Google AdWords is vital in driving traffic to Propertyfinder.ae
The company
In October 2007, REA Group, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch News Corps, acquired 51% of a UAE based print and online property listing business. The print side of the business was shut down to focus only on online and relaunched in January 2008 as the portal propertyfinder.ae. Today the company employs 21 people and is the leading property portal in the UAE.
Propertyfinder.ae is a business to consumer web platform that enables real estate agents and developers to subscribe and list their properties and gives buyers a one-stop-shop for UAE property listings. Michael Lahyani of propertyfinder.ae advised “We guarantee the quality of the property listings posted on our portal as all subscribers must be registered with RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority)”. Currently the portal receives over 100,000 visits with nearly 800,000 page impressions every month.
What a difference AdWords makes
The biggest challenge to any new online business is driving traffic from day one, attracting both subscribers and consumers, promoting sales and attracting advertising income. Google AdWords was a cornerstone of the launch strategy of propertyfinder.ae and was one of their first advertising expenditures, assisting them to grow their unique visits from 100 to 40,000 per month.
Michael commented, “Being an online portal, what we need more than anything else is traffic. The most efficient marketing to drive traffic is naturally online. Other marketing channels will assist in building your brand but rarely result in a traffic increase. Approximately 90% of our marketing spending is online and from our online advertising budget at least 50% goes to Google AdWords. Google is the place where everyone’s internet research starts, so if you want someone to find you, you better be there in one way or another.”
Building on Results
Today AdWords counts for 30% of the traffic to propertyfinder.ae. There is one internal staff member responsible for managing AdWords unique features and tools to assist them in designing and executing all campaigns and ensuring that their creative, targeting and spend is refined on a regular basis.
Propertyfinder.ae is harnessing the potential of AdWords, “In terms of results, cost per acquisition, tracking, ROI and campaign flexibility, AdWords is a unique product. Every statistic that you ever wanted to garner from traditional media campaigns but could never truly quantify - AdWords delivers it to you. It is the dream of a marketing manager!” confirms Michael Lahyani.