Google Ads Budget: How Much to Spend?

When people contact us to inquire about our Google Ads Management services, one of the first questions they ask is: “How much should I spend on Google Ads?“

Here at Little Dragon Media, we have clients spending as little as $1,000 per month, and others spending over $100,000 per month. The Cost-Per-Click (CPC) and Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) are two factors you should keep in mind before you decide on how much to allocate as Google Ads budget.

In this article, I want to talk to you about the latest “Average Cost Per Lead” statistics released by WordStream, a repubale PPC blog.

Why Realistic Google Ads Budgets Are Critical

Your Google Ads budget will influence your Ad Rank and account performance in general. Spending too little, as compared to your competitors, means you won’t show as often and your ad campaigns’ ROI won’t be as good. The top 3 results on Google Ads are influenced by both ad budget and ad quality.

Imagine a race where everyone runs towards a finish line with a prize (getting your ad seen). Budget is like how much energy drink you have (keeps you going). A high bid is like a powerful jump start at the beginning. But if you’re slow (bad ad quality), you might still lose. The best strategy is to have enough energy drinks (budget) to run the race, a good jump start (high bid), and be a fast runner (high-quality ad).

Also, keep in mind that while a bigger Google Ads budget is helpful, it’s not the only thing that matters. Here’s what else can affect how well you do in the auction:

• Ad quality: Think of this as the persuasiveness of your ad. A clear, well-written ad that speaks directly to the needs of potential clients is more likely to win, even if your bid isn’t the highest.
• Relevance: Google wants to show the most relevant ads to searchers. So, if your ad and landing page closely match what someone is looking for, that can give you an edge.

The good news is you can play all these angles to your advantage. Set a budget that lets you stay in the game, craft compelling ads that grab attention, and make sure your landing page is informative and relevant.

The Average Cost Per Lead in 2024

If you are interested in Google Ads for lead generation (e.g.: Lawyers, Dentists, etc) then I want you to look at the chart below. It shows the average cost per lead that advertisers are currently paying on Google Ads, segmented by industry.

Look for your industry in there, and ask yourself: “Can I afford to pay that amount per lead?“. I want you to keep in mind that these are high-quality warm leads. They are searching for your services on Google so the commercial intent is high. It’s not like Facebook or Instagram leads that are known to be colder.

If the answer is yes, then the next question is: what is your closing rate? If you get 10 quality warm leads from Google Ads, how many do you think you can close? Here at Little Dragon, our clients on average are closing 60% of their leads coming from Google Ads. Now, we have some outliers closing 90% of their leads, while others are closing 20% or less of them. At the end of the day, every client has different sales skills. If you want to maximize your closing rate, you need to be responsive and make sure leads can get ahold of you instantly. Don’t let them wait too long once they fill out a form on your website! They might shop around and find someone else by the time you get back to them.

Also, here at Little Dragon Media, we often beat these averages for our clients, especially those with a lot of five-star reviews and strong trust factors.

Converesely, if you have a lot of negative reviews, and an overall bad reputation online, any form of marketing can backfire and cause more harm than good. Before spending money on Google Ads, SEO, or any form of marketing, please make sure you have enough positive reviews out there. Also, make sure you can MAINTAIN the inflow of positive reviews in the future.

The Average Cost Per Click in 2024

Cost-Per-Click (CPC) is another metric to keep track of, regardless of whether you are interested in leads or sales. Again, I want you to take a look at the chart below to find out the average CPC in your industry. For instance, if you are a lawyer, you are expected to pay close to $10 per click (PS: these are in USD).

As a general rule, we want to be able to get at least 10 clicks per day for with your allocated Google Ads budget. From our experience, 10 clicks per day is the bare minimum to be able to build momentum and traction on your Google Ads account. This means that if you are in the legal space, for instance, you would need to spend about $100 per day so we can get those 10 clicks (roughly $3,000 per month).

Still Unsure How Much to Spend?

If you still unsure how much you should allocate to Google Ads, contact us for a free consultation. We’ll do a quick analysis of your industry, your competitors, and tell you how much we think you should allocate to Google Ads if you want to be on-par with your competitors, or even beat them.

Amine Rahal

Tech Entrepreneur, Author, and CEO of Little Dragon Media. Passionate about entrepreneurship, philanthropy, digital marketing, blockchain, health & nonprofits.