The Google vs Meta debate is one of the most persistent arguments in property marketing. Both platforms have their advocates, both have their data. But when you filter the data through a rigorous qualification layer — actually measuring which channel delivers buyers who sign contracts, not just buyers who fill out forms — a much clearer picture emerges.
Our dataset
PreQual™ tags every lead with full UTM attribution at the point of capture, including Google GCLID and Meta FBCLID where available. Over the six months to February 2026, we processed 2,847 qualified leads across Australia, with channel attribution complete on 94% of them.
Our quality score measures the percentage of leads from each channel that pass the full 7-step qualification filter: intent, timeline, budget, finance status, document verification, location match, and build type match.
The results
Google Search: 71% quality score
The strongest performer by a significant margin. Buyers who find you through branded or intent-based search queries ("house and land packages North Brisbane", "knockdown rebuild Gold Coast") are already in research mode with a specific need. The quality delta between Google Search and other channels is substantial.
LinkedIn: 83% quality score
Surprisingly, LinkedIn delivers the highest quality score — but at much lower volume. LinkedIn's audience skews professional, with higher incomes and greater financial literacy. The challenge: CPL is around $180 vs $127 for Google. If you're selling custom builds or high-end product, LinkedIn's buyer profile is worth the premium.
Reddit: 62% quality score
Reddit performs better than its reputation suggests. Property-related subreddits (r/AusPropertyChat, r/brisbane) host genuinely engaged buyers who research thoroughly before acting. CPL of $120 makes it the most efficient channel by cost-per-qualified-lead.
YouTube: 55% quality score
Solid awareness play, but expect longer sales cycles. YouTube buyers are earlier in the funnel — often 12–24 months from decision. Great for nurture, weaker for immediate pipeline.
Meta Ads: 38% quality score
The most controversial result. Meta generates the highest raw lead volume but the lowest qualification rate. This isn't Meta's fault — the platform is excellent at reach. The problem is that broad interest-based targeting captures a lot of aspiration without financial readiness. With tighter custom audience targeting (lookalike from past buyers, retargeting existing enquirers), Meta quality scores can reach 55–60%.
TikTok: 29% quality score
The lowest performer. TikTok's audience skews younger and is engaged at an awareness level, not decision level. CPL is competitive but the downstream qualification rate makes it expensive on a per-qualified-lead basis.
What this means for your budget allocation
The intuitive takeaway is to shift budget toward Google and LinkedIn. But it's more nuanced:
- If you're selling H&L packages at $500k–$700k, Google + Reddit is your sweet spot
- If you're selling custom builds at $900k+, LinkedIn + Google deserves the majority of budget
- Meta is still worth running — but with a qualification filter between click and sales handoff
- YouTube is your long-game brand builder, not your short-term pipeline filler
The attribution trap
Most builders are optimising toward last-click conversions on their landing page. The problem: last-click attribution typically over-weights brand search (which you were already going to win) and under-weights the mid-funnel touches (YouTube, Reddit, social) that built the buyer's awareness over months.
A better model is to look at which channel influenced the buyer's first touchpoint, not their last. In our data, 34% of buyers who converted via Google Search had a prior touchpoint from YouTube or Meta — they just didn't click on those ads first.
The bottom line: the channel that delivers qualified leads isn't necessarily the one the buyer clicked last. Measure quality at the qualification layer, not the click layer, and your budget decisions will be dramatically more accurate.