Last week you heard Daniel on the Fourandhalf blog talking about SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) and why they’re important for your property management marketing plans. Today, we want to talk in more detail about how those search results differ. We’re looking at the differences between organic results vs paid ads vs local ranking.

Organic Results Vs Paid Ads vs Local Ranking:

Property Management and Paid Advertising

Paid advertising or search engine marketing (i.e., Google Ads) is pretty complicated on its own, and that’s why our next blog will be a deep dive into the topic and why it’s a necessary part of any online marketing strategy. Before we share that blog, however, there’s really one critical thing you need to know about paid results:

You have to “pay to play.”

This type of marketing relies on bidding. To make it more complicated, the amount you have to spend to land on Google’s first page will change depending on the day, your market, and your competition.

Organic Results vs Paid Ads for Property Management

One major difference between paid advertising and organic results is the type of search and what searchers are looking for. When users search and see paid advertising results, those are likely short-tail searches. No one will click on those links unless they already know what they’re seeking. They just need to figure out who is going to provide them with the service they need.

With organic searches, the people searching are not really sure what they’re looking for. They might be interested in a general property management topic, or they’ll ask a question that they need help answering. You have an opportunity here to show up organically and help them decide what they need.

Why Organic Results Matter: Organic Search Educates and Builds Trust

When you educate property management leads, you build trust with a new audience.

Most of the time, online searches are long-tail questions. Things like:

  • How do I screen tenants?
  • How do I perform an eviction?

These types of questions will show up on SERPs all the time, and when your blog or article on the subject shows up, it demonstrates that you’re in their corner and you have their back. You are providing them with the answers they are looking for, and that builds trust with them over time.

What are Local Property Management Searches?

Let’s talk a bit about local searches.

The main difference with a local search is that you’re only going to show up if you’re located in the specific area that’s being searched. For example, if you’re trying to rank for “Perth property management” and you are not located in Perth, you won’t show up in those local searches.

There are pros and cons to local searches, and whether you benefit from these results will depend on your company’s location and structure. For example, local search means it will be easier for people in your community to find you. But, if you have a broad service area and your office is outside of the city where you want to rank, it may be hard to rank in any local search.

As you think about the differences in organic results vs paid ads vs local ranking, you have hopefully come to the conclusion that you really need all three to put together a property management marketing plan and capture as many leads as possible in your area.

Look for our next blog on paid advertising, and if you have any questions about marketing and growing your property management company, please contact us at Fourandhalf.