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How Matt van Winkle Built a Hyperlocal Real Estate Business with YouTube Ads
Most real estate agents think YouTube ads are complicated or expensive, but they’re actually one of the simplest ways to reach homeowners in your exact market. In this webinar recap, discover how Matt van Winkle, creator of the Neighborhood Expert System and #1 agent in Steiner Ranch (Austin, TX), rebuilt his business from scratch using simple, affordable YouTube ads. Through a Q&A format, we’ll break down his real strategy: how he picks neighborhoods, creates videos, uses BIGVU and ChatGPT to batch content, manages budgets, and turns ads into real listing appointments from neighbors who already feel like they know him.
Q1: Who is Matt van Winkle, and Why Should Agents Listen to Him?
Matt started in real estate in 2009 during the market crash. He built an internet marketing-driven team using Google AdWords and Zillow, then owned a RE/MAX brokerage in Seattle, training and coaching around 700 agents across Washington and Oregon.
After a decade on the brokerage side, he moved to Austin, Texas in late 2022 with no database, network, or leads—determined to prove you can still build a predictable business from scratch. His main lever? Hyperlocal YouTube ads focused on Steiner Ranch. Within a year, he became the top listing agent there.
Q2: Why Are YouTube Ads a Big Opportunity for Local Agents?
Q3: How Did Matt Know His YouTube Ads Were Working?
Q4: How Much Time Does This Strategy Take?
Very little—if set up right. Matt spends less than an hour a week maintaining his YouTube ads.
Q5: How Do You Choose the Right Neighborhood to Dominate?
Matt worked with a title company to identify neighborhoods, checked turnover in the MLS, and focused all his marketing on Steiner Ranch. The goal: be the name in one profitable neighborhood, not the whole city.
Q6: How Do YouTube Ads Work, and What Should You Say in the First Five Seconds?
Q7: Should the Ads Be Vertical or Horizontal?
Q8: What Kinds of Ad Scripts Work Best?
These ads demonstrate specific strategies and outcomes, which sellers care about.
Q9: How Does Matt Write and Manage So Many Scripts?
With this pipeline, he can create 10–20 new ads in a single session.
Q10: What Budget Do You Need, and How Long Before Leads Show Up?
Q11: What Happens After Someone Clicks an Ad?
Matt focuses on branding and familiarity, not just clicks. He uses simple landing pages aligned with the ad message, such as:
These pages give people easy ways to reach out when ready, while ads keep warming the neighborhood.
Q12: How Does He Turn Views and Open Houses into Listings?
This creates a self-feeding business machine.
Q13: Do You Still Need Organic Content, or Are Ads Enough?
Matt does both, but keeps organic content simple:
Q14: What’s Matt’s Message to Agents Posting with No Results?
When you combine hyperlocal YouTube ads, simple repeatable scripts created with AI, BIGVU for batching and filming, a clear neighborhood focus, and smart follow-up using open houses and targeted emails, you can build a business where most clients live five minutes away and your profit per hour worked increases dramatically.
That’s the real takeaway: Done right, YouTube ads don’t just get you views—they make you the agent your neighbors already know before they ever start searching.
