How to Build an Estate Agency Marketing Plan

Most estate agents know they need better marketing. Fewer know where to start. The result is a cycle of sporadic activity: a flurry of social media posts, a one-off leaflet drop, a website redesign that never gets finished.

A marketing plan fixes this. It gives you a clear framework for what to do, when to do it, and how to measure whether it is working. Here is how to build one.

Step 1: Define your market

Before you spend a pound on marketing, get specific about who you are trying to reach. Not "homeowners" in general, but the specific type of vendor or landlord who is most valuable to your agency.

Consider:

• What is your geographic patch? Which postcodes, towns, or neighbourhoods do you want to dominate?
• What is your ideal instruction value? Are you targeting the first-time seller market, the family home market, or the premium end?
• What motivates your ideal vendor? Are they relocating, downsizing, divorcing, or investing?

The more specific you are, the more effective your marketing becomes. An agency that targets "homeowners in South Belfast aged 35 to 55 considering their next move" will always outperform one that targets "anyone who might sell a house".

Step 2: Audit what you have

Before building anything new, assess what you already have. This means honestly evaluating:

• Your website: Does it generate valuation requests? Is it mobile-friendly? Does it reflect your brand?
• Your Google Business Profile: Is it complete? Do you have recent reviews? Are your photos current?
• Your social media: Are you posting consistently? Is the content professional? Are you on the right platforms?
• Your brand: Does everything look cohesive? Do your boards, cards, website, and social media all feel like the same agency?
• Your reputation: What do your Google reviews say? What is your average rating?

Be honest. The audit is not about feeling good; it is about identifying the gaps that are costing you instructions.

Step 3: Set measurable goals

Marketing without goals is just activity. Define what success looks like for your agency over the next 12 months. Good goals are specific and measurable:

• Generate 20 valuation requests per month from the website by Q3
• Increase Google organic traffic by 50% in 6 months
• Achieve 4.8+ Google review rating with 50+ reviews
• Reduce cost per lead from paid advertising to under £20
• Post three times per week consistently on Instagram and Facebook

Every marketing activity should connect back to one of these goals. If it does not, question whether it is worth doing.

Step 4: Choose your channels

You cannot do everything, and you should not try to. Choose the channels that are most likely to deliver results for your specific agency and market.

For immediate leads:

• Google Ads: Target high-intent searches in your area. Results from day one.
• Google Business Profile: Optimise for local search visibility. Free and high-impact.

For medium-term growth:

• Social media: Build visibility, trust, and a local following. Results in 3 to 6 months of consistency.
• Email marketing: Nurture your database into future instructions. Builds value over time.

For long-term compounding:

• SEO: Rank for local property searches. Takes 3 to 6 months but compounds indefinitely.
• Content marketing: Area guides, market reports, and advice content that rank in search and build authority.

Step 5: Allocate your budget

Marketing budgets vary, but as a rough guide, most growing estate agents invest between 5% and 10% of their gross revenue in marketing. Here is how to split it:

• 50%: Lead generation (paid ads, SEO, website optimisation)
• 30%: Brand building (social media, content, PR)
• 20%: Infrastructure (website maintenance, tools, software)

If your budget is limited, prioritise lead generation. A professional website and targeted Google Ads campaign will deliver the fastest return on investment.

Step 6: Create a content calendar

Consistency is the single biggest differentiator in estate agent marketing. A content calendar prevents the feast-and-famine cycle that plagues most agencies.

Map out your marketing activity week by week:

• Which social posts go out on which days?
• When is the monthly email newsletter sent?
• What blog content is being published this month?
• Which campaigns are running and when are they reviewed?

A simple spreadsheet is enough. The point is not to create a complex system; it is to create accountability and consistency.

Step 7: Measure and adjust

Review your marketing performance monthly. For each channel, track the metrics that connect directly to your goals:

• Website: Valuation requests, traffic, bounce rate
• Google Ads: Cost per lead, conversion rate, return on ad spend
• SEO: Organic traffic, keyword rankings, leads from search
• Social media: Follower growth, engagement rate, profile visits
• Email: Open rate, click rate, unsubscribes

Do more of what works. Stop what does not. Marketing is not a set-and-forget activity; it is a system that improves over time.

Related reading

• Digital Marketing for Estate Agents: The Complete Guide
• How Much Does Estate Agent Marketing Cost?
• Local SEO for Estate Agents

Need help building your plan?

If you want a marketing plan built specifically for your estate agency, book a free discovery call. We work exclusively with estate agents across the UK and Ireland, and we can help you build a system that generates valuations and instructions consistently.