Category: Paid ads

Google Ads and Meta Ads costs, budgets and how to choose a channel.

Google Ads not working? A 12-point Google Ads audit

What you will get from this guide

A 12-point Google Ads audit in the order that finds the costly problems first, with where to click for each check
The settings that quietly waste budget on small accounts: location options, auto-applied recommendations and broad search terms
A cost-per-lead check that tells you whether the account can ever be profitable at your prices

When Google Ads is not working, the cause is usually one of four things: conversions are not tracked correctly, so Google optimises for the wrong thing; ads show for searches or places you do not want; settings have been changed automatically; or the landing page does not turn clicks into enquiries. A Google Ads audit checks each of these in turn, starting with tracking, because every other number in the account depends on it.

This 12-point audit takes about an hour on a small account. Each check says where to look in Google Ads and what a problem looks like. It ends with a cost-per-lead test that tells you whether the account can be profitable at your prices at all. If you want it done for you, see our Google Ads management service.

AJ Creationz manages Google Ads accounts. The audit order and thresholds are our working method; Google’s own documentation for each setting is linked in the sources.

Checks 1 to 3: conversion tracking

Are the right actions counted as conversions? Go to Goals, then Conversions. Primary conversions should be real enquiries: form submissions, calls over a set length, bookings or purchases. If page views, button clicks or time on site are set as primary, Google is optimising for the wrong thing.
Do the numbers match reality? Compare last month’s conversions in Google Ads with the enquiries you actually received from ads. If Google shows 40 and you got 8, something is double-counting or counting non-leads. If Google shows none but the phone rang, tracking is broken.
Is each conversion counted once? For lead generation, set conversions to count one per click, so a person who submits a form twice is not counted as two leads.

If tracking fails any of these, fix it before touching bids, budgets or keywords. Automated bidding learns from conversion data, so wrong data trains it to find the wrong people.

Checks 4 to 6: who sees your ads

Search terms. Open Insights and reports, then Search terms, for the last 30 days. Read the actual searches that triggered your ads. Look for jobs you do not do, DIY and free searches, job seekers, competitor names and locations you do not serve. Google’s help suggests using this report to find negative keywords.
Location option. In campaign settings, check Locations, then Location options. The default, Presence or interest, can show ads to people outside your area who have shown interest in it. A local service business usually wants Presence: people in or regularly in your targeted locations.
Networks. On Search campaigns, check whether the Display Network is switched on. It can spend budget on website placements that rarely convert for local service searches.

Checks 7 to 9: settings that change without you

Auto-applied recommendations. Go to Recommendations, then Auto-apply. Google can apply some recommendations automatically, such as adding keywords or changing bidding. Turn off the ones you have not deliberately chosen, then review recommendations by hand.
Change history. Look at Change history for the last 90 days. Unexplained changes to budgets, bidding or keywords often line up with when results dropped.
Bidding strategy versus data. Strategies such as Maximise conversions or Target CPA need enough reliable conversions to learn from. On a small account with only a handful of conversions a month, check whether the strategy is spending without enough data to steer by.

Checks 10 to 12: budget, ads and landing page

Budget spread. If one campaign or ad group takes most of the spend but brings few conversions, move budget to what converts. Many small accounts spread a small budget across too many services to learn anything.
Ads match the search. Read your ads next to the top search terms. Does the ad repeat what the person searched for, state the area you cover and give a reason to choose you? Ads that say only quality service at great prices waste the click.
Landing page. Click your own ad on a phone. Does the page match the ad, load quickly, show the phone number and a short form without scrolling, and answer the price question? Sending all ads to the home page is one of the most common reasons Google Ads clicks do not convert.

For the landing page itself, our website lead generation scorecard has 15 checks you can run in under an hour.

The cost-per-lead test: can this account ever pay?

Maximum cost per lead = profit per customer × close rate

If a customer is worth £400 profit and you win 1 in 4 enquiries, you can afford up to £400 × 25% = £100 per lead before ads lose money, before any management fee.

Illustrative cost-per-lead check
Line	UK example	US example
Profit per customer (assumed)	£400	$500
Close rate (assumed)	25%	25%
Break-even cost per lead: profit × close rate	£100	$125
Current cost per lead in the account (assumed)	£140	$90
Verdict	Losing £40 a lead: fix tracking, terms and page, or stop	Profitable: room to scale carefully

Check: £400 × 0.25 = £100; $500 × 0.25 = $125. Compare with your real cost per conversion only after tracking passes checks 1 to 3.

If your break-even cost per lead is below what clicks in your market cost to turn into leads, no amount of tuning will make the account profitable. Our Google Ads cost guide shows typical click prices and budgets in pounds and dollars, and the Google Ads vs Facebook Ads guide helps you decide whether another channel fits better.

What to do with the audit results

Fix tracking first, then wait one to two weeks for clean data before judging anything else.
Add negative keywords and correct location settings the same day; they stop waste immediately.
Make one bigger change at a time, such as a new landing page or bidding strategy, so you can see what worked.
Write down your break-even cost per lead and check it monthly against the account.

Start with checks 1, 4 and 5 today

Conversion tracking, search terms and location options find most of the waste on small accounts, and each takes about ten minutes. If you would like an expert view, give us read-only access to your Google Ads account and we will send you a recorded walkthrough of all 12 checks with the fixes in priority order, at no cost.

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Frequently asked questions

Why are my Google Ads not converting?

Usually because conversion tracking is wrong, ads show for irrelevant searches or locations, settings were changed automatically, or the landing page does not persuade. Check tracking first, because automated bidding learns from it.

How do I audit my Google Ads account?

Work through tracking, search terms, location and network settings, auto-applied recommendations and change history, then budget, ads and landing pages. Finish by comparing your cost per lead with the most you can afford.

What does Presence or interest mean in Google Ads?

It is the default location option. It can show ads to people in your area and to people elsewhere who have shown interest in it. Presence limits ads to people who are in or regularly in your targeted locations.

Should I turn off auto-applied recommendations?

On small accounts, turn off any you have not deliberately chosen and review recommendations by hand, so changes to keywords and bidding happen only when you agree with them.

How much should I pay per lead on Google Ads?

Your break-even is profit per customer multiplied by your close rate. Paying less than that per lead is profitable before management fees; paying more loses money.

October 24, 2026

How much does Google Ads cost? Budget, CPC and management fees

What you will get from this guide

What you pay Google (clicks) and what you pay a manager (fees), kept separate, with sourced ranges
Click costs by industry in pounds and dollars, and why the sources disagree
A formula that turns a target number of leads into a monthly budget, and an all-in cost per lead that includes the management fee

Google Ads has two separate costs. You pay Google for each click, and you pay a freelancer or agency to manage the account if you hire one. Published guides put typical small-business ad spend at about $1,000 to $5,000 a month in the US and £750 to £5,000 in the UK, with most UK small businesses paying roughly £1.50 to £2.50 a click. Management is separate: about 10% to 20% of spend in US guides, or a flat £200 to £1,500 a month for small UK accounts.

Averages hide the number that matters, which is what a lead costs you all in. This guide gives the ranges, shows where sources disagree, and includes a formula for your own budget. If you want an account audited or managed, see our Google Ads management service.

AJ Creationz manages Google Ads, and most pages that rank for this topic are written by agencies that sell the same service. Treat every range as indicative. One UK source states plainly that no primary UK-wide survey of click costs exists. For your own keywords, Google’s Keyword Planner is the best first estimate.

How Google Ads pricing works

On Search campaigns billed per click, you pay when someone clicks your ad, not when it is shown. What each click costs is set by an auction that runs every time someone searches. Google’s help page says the auction looks at your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, the expected effect of ad assets such as phone numbers and extra links, minimum quality thresholds, and the context of the search, including the search terms, location, device and time.

Two points from that page change how you should think about cost. Your bid is the most you are willing to pay, and what you actually pay is often less. And a competitor with a higher bid can still lose position to you if your keywords, ads and assets are more relevant. That is why a better landing page can lower costs more than a bigger budget.

How much does a click cost?

Click costs vary most by industry, and the sources disagree on the overall average, so use the tables below as a range, not a promise.

Indicative cost per click, UK, in pounds
Sector or measure	Cost per click	Source
Typical small business	£1.50 to £2.50	Whito (2026)
Local trades	£1.50 to £3.00	Whito (2026)
Ecommerce	£1.50 to £4.00	Whito (2026)
Legal services	£8.25 average, £5 to £12 or more	Whito (2026)
Lowest sector (charities)	£0.85	Whito (2026)
UK average	£3.50 to £3.65	Whitehat (2026)
London campaigns	15% to 30% above the rest of the UK	Whito (2026)

Whito and Whitehat disagree on the UK average (about £2 against about £3.60). Whito’s own methodology note says its ranges come from agency figures and benchmarking platforms, not a primary UK survey.

Indicative cost per click on Search, US, in dollars
Industry	Cost per click
Ecommerce	$0.50 to $3
Travel, beauty and fitness	$1 to $5
Education, auto, real estate	$2 to $10
B2B	$3 to $15
Health and medical	$10 to $50
Loans and finance	$30 to $70
Insurance	$40 to $80
Legal	$50 to $150

Source: UniLink (2026). Two Minute Reports gives a much lower overall Search average of about $1 to $2 a click, which shows how far apart published figures are.

The practical reading: a click in a low-value niche costs a few pounds or less, and a click in law, insurance or finance can cost many times more because one customer is worth so much. Keyword intent matters too, since searches close to buying (for example, a service plus near me) usually cost more than research searches.

How much should I spend on Google Ads each month?

There is no fixed minimum, and we found no source that sets a daily minimum. A monthly figure divided by 30 gives a rough daily budget: £750 a month is about £25 a day. These are the budget bands the sources give.

Monthly ad spend bands from published guides
Stage	UK, per month	US, per month	What it buys
Test	£750 to £1,500 (Whito: £500 to £1,000 can test a local business)	$300 to $1,000 (solo)	Enough data to learn if PPC works; expect two to three months
Growth	£2,000 to £5,000	$1,000 to $5,000 (small business)	Wider keywords and areas once returns are proven
Scale	£5,000 to £10,000 or more	$5,000 to $25,000 (mid-size)	Systematic testing and smart bidding with enough data

Sources: Whitehat and Whito (UK, 2026); UniLink (US, 2026). Two Minute Reports says most small businesses spend $1,000 to $10,000 a month.

What do Google Ads management fees cost?

Management fees are separate from your ad spend, and the three common models are a flat monthly fee, a percentage of spend, or a base fee plus a smaller percentage. Sources give different ranges, so compare the model before the number.

Management fee models from published guides
Model	UK sources	US source
Flat monthly fee	Freelancer £200 to £800; agency £500 to £1,500 for £1,000 to £5,000 spend; £1,500 to £5,000 for £5,000 to £20,000 spend (Whito)	$500 to $5,000 (ClicksGeek)
Percentage of spend	5% to 15%, mostly over £5,000 a month (Whito); 5% to 10% with a £1,000 to £2,000 minimum (Whitehat)	10% to 20%, minimums from about $500 (ClicksGeek)
Hybrid	Not covered	For example $1,000 plus 5% of spend (ClicksGeek)
Setup, one off	£250 to £500 is reasonable; ask for a breakdown above £1,000 (Whito)	$500 to $2,500; landing pages $500 to $2,000 each (ClicksGeek)

Whitehat also lists £3,000 to £5,000 a month for full-service flat retainers. The gap between sources is wide, so ask what each fee includes: reporting, landing pages, tracking set-up and how often the account is reviewed.

Percentage fees rise as you spend more, whether or not the work does. Flat fees stay predictable. One source suggests flat fees often give better value below about $3,000 a month of spend, which matches the UK pattern above.

Worksheet: turn a lead target into a budget

Monthly ad spend = leads wanted ÷ click-to-lead rate × cost per click

All-in cost per lead = (ad spend + management fee) ÷ leads. Most guides quote cost per lead without the fee.

Here is an illustrative example. The rates are assumptions chosen from the ranges above, not a forecast, and the arithmetic is shown so you can swap in your own.

Illustrative budget for 20 leads a month
Line	UK example	US example
Leads wanted	20	20
Assumed click-to-lead rate	5%	5%
Clicks needed: 20 ÷ 0.05	400	400
Assumed cost per click	£2.00	$5.00
Ad spend: 400 × cost per click	£800	$2,000
Assumed management fee	£500	$500
Total: spend + fee	£1,300	$2,500
Cost per lead on spend alone	£40	$100
All-in cost per lead	£65	$125

Check: 800 ÷ 20 = 40 and 1,300 ÷ 20 = 65; 2,000 ÷ 20 = 100 and 2,500 ÷ 20 = 125. If one lead in four becomes a customer, the UK example makes five customers, so each costs £260 in ads and fees (1,300 ÷ 5). That is worth paying only if a customer brings in more than £260 of profit.

The most you can afford to pay per click

Work backwards from profit. Maximum cost per click = profit per customer × the share of it you will spend on acquiring them × the rate at which clicks become customers. With £200 profit per sale, 25% spent on acquisition and 5% of clicks becoming customers, you can afford £200 × 0.25 × 0.05 = £2.50 a click. At a 2% rate, the same sum gives £1.00 a click. If typical clicks in your market cost more than that, Google Ads will lose money unless you improve the page, the offer or the margin.

Hidden costs and when Google Ads is not worth it

Landing pages. A dedicated page per service lifts results, and some agencies charge for each one.
Tracking. Without conversion tracking you cannot tell which clicks became enquiries, so you cannot judge the spend.
Creative and extras. Images, video and call tracking are sometimes billed separately.
Your time. Following up leads quickly matters as much as the click, which is why we connect ads to a CRM. See GoHighLevel pricing for the cost of that follow-up system.

Whito lists four cases where it says not to start: the website does not convert, you cannot track leads, the margins do not support the click cost, or the offer is not clear yet. Its example: a £20 product with a £5 margin, a £1.50 click and a 5% conversion rate costs £30 in clicks per sale, a loss on every order (£1.50 ÷ 0.05 = £30).

How to lower your Google Ads cost

Match each ad group to one theme and one landing page, so the ad, keyword and page agree. Google rewards relevance with lower costs.
Check the search terms report weekly and add irrelevant searches as negative keywords.
Restrict locations to the areas you serve, and review results by device and time of day.
Make sure conversion tracking counts real enquiries before you move to automated bidding.
Compare Google with other channels before you commit the whole budget. Our Google Ads vs Facebook Ads guide shows when each fits.

Do this next

Fill in the worksheet with your own click cost and conversion rate, then check it against your profit per customer. If the sums work and you want the account built or audited, send us your site and goal and we will give you a written scope.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does Google Ads cost per month for a small business?

Published guides give about $1,000 to $5,000 in the US and £750 to £5,000 in the UK for ad spend, plus management fees if you hire help. A test budget of £500 to £1,000 a month can show whether a local business gets enquiries.

What is a good cost per click on Google Ads?

It depends on your sector. One UK guide puts most small businesses at £1.50 to £2.50 and another puts the UK average above £3.50. A good click is one you can afford: see the maximum-cost-per-click formula in this guide.

How much do agencies charge to manage Google Ads?

UK guides give £200 to £800 a month for freelancers and £500 to £1,500 for agencies on small budgets. US guides give 10% to 20% of ad spend or $500 to $5,000 a month. Ask what is included.

Is there a minimum daily budget?

We found no source that sets a daily minimum. Divide your monthly budget by about 30 for a rough daily figure, then check whether it is enough for Google to collect data.

Is Google Ads worth it for a small business?

It can be, when the website converts, leads are tracked and the click cost fits your margin. If any of these is missing, fix it first. The worksheet in this guide shows the maximum click cost you can afford.

What is the difference between CPC and CPA?

CPC is cost per click, what you pay each time someone clicks. CPA is cost per acquisition, what you pay for each lead or sale. CPA is the number that decides whether the campaign works.

Does the management fee count in my cost per lead?

It should. Divide ad spend plus the management fee by the number of leads to get the all-in cost per lead. Many guides quote the figure without the fee.

How long before Google Ads is profitable?

Expect two to three months of testing while tracking and search terms settle. Set a target cost per lead before you start and review it monthly.

October 10, 2026

Google Ads vs Facebook Ads: which should you start with?

What you will get from this guide

A simple rule for choosing between searches (Google) and interruptions (Meta), with examples
A formula for the most you can pay per lead and still profit, with the arithmetic shown
Typical management fees, and what to have in place before you spend anything

Google Ads vs Facebook Ads is not a contest, because they reach people at different moments. Google Ads shows your ad when someone searches for what you sell, so the person already wants it. Facebook and Instagram ads (Meta) reach people by interests and behavior while they scroll, so you create demand rather than catch it. If people already search for your service, start with Google. If your product is visual, impulse-led or new to the market, start with Meta.

Google charges per click, and cost per click ranges from cents to several dollars depending on the keyword. Meta often allows lower daily budgets and has strong retargeting. Whichever you choose, set the most you can pay per lead before you spend. The formula below gives you that number, and the sections after it cover fees and set-up. For management, see our Google and Meta ads service.

AJ Creationz manages both channels. Many comparison articles online are written by ad agencies or tool vendors, and some are years old; we flag figures that come from vendor pages.

Google Ads vs Meta Ads: how each works

	Google Ads	Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram)
Person’s mindset	Searching for something now	Browsing; not looking for you yet
Targeting	Keywords and search intent	Interests, behavior, location, lookalike and retargeting audiences
Best for	Urgent or high-intent needs: plumbers, lawyers, software, emergency services	Visual products, discovery, events, offers and retargeting visitors
Cost pattern	Per click; cents to several dollars depending on competition	Often lower daily budgets are possible; cost depends on audience and creative
Creative effort	Mostly text, plus assets for some formats	Images and video carry the result

Summarized from guides by HostGator, Search Atlas, E-commerce Fastlane and others. Several are vendor blogs and one comparison dates from 2019, so we use them for the shape of the answer, not exact costs.

Which should a small business start with

Do people already search for what you sell? Check by typing it into Google. If there are ads and results, there is demand: start with Google Ads.
Is it urgent? Needs that cannot wait, such as repairs or legal help, favor Google. Considered or impulse purchases favor Meta.
Is it visual? Fashion, food, travel, events and anything that looks good in a feed favor Meta.
Is your budget small? One UK source says most UK agencies will not take accounts spending under about £500 a month on ads. With a small budget, choose one channel and run it properly rather than splitting it thin.
Do you have a website visitor list? Retargeting people who already visited is a strong Meta use, so add it once you have traffic.

Work out your maximum cost per lead first

Maximum cost per lead = gross profit per customer × lead-to-customer rate

Paying above this number loses money on every customer, however good the campaign looks.

Illustrative example; the numbers are assumptions
Step	Number	Arithmetic
Gross profit per customer	£1,200	assumption
Share of leads that become customers	20%	assumption
Maximum cost per lead	£240	1,200 × 0.20
Target cost per lead (leave room for management fees and profit)	£120	half of the maximum, a chosen target
Leads a £1,500 monthly ad budget buys at target	12.5	1,500 ÷ 120
Customers from those leads	2.5	12.5 × 0.20
Gross profit from those customers	£3,000	2.5 × 1,200

If you cannot get leads below your maximum, fix the offer, landing page or sales follow-up before adding budget. Half of the maximum is a rule of thumb for planning, not a benchmark.

Management fees and minimum budgets

Google Ads management in the UK: one guide gives £300 to £2,000 a month; another says most UK SMEs pay £500 to £2,500, or 10% to 20% of spend, or flat retainers of £750 to £3,000.
Meta ads in the UK: one guide gives retainers of £1,500 to £8,000+ a month, with minimum budgets often £3,000 to £5,000 a month.
US agencies: Google Ads management is often 10% to 20% of ad spend or a retainer, commonly $1,500 to $3,500 a month for mid-tier agencies, per our service guide.

These figures come from agency pages that sell the service, and the sources disagree. Ask for a written scope, what is included, and who owns the ad accounts. You should own them.

What to set up before you spend a pound or a dollar

Conversion tracking for leads or sales, tested end to end
A landing page that matches the ad and works on a phone
A fast follow-up process: replies within minutes beat replies the next day
Consent and cookie handling for the markets you advertise in
A decision date: when you will judge the test and what you will do with the result

Do this next

Calculate your maximum cost per lead with your own numbers. Then check Google for the search you want to win; if you see ads and demand, start there, otherwise test Meta with a single offer.

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Frequently asked questions

Is Google Ads or Facebook Ads better for small business?

Neither is better for everyone. Google suits people already searching; Meta suits visual products and discovery. Use the questions in this guide.

Can I run both?

Yes, and many businesses do. Start with one and add the other once the first is tracked and profitable.

Which is cheaper?

There is no definitive answer. Google charges per click and cost varies by keyword; Meta cost varies by audience and creative. Compare cost per lead, not cost per click.

How much should I spend to test?

Enough to collect meaningful results, which depends on your costs per lead. Several UK agencies decline accounts under about £500 a month in ad spend, so treat that as a floor for hiring help.

Do I need an agency?

Not necessarily. Many businesses start in-house. An agency helps with setup, tracking and creative if you do not have the time or experience.

October 4, 2026