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Most, if not all, multifamily digital marketers can tell you how many calls and emails their search engine marketing campaign was responsible for last month. But, do you know how many leads your SEM strategy contributed to without getting direct credit? Integrating your Google Ads account with your properties' Google Analytics and setting up proper website tracking enables marketers to know the true impact of their marketing strategies. In the example graph below, one can see that Paid Search contributed to all 78 website leads in the month of June. Of those 78 conversions, direct lead attribution would show that the SEM strategy was only responsible for 30 leads in your lead tracking management software. With proper integration and tracking setup, Street Digital Media shows that Paid Search actually assisted with 48 website conversions as indicated by the white bar (assisted conversions).

Why is this significant? The assisted conversions show that prospects engaged with the Paid Search campaign at least once, on some occasions multiple times, prior to contacting the leasing team via the property website. Thus, the SEM campaign was crucial in not only driving prospects to the site, but in contributing to every single lead from the property website. This detailed level of insight is a great way to show your clients and owners the true impact of your digital marketing strategy other than simple direct lead attribution.



For more information on how to properly setup your SEM campaigns and Google Analytics integration, email dk@streetdigitalmedia.com.

Last month, we wrote a brief article on Google's closed beta test for Google Ad Image Extensions. The extensions allow digital marketers to add thumbnail images to appear to the right of their Google Search Ads when their ads show on the SERP. This week, Google announced they are now opening up its beta test to additional Google Ad marketers, showing promising signs that image extensions could be a thing of the future for paid search campaigns.



For multifamily search engine marketing strategies, the ability to add images to your ads creates a great opportunity to better inform prospects of your product type before they click your ads (and before you pay). Furthermore, the ability to add strategic photos to your campaigns within your property's ad account will allow multifamily marketers to display images that are more geared to a prospect's search. Depending on your Google Ads account structure, multifamily marketers will be able to show exterior images of their high rise apartment building for searches like "brand new high rise apartments" or "high rise apartments near me," as an example. For pet friendly apartment searches, multifamily marketers would be able to add photos of their dog park or dog washing station. The addition of image extensions creates an opportunity to customize your ad copy and imagery even more towards your prospects based on their search query.

If and when image extensions are introduced to multifamily, the industry will have an increased ability to visually display what apartment communities offer based on specific searches. This will increase the level of involvement in managing the campaigns themselves, but should lead to more qualified traffic to your property websites. Real estate is visual after all- prospects want to see where they live before making a decision. It is likely that our new digital world and COVID-19 have pushed Google to roll this out faster as the SERP becomes more and more like a storefront than ever before. Adding visuals to search ads creates a better user experience and an opportunity to better inform online consumers. Image extensions would be a welcome introduction to multifamily paid search campaigns.

The topic of multi-channel attribution in multifamily is often discussed, but rarely proven. ILSs and digital marketing agencies tout their impact on the consumer experience and how they are a crucial part of the leasing process for prospects. While these groups certainly bring value for multifamily property marketing strategies, many fail to provide the transparency needed to show property management marketing departments how they play a part in the leasing process. For example, many multifamily digital marketing agencies are unwilling to link their Google Ads accounts with their clients' Google Analytics for a claimed fear of "giving up their secret sauce." While there are a variety of different strategies and account structures within Google Ads that some could claim are "proprietary," linking Google Ads and Google Analytics is a simple, yet crucial part of any pay per click strategy. Integrating the two accounts shows not only the management company, but also the agency, the impact of their digital strategies on a property's marketing performance.

In the below example, we show a 30-day snapshot from a property's Google Analytics that is linked to the Google Ads account run by Street Digital Media. For this property's website structure, Street Digital Media set up lead conversions as phone calls and Contact Us form submits. This page shows the top conversion paths prospects took in the 30-day window that drove them to the property website and ultimately to contacting the brand new lease up via phone for leasing and tour information.


As you can see, Street Digital Media's Pay Per Click campaign played a role in 100% of the top conversion paths during this 30-day window. Every prospect who contacted the community's leasing staff via the property website, interacted with SDM's Google Ads at some point during their apartment search for this property. It's important to note that yo would not see this in your lead tracking software due to first contact lead attribution. In the 4 of the top 10 conversion paths above, the lead tracking software would credit the property website and not the Paid Search campaign.

The Google Ads and Google Analytics integration is so important because neither the management company nor the agency would be able to show the true value the Paid Search campaign has in generating lead volume for the property via direct and multi-channel attribution. By integrating the two platforms, both parties have full insight into the value that their digital strategies bring to each of your communities.

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