In this article
1. Decide which client, before which platform
A family building a house, a developer planning an apartment block and a company commissioning a factory are three different campaigns with three different pages, and a practice usually wants only one or two of them. Decide which — by the projects you most want more of, not by which sounds prestigious — and everything else follows. A campaign aimed at “anyone who needs an architect” pays for the enquiries you do not want.
2. Google search for intent; Meta and LinkedIn for reach
Google search catches the person typing “residential architect in Whitefield” — the moment of intent, and the most expensive click. Meta reaches homeowners in a locality during the months before they search, with a project video; it is cheaper and slower. LinkedIn reaches the developer or the facilities head by job title, expensively and precisely, and is worth it only for a specific commercial offer. Most practices should start with search, in their own city, and add the others once the sum works.
3. Keywords: the project type and the area, and a long list of what to exclude
“Architect” alone brings students, job-seekers and people looking for free advice. “Residential architect Bengaluru”, “villa architect Sarjapur”, “factory architect Peenya” bring clients. The negative list — free, salary, course, college, software, jobs, plan download — matters as much as the keywords, because every irrelevant click costs the same as a good one.
4. The ad and the page it lands on
The ad says the project type, the area and one real thing — “Twenty villas completed in North Bengaluru; see the plans” — not “design your dream home”. The landing page is about that project type only: six real projects with a line each on the brief, the process and the fee structure in plain words, the principal’s name and face, and a short form that asks about the plot, the location and the budget range. Those questions cost a few enquiries and save the practice hours of unqualified meetings. Fast on a phone, always.
5. Budget, and the number that decides
Start with enough to learn something in a month — a modest daily budget on one campaign — and measure cost per qualified enquiry, not cost per click. A qualified enquiry is one with a plot, a budget and a location you serve; the form should tell you which they are. Compare it with what a project is worth. If the sum works, scale; if it does not, change the targeting or the page before adding money. Test one ad against another for a fortnight and keep the one that brought qualified enquiries. Switch it off when the portfolio and search are bringing the work on their own.