The topic of multi-channel attribution in multifamily is often discussed, but rarely proven. ILSs and digital marketing agencies tout their impact on the consumer experience and how they are a crucial part of the leasing process for prospects. While these groups certainly bring value for multifamily property marketing strategies, many fail to provide the transparency needed to show property management marketing departments how they play a part in the leasing process. For example, many multifamily digital marketing agencies are unwilling to link their Google Ads accounts with their clients' Google Analytics for a claimed fear of "giving up their secret sauce." While there are a variety of different strategies and account structures within Google Ads that some could claim are "proprietary," linking Google Ads and Google Analytics is a simple, yet crucial part of any pay per click strategy. Integrating the two accounts shows not only the management company, but also the agency, the impact of their digital strategies on a property's marketing performance.
In the below example, we show a 30-day snapshot from a property's Google Analytics that is linked to the Google Ads account run by Street Digital Media. For this property's website structure, Street Digital Media set up lead conversions as phone calls and Contact Us form submits. This page shows the top conversion paths prospects took in the 30-day window that drove them to the property website and ultimately to contacting the brand new lease up via phone for leasing and tour information.
As you can see, Street Digital Media's Pay Per Click campaign played a role in 100% of the top conversion paths during this 30-day window. Every prospect who contacted the community's leasing staff via the property website, interacted with SDM's Google Ads at some point during their apartment search for this property. It's important to note that yo would not see this in your lead tracking software due to first contact lead attribution. In the 4 of the top 10 conversion paths above, the lead tracking software would credit the property website and not the Paid Search campaign.
The Google Ads and Google Analytics integration is so important because neither the management company nor the agency would be able to show the true value the Paid Search campaign has in generating lead volume for the property via direct and multi-channel attribution. By integrating the two platforms, both parties have full insight into the value that their digital strategies bring to each of your communities.