All Forum Posts by: Yogev Lifchin

@Stephen Morales

since you mention it have you used an SEO agency for your business before?

@Josh Otero

for getting good results in SEO did you use a professional or have done it all yourself?

@Sebastian E.

Texting and cold calling are outbound strategies — you're reaching out to people who may not be interested, so it takes a lot more effort to dig the gold out of the dust pile.

On the other hand, inbound methods like Google SEO or PPC connect you with people already searching for solutions. But it's important to note: SEO takes a lot of time to gain traction and is very competitive. PPC, if done right, can be more cost-effective and bring faster results.

That said, both SEO and PPC require a completely different skill set than what most real estate professionals are used to. They’re not easy to master — which is why it often makes sense to bring in someone who specializes in them.

The difference between txting and cold calling is that it is outreach and therfore you need to be spending more efforts getting the gold out of the dust pile.

When you use the direct mail or Google SEO / PPC you move over to the inbound position and speak to mostly relevant people. the difference between PPC and direct mail is that it is more cost effective if done right, DM is great but costs a lot of money for the send offs

I’m currently exploring options for outsourcing SEO and Facebook PPC campaign management. If you’ve personally worked with a reliable agency and had a good (or bad) experience, I’d love to hear your honest feedback and any recommendations.

Thanks in advance!

@Emmanuel A.

One thing you can also do is learn the methods of generating off-market seller leads, just like what the wholesalers are doing. Generate them and close on the ones you see fit.

Cold calling and texting are the basics of the basics — and from there, there’s direct mail, bandit signs, PPC (Google & FB).

The best would be to join a training program, pick one method, and get good at it.

Just adding my 2 cents — all of the most successful PM companies I’ve come across were also heavily into brokering properties. I’m not sure, but I believe it is actually mandatory in most, if not all, states to be a certified broker in order to operate a management company. I really liked the idea mentioned above — of finding properties for investors and then offering them management services, just like @Stephen Morales said.

I just saw this now, and my take on it is this –
If an investor has no ability to pay for a VA (which is far cheaper than PPC),
then the PPC game for generating leads is probably not for them.

With one major caveat – and that is if they actually have a few years’ worth of experience running paid ad campaigns.
Otherwise, it’s a setup for a setback… it takes a bit of time and a few good thousands to have a solid campaign generating off-market seller leads (doable, of course…).

For new investors who don't have enough funds for a VA, it's better to go with texting or cold calling options. That's my take…

If you read my previous post, I emphasized the importance of showing up for the right keywords. If you thought that was just a one-off issue, think again. Take a look at this ad, which is clearly targeting a keyword that a buyer would use.

I know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, I only pay when someone clicks on my ad,” which is true. However, the buyer might click just to see "what this ad is all about" or to check if you have properties for sale. In a split second, they might click your link, and just like that, $10-$30 of CPC goes out the window.

The main takeaway is this: always ensure your campaign shows up for the right KEYWORDS. You can achieve this by regularly checking the Search Terms report, routinely searching for your brand on Google, and pulling the actual keywords that are converted in your CRM. (It’s doable, and I can show you how it’s done.)

What else is wrong with this ad, you ask?

• 1 - There are no sitelink extensions, which could give your ad more "visibility real estate" and better reflect your business.

• 2 - There’s no phone extension, allowing visitors to tap and call you directly (which, of course, will be tracked in the Google dashboard).

• 3 - There’s no Call to Action. If you think writing a generic message will get great results, think again. Don’t leave anything to chance—guide the visitor to do what you want, which is to click YOUR ad and leave their details on YOUR SITE. That’s the only way you’ll quickly convert a seller into a contract.

• 4 - What else is wrong with this ad? It’s just too short compared to the more extensive ads from your competitors. Visibility drives clickability, and not using the full length of the ad to add keywords and business-related details is a missed opportunity when you’re fighting for every click in Google Ads.

Conclusion:

If you know you want to get off-market seller leads from Google, and already committed the budget for it, make sure your ads are optimal and that your keyword selection will not cause you to appear on ones that will waste you time and money.

The Google Ads landscape is fiercely competitive in today’s market, demanding an investment of several thousand dollars per month to gain meaningful traction. There’s simply no room for mistakes that can be easily avoided.

Did this article help you? I’m curious to know…

One of the biggest mistakes an investor can make when deciding to take the plunge and start spending money on Google Ads is targeting the WRONG keywords.

It’s true that one way to use keyword targeting is through “broad” keyword types, which are usually less expensive and can capture various keywords you might not have considered in advance. However, this must be paired with a dedicated and robust negative keyword strategy to prevent your ads from appearing for keywords that ARE NOT RELEVANT to your investing business.

For the sake of this example have a look at this attached picture below:

In this picture you can see that this ad shows up on the keyword “House for sale near me…” which is not something a seller would search for (not to mention a distressed seller). This search term will more likely attract potential home buyers.

As we all know, targeting buyers can be a waste of money when competing in this competitive market where each investor/wholesaler is fighting for the next best distressed seller.

Now, what else is this advertiser doing wrong with their ad?

• 1 - The ad is too short. These days, ads have expanded dramatically and can occupy a significant amount of “eye real estate.” Not using this space to its fullest potential may cause sellers to skip over your ad. You want to win any chance to convince a person to click your ad.
• 2- The ad is targeting the wrong keyword. It should include the keyword multiple times within the ad body and title so that it gets highlighted, which is another trigger for visitors to click on YOUR ad.
• 3 - THERE IS NO CALL TO ACTION.
  Every ad needs to create a sense of urgency with a call to action, such as “Start Today” or “Get An Offer Now.” As obvious it may seem, this can be a dramatic inclusion that increases relevant click-through-rates.
• 4 - There is No phone number extension.
  Google allows you to add a phone call extension to your ads, which can convert those who have a greater sense of urgency. It is actually another conversion factor which can be used in your ads and adds both a connection option and “eye real estate”

Conclusion:

The Google Ads game is already highly competitive in today’s market and requires an investment of several thousand dollars per month to see serious traction. There is no room for easily avoidable mistakes like these.