Google Ads for UK Estate Agents

Buyer enquiries typically range from £12-£55 depending on area and property type. Vendor valuations (the high-value lead) run £30-£150. Prime central London markets run materially higher: vendor valuations on £2M+ properties routinely cost £200-£500 per enquiry. The number to optimise toward is cost per instruction won, not cost per enquiry — typically 8-15x the raw enquiry CPL.

Yes, conquest campaigns against hybrid/online-only agencies are one of the highest-ROI UK estate-agent paid-search tactics. Vendors searching 'Purplebricks alternative' or 'high-street estate agent vs Strike' are price-sensitive but agency-evaluating, which is the highest-intent buyer profile for traditional agents. Conversion rates run 3-5x non-brand vendor campaigns at competitive CPCs (£2-£8 per click typical).

Materially. UK buyers search differently above and below Stamp Duty Land Tax thresholds (£250K, £925K, £1.5M). A buyer searching at £249K saves £500-£2,500 vs £260K because of the 5% band crossing; their search-and-evaluation behaviour reflects that. Properly-segmented campaigns set different ROAS targets and ad copy per SDLT band — generic blended targeting averages across these structurally different audiences and underperforms.

MLR 2017 + HMRC supervision require KYC and source-of-funds documentation before instruction can be earned (vendor side) or viewings can be conducted on high-value properties (buyer side). Google Ads campaigns must integrate with CRM workflows that capture this data at lead-intake, not after the fact. Compliant accounts produce smaller raw lead volume but materially higher instruction-conversion rates because regulatory-viable vendors get prioritised.

Not on head terms — don't try. Compete on postcode-specific + price-band-specific + intent-specific long-tail terms where the portals are not optimised. A well-run local agency campaign will outperform portal traffic on queries that actually produce instructions and completions. The math works once portal subscription fees are partially reallocated to direct-acquisition campaigns.

Scotland is a separate legal jurisdiction with different property law (Home Reports instead of HIPs, offers-over pricing system, faster transaction timelines of 8-12 weeks vs 16-24 weeks south of the border). Edinburgh and Glasgow estate-agent campaigns need Scottish-property-law-specific ad copy and landing pages; generic UK templates miscommunicate to Scottish buyers and over-promise to cross-border English-buyer audiences.

£1,500-£2,500/month for single-branch or single-area campaigns. £8,000+/month for multi-branch or regional coverage including hybrid-agency conquest. Below £1,500/month, Google's daily-budget smoothing absorbs spend before you can test meaningfully across the multiple SDLT bands and dual-funnel architecture UK estate agency requires.

First enquiries arrive within 48-72 hours of launch. Stable enquiry-stage performance takes 60-90 days while Smart Bidding calibrates. Instructions won materialise 90-120 days in (vendors typically take 4-8 weeks from valuation to instruction). Completions land 6-9 months from campaign start given UK transaction timelines. Agencies expecting completion-revenue in month one will be disappointed; by month nine, well-run campaigns materially outperform portal-only lead generation.