Being a marketer does have its benefits sometimes. There are so many industries that seem to be stuck in the past when it comes to driving new sales. What do giant inflatable gorillas, brightly colored balloons and dancing clowns with signs have in common? They are all old attempts to drive sales locally.

Now I know that not all car dealers, real-estate agents and clowns know the power of local search, much less the simplicity behind AdWords. But imagine if those balloons and inflatable gorillas could be strategically positioned all around their competitor’s lots and listings.  Local targeted ad buys have been a great way for many businesses to target regional buyers searching for product and services at very low costs. For $0.04, less the cost of any balloon, a highly targeted ad can yield great results.

Let’s look into an example of a campaign that I am currently running for my beautiful, fabulous, well-priced (obviously still trying to sell it) townhome. With a very competitive real-estate marketplace and many new condo and townhome communities going up, it seems almost necessary to shorten the sales time with other non-traditional mediums.

My current locally targeted AdWords campaign gets about 150 clicks per week and over 8,000 impressions (people that might have saw the balloons). At an average cost per click (CPC) of only $0.20, it is worth every penny to have them view my property without having to schedule a showing with my agent.

My keyword strategy is a simple one… be found when people are searching for new homes, researching new developments, finding lenders, finding tax information and even researching local neighborhoods. The costs and impressions greatly range, but considering the sale price and the value of a click, it was worth the couple extra minutes of setup.

So next time you are looking to drive more traffic, don’t just think a PPC campaign is only for big budgets. You will be surprised what $4 a day can get you and you might even save a few animals from those pesky balloons.

Helpful Links

Google AdWords - Learning Center

A Darn Nice Townhome For Sale