Short answer: Google Ads for real estate in India works best as Search campaigns split by intent: project and brand names, micro-market plus configuration, and competitor or comparison searches. Each sends traffic to a matching page with price, plans and the RERA number. Set location to "Presence", add a strong negative list for rent, PG and jobs, and move bidding from form fills to CRM-qualified leads imported through Data Manager. Indian property clicks typically cost ₹40–400.
How does Google Ads for real estate differ for developers and realtors?
A developer sells a few projects to a broad catchment. A realtor (broker) sells many properties in a few localities. The campaigns should reflect that.
| Developer | Realtor / broker | |
|---|---|---|
| Core campaigns | Brand + project name; locality + configuration; competitor projects | Locality + configuration; "property dealer in [sector]"; society names; resale and rental (if you do rentals) |
| Landing pages | One page per project and per configuration | One page per locality with live inventory |
| Main conversion | Form, call, WhatsApp, site-visit booking | Call and WhatsApp |
| Typical budget shape | Heavy at launch, then sustenance | Steady monthly budget |
| Extra assets | Sitelinks to plans, price, location, construction updates | Location asset linked to a verified Business Profile; call asset |
For Google PPC for realtors in India, the winning pattern is narrow and local: 3–5 localities you know well, call-focused ads during office hours, and a WhatsApp option for evening searchers.
Which Google Ads settings matter most for Indian real estate?
- Location option: Presence. The default, "Presence or interest", also shows ads to people elsewhere who show interest in your area. Google's location targeting help recommends Presence when you want to reach only people in your target locations. For out-of-city or NRI buyers, add those places as separate campaigns rather than relying on "interest".
- Locations: radius around the project plus the city areas that feed it (for example IT corridors for a suburban project). Exclude cities you cannot serve.
- NRI campaigns: target the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, the UK and the US separately, scheduled in local time. Google's personalised advertising policy restricts housing ads in the US and Canada: no targeting by age, gender, parental status, marital status or ZIP code. Indian targeting has no such restriction.
- Networks: turn off Search Partners and the Display Network in Search campaigns until you have conversion data.
- Ad schedule: run around the clock if leads get an instant WhatsApp reply. Otherwise, raise bids during the hours your team picks up calls.
- Tax: Google adds 18% GST to Indian ad spend, so plan the invoice, not just the media. Our real estate lead cost guide shows the full budget.
How should real estate keywords be grouped?
| Campaign / ad group | Example keywords (India) | Match type | Landing page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brand + project | [project name], [project name] price, [developer] projects noida | Exact and phrase | Project page |
| Locality + configuration | 3 bhk flats in sector 150 noida; 2 bhk ready to move wakad; flats in whitefield under 1 crore | Phrase, then broad once bidding uses qualified leads | Configuration page for that project or locality |
| New launch | new launch projects gurgaon; upcoming projects dwarka expressway | Phrase | Project page with RERA details |
| Plots | residential plots yamuna expressway; yeida plots; dtcp approved plots near chennai | Phrase | Plot page with approval details |
| Competitor / comparison | [competitor project] price; [competitor] vs [your project] | Exact | Comparison or project page |
| Realtor local | property dealer in sector 62 noida; real estate agent in baner; resale flats in [society] | Phrase | Locality inventory page |
Build lists with Keyword Planner using your actual localities. Upload them by theme so search-term reports stay readable. Google's trademark policy does not restrict trademarks as keywords, so you can bid on competitor project names. A trademark owner can complain about use in ad text, though, so do not put a competitor's project name in your headlines.
What negative keywords should real estate campaigns use?
Real estate searches are full of rental, job and research queries. Google's negative keyword help notes that negatives do not match close variants or synonyms, so add singular, plural and Hinglish forms yourself. A starter list for a new-launch sale project:
| Theme | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Rental | rent, rental, on rent, lease, pg, paying guest, hostel, room, 1 rk, flatmate, kiraya |
| Jobs | job, jobs, vacancy, career, salary, hiring, internship, naukri |
| Research and documents | pdf, map, layout pdf, circle rate, stamp duty, registry, mutation, khasra, news |
| Wrong product | resale (for a primary launch), second hand, auction, bank auction, interior, furniture |
| DIY and free | free, owner, no broker, nobroker, by owner (for brokers, test this first) |
| Out of scope | cities and sectors you do not sell in; configurations you do not have (1 bhk, villa, plot) |
Review search terms twice a week during a launch and weekly after that. Record why each negative was added so the next account manager does not undo it.
How should real estate search ads be written, and where does the RERA number go?
Responsive search ad headlines are 30 characters, which is tight. Use specifics buyers compare on: "3 BHK from ₹1.45 Cr All-in", "1,350 sq ft Carpet Area", "4 km to Sector 148 Metro", "Possession Dec 2028 (RERA)". The RERA registration number and the Authority's website must appear "prominently" in advertisements under Section 11(2) of the Act. Put the registration number in a description line or callout and show it with the Authority website above the fold on the landing page. Some states add display rules, covered in our RERA advertising checklist.
Assets that lift real estate CTR and lead quality:
- Sitelinks: Floor Plans, Price List, Location Map, Site Visit Booking, Construction Updates
- Callouts: RERA Registered, Bank Loans Approved (only if true), Ready Sample Flat
- Structured snippets: types (2 BHK, 3 BHK, 4 BHK)
- Call asset with a tracked number; location asset linked to your Business Profile
- Image assets of the actual project, not stock skylines
Should you use a landing page, a lead form or calls?
| Option | When it fits | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | Default for developers; buyers see price, plans and RERA details before enquiring | Mobile speed and form length. See our landing page guide |
| Lead form asset | Search and Performance Max; mobile users who will not wait for a page | Needs a privacy policy link; leads stored only 60 days, so connect a webhook or CRM integration. OTP verification is available |
| Calls | Realtors, ready-to-move inventory | Missed calls after hours; track call duration as the conversion |
If you use lead forms on Search, add a qualifying response question such as purchase timeline. Google tags submissions with qualifying answers as qualified leads, which bidding can then target.
How should real estate campaigns bid?
Move through three stages as data builds up:
- Launch: Maximise Conversions on primary lead actions (form submit, call over 60 seconds, WhatsApp click). Keep the definition strict so form spam does not count.
- Qualified: once your CRM marks leads "qualified" and "site visit done", import those stages as offline conversions and make "qualified" the primary goal. Google's enhanced conversions for leads documentation recommends Data Manager for these uploads. From 15 June 2026, offline and enhanced-conversion lead uploads moved to the Data Manager API and are blocked in the Google Ads API.
- Efficiency: with steady qualified-lead volume, set Target CPA on the qualified stage, starting near your actual cost per qualified lead from the last 30 days.
Implementation details are in our guides to tracking qualified leads from Google Ads to CRM and offline conversion tracking.
How much budget does Google Ads for real estate need?
upGrowth estimates Indian real estate CPCs at ₹40–400 (September 2026). Tier-1 locality terms such as "flats in Powai" run around ₹250, tier-2 and tier-3 terms stay under ₹50, and pre-launch terms can spike to ₹400. Build your budget from those numbers. Worked example (assumptions stated):
| Input | Tier-1 mid-segment project | Tier-2 city broker |
|---|---|---|
| Average CPC | ₹200 | ₹45 |
| Landing page conversion rate | 8% | 6% |
| Cost per lead | ₹2,500 | ₹750 |
| Leads needed per month | 120 | 40 |
| Media budget | ₹3,00,000 | ₹30,000 |
| With 18% GST | ₹3,54,000 | ₹35,400 |
| Daily budget (÷ 30.4) | about ₹9,870 | about ₹990 |
Replace the conversion rate with your own. Page conversion moves CPL more than CPC does. Raising the page from 4% to 8% halves CPL at the same bid.
When should real estate use Performance Max or Demand Gen?
Add Performance Max only after Search is converting and qualified-lead imports are flowing. Without that feedback, PMax often finds cheap form-fillers on Display and YouTube. When you do add it, use the qualified-lead goal, real project videos and images, and audience signals from your CRM lists. Demand Gen and YouTube suit walkthrough videos and retargeting, judged on assisted site visits. For buyers not yet searching, Meta is usually the stronger channel; see our Meta ads for real estate guide.
What should a weekly Google Ads routine look for?
- Search terms: add negatives; promote converting terms to exact match
- Leads by ad group: contact rate, qualified rate and visits, not just CPL
- Impression share lost to budget on brand and project campaigns (brand should be near full coverage)
- Landing page speed and form errors after any site change
- Response time: leads not called within 15 minutes are a sales problem, not a media problem
- Policy and disapprovals after creative changes
If Search is costing too much per visit, check portals and Meta before raising bids. Our portals vs Google vs Meta comparison explains where each fits.
Sources
- Google Ads: Location targeting options: Presence vs Presence or interest
- Google Ads: Personalised advertising policy: housing targeting restrictions in the US and Canada only
- Google Ads: About negative keywords: negatives do not match close variants or synonyms
- Google Ads: Trademarks policy: trademarks allowed as keywords; ad text can be restricted on complaint
- Google Ads: About lead form assets: eligibility, OTP, 60-day storage, webhook
- Google Ads: Qualifying responses in lead forms: qualified-lead tagging on Search
- Google Ads: Enhanced conversions for leads: Data Manager recommendation; 15 June 2026 API change
- upGrowth: Google Ads pricing India 2026: Indian real estate CPC estimates