Who searches and for what
Italians: “casa in vendita Albania”, “appartamento Valona mare”, “villa Saranda”, “investire in Albania immobili”. Germans: “Immobilien Albanien”, “Wohnung kaufen Vlora”. Poles: “mieszkanie Albania sprzedaż”. British and Scandinavians: “property for sale Albania”, “Ksamil apartment”. Kosovars: “banesa në shitje Tiranë”, “shtëpi Durrës”. Each group has its own words, its own season (January-March and September for foreigners) and its own budget.
Why competition is still low
In Italy “casa in vendita Puglia” costs several euros per click and has hundreds of agencies. “Casa in vendita Albania” costs a fraction and has few serious advertisers. Same for Germany and Poland. It is a window that is closing: every year new agencies enter and the cost rises. Whoever builds campaigns and pages now keeps the advantage.
Campaign structure
One campaign per language and country: Italy in Italian, Germany and Austria in German, Poland in Polish, Kosovo in Albanian, the rest in English. Within each campaign, groups by area (Vlorë, Sarandë, Durrës, Tirana) and type (apartment, villa, land, new build). Negative keywords to avoid holiday rentals, jobs, news.
The landing page
The click goes to the “Apartments for sale in Vlorë” page in the client’s language, not the home: the area’s properties, text about the area, average prices, “how to buy as a foreigner” in three lines, photos, form and WhatsApp. For new builds, the project page. The wrong page loses half the paid clicks.
Costs
Clicks from Italy and Germany cost more than local ones, but a qualified enquiry (a foreign buyer with a budget) is worth a lot. A medium monthly budget concentrated in January-March and September-October brings dozens of enquiries; the cost per enquiry is compared with the average commission of a sale. The campaign on the agency’s name costs little and defends against portals.
The foreign buyers’ season
Foreigners search in winter and buy in spring-summer when they come to view. Highest budget January-April, viewings April-June and September, a pause in August. Kosovars and the diaspora buy in summer when they are in Albania: an Albanian campaign June-August.
Measuring enquiries
Forms, WhatsApp clicks, phone calls, all tracked by campaign and area. A CRM noting where every contact comes from. Every month: enquiries, cost per enquiry, qualified enquiries (real budget), viewings booked, sales. After six months you know which country and which area bring buyers.
Remarketing
Whoever viewed properties in Sarandë sees your ad with new Sarandë properties for 30 days, on Google and YouTube. Foreign buyers decide over months: remarketing keeps them in touch at low cost. It combines with email to the contact list.
The mistakes
A single English campaign for everyone. Clicks to the home page. Properties without prices on the site (the foreign buyer leaves). Forms landing in an inbox unread for three days. No reply in the client’s language. The same budget all year. The account in the ad agency’s name and not the real estate agency’s.
Google and Meta together
Google captures active search (“villa for sale Sarandë”). Meta creates desire (a sea-view villa video to Italians aged 45-65 interested in Albania). For real estate both work: Google for immediate enquiries, Meta to feed search and for new developments.
A sample campaign: villas in Sarandë for the Italian market
Campaign “Italy – Sarandë – villas”: searches “villa Saranda”, “villa in vendita Albania mare”, “casa vista mare Saranda”, “villa Ksamil”. Italian ad: “Sea-view villas in Sarandë from €180,000. Licensed agency, Italian-speaking assistance for the purchase.” Landing page: “Ville in vendita a Saranda” with ten priced villas, photos, drone video, area text, “how to buy as an Italian” in three lines, form and WhatsApp. Budget concentrated January-April. Typical result: cost per qualified enquiry far below the commission of one sale; two or three viewings a month from Italy; one sale every two or three months. The campaign pays for itself with the first sale.
The landing page in the client’s language
A German client who clicks a German ad and lands on an English page leaves. Every campaign has its own landing page in the ad’s language, with properties, prices, area text and form in that language, and an agent who replies in that language (or at least English and Italian). Well-translated landing pages are the part of the campaign many agencies underestimate and that decides half the result.
Developers and new projects
For a developer with a new project in Vlorë or Durrës, Google Ads works differently: a campaign on the project name and on “new apartments Vlorë” in Albanian for Kosovars and the diaspora, in Italian and German for foreigners; a project page with renderings, floor plans, prices, phases, a reservation form; remarketing to those who viewed the page; measurement of reservations. For 50-100 apartment projects, the ad budget is a small fraction of the value sold and shortens sales time by months.
Frequently asked questions
How much budget for foreign buyers?
A medium monthly budget concentrated in winter is enough to see qualified enquiries.
Which languages?
Italian, German, English, Albanian; Polish if the market requires it.
How fast do enquiries come?
From the first week, if the landing page has priced properties and a form.
Who owns the account?
The real estate agency. We open it in your name.