How much does Google Ads management cost per month?
Management fees are separate from what you pay Google for clicks. In Credo's survey of PPC firms, 50.97% had a minimum retainer of $1,000 to $3,000 a month and 26% had a minimum under $1,000. Small local accounts can be managed for less, because there is less to manage.
Credo's survey is US data from 2019, so use it as a rough guide, not an Australian price list. The pattern still holds: the fee follows the amount of work, and the amount of work follows how many campaigns, keywords and locations you run.
A single-location service business with one or two campaigns does not need the same hours as a national ecommerce account with shopping feeds and many product lines.
Source: Credo, PPC pricing survey (US, 2019 data, page updated June 2022).
How do agencies charge for Google Ads management?
Agencies charge in one of three ways: a flat monthly fee, a percentage of your ad spend, or an hourly rate. Flat fees are the easiest to budget for. Percentage fees grow as your spend grows. Credo found 60% of PPC firms charge $100 to $200 an hour for hourly work.
A percentage of spend can create the wrong incentive, since the agency earns more when you spend more, whether or not it works. A flat fee keeps the conversation on results.
Whatever the model, check three things: does the account sit in your name, is ad spend billed by Google directly to you, and can you see the numbers whenever you like.
Source: Credo, PPC pricing survey (US, 2019 data, page updated June 2022).
What is a sensible Google Ads budget for a small business?
Google says your spend is completely up to you and charges no flat fees, so you choose the budget. Work it out backwards: how many enquiries you want, what a click costs in your market, and how many clicks turn into an enquiry. Google Keyword Planner shows estimated click costs for your keywords before you spend anything.
Here is the maths, using example numbers only. If clicks cost $5 and one in ten visitors enquires, each enquiry costs $50. Twenty enquiries a month would need about $1,000 in ad spend. Your real numbers will differ, so test and adjust.
Keyword Planner gives a low and high range for top-of-page bids, so run the sum with both and plan for the higher one. Too small a budget is a common mistake. If your daily budget only buys two or three clicks, you will wait months to learn anything. It is often better to target fewer keywords or a smaller area and give them enough budget to work.
Source: Google Ads, How much does Google Ads cost?
How does Google charge for ads?
Search ads are charged per click, so you pay when someone clicks your ad. Google can spend up to twice your average daily budget on a busy day, but over a month it will not bill more than 30.4 times your average daily budget. A $10 daily budget means a $304 monthly limit.
Click prices are set in a live auction. Google uses Ad Rank to decide which ads show and what they pay, and better quality, more relevant ads can pay less to win.
Quality Score, a 1 to 10 rating for each keyword, gives you a hint. It is based on expected clickthrough rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. A clear, relevant landing page is one of the cheapest ways to lower your costs.
Source: Google Ads Help, About spending limits; Google Ads, How much does Google Ads cost?; Google Ads Help, About Quality Score for Search campaigns.
What does MarketingOnWeb charge for Google Ads management?
MarketingOnWeb manages Google Ads from $490 a month + GST. Your ad spend is paid directly to Google, not through us, and the account belongs to you. You also get a live dashboard login, so you can check how your campaigns are going whenever you like.
We are based in Melbourne and manage accounts for businesses across Australia. No one can promise a set number of leads from Google Ads, and we do not. What we can promise is that you see exactly where your money goes.
If your budget is too small to learn anything, or your website is not ready to turn clicks into enquiries, we will tell you before you spend.
Do I need a Google Ads agency near me?
Not really. Google Ads is managed online, so a good manager in another city can run your account just as well as one down the road. What matters is that they know your local market, target the right suburbs or regions, and report to you clearly.
Being local can help with the brief: knowing which suburbs you service, local competitors and seasonal patterns. But ask about process and reporting first, location second.
A quick test for any manager, local or not: ask them to explain, in plain words, what they would change in your account in the first month and why. If they cannot, keep looking.
MarketingOnWeb is Melbourne-based and works with businesses Australia-wide.
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