Client story: Towne Properties on REACH SEO & PPC

Nov 2, 2022

Michael Wilke from Towne Properties

“Thanks to REACH by RentCafe SEO and PPC services, we’ve been able to take multiple communities off ILS advertising, and we’re saving money. We’ve seen better performance for less cost.”

Michael Wilke
Towne Properties

Michael Wilke is the marketing strategist at Towne Properties. When he joined the company in 2014, Towne was dependent on ILS advertising for leads and leases. Towne’s property sites didn’t have online leasing yet.

In his current role, Michael has worked with the rest of the marketing team to modernize Towne’s online user experience to meet shifting renter expectations. When Towne shifted its strategy to include online leasing via RentCafe websites, it realized its property websites convert leads at a better rate than ILSs. Take a look at Towne Properties’ award-winning websites.

As a result, Michael started looking for the most effective and cost-efficient ways to drive traffic to Towne’s websites.

The challenge

Towne’s RentCafe property websites were converting at a better rate than ILSs, but they needed more leads.

Michael knew how to set up Google Ad groups, but he felt like he was just scratching the surface of what was possible. And he didn’t have the time to maintain and optimize campaigns for every property.

Ultimately, he and the Towne team decided to get expert help.

The solution

When looking for a marketing partner, the REACH by RentCafe digital marketing agency stood out. Since Towne uses Yardi and the agency is a part of the Yardi family, Michael knew that integration would be simple and data would be clean. 

Towne enlisted REACH search marketing experts to optimize their websites and set up ad campaigns quickly.

More importantly, Michael said, “[REACH experts] have the expertise that we don’t have. That became clear during the setup process. They were going over all the things they were going to do for us, the dedicated teams for search marketing, creative and more.”

REACH SEO results

Thanks to ongoing search engine optimization, Towne’s websites are getting more traffic that converts into leases. The websites are building authority, gaining impressions and increasing prospect engagement.

SEO is one of the top three goal conversion sources each month, converting at a rate of 10-12%. And Towne’s SEO cost per lease is just $63.

REACH PPC results

Although the Towne team knew how to set up Google Ad groups, they didn’t have the time or expertise to optimize their campaigns.

After REACH search marketing experts took over, Towne’s PPC ads started converting around 5%, significantly higher than the 1-4% conversion rate of an ILS. Towne’s PPC cost per lease is around $240, notably lower than the cost per lease of most ILSs.

Watch the full Towne Properties video with Michael Wilke

See the official Towne Properties client story.

Tell your story

Do you have a client story to share? Maybe you built a new website or decreased your cost per lease, and a REACH agency team member was somehow involved. Get in touch, we’d love to share your success.

Geneva Ives

Geneva Ives is the manager of marketing content at Yardi. She leads content initiatives for REACH by RentCafe. Writing may be her first love, but data is a close second. Geneva is based in Santa Barbara, California.

Recent posts

Apartment search trends: What the data says about SEO & PPC shifts

Apartment search box over rainbow interior photo

Check out data-driven apartment search trends from the last few years. Find out how consumer behavior has changed.

READ ARTICLE

MarCom Awards: Platinum for industry-focused series

Platinum MarCom Award statuette side by side with the REACH by RentCafe logo

Big news! We’re thrilled to share that OutREACH News has won a platinum MarCom Award for innovative apartment marketing content, thanks to you.

READ ARTICLE

How many days does it take to convert a rental lead into a lease?

Colorful image of a renter holding a house and standing next to a clock

See the results of a study of lead-to-lease conversion times, using data from 979 apartment communities across the U.S.

READ ARTICLE

Categories

Similar articles

Apartment search box over rainbow interior photo

Apartment search trends: What the data says about SEO & PPC shifts

By Nina Breister | November 16, 2023

Check out data-driven apartment search trends from the last few years. Find out how consumer behavior has changed.

Platinum MarCom Award statuette side by side with the REACH by RentCafe logo

MarCom Awards: Platinum for industry-focused series

By Geneva Ives | November 7, 2023

Big news! We’re thrilled to share that OutREACH News has won a platinum MarCom Award for innovative apartment marketing content, thanks to you.

Colorful image of a renter holding a house and standing next to a clock

How many days does it take to convert a rental lead into a lease?

By Geneva Ives | October 31, 2023

See the results of a study of lead-to-lease conversion times, using data from 979 apartment communities across the U.S.