Google makes a lot of money.  They earned $1.97 Billion last quarter.  That’s a lot of money.  So how does this relate to commercial real estate?  Well many online commercial real estate companies and regular commercial brokerages spend a lot of money online advertising with Google.  We do the same at Rofo.

Advertising with Google can be done two ways, either advertise on the Google search results page or in their content network (any site with adsense and gmail).  Below you can see the highlighted paid advertising section of the Google search engine results page (SERP) for the ‘Los Angeles Office Space’ search query.  The three slots on the top of the page are the most expensive.  The side bar is priced by position on the page, with the top spots being the most costly.

So how much does it cost to buy this type of advertising for “Los Angeles Office Space” searches?  It costs nothing to display the ad, but if your ad gets clicked then Google starts raking in the dough.  The average cost per click (CPC) for the keyword “Los Angeles Office Space” is $10.72.  Basically every time someone clicks on an ad served for “Los Angeles Office Space” it costs the advertiser an average of $10.72.  You can research keyword CPC’s yourself with the Google Keyword Tool.

Below is a snap shot of the data the Google Keyword Tool helps you explore.  It shows the keyword searched, what you will pay per click, the local search volume for the term, the global search volume and the recent search trends.  It looks like searches related to Los Angeles Office Space increased in 2009, hopefully a good sign for the economy, or maybe just for Google.

And this is just a click, it doesn’t guaranty that this customer will stay on your site, they might leave immediately.  This is where the second part of online advertising comes in, having good landing pages!

A landing page is where a searcher ends up after clicking your add.  Landing pages are a subject all their own, so I won’t go into much detail.  Basically you want your landing page to reflect the ad that led to it and have good calls to action.  A good call to action would be bright visible button with some text that helps the customer realize what to do after they landed on the page.  Check out this landing page article to learn more.

It would be great to hear from any brokers or landlords who have tried Google Adwords for themselves and what they thought of the experience.  Let us know in the comments.

Showing 1 - 10 of 40 listings

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Direct Lease

24th at Camelback - Suite 5002375 E. Camelback Road, Phoenix, 85016

150 sqft

$480 FS

Direct Lease

Two Renaissance - Suite 140040 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, 85004

150 sqft

$480 FS

Direct Lease

Esplanade IV - Suite 4502575 East Camelback, Phoenix, 85016

150 sqft

$480 FS

Direct Lease

Esplanade I - Suites 450 & 9502425 East Camelback Road, Phoenix, 85016

150 sqft

$480 FS

Direct Lease

Paradise Valley Center - Suite 303111811 North Tatum Boulevard, Phoenix, 85028

150 sqft

$480 FS

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It can be difficult to know exactly what information to include in your available listing, but we thought we would share some tips. Our customer service team spoke to nearly 1,000 small businesses in October who were searching for space and we thought we would provide some real time feedback for the best way to market available space to these businesses. Below are some tips:

 

·      Price: Absolutely, 100%, every time, price your listing every where on line. The small business understands that if they ask for improvements, the price might increase. If you want to get qualified inquiries and more inquiries, price your listing. The theory that you might get a business to tour by un-pricing a listing and then they will fall in love with the space regardless of the price does not work!

·      Square Footage: List each square footage that you have vacant separately so businesses with specific needs can find your available space. If you have a space that is 3,000 square feet but is divisible, list each square footage that it is divisible to.

·      Pictures: Interior and Exterior and the more the merrier.

·      Floor plans: For both office and industrial users, a floor plan is requested very frequently. If you don’t have a floor plan, describe the layout in the description

·      Description: In the description, discuss the positives of the space and the location. Discuss nearby amenities and companies in your building. Call out specific business types that would be a good fit for the space or who have leased the space in the past. If the building is a great fit for therapists of a gym, add that to the description.

·      Video: There aren’t that common yet in commercial real estate, but more and more businesses are viewing videos already on Rofo.com. It saves everyone time and makes a space stand out. If the space is run down, show it describe the improvements that you would be willing to do. If the space looks great, show it off and help it lease quicker.

·      Reviews: Have your tenants review what its like to be a tenant in your building. Small businesses like to hear from other small businesses and this advice has been consistently asked for by our audience.

What’s the market doing?

Where do you think we should price this availability?

These are examples of questions the Customer Service team at Rofo hear every day. We thought it might be helpful to put our tips down on paper to help provide a process for pricing your vacant space. Below are some steps and questions to ask yourself:

Step 1: Get some rough comparables: Start by searching Rofo, brokerage websites, Craigslist and any site you run into on the web for rent pricing in your city and better yet your neighborhood. Check out For Lease signs in windows near your office, warehouse, or storefront and figure out where they have priced their space. Try to get at least 5 to 10 data points and figure out roughly where your space fits from a quality perspective (low end, mid, high end).

Step 2: Decide where you want to fit in the market

You’ve got some time: If you have some time and just want to get the best deal possible, price your building towards the expensive side of the market and see what happens. If interest is tepid, try offering some moving concessions such as free rent or discounted move in costs. Wait until your patience is wearing thin and start adjusting the price towards to medium or low end of the price scale to lease it

You’re in a hurry: Look for the best comparable property from your search in Step 1 and price your space at a 10% discount. Market the property across the web and make sure you are as flexible as possible on terms. Offer commissions, free rent, or any other concessions that you commonly see in your online search.

Step 3: Test it!:  Now that you have priced the listing, start to aggressively market the space and see what happens. Network like crazy, test different advertising mediums, and see what drives the most phone calls and appointments. If you are getting a large volume of tours but not getting a lease signed, its time to lower the price.

Step 4: Analyze: If lowering the price is not working, its time to analyze if its the space/price or the market. Rofo can help provide search data for your area if that’s helpful which is a great indicator of small business demand.  If its price issue, lower the price until it leases (and you are still making some money). If its a market issue, think about creative ways to get short term tenants into your space to gather some revenue. Would someone store something in your space for a few months? Is there an event that desperately needs a location and will pay for a few weeks to rent your space? Is there a non profit that can get you a tax refund for renting to them rent free for a few months?

Hopefully some of these tips help you decide where to price your available space.