i would like to see ten examples of individuals, not businesses,
selling personal real estate with cost per click advertising

---

Clarification of Question by ray_on_the_web-ga on 23 Apr 2003 06:12 PDT

upon reflection of robertskelton-ga's comment i would like to revise
down to two examples. a generous tip will be paid for analysis of the
two ads.

---

Clarification of Question by ray_on_the_web-ga on 23 Apr 2003 16:23 PDT

...further reflection with serenata-ga's comment. one good example of
a personal real estate ad using cpc marketing would be an acceptable
reply.

Anyone that has will probably be using a specific location as one of
their keywords. This means that the only way a researcher can find
any, is by searching through the results for localities one by one. I
reckon if there were 10 people doing such a thing, it would take me
all day. If there were 1000, I'd find 10 in half an hour. However, I
doubt there are even 10 people doing it.

It is, however, an awesome idea. A real estate classified ad site, in
which only private individuals can list their property, and operate it
using the pay-per-click model.

thanks for your insightful comment and idea. i like the concept and
potential of cpc however lack experience. care to take a crack at
question id 193124. ray

I've seen positive comments by real estate businesses who have used
Google Ad-Words and found their click through rate has doubled or
tripled, but I can't even find a listing for personal real estate
without it being part of a business of some kind, such as a FSBO
listing, or a business for personal listings of property, etc.

It might be interesting to find out if the dearth is due to a lack of
how to go about doing it or a lack of general effectiveness.

I live in a city with a lot of property owned by out of state winter
visitors, and our local board of realtors reports that less than one
percent of its sales comes from Internet, although the commercial real
estate listings aimed at corporations looking to relocate gets a
better rate from interest generated or initiated through Internet
advertising.

So far as home sales go, the bulk of those interested are local or
respond to local advertising, including those who buy a winter home
here. They will subscribe to the local advertising publications or
consult with someone recommended by a friend to make a purchase.

So far the Internet hasn't generated a lot of real estate sales, which
isn't to say it can't, but more to say the market isn't really trained
to consider looking on the Internet for property to buy.

Good luck. I think coming up with two ads by individual companies in
this category will be a bit of a challenge.

Serenata

hello serenata-ga. interesting and much appreciated comment. could it
be said that cpc personal real estate is just an emerging service or
one not yet ready for the web. i believe that there is a future
however how do you get it started.my choice is to take a chance
provided the cost of trying doesn't break the bank.now to learn... see
question id 193124. thanks for posting.

Ray ~

In answer to your question: "could it be said that cpc personal real
estate is just an emerging service or one not yet ready for the web."

I'm a believer of what the web can do, and I think it's ready, but
more a matter of educating the public, both buyers and sellers, that
there is a good resource here.

This is my opinion - the realtors don't understand the Internet (or
Web), and the buyers haven't looked because personal property owners
don't use it to show off their property --- YET!

Just watch - someone will find a way to do it and make it a going
concern. There are two definite markets so far untapped, or at least
underutilized, don't you think?

I'll go look at the other question you mentioned.

Serenata

good morning serenata-ga. i too beleive in the potential of the web
for personal real estate marketing. once there are some success
stories to encourage and emulate i feel cpc for individuals will take
off. a couple of news stories about sellers achieving quick success-
or better - a fabulous price will drive the interest thru the roof.
thanks again for your comment.

Ray,

There's a double-edged problem with private real estate ads via cost
per click.

1) Real estate is very location specific. And has lots of other
specifics. If I won lotto tomorrow, and decided to search the web for
a house to buy, I'd search for:

inner Melbourne three bedroom house
Victoria farm 50 acres

...or the like. No-one is going to choose those precise keywords to
bid on.

2) If I search for very generalised keywords:

California condo
Kansas land

...realty companies will fill all the top bids every time. The private
advertiser will never get noticed.

The solution is localized pay-per-click. It hasn't been done yet, and
would take a lot of nerve to set up.

Scenario:

Searcher enters zipcode. Searcher searches for whatever. Search site
responds with three tiers of results: within x miles of your home,
nation-wide and international. Bidders can only enter one zipcode for
their ads.

The technology is available:
http://www.gstart.com 
(they are down right now, but had very nicely combined search results
with a location database of California)

Anyway, I spent a long time looking for an instance of private cpc
real estate ads, and it was too hard. It's not going to happen unless
the engines get regional.

Rob.

good morning rob. very interesting comment- again. thanks for taking
the time to check out the possibilty of a personal real estate cost/
pay per click on the web.wish you had found one. my questions have
generated some interest from my friends and notably pessimism from a
realtor acquaintance. since private real estate ads via cost per click
is a new concept which is untested, professional realtors would
naturally dread its possible success. yes, there are challenges and
that's why i have been searching for researcher advice on how one
would proceed. the resulting answers and comments have proven most
enlightening. i am especially appreciative of comments such as yours.
wish we could give 'stars' for comments... especially fine comments-
such as yours- that show that special effort has been made. ray