New Study: Most Expensive CRE Keywords 2014

What does is it cost commercial real estate companies to generate a lead these days? Commercial real estate marketing company and creative agency inMotion Real Estate Media analyzed the most expensive property-related keywords in commercial real estate based on Google Adwords cost-per-click (CPC) data.

Cost-per-click is the cost an advertiser will pay Google for a website visitor to click on their ad, and this can vary drastically depending on the market and keyword you are targeting. Specifically, ads may appear in Google’s search results (search network) or within web pages (content network).

We are starting to see a lot of CRE companies engaging in digital marketing campaigns, especially paid campaigns focused on lead generation. This increase in online ad spending is reflected in our recent study that shows just how expensive some keyword costs have become. I think the competition (and keywords costs) will only increase since many CRE companies are quickly realizing the cost per acquisition from online channels can be very profitable. Plenty of potential tenants (and investors) are searching online before calling a broker, noted Bob Samil of inMotion Real Estate Media.

The study results show that office-related keywords are by far the most expensive asset class (in comparison to industrial, retail and lab) and Washington, D.C., New York and Dallas are the most competitive for office-related keywords with average CPCs of $29.44, $23.45, and $19.62 respectively.

How was this study conducted?

The keyword analysis takes into account historic averages and current CPC prices for the top 20 most expensive markets based on Google Adwords and SEM Rush, analyzed in September 2014. The study only reflects results from the United States from Google.com.

What are CPC costs in other industries?

The most expensive keyword CPCs in other industries include “Insurance” ($54.91), “Loans” ($44.2) and “Mortgage” ($4.12) according to a previous study by Wordstream.

How are keyword costs calculated?

Keyword costs are based on a few important factors including the maximum bid an advertiser is willing to pay, the quality score of the ad and competitiveness of the keyword.

(inMotion Real Estate Media)

Coy Davidson is Senior Vice President of Colliers International in Houston. He publishes The Tenant Advisor blog.