"How much do I need to spend on Google Ads?" It's the first question 90% of businesses ask when they want to advertise on Google. And the honest answer is: it depends. But don't worry — in this article we give you a concrete framework to calculate it.
The short answer
There's no universal minimum. But here are some reference figures:
| Business type | Monthly budget range | Expectation |
|---|---|---|
| Local business | 300-800 EUR | 20-50 leads/month |
| B2B services SME | 800-2,500 EUR | 30-80 leads/month |
| Small ecommerce | 500-1,500 EUR | 3x-5x ROAS |
| Medium company | 2,500-10,000 EUR | Scales with volume |
These numbers are indicative and vary significantly by industry, competition, and geography.
How to calculate your ideal budget
Step 1: Define your goal
Before talking money, you need to know what you want to achieve:
- Leads: How many contacts do you need per month?
- Sales: What's your average ticket?
- Visibility: Which searches do you want to appear in?
Step 2: Research your industry's cost per click (CPC)
CPC varies enormously by sector:
- Legal services: 3-15 EUR per click
- Insurance: 5-20 EUR per click
- Digital marketing: 2-8 EUR per click
- Fashion ecommerce: 0.30-1.50 EUR per click
- Local restaurants: 0.50-2 EUR per click
Step 3: Calculate expected conversion
The average conversion rate on Google Ads is 3-5% for well-optimized landing pages. This means:
- If your CPC is 2 EUR
- And your conversion rate is 4%
- You need 25 clicks to get 1 lead
- Each lead costs you 50 EUR
- If you want 30 leads per month, you need 1,500 EUR/month
Step 4: Compare with your profit margin
If your service has a 500 EUR margin per client, and you convert 1 in 5 leads to a client:
- Cost per client: 50 EUR x 5 = 250 EUR
- Margin per client: 500 EUR
- ROI: 2x (for every euro invested, you get two back)
If the numbers work, you have a profitable campaign.
The 3 most common budget mistakes
1. Investing too little
With 100 EUR per month, you won't get enough data to optimize. Google Ads needs data volume for the algorithm to learn. A low budget isn't "testing" — it's throwing money away.
2. Not having an optimized landing page
It doesn't matter how much you invest if your landing page doesn't convert. Before increasing budget, make sure your landing page:
- Loads in under 3 seconds
- Has a clear, visible CTA
- Is relevant to the user's search
- Works well on mobile
3. Not measuring correctly
If you don't have conversion tracking properly configured, you don't know if your campaign is profitable. Set up:
- Google Tag Manager
- Form tracking
- Call tracking
- Sales attribution
How long until you see results
Another frequent question. The typical timeline is:
- Week 1-2: Learning phase. Google collects data.
- Week 3-4: First optimizations. Keyword and bid adjustments.
- Month 2-3: Stabilized campaign. Enough data to optimize CPA.
- Month 3+: Scale. Increase budget on what's working.
Don't expect magic results in the first week. Google Ads is a medium-term investment that improves with time and data.
Google Ads vs other platforms
| Google Ads | Meta Ads | LinkedIn Ads | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Search intent | Discovery | High-value B2B |
| Average CPC | 1-5 EUR | 0.30-1.50 EUR | 3-10 EUR |
| Conversion rate | 3-5% | 1-3% | 1-2% |
| Ideal if | People actively search for you | You want to generate demand | You sell to businesses |
Conclusion
You don't need a huge budget to start with Google Ads. You need a sufficient budget to generate data, and a clear strategy to convert those clicks into clients. Start with the minimum viable amount, measure everything, and scale what works.
Want to know the ideal budget for your business? Request a free audit and we'll create a personalized calculation based on your industry and goals.