If you're a real estate agent, you already know that most of your competitors are advertising online. But do you know just how concentrated that spending has become?

The vast majority of real estate advertising now flows to digital channels, far more than any other local business category. Understanding this landscape can help you decide where your own marketing dollars will have the most impact.

Online Gets Almost Everything

Real estate services spend more on online advertising than nearly any other local industry. This includes Zillow and Realtor.com listings, Google Ads, social media advertising, and display campaigns.

This heavy digital investment makes sense in some ways. Buyers start their home search online, and sellers want to see their listings on major platforms. But the scale of this concentration, the vast majority of the total, but it creates a problem: when everyone is advertising in the same place, it becomes harder to stand out.

What's Actually Growing

While most traditional channels are declining, one category is showing consistent growth: Out of Home advertising, including indoor digital screens, is growing year over year while print and radio decline.

This shift reflects a strategic choice by some agents. Instead of competing solely in crowded, and increasingly expensive, digital spaces, they're investing in visibility within the neighborhoods they serve.

The Neighborhood Advantage

For agents focused on geographic farming, offline visibility has unique value. Indoor digital screens in gyms, salons, and restaurants reach homeowners repeatedly in their own communities. This isn't about catching someone actively searching for an agent. It's about being the name they remember when they're ready to buy or sell.

This kind of presence is hard to replicate online. Zillow doesn't know which gym your target neighborhood uses. Google Ads can't create the familiarity that comes from seeing the same agent's face every week at the local salon.

What This Means for Your Business

The data suggests a balanced approach:

  1. Maintain your digital presence on platforms where buyers and sellers search
  2. Build neighborhood visibility to create the familiarity that influences decisions before the search starts

For agents in Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, and Zionsville, indoor digital advertising offers a way to own your territory without competing against every other agent in the metro area.