Paid search and ads

What is a good cost per lease for paid search?

There is no reliable public benchmark that applies to every market, so set your target by comparing paid search cost per lease with your other channels and with the cost of a vacant unit.

We did not find a current primary source with a credible industry-wide cost per lease for apartment paid search, so we do not give a number. Results vary by market, competition and season.

To calculate it, track conversions in Google Ads, match those leads to signed leases, and divide spend by leases.

A higher cost per lease can still make sense if it fills a unit faster than the alternatives.

Should I bid on my own property name in Google Ads?

Test it with your own numbers. A branded campaign lets you control what shows on searches for your name, but how many of those clicks you would get anyway varies by property, and Google's older research on this is not specific to property names.

Google reported in 2012 that when an advertiser already had the top organic result, on average 50% of ad clicks were incremental. These are Google's own older studies, not apartment-specific.

A branded campaign lets you control the message, such as a current special or tour link.

If you want to test turning them off, watch total leads from branded searches for several weeks.

Can competitors bid on my apartment community's name?

Yes, Google generally allows trademarks as keywords, but it restricts trademark use in the ad text in some cases.

Google's trademark policy lists using trademarks as keywords as something it does not restrict.

Google may restrict trademark use in ad text, including use in an ad from a direct competitor, if the trademark owner files a complaint.

One option is running your own branded campaign so your ad is also eligible to show.

What is Quality Score in Google Ads?

Quality Score is a diagnostic rating that shows how your ad quality compares with other advertisers, based on expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience.

Google describes it as a diagnostic tool meant to give you a sense of how well your ad quality compares to other advertisers.

Google also says Quality Score itself is not an input in the ad auction. It is a signal of the underlying quality that does matter.

Use it to find weak keywords, ads or landing pages to improve.

How does my website affect what I pay for ads?

Your landing page is part of ad quality, and Google says higher quality ads typically cost less per click than lower quality ads.

Google defines landing page experience as how relevant and useful your landing page is to people who click your ad.

Send each ad to the most relevant page. An ad for two-bedroom apartments should go to a page about two-bedrooms with prices and a tour button, not your home page.

A slow or confusing page could also lose the click after you have already paid for it.

What targeting rules apply to apartment ads on Google?

In the United States and Canada, Google does not let housing ads target or exclude people by gender, age, parental status, marital status or ZIP code.

Google announced these limits in 2020 and says it worked with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on them.

These rules apply on top of fair housing law. Review your audiences, keywords and ad copy for anything that could exclude protected groups.

Ask any agency or vendor how they handle housing ad compliance before they launch campaigns.

Should I spend on paid social or paid search?

In general, paid search reaches renters who are already searching, while paid social builds awareness with people who may not be looking yet, so the right mix depends on whether you need demand captured or created.

That search and social split is general practice, not something from a study. One marketing leader told NAA their best new-development results came from listings plus search and social ads with retargeting.

Google's housing ad policy limits targeting, for example no ZIP code location targeting for housing ads. Check each platform's housing ad rules before you build audiences.

Compare them by cost per lease, not by clicks or impressions.

Can I track phone calls from my ads?

Yes, Google Ads can track calls from ads and calls to a number on your website, so you can see which ads drive phone leads.

Google says that by connecting call data to your campaigns, you can identify which ads are driving valuable phone leads.

Many apartment leads still call, so leaving calls untracked could make paid search look worse than it is.

Pair call tracking with your CRM so calls can be matched to tours and leases.

What attribution model should I use in Google Ads?

Attribution models decide how much credit each ad click gets for a conversion; data-driven attribution uses your own past data, while last click gives all credit to the final click.

Google explains that last click gives all credit to the last-clicked ad and keyword, while data-driven attribution distributes credit based on your past data.

Whatever model you use, keep it consistent month to month so trends are comparable.

How much should I spend on paid search each month?

Set paid search spend by working backward from the leases you need from that channel, your conversion rates and your cost per click, rather than picking a round number.

A guest article published by NAA walks through this method: start with the leases needed, estimate tours and leads from your own conversion rates, then estimate the clicks and spend needed.

We do not give a dollar figure because costs vary widely by market and season.

Start with a test budget, measure cost per lease after a few weeks, and scale what works.

What paid media works best for a lease-up?

There is no single answer, but new communities without name recognition often combine featured listing site placements with search and social ads, including retargeting.

In NAA's 2026 Spring Leasing Preview, one marketing leader said their best results for new developments came from featured listings on internet listing sites partnered with search engine and social media PPC ads that include retargeting.

Because people will not search your new community's name yet, generic searches like apartments in a neighborhood matter more early on.

Shift spend as reviews, name recognition and organic traffic build.