We've run listing campaigns for Compass agents across the country. After a while, patterns show up. The best ads outperform the average by 6–9x. This is what they have in common.
In brand campaigns, the agent is the message. In listing campaigns, the property is. Three things show up in nearly every top performer.
Exterior photos outperform interiors. Drone shots, twilight shots, pool-and-yard shots. Lead with the outside of the home. Save the inside for the listing page. The one exception: an editorial-quality interior where the design is the entire story.
Under $5M, hiding the price tends to drive more curiosity clicks. Over $5M, showing it filters out unqualified traffic and most sellers want it visible. Either way, know what you're optimizing for — fewer clicks at higher quality, or more clicks with more noise.
Name the neighborhood, the landmark, the vibe. "Kihei, Maui" puts a picture in someone's head. So does "Malibu Road" or "South Congress." The more specific the place, the stronger the pull.
These show up less often in the conversation, but they separate the good ads from the ones that just look good.
In listing ads, the home sells itself. When the agent's headshot or logo competes with the property for space, the property loses. One exception: if you're targeting your own farm for future listings, agent presence alongside the property is a legitimate play.
Display ads are appetizers. The listing page is the meal. If someone has to read more than one sentence to understand what you're selling, there's too much on it. Great photo + geo line + price + CTA. That's the whole formula.
GIFs and slideshows sound more dynamic. In practice, viewers enter the ad at a random frame. Land on frame 3 of 5 and they've already missed the hero shot. One image, perfectly chosen, shows every viewer exactly the same thing.
Three ads from the top of the CTR ranking. Click any to view full size.
These show up often enough in lower-performing ads that they're worth naming. No judgment — just patterns from the data.
Headlines like "Private. Prestigious. Perfect." or "Unlock Luxury" appear in 6 of the bottom 25 ads. They sound polished but say nothing about where the home is or what makes it specific. If a headline could describe any listing anywhere, it won't work for yours.
Staged living rooms and kitchens look similar across listings. When an interior is the only image, it's harder for someone to place the home in their mind. The exterior is what makes a property feel real and distinctive in the feed.
Phone number, tagline, address, price, and a paragraph of copy all competing for attention at once. The best ads pick one thing and let it breathe. If you can't read and absorb it in under two seconds, there's too much on it.
"Looking for your dream home?" People scanning articles don't stop to answer questions. Declarative statements outperform. "Malibu Road Oceanfront" is a statement. "Is this your next home?" is a question nobody asked.
Six things. If any one of these is off, the ad is off.
Sorted by click-through rate. One ad per agent. Click any ad to see it larger.