estate agencies, developers, and buyers' agents. Our focus is on qualified vendor and purchaser intent at the suburb level, the search traffic the portals do not capture.
What breaks
realestate.com.au and Domain own head terms
Bidding against the portals on 'houses for sale' or 'property for rent' burns 40-60% of budget. Australian agencies cannot outrank the portals on generic terms, and should not try.
Long settlement cycles break attribution
Australian property settlements take 30-90 days after contract. Without offline conversion tracking from your CRM (Box+Dice, AgentBox, Rex), Google Ads cannot tell which keywords produced actual settled sales.
Vendor appraisals are undervalued
Most agencies focus on buyer leads because volume is higher. But a vendor appraisal booking is worth 10-30x a buyer enquiry. Treating them as the same conversion type in Google Ads wastes budget on the wrong optimisation target.
What works
Suburb-level keyword targeting
Target 'Bondi houses for sale', 'Toorak apartments', 'Paddington rentals', not metro-level head terms. Australian buyers search by suburb. Lower CPCs, less portal competition, higher purchase intent.
Separate vendor and purchaser funnels
Vendor intent ('free property appraisal', 'sell my house Melbourne') is a different campaign with different landing pages and bid strategies than purchaser intent. Combined into one campaign, both underperform.
Call tracking with dynamic number insertion
Australian buyers and vendors still ring. Calls convert to inspections at 2-3x the rate of web enquiries. Install CallRail AU, Delacon, or equivalent with dynamic number insertion across both funnels.
CRM offline conversion imports
Import settled sales from Box+Dice, AgentBox, or Rex into Google Ads as offline conversions. Smart Bidding can then optimise toward keywords that produce real commissions, not form fills.
Privacy Act compliance for remarketing
The Australian Privacy Act (with upcoming reforms) requires disclosure and reasonable consent for remarketing. Cookie banners must disclose third-party pixels. Done properly, remarketing works within compliance.
Our playbook
Week 1: Audit + suburb keyword map
We map your listings against Australian suburbs, identify the 20-40 suburbs worth targeting, and audit your existing account for portal head-term waste.
Week 2: Dual-funnel campaign restructure
Separate vendor appraisal and buyer enquiry campaigns with dedicated landing pages. Call tracking installed across both. Privacy Act consent flows reviewed.
Week 3: Launch + CRM integration
Smart Bidding live on target CPA. Box+Dice / AgentBox / Rex connected for offline conversion import. First optimisation cycle on day 7.
Week 4+: Scale on settlement value
Once settlements flow back as offline conversions, we shift bidding from CPA to target ROAS based on average commission value. Compounding efficiency begins here.
Questions, answered
What is a realistic cost per lead for Australian real estate PPC?
Buyer enquiries typically range from A$20-A$80 depending on suburb and price bracket. Vendor appraisals (the high-value lead) run A$45-A$200. Prime Sydney and Melbourne suburbs run materially higher. The real KPI is cost per signed listing, not cost per enquiry.
Can Google Ads compete with realestate.com.au and Domain?
Not on head terms, don't try. You compete on suburb-specific and intent-specific long-tail keywords where the portals are not optimised. A well-run local agency campaign materially outperforms portal traffic on queries that actually produce signed listings and settled sales.
How does the Australian Privacy Act affect Google Ads remarketing?
The Privacy Act requires disclosure of third-party pixels and reasonable user consent. Your cookie banner must disclose Google Ads remarketing. With current reforms increasing enforcement, getting this right matters, but done properly, remarketing remains fully functional.
What's the minimum ad spend for Australian real estate PPC?
A$2,500-A$4,000/month for single-office or single-suburb campaigns. A$12,000+/month for multi-office or regional campaigns. Below A$2,500/month, budget smoothing by Google absorbs spend before meaningful testing is possible.
How long before Australian Google Ads produces real estate leads?
First enquiries arrive within 48-72 hours of launch. Stable efficient performance takes 60-90 days while Smart Bidding calibrates on your conversion data. Agencies expecting profitability in month one will be disappointed, month three is where it starts to compound.
Related reading for real estate.
Best Google Ads Agencies for Real Estate Agents in 2026
Google Ads agencies actually running profitable real estate campaigns in 2026, what each does well, what they don't, and how to pick the right one.
Google Ads for Real Estate Agents: The Complete 2026 Playbook
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Estate Agent Vendor Acquisition vs Portal Listings
Most UK estate agents spend 70% of marketing budget on Rightmove + Zoopla. The 30% on direct vendor acquisition is where the real ROI lives.
Lead Generation for UK Estate Agents: 2026 Playbook
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