By Hira Ads Pro·2 min read·October 12, 2026
There is no single right budget for Google Ads. The useful question is: how much do you need to spend to get enough leads to be worth it, at a cost per lead your business can afford? You can estimate that before spending anything.
Step 1: Know what a lead is worth to you
Start with your own numbers:
- Average job value
- How many enquiries become paying jobs (your close rate)
- Gross margin on a typical job
If an average job is worth 300 and you close one in three enquiries, each enquiry is worth roughly 100 in revenue before costs. That sets the ceiling for what you can pay per lead and still make money.
Step 2: Estimate cost per click
Use Google Keyword Planner with your main service keywords and your service area. Note the “top of page bid” range. Local click costs vary a lot by trade and city, so use your own market’s numbers rather than an industry average.
Step 3: Estimate conversion rate
Conversion rate is the share of clicks that become an enquiry. It depends on how well your ads, keywords and landing page match. If you have no history, use a cautious assumption and replace it with real data after the first few weeks.
Step 4: Do the maths
Cost per lead = cost per click ÷ conversion rate
Monthly budget = target leads per month × cost per lead
An example with illustrative numbers only:
- Average cost per click: 4.00
- Conversion rate: 8%
- Cost per lead: 4.00 ÷ 0.08 = 50
- Target: 30 leads a month
- Budget: 30 × 50 = 1,500 a month
If the cost per lead is above what a lead is worth to you (Step 1), the plan needs a better conversion rate, narrower targeting or a different offer, not just more budget.
Step 5: Make sure the budget can learn
Smart Bidding needs a steady flow of conversions to optimise. A budget that only buys a handful of clicks a day will produce noisy results that are hard to judge. It is usually better to run fewer services or a smaller area properly than to spread a small budget thinly across everything.
Where budget is usually wasted
- Broad match keywords without enough negatives
- “Presence or interest” location targeting
- Running ads overnight when nobody answers the phone
- Paying for clicks that land on the homepage
How to review spend after launch
After a few weeks, compare your estimate with reality: actual CPC, actual conversion rate, and most importantly how many leads became jobs. That last number only exists if conversion tracking is set up properly.
If you want a budget plan built on your own market data, a Google Ads audit is a good starting point.
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