Google AdWords
Who they are
What they needed
  • Manage 18,000 national AdWords campaigns better
  • Stop micro-managing bids and keywords
  • Save time
  • Connect more buyers with agents
  • Improve monthly P & L
What they did
  • Started using Conversion Optimiser on AdWords campaigns
  • Rolled out Conversion Optimiser to set maximum CPA bids in all major geographic markets
  • Used Conversion Optimiser to manage bids for thousands of different ad groups
What they accomplished
  • Increased conversions: Increased conversions approximately 35 percent
  • Lowered costs: Reduced cost per acquisition (CPA) by an average 25 percent
  • Improved efficiencies: Saved 6 – 8 hours of human resources a day
  • Enhanced business perspective: Enabled management to understand bid strategy better depending on industry trends in specific geographic markets

The Conversion Optimiser: House sweet house

HouseValues increased conversions by an average of 35 percent with Google Conversion Optimiser.

Turning lookers into home owners

Founded by Mark Powell, a former estate agent, HouseValues, Inc. helps estate agents get more business by providing advanced lead generation and management services. HouseValues also operates four consumer websites, HomePages.com, HouseValues.com, JustListed.com and TheLoanPage.com that provide expert advice to potential home buyers. From its Kirkland, Washington headquarters, HouseValues.com serves the US and Canada.

So many markets, so little time

HouseValues has grown from humble beginnings in 1999 to a comprehensive marketing organisation that serves tens of thousands of estate agents in cities, towns and suburbs throughout North America. "As the company has changed, so has our marketing mix," says Director of Media Charlie Cole. "Over the last few years, Google AdWords has become more and more prominent." Currently, a large percentage of the company’s marketing resources are allocated to Google AdWords™ campaigns.

HouseValues was faced with managing 18,000 different geographically targeted ad groups and nearly 2,000 keywords - an incredibly labour-intensive undertaking. The firm explored using the services of an outside search engine marketing firm, but opted instead to keep the work internal and use Google’s Conversion Optimiser, a feature within AdWords that enables users to specify their maximum cost per acquisition (CPA) bid. Now, using the Conversion Optimiser, three people are handling the entire workload in-house. "It’s almost like cruise control in some of our slow-pulse markets," says Cole. "We’re keeping our customers happy with almost no intervention required." He adds that Conversion Optimiser is a great fit for national campaigns that previously required constant attention.

Breaking stats

In the markets where Conversion Optimiser is being used, Cole notes that the volume of leads generated on HouseValues is "unlike anything" that the organisation has seen. On average, the number of conversions has increased by about 35 percent across all markets where Conversion Optimiser has been deployed. At the same time, the CPA had dropped by approximately 25 percent. The two graphs below demonstrate Conversion Optimiser’s impact. We’ve normalised the data to protect HouseValues’ confidential business information.

CPA (normalised) before and after Conversion Optimiser


Chart 1. CPA has decreased by 25% before and after using Conversion Optimiser.

Average conversions per day (normalised), before and after

Chart 2. Average conversions per day increased by 35% before and after using Conversion Optimiser.

"It makes sense that Conversion Optimiser does a better job than people," notes Cole. "The algorithm is working at a rate of about 30 times a day versus what a human can do typically two times per week." In addition to the tremendous statistical improvements, Cole estimates that the organisation is saving 6 to 8 hours labour per week in managing bids.

Room with a view

Agents who use HouseValues services to get leads and manage their customer relationships are very satisfied. A successful estate agent in Massachusetts writes, "HouseValues is the perfect lead generation system, providing one of the most sophisticated and professional resources I have found. The system sets a precedent in this industry!”

Running such efficient and successful campaigns while keeping customers happy enables HouseValues’ leadership team to make better overall business decisions and produce a more profitable bottom line. For example, they now know what a lead will sell for in Los Angeles, Miami and other major metropolitan areas without micro-managing each individual CPC bid. Looking forward, HouseValues expects to deploy Conversion Optimiser in all its AdWords campaigns. "It’s a great tool to increase return on investment," concludes Cole.

More success stories »


About Conversion Optimiser

The Conversion Optimiser is an AdWords feature that helps advertisers manage advertising costs. Advertisers simply specify their maximum cost per acquisition (CPA) bid, and the Conversion Optimiser sets all their keywords' cost-per-click (CPC) bids automatically. The Conversion Optimiser makes adjustments in CPC bids based on the likelihood that a conversion will result from each ad auction. In addition to decreasing the time that advertisers spend on monitoring and managing CPC bids, the Conversion Optimiser can help improve AdWords campaign performance. For more information, visit http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=60150&hl=en_GB.

About Google AdWords

Google AdWords™ is a performance-based advertising programme that enables businesses large and small to advertise on Google and its network of partner websites. Hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide use AdWords for text, image and video ads priced on a cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-impression (CPM) basis. Built on an auction-based system, AdWords is a highly quantifiable and cost-effective way to reach potential customers. For more information, visit http://www.google.co.uk/adwords

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