Education and courses
The biggest source of junk clicks. These searchers want to become investors, not sell to one.
Keywords and search intent for house buyers
Real Estate Investor PPC: Match Each Search to the Seller Behind It
Nobody types "motivated seller" into Google. They type "inherited house, what do I do," "sell house with tenants," or "cash buyers near me" because something happened in their life and the property became a problem. Real estate investor PPC works when each of those searches is matched to a keyword group, an ad and a page that fit that particular situation, and when the investor has already decided which houses they will buy. This guide sorts the searches by intent, shows which to bid on and which to exclude, and explains how PPC for real estate investors can be run without wasting money on tire kickers.
Search themes by intent
Seller Searches, Sorted by What Is Going On
| Intent theme | Typical searches | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|
| Needs to sell fast | sell my house fast, cash for my house, we buy houses | Highest competition and the broadest wording. Use phrase and exact match, add your city or county names, and keep a short, direct page with one form and a phone number. |
| Condition problem | sell house as is, house needs repairs, fire damaged house, hoarder house | Often your best fit. These owners cannot or will not list with an agent. Give them their own ad group and a page that talks about the condition without judgment. |
| Inherited or probate | inherited house, sell inherited property, probate house sale | Slower, more emotional, and often involves several heirs. Gentle wording, a page that explains the steps, and a follow-up plan that respects the timeline. |
| Landlord trouble | sell rental with tenants, tenant won't leave, bad tenant house | A strong match if you buy occupied properties. Skip it if you do not, and exclude the phrases. |
| Financial pressure | behind on mortgage, pre-foreclosure, tax lien house, avoid foreclosure | Sensitive and regulated in many states. Ads must never exploit distress or promise to save a home. Read your state rules and Google policy before running these. |
| Life change | divorce house sale, moving out of state, relocating fast | Needs a quick answer and flexibility on closing date. Works well when you can close on the seller's timetable. |
| Comparing options | cash buyer vs agent, are we buy houses companies legit, sell without realtor | Seller is educating themselves. Show how your process works and what the paperwork looks like. Page should be calm and transparent. |
| Deal side | off market houses, investment properties for sale, wholesale deals | Attracts other investors. Worth a separate campaign only if you sell deals or raise money, and never mixed with seller ads. |
Choosing what to buy first
Decide the Buy Box Before You Pick Keywords
An investor who buys any house in any condition in any county can bid on everything in Google Ads. An investor with a narrow buy box, say single family homes in three counties, ranch or colonial, within a certain condition and price range, should bid on a narrow set of searches and exclude the rest. Every pay per click charge from a seller you cannot buy from is a cost with no possible return, and sellers in this niche typically call several buyers, so a mismatch also wastes a phone call.
The search term report is where this shows up. Phrases like "sell my house" will bring condos, mobile homes, vacant land and houses outside your counties. Geographic modifiers help, but they do not replace exclusions. A listing of the property types and areas you will not touch is as important as the list of keywords you want.
There are rules to learn before you spend a dollar. Google has policies for housing-related ads and for sensitive financial situations, and it limits some audience targeting options for housing, employment and credit categories in certain countries. States vary widely on wholesaling disclosure, assignment of contracts and advertising to owners facing foreclosure, and some require a license for certain activities. Read current Google Ads policy and your state's real estate and consumer protection rules, and talk with a real estate attorney. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Do not promise anything in the ad copy that you cannot deliver, like a closing date or a price. Say what you do: buy houses for cash, close on the seller's timeline, cover normal closing costs if you really do. Honest ads attract fewer but better calls.
Timing is its own lever. Many sellers search late in the evening, after the kids are asleep and the stress of the day has caught up with them, and a form submitted at ten at night deserves a text or a call first thing in the morning, not three days later. Others search in bursts tied to events: a tax bill arriving, a court date, a tenant moving out, a probate hearing. You cannot predict those moments, but you can keep paid ads running at the hours when your own team can respond, and you can keep the account steady rather than switching it on and off, because learning is slower after every pause.
Finally, remember the second half of the funnel. Google Ads brings a name and a phone number. What turns that into a purchase is the quality of the conversation, a fair offer and a clean closing process. Track all of it, and the account will keep getting smarter about which searches are worth paying for.
Negative keywords
Phrases That Burn Google Ads Budget in House Buyer Accounts
Licensing and careers
People looking for an agent or a career. Exclude the whole family of realtor and broker vocabulary unless you are an agent.
Buyers looking for a home to live in
Owner-occupant buyers. Broad terms like house and property sweep them in, so test negatives early.
Wrong property type
Add what you do not buy. A short list of property types saves a lot of money.
Free and giveaway
Not sellers. Many are bargain hunters hoping to buy, not people with a house to sell.
Review and scam queries
Handle these in your brand campaign and on your website, not as paid exposure for broad terms.
Online listing sites
Some are sellers, but most are browsers comparing price estimates. Decide per market.
Cash buyer for anything else
Broad matches on cash wording drift quickly. Exclude other things people sell for cash.
First weeks
How the First Month of Real Estate Investor Google Ads Usually Runs
Write down your buy box
Counties or ZIP codes, property types, condition range, price range and how fast you can fund and close. Everything else is an exclusion.
Choose the three seller situations you serve best
Start with a few themes from the table instead of all of them. Each gets its own keyword group, ads and page.
Build one clear landing page per theme
A short form, a phone number that works, and a few lines that explain what happens after the seller reaches out. Do not stuff pages with corporate talk.
Set up call and form tracking
Record the source of each lead and which keyword group brought it. Add a note for appointments set, offers made and deals closed so the account can learn from real outcomes.
Decide who answers and how fast
Sellers call other buyers too. Whoever responds first and sounds human usually gets the first conversation. Set a target response time and a script.
Review search terms every few days
This niche has a long tail of strange searches. Early on, add exclusions often, then move to a weekly rhythm.
Compare themes by closed deals, not leads
After a few weeks, rank each theme by appointments and offers, and move budget accordingly.
What management costs
How Paid Ads Management Is Priced
Our monthly fee covers the work of building, watching and adjusting the account. The money you spend on clicks is separate and is paid to the advertising platform. There is no setup fee and no contract.
Investor questions
Questions Investors Ask About Pay Per Click Advertising
How much does real estate investor Google Ads management cost?
We charge $895 a month to manage one platform, $1,595 for two and $2,295 for three. Ad spend is a separate bill from the platform and depends on your market and how many deals you can handle. We do not sign contracts or charge setup fees.
Is PPC for real estate investors worth it compared with direct mail?
They do different jobs. Mail reaches people from a list whether or not they are thinking about selling. Search ads reach people who typed their problem into Google today. Many investors keep both and compare cost per closed deal rather than cost per lead.
What keywords should a new investor start with?
Start with the situations you serve best and your own city or county names, such as sell house as is plus the county. Broad phrases like sell my house fast draw the most competition and the most irrelevant clicks, so add them after your search term data teaches you what to exclude.
Can we advertise to people facing foreclosure?
Possibly, but with great care. Many states regulate how buyers approach homeowners in foreclosure, and Google has policies on sensitive financial hardship and misleading claims. Read current rules and have an attorney review your wording before you run those ads. When in doubt, leave foreclosure phrases out of the account until an attorney has approved the wording.
Should we send clicks to a website or a single page?
A single page matched to the search works better than a general homepage. Keep the form short, show a phone number, and explain what happens next in plain words. A homepage with a dozen links gives the seller reasons to leave. Test two page versions against each other and keep whichever books more appointments.
How do we measure results beyond leads?
Track appointments set, offers made and deals closed alongside calls and forms, and tie each to the keyword group. A group that brings fewer calls but more offers is the better group, even if the lead count looks smaller. A few closed deals tell you more than a hundred leads that never answer the phone.
Do Local Services Ads work for house buyers?
Generally not. Local Services Ads cover specific service categories, and cash home buying is not usually one of them, so search ads remain the main option. Check your account for what Google lists as available. Search ads, a strong website and your own outreach remain the main routes to motivated sellers.
How soon can we expect calls?
Ads can run within days of setup and approval, and calls often start soon after. Fine-tuning exclusions, pages and bids takes several weeks of data. Promises about call volume or closed deals are guesses. Plan on a few weeks of data before you decide which keyword groups deserve more budget.
Close cousins
Trades That Bid on Similar Searches
Want the organic side or the lead side too? See getting more leads, buying leads, lead generation programs, SEO, internet marketing, and best keywords for real estate investor.
Get in Touch
Tell Us Which Houses You Actually Buy
Counties, price range, condition and how fast you can close all shape the account. Call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com and we will map the searches to your buy box.