TLDR;
- London's luxury market is weird; high CPCs mean you can't afford generic keywords like "buy flat London".
- You must use "Exclusionary Copy" (e.g., listing the price "Starting at £2M") to repel window shoppers.
- Targeting HNWI isn't just about income settings; it's about specific intent keywords and geographical precise targeting (geo-fencing specific wealth hubs).
- Negative keyword lists are your best mate here—block everything related to "rent", "cheap", "council", "shared ownership".
- I've included a calculator below to help you estimate the budget you'd actually need to compete in boroughs like Kensington or Chelsea.
So, you're trying to sell luxury property in London using Google Ads. To be honest, it's brutal out there. I've looked at many ad accounts for high-ticket businesses and luxury brands, and the amount of money being wasted on rubbish clicks is shocking. You're competing against massive portals like Rightmove and Zoopla, plus every other hungry agent trying to snag that one £5m+ instruction.
The problem with London is density. You have incredibly wealthy streets right next to council estates. You have people searching for "luxury apartments" who actually mean a slightly nice new build in Croydon for £400k, not the £5m penthouse in Battersea Power Station you're trying to shift. If you just switch on a standard Google Ads campaign with broad match keywords, you will burn through your budget in about three days with zero qualified viewings to show for it.
In my experience managing campaigns for luxury brand launches and high-ticket offers, the strategy has to be completely different from standard residential sales. It's not about volume; it's about precision. You don't want 100 leads; you want 3 people who actually have the funds and are ready to move.
Why London is Different (And Expensive)
Advertising in London is expensive. The Cost Per Click (CPC) for terms like "estate agent London" or "buy house Chelsea" can be eye-watering. We're talking £5, £10, sometimes £20 just for a click. If you haven't nailed your conversion rate, that maths just doesn't work.
Also, the "intent" in London is messy. A lot of people browse luxury property just for fun. They like looking at the interiors of mansions in Holland Park on their lunch break. You don't want to pay for clicks from people who are just looking. Your campaign needs to act like a bouncer at a club—keeping the time-wasters out so the real buyers can get through.
Lead Quality vs. Keyword Specificity in London
% of Leads that are actually qualified (Estimate based on luxury marketing principles)
The Keywords That Actually Work
A common mistake I see in high-ticket ad accounts is bidding on terms like "luxury real estate london" or "expensive houses in london". The intent there is too mixed. Often, it's researchers, journalists, or dreamers.
For high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), you need to get inside their head. They usually know what they want. They aren't just looking for "luxury"; they are looking for specific lifestyles or assets. If you want to know more about finding these people, have a look at our guide on targeting HNWIs and finding wealth.
Here is what I'd focus on:
1. Building or Development Specifics
People searching for "Battersea Power Station apartments for sale" or "One Hyde Park prices" are way further down the funnel. They know the building. They know the price tag. If you have stock in these specific prestige developments, bid on the building name. It's high intent.
2. Street Level Precision
Instead of "Kensington", try "The Boltons houses for sale" or "Kensington Palace Gardens property". The more specific the geography, the higher the likelihood of a serious buyer. They know the area intimately.
3. Asset Class Specifics
"Mews house for sale Marylebone", "Penthouse with river view", "Townhouse with porter". These describe the specific type of luxury asset.
4. The "International" Angle
A massive chunk of London luxury property is bought by overseas investors. You should be running campaigns targeting searches for "buy property in London" but originating from places like Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, or New York. The CPCs can sometimes be cheaper, and the intent is pure investment. We've written a bit about this international angle in our piece on London HNWI high-value ad targeting.
The Art of "Exclusionary" Ad Copy
This is my favourite tactic for luxury. You want to repel the wrong people. If someone sees your ad and thinks "Oh, that looks nice" but has a budget of £400k, and they click your ad for a £4m property, you just wasted money.
Put the price in the ad. Right in the headline.
Bad Ad:
Luxury London Apartments
Stunning views, great location.
Book a viewing today.
Good Ad:
Mayfair Apartments from £3.5M
Exclusive 3-Bed Residences.
View Floorplans & Availability.
By stating "from £3.5M", you are physically stopping 95% of people from clicking. Good. You don't want them. The 5% that do click have seen the price and aren't scared off. That's a qualified click. It's a simple change, but it saves thousands in wasted spend. If you are struggling with high costs without results, you might want to check out our advice on how to stop wasting money on Google Ads in London.
Negative Keywords: Your Defensive Line
I cannot stress this enough. If you don't have a robust negative keyword list, Google will match your "luxury house" keyword to "luxury house rental" or "luxury guest house".
You need to block these terms immediately:
- Rent/Letting: rent, to let, rental, holiday, airbnb, short stay. (Unless you do lettings, obviously).
- Value/Cheap: cheap, affordable, discount, auction, repo, shared ownership, help to buy, council.
- Jobs/Info: jobs, salary, recruitment, interior design, floor plan (unless selling off-plan), history, photos of.
I worked on a campaign in the Environmental Controls industry where we reduced the cost per lead by 84% simply by refining the targeting and aggressively filtering out irrelevant search terms. The principle for London property is exactly the same: if you don't block the waste, you burn the budget.
London Luxury Ad Budget Estimator
Est. Cost Per Lead: £250.00
Landing Pages: Don't Send Them to the Homepage
This is a classic error. You pay £10 for a click and send the user to your agency's homepage where they have to search all over again for the property they just clicked on. They will leave. Guaranteed.
For high-ticket items, the landing page needs to feel premium. High-res photography, virtual tours (Matterport is standard now), floorplans, and very clear "Enquire" buttons. If you are selling a development, use a dedicated landing page for that development. If you are selling a specific property, send them to that property listing.
But more than that, you need to sell the lifestyle, not just the bricks. If it's in Knightsbridge, mention the proximity to Harrods or Hyde Park. If it's in the City, mention the commute to Bank. You need to do the heavy lifting in the copy because these buyers are busy. If you find your ads are getting clicks but no leads, it's almost always a landing page issue. We cover this troubleshooting in our article on fixing property agent campaigns that fail to generate leads.
Targeting the "Invisible" Wealth
Google's "Demographic" targeting (Top 10% household income) is okay, but it's not perfect. It infers income based on browsing behaviour, and in a city like London, that data can be a bit skewed. Plus, lots of wealthy people use privacy browsers or ad blockers.
A smarter way is "Observation" audiences. You layer audiences like "Luxury Shoppers", "First Class Travellers", or "Investors" on top of your keywords. You don't narrow your targeting to them exclusively (that limits volume too much), but you bid higher for them. So if someone searches "buy flat Notting Hill" AND they are in the "Luxury Shoppers" audience, you bid +30% because they are more likely to be your guy.
Also, don't forget the power of "Customer Match". If you have a database of previous buyers or high-value enquiries, upload that list to Google. You can target them specifically or create "Similar Segments" (though Google is phasing some of this out for automated solutions, First-Party data remains king).
If you really want to go deep on how to target these individuals across different platforms, not just Google, our expert's advertising playbook for targeting HNWIs is a good read.
My Main Recommendations
If you're about to launch or restructure your London luxury real estate campaign, don't overcomplicate it. Start tight. I've listed the main steps I'd take if I were setting this up for you tomorrow:
| Component | Actionable Advice |
|---|---|
| Keyword Strategy | Avoid generic "London property". Focus on hyper-local areas ("Mayfair", "Belgravia") and specific prestigious building names. |
| Negative Keywords | Aggressively exclude "rent", "cheap", "shared ownership", "job", "council". Review search terms daily for the first month. |
| Ad Copy | Pre-qualify by including "From £X Million" in the headline. Repel window shoppers to save budget. |
| Location Targeting | Target wealthy residential postcodes in London for domestic buyers, and financial hubs (Dubai, NYC, HK) for investors. |
| Bidding Strategy | Start with Manual CPC or Maximize Clicks with a cap to control costs. Don't use Maximize Conversions until you have 30+ conversions. |
The London market is tough, but the rewards are massive. One sale covers your ad spend for the next three years if you do it right. But you can't just throw money at Google and hope it sticks. You have to be tactical, you have to be precise, and you have to be ready to cut what isn't working quickly.
If you're spending a fair bit on ads and feel like you're just feeding the Google machine without seeing the viewings book up, it might be worth having a second pair of eyes on it. We offer a free consultation where we can look through your search terms and campaign structure to see where the leakage is. No pressure, just honest advice on whether your strategy actually fits the London market.
Hope this helps!
