How Much Does Google Ads Cost? #

Today, 65% of small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs) invest in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Once you learn how to advertise on Google, many businesses get a big boost from their ad spend on Google Ads (previously known as Google AdWords).

While Google Ads offers an impressive return on investment (ROI) of $8 for every $1 spent, many businesses wonder about the cost of Google Ads and how much they should spend on Google Ads.

The average cost-per-click (CPC) on Google Ads is $1 to $2 for the Google Search Network and less than $1 for the Google Display Network. Generally, small-to-midsized companies will spend $9000 to $10,000 per month on Google Ads, which doesn’t include additional costs, like software.

Now, are you ready to learn more about Google Ads pricing, from how it works to what other companies spend?

Your cheat sheet to Google Ads pricing #

In a rush? Use our cheat sheet to Google Ads pricing for a quick summary of Google Ads’ costs:

How much do businesses spend on Google Ads? #

Even though most companies spend $9000 to $10,000 per month on Google Ads, they use their ad spend in different ways.

Factors like their industry, products, services, and competitors all influence their Google advertising costs.

For perspective into your industry, check out this breakdown of CPC rates on Google Ads:

In most cases, industries with a higher CPC spend more on Google Ads.

The consumer services sector, for example, pays an average of almost $7 per click, which can move businesses in the industry to increase their monthly Google Ads spend. Companies can also have additional Google Ads costs, including:

Professional PPC management #

When businesses invest in PPC, it’s not uncommon for them to partner with a PPC agency.

A PPC agency, like WebFX, develops, launches, and manages your paid advertising campaigns on platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising.

As a part of leading and managing your PPC campaigns, your PPC agency will charge a monthly management fee. This rate ranges from $350 to $5000 per month and does not include your monthly ad spend.

In some cases, your agency’s management fee will be a percentage of your ad spend. The average, for example, is 12 to 30 percent of a company’s ad spend.

So, if you have an ad spend of $5000 and your agency requires 12 percent of your monthly ad spend as payment, you would pay your agency $600 per month, in addition to spending $5000 on ads.

PPC management software #

Businesses can also streamline internal PPC management with free and paid PPC software, like WordStream, Shape, or Acquisio. While optional, these tools can help your company optimize bids, evaluate ads, and more.

How much are you charged for a click on your Google Ads ad? #

How much you are charged for a click on your Google Ads ad depends on several factors, including:

Industry
Customer lifecycle
Market trends
Budget
Bid
Keywords
Targeting settings
Ad schedule
Ad Rank
Quality Score

While you can’t change your industry, you can influence other factors, like your ad schedule, targeting settings, and Quality Score.

For example, you could improve your landing page to boost your Quality Score or change when your ad runs via your ad schedule settings. For an actual price point, check out our summary of Google Ads pricing by industry.

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