For South African Architectural Practices
Google Ads
for Architects
We run Google Ads for architects, so the enquiries come from people with a stand, a budget and a building to put on it — not the students, Revit learners and free-house-plan hunters that the word “architect” attracts in far larger numbers. Custom pricing. No lock-in. You keep your own account.
Google Ads Certified · In Google Ads since 2020 · One specialist, not an account manager
Documented Client Accounts
Four client accounts our founder personally managed, two American and two South African. None of them is an architecture account, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. The closest is a South African prefab building supplier, where the same fight against low-intent building searches applies. Judge the method, then read the numbers on the results page.
What You Get
Google Ads for architects,
run by one specialist.
Low search volume and high project value is a combination that punishes a sloppy account. You deal with Vogien and Tumaini directly, every time.
A campaign per project type
New homes, alterations and plan approvals are different buyers with different budgets. Each gets its own campaign, so a R15,000 plans job can’t set the bid for a R4 million house.
Enquiries qualified, not counted
A form from someone who hasn’t bought land yet is not the same lead as an owner with a site and a budget. We ask the right questions on the form and feed back only the ones worth your time.
Student and software traffic blocked
Degrees, SACAP exams, Revit tutorials and “architect salary” searches are negated before launch, then the list grows every week from your own search terms.
Measured over the real cycle
Architecture enquiries take weeks to become appointments. We judge the account on briefs and appointments, not on a 30-day lead count that makes it look broken.
You own everything
Your Google Ads account, your billing, your data. Leave whenever you like and the full history stays with you.
One practice per area
We won’t take a second architect in your area. Two clients bidding on “architect Durbanville” only raise each other’s costs.
Built For Architects
Four kinds of architectural work.
Four different campaigns.
Most practices run one “architect near me” campaign — so the cheapest, least-ready enquiries set the price for everything.
01 · Highest value
New homes & residential
Owners with land, a budget and a long decision. Low volume, form-led, and worth a far higher cost per enquiry than most accounts are willing to bid.
02 · The steady base
Alterations & additions
Extensions, second storeys and renovations that need drawings and council approval. More searches, faster decisions, and often the practice’s bread and butter.
03 · Deadline driven
Plans, approvals & regularisation
Building plans for council, as-built drawings and regularising unapproved work before a sale. Clear intent with a date attached — a separate campaign, not a keyword.
04 · Biggest fees
Commercial & multi-unit
Developers, sectional title and commercial buildings. A different buyer who compares practices on portfolio, given its own ads and a longer measuring window.
Stop Paying For These
The searches that look like
architecture work and are not.
This is where most of the budget actually goes. Blocked from day one.
People studying architecture
architecture degree · SACAP registration · architecture bursary · architect salary
People looking for free plans
free house plans · house plans pdf · 3 bedroom house plans · plan drawing app
People learning the software
revit tutorial · archicad · autocad course · sketchup free
People browsing for ideas
modern house design · famous architects · pinterest house · architecture jobs
Your free audit shows you exactly which of these your current account is paying for, in rands, from your own search terms report.
Worth Knowing
Why “architect” is
a thin keyword.
Search volume for architecture services in South Africa is small next to trades like plumbing, and a large share of it is people who have no intention of hiring anyone. That makes the negative list and the campaign split more important here than in most accounts, not less.
The better ground is the specific need. Someone searching for plans for a second storey, or to regularise an addition before selling, has a problem and a deadline. Those searches are cheaper, clearer and far more likely to become an appointment than a broad “architect” term.
If you also do the build side, it works differently again — see how we approach Google Ads for construction companies, and read what Google Ads costs in South Africa before you set a budget.
Pricing
Custom pricing.
Cancel any time.
Your pricing is custom. After a free audit and a conversation about your goals, we scope a management fee around how much you want to invest — separate from your ad spend, which stays in your own account, on your own card, and we never touch it. No lock-in and no notice period.
Want numbers for your business? Try the Google Ads cost calculator: it opens pre-set for architects.
Questions
What architects ask us.
Is there enough search volume for an architecture practice?
In most areas, less than for a trade, which is why it has to be run tightly. Broad terms are mostly students and people after free plans. The volume that pays is narrower: specific project types, plan approvals and your area. The audit shows how much real demand exists where you work before you commit a rand to it.
Our projects take months to decide. Can ads work on that timeline?
Yes, if the account is measured on the right thing. We track briefs and appointments rather than raw form fills, and judge the account over a window long enough to see them. Judging it on a 30-day lead count is how practices switch off campaigns that were working.
How much should we spend?
Enough to show consistently on the specific searches that matter in your area, rather than a little on everything. The Google Ads cost calculator gives a starting range for architects, and the audit narrows it to your market.
Can you advertise plan approvals separately from design work?
We recommend it. Plans for council and regularisation have a deadline and a clear price point, so they convert quickly and cheaply. Pooled with new-home design, they either starve that budget or get starved by it.
Will you work with another architect in our area?
No. Two practices bidding in the same auction only push up each other’s costs, and only one can win the click.
Are we locked in?
No. Month to month, cancel any time, and the account and its data stay in your name.
Related Trades
Other trades we build campaigns for.
Google Ads for engineering firms
Residential sign-offs, structural, civil and building services, each discipline separate.
Google Ads for construction companies
Renovations, extensions, paving and commercial builds, with tender hunters removed.
Google Ads for real estate agents
Seller valuations, rental management and developments, with buyer browsing kept out.
Areas we cover include George, Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Gqeberha, Bloemfontein, East London, Kimberley. See every area or every industry.
Free Audit
Find out how much of your
budget reaches students.
Send your details and Vogien will go through your Google Ads for architects personally — how much went to students, software searches and free-plan hunters, whether new-build and approvals work are fighting over one budget, and what a real brief is costing you. Straight answer either way, or get in touch another way.
Request your free audit
For architectural practices specifically.