How much should a business spend on Google Ads?
A business should spend enough on Google Ads to reach its lead or sales goal at a cost per lead below what a lead is worth. Calculate it by dividing the leads you need by your landing page conversion rate, then multiplying by your average cost per click.
Percent-of-revenue rules of thumb are a starting point at best. Two businesses with the same revenue can need very different budgets because their click costs, conversion rates and customer values are different.
How do you calculate a Google Ads budget?
Use three numbers: the leads you need each month, your expected cost per click and your landing page conversion rate. Leads ÷ conversion rate = clicks needed. Clicks × cost per click = monthly budget. Monthly budget ÷ 30.4 = daily budget.
Example
- Goal: 30 leads a month
- Conversion rate: 8%
- Cost per click: $4.50
30 ÷ 0.08 = 375 clicks. 375 × $4.50 = $1,688 a month, or about $56 a day. The expected cost per lead is $4.50 ÷ 0.08 = $56.25. Try your own numbers in the Google Ads budget calculator.
How do you know if the budget is worth it?
Compare the expected cost per lead with the value of a lead. A lead is worth average customer value × gross margin × close rate. If the cost per lead is below that figure, the budget should pay for itself.
Continuing the example: if a customer is worth $2,000, margin is 40% and 25% of leads close, each lead is worth $200 in gross profit. A $56 cost per lead leaves plenty of room. If a customer were worth $300 instead, that same cost per lead would lose money, and the fix would be the offer or conversion rate, not the budget. The cost per lead calculator does this check for you.
What is the minimum budget for Google Ads?
Google has no strict minimum, but a budget that buys only a handful of clicks a day produces too few conversions for automated bidding to learn and too little data to make decisions. Aim for enough budget to generate several conversions a week in each campaign.
If the full budget is not available, narrow the scope instead of spreading thin: fewer keywords, a smaller service area, or your highest-value service only. A focused campaign with enough data beats a broad one that never learns.
Should the budget change by season?
Yes. Search volume and click costs rise and fall through the year in most industries. Plan higher budgets for peak demand months and lower ones in slow months, rather than holding a flat daily budget.
Event-driven businesses are the extreme case: the budget needs to rise in the weeks before the date and stop afterward. See our guide on when to start promoting an event.
How should you scale a Google Ads budget?
Increase budget gradually, roughly 20% at a time, and wait one to two weeks between increases to see how cost per lead responds. Costs usually rise as you scale because the cheapest, most specific searches are already being captured.
- Scale campaigns that are limited by budget and beating your target cost per lead first.
- Watch search terms as budgets grow. More money often means looser matching and more irrelevant traffic. Our list of 12 places Google Ads budgets leak shows what to check.
- Re-forecast before big jumps. A projection tells you what the next dollar is likely to return. Read how to forecast Google Ads results.