I’ve wanted to write this post for a while — not as a formal guide, but more as a reflection on what I’ve seen work (and not work) in real estate marketing across BC.
After years of running campaigns for developments in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and Vancouver Island, I’ve picked up a few lessons that keep repeating themselves. Some ad channels perform better than others, certain types of images consistently pull stronger engagement, and budgets that look “safe” on paper often end up being too small to give the platforms what they need.
Here’s a breakdown of what I’ve learned — the approaches that deliver real results, and the ones that sound good in theory but rarely pay off.
Finding the Right Ad Channels
There’s no shortage of options for promoting real estate — Google, Meta, TikTok, YouTube, you name it. I’ve tested most of them, and when it comes to generating real leads (not just clicks), Google Ads and Meta Ads are still the clear winners.
Google Ads tends to drive the most intent-based traffic — people already searching for homes or investment properties in specific areas. That makes it a solid foundation for any campaign.
Meta Ads (Facebook + Instagram), meanwhile, excel at awareness. They’re great for building recognition and showcasing a lifestyle, especially with strong visuals and concise copy. But not all placements are equal. I’ve consistently seen Stories and Reels underperform for real estate — they grab attention but don’t convert well. Feed ads, on the other hand, keep leads more engaged.
On Google, results depend heavily on the property and audience.
- Search Campaigns are the backbone — almost always worth running.
- Display or Demand Gen can help boost visibility for properties with strong visuals. I often plan to launch both, and consolidate my awareness spend with whichever one is performing best. Strangle, this really differs from client to client. Display always offers better reach and impressions, though when it comes to CPA (my primary KPI), it’s a toss up of which performs best.
- Performance Max (PMax) is a wildcard: it can either scale your reach or spread your spend too thin. Testing is the only way to know which it’ll do. I’ve had some PMax campaigns generate tons of leads at a $50 CPA, and others barely scrape $500 CPA on similar projects. I would certainly suggest trying it for a bigger budget campaign, with with smaller budgets, it likely won’t be able to get enough data to be effective.
I’ve also experimented with TikTok Ads, especially for rental campaigns. Despite its popularity, the audience just isn’t in a buying or registering mindset there. Fun to test — not great for ROI.
Choosing the Right Images
If I had to pick one creative decision that makes or breaks a campaign, it would be the ad image.
After testing countless variations, one pattern stands out: exterior shots almost always outperform interior photos.
People scrolling through their feeds aren’t ready to dive into the details of a kitchen layout — they’re reacting instinctively. A striking building render, a skyline view, or a dramatic dusk shot will grab their attention first. That’s the image’s job: to stop the scroll. Once they click, then your landing page can do the explaining.
As for video, results are mixed. When done well — short (15–20 seconds), clearly labeled, and visually engaging — it can perform great. But long, cinematic videos, even if beautifully shot, often lose viewers before they’ve even understood what they’re looking at.
As an example of some ads I’m not running for Anthem, I could almost guarantee that the exterior image below outperforms these two interior ads that don’t even show the property itself. Those could potentially be used for remarketing, but most people scrolling their newsfeed are not going to understand what is even being offered from those pictures, and will scroll right past (also, what does “Live Landmark Metrotown” mean? The property is called The Standard, so this is confusing).
Getting Keywords Right
In Google Ads, your keyword list matters more than almost anything else.
I spend a good chunk of time refining lists before launch because using broad match or even phrase match keywords can waste a lot of money.
Phrase match, in particular, often overreaches and ends up matching to competitor projects that aren’t even close in price, amenities, or location. Those clicks don’t convert — they just eat budget.
That said, competitor campaigns can work very well when used strategically. If a competing development has similar features and pricing, targeting their brand keywords can deliver high-quality leads — but only if the audience overlap makes sense.
Targeting Challenges
Advertising real estate online comes with its own set of rules. Both Meta and Google restrict targeting to avoid discrimination — which means you can’t narrow by age, income, or small geographic areas.
That limitation can feel restrictive, but it also forces better marketing. Instead of micromanaging audience settings, you have to rely on great creative and strong data signals to teach the algorithm who your audience is. It’s less about precision targeting and more about letting the machine learning work in your favor.
Budgeting Smartly
This is one of the most common mistakes I see developers and marketers make: underfunding their campaigns.
For both Google and Meta, you really need to commit at least $2,500 per month per platform. Anything less, and you simply don’t generate enough volume for the algorithm to learn what’s working.
On top of that, your management fees should make sense. As a rule, they shouldn’t exceed 50% of your total ad spend.
If your budget is small, hiring a contractor (like me) usually gives you better value. If you’re managing larger budgets, working with established agencies like Publish Partners (who I also work with) can make sense — they have the infrastructure to handle bigger, multi-channel campaigns effectively, and if you’re also planning a social and PR campaign, this is the best way to get a full coverage, multi-faceted campaign live.
Picking the Right Bid Strategy
Bid strategy is one of those topics that’s easy to overlook but makes a big difference once campaigns scale.
On Meta Ads, I almost always use Maximum Conversions — it’s straightforward and produces consistent results for real estate.
On Google Ads, it depends on where you are in the campaign lifecycle:
- Start with Max Clicks when you need to gather data.
- Move to Max Conversions once you have a decent flow of leads.
- Shift to Target CPA when you’ve got enough conversion data for Google’s algorithm to optimize efficiently.
For brand search campaigns, manual CPC still wins. It gives you control over bids so you don’t overpay for branded clicks. (I covered this more in a previous post on brand campaign bidding).
Landing Page Lessons
A solid landing page can double your ad performance. A weak one can kill it — even if your ads are perfect.
For real estate, the best format tends to be a single, scrollable page that includes everything someone needs to make a decision: key visuals, location highlights, amenities, and a simple form at the bottom.
If you’re advertising a promotion, make sure it’s easy to spot right away.
And keep your form short — name, email, phone number, and maybe a dropdown for property interest. That’s it. Asking for more information than that usually just drops your conversion rate.
If you’re spending money on ads, you should absolutely invest in conversion rate optimization (CRO). Even a small improvement can make your ad spend go much further.
If your site has more detail and lots of specific pages, that’s great for SEO. Awesome. However, I would also recommend having a dedicated CRO’d landing page with everything in one place and a form at the bottom. I have found these can improve CPAs by as much as halving your cost per lead, which is really worthwhile when you start spending money on ads.
Wrapping Up
Real estate marketing in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond, and Vancouver Island has its nuances. Each market behaves differently, but the fundamentals stay the same: solid creative, the right channel mix, clear messaging, and data-driven optimization.
The most successful campaigns I’ve seen are the ones that combine creativity with consistency — testing new formats, learning from the data, and refining every step from ad to landing page.
Hopefully, these insights help you build stronger, smarter campaigns — and avoid a few of the mistakes I’ve already made along the way.