How much should a first Google Ads campaign cost?
Working out a realistic test budget from what a customer is worth, not from a number that feels comfortable.
"How much should I spend?" is the first question every new advertiser asks. The honest answer is: enough to learn something. Here's how to work out what that means for you.
Start with what a customer is worth
Take your average sale value and your profit on it. Then estimate how many enquiries turn into customers. If a job earns you £600 profit and you win one in four enquiries, an enquiry is worth up to £150 to you. That's the most you could pay per lead and break even.
Check what clicks cost
Google's Keyword Planner gives a rough range of cost per click for your main searches. It's an estimate, but it tells you whether you're in a £1 market or a £15 one.
Put the two together
As a planning assumption, say one in twenty clicks becomes an enquiry. At £3 a click, that's £60 per enquiry, well under the £150 it's worth. To get around 20 enquiries in a month, enough to start seeing patterns, you'd need roughly £1,200 of ad spend.
These are example numbers. Your own figures matter more than any rule of thumb.
If the numbers don't work on paper, they rarely work in practice. If they do, a pilot campaign gives it time to prove it.