Does It Ever Feel Like PPC Experts Are Speaking Another Language?
If you’ve ever sat in a marketing meeting and felt lost in a sea of acronyms like CPC, CTR, CPA, and CVR, you’re not alone. Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is an essential tool for driving qualified renter traffic to your community, but the industry jargon can make it feel overwhelming.
Understanding these key PPC metrics is just as important as knowing occupancy rates, renewal percentages, or lead-to-lease ratios in property management. After all, you wouldn’t sign off on a marketing budget without understanding its impact, right?
To help you decode the terminology and make data-driven advertising decisions, we’ve translated some of the most important PPC terms into multifamily-friendly definitions, including 2024 Benchmark data provided by WordStream!
“Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed.” – Dan Zarrella
CPC (Cost Per Click) – The Price You Pay for Each Ad Click
What it means: CPC is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
Why it matters for multifamily: Think of CPC like paying for each inquiry about your property, whether or not it leads to a true lead. You’re charged for the engagement – someone showing interest and clicking your ad – but not every click turns into a qualified prospect.
CPC can vary significantly based on keyword selection and relevance. Branded keywords (such as your property’s name) tend to have a lower CPC because they face less competition, while highly competitive terms like “luxury apartments in Los Angeles” can be much more expensive. The more relevant your ad and landing page are to the search query, the lower your CPC is likely to be.
Example: If your average CPC is $3.00 and you have a $1,500 monthly budget, you can expect around 500 ad clicks (before accounting for variations in keyword costs).
Industry Benchmark: The average CPC for real estate is $2.10 in 2024. However, this can vary significantly depending on keyword competition and targeting. Branded keywords tend to have lower CPCs, while broad, competitive terms can be more expensive.
CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions) – How Much You Pay for Visibility
What it means: CPM (Cost Per Mille) is the amount you pay for every 1,000 times your ad appears—regardless of whether anyone clicks.
Why it matters for multifamily: Not all ads are designed to generate direct leads – some (such as ‘Display’ ads) can be images or videos and serve the purpose of building awareness by ensuring your community stays top of mind for potential renters. CPM measures how cost-effective your ad is at reaching a large audience. This is particularly useful for campaigns focused on brand recognition, remarketing, or showcasing new property openings, where the goal is exposure rather than immediate conversions.
Example: If your CPM is $10, you pay $10 for every 1,000 times your ad appears on Google, social media, or other advertising platforms.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) – How Many Prospects Are Engaging with Your Ads
What it means: CTR measures the percentage of people who click on your ad after seeing it.
Why it matters for multifamily: A high CTR indicates that your ad resonates with your audience, effectively capturing interest and driving engagement. If your CTR is low, it may signal that your ad copy, imagery, or targeting isn’t aligned with what potential renters are searching for. By optimizing headlines, refining audience targeting, and testing different creatives, you can improve CTR and ensure your budget is spent on ads that attract the right prospects.
Example: If your ad is shown 1,000 times and 90 people click, your CTR is 9% (90 ÷ 1,000).
Industry Benchmark: A strong CTR for multifamily PPC ads typically falls around 9.2%. If it’s low, it may be time to update ad copy, test new images, or adjust targeting.
CVR (Conversion Rate) – How Many Clicks Turn into Actions
What it means: CVR measures what percentage of people take action after clicking your ad – whether that’s submitting a contact form, calling your leasing office, or starting an application.
Why it matters for multifamily: A strong CVR means your website and ads are effectively turning clicks into engaged prospects. This is crucial to help track which ads are performing best, as well as if your ad dollars are helping generate new traffic – or just help recapture those already in the sales pipeline.
Industry Benchmark: The average conversion rate for real estate PPC ads is 2.91%.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition/Conversion) – How Much It Costs to Convert
What it means: Cost per Acquisition (CPA) measures the amount you spend to achieve a specific conversion – such as a call to your leasing team or a completed contact form. It’s calculated by dividing your total ad spend by the number of conversions, meaning CPA isn’t an extra cost but rather a reflection of how efficiently your advertising dollars are being used.
Important: Conversions ≠ Leads
Ideally, your website is configured to track the most important actions you want potential prospects to make, include phone calls and form fille. However, conversion metrics will likely include calls from vendors, maintenance requests from residents, or even someone checking their online rent payment portal. Not every conversion is a qualified lead, so it’s critical to review where conversions are coming from and isolate non-lead traffic whenever possible.
Why it matters for multifamily: If CPC is the cost of a click, CPA is the closest metric we have to compare cost per lead from other sources (once you exclude data from non-leads). You wouldn’t measure leasing success by how many people walk into your office – you measure by how many actually apply and move-in. CPA helps determine if your ads are efficiently generating real leasing opportunities.
Industry Benchmark: The average cost per lead (CPA) for real estate PPC ads is $87.36.
Final Thoughts – Making PPC Work for Your Community
PPC advertising can be a powerful leasing tool, but only if you understand the key metrics that drive success. By translating PPC jargon into familiar multifamily marketing concepts, you can make data-backed decisions to optimize your campaigns.
Here’s a quick recap:
- CPC → Cost per click (think: cost per website visit).
- CPM → Cost per 1,000 impressions (think: awareness at scale).
- CTR → How engaging your ad is.
- CVR → How many clicks turn into actions (remember: not all are true leads).
- CPA → Cost per inquiry (think: lead generation efficiency).
By mastering these terms, you’ll be able to confidently discuss ad performance, refine your digital marketing strategy, and maximize your ad spend – all while driving more qualified renters to your community.
Need help optimizing your PPC strategy? Let’s chat! Whether you’re trying to lower your CPA at a stabilized community or boost awareness at a new lease up, HomeGrwn can help you fine-tune your campaigns to maximize leasing success. 🌱
