How much does Google Ads cost for a small business?

What you actually pay for

Google Ads charges when someone clicks your ad, not when it's shown. The price of a click is set in an auction and depends on how many businesses want the same search in the same area.

You set a daily budget per campaign. Google may spend more on some days and less on others, but over a month it stays within your daily budget times the days in the month.

What makes clicks expensive

The same click can cost very different amounts depending on:

• Competition: trades with high job values (solar, renovation, implants) attract many advertisers.
• Location: big cities usually cost more than rural areas.
• Intent: ‘bathroom renovation price munich’ costs more than ‘bathroom ideas’, and is worth more.
• Your ad and page: relevant ads with a matching landing page can pay less for the same position.

Set your budget backwards

Start from the business, not from Google. Decide how many enquiries you want a month and what you can afford to pay for one. Multiply them, and that's a sensible starting budget.

Example: you want 15 enquiries a month and one enquiry is worth up to €60 to you. That's a starting budget of about €900 a month. After a few weeks you'll see your real cost per enquiry and can adjust.

Don't forget the fees on top

Your total cost is ad budget plus management. Agencies often charge a retainer or a share of spend. Software like Orbit Grow costs a flat fee (€89 a month) and takes nothing from your ad budget.

Questions