You set the budget and Google runs an auction
Google Ads has no rate card. You choose a daily budget, pick the searches and places you want to appear for, and write the ads. Each time someone searches, Google runs an instant auction among the advertisers who want that search. If your ad wins a place, it shows, and with search ads you are normally charged when someone clicks, not when the ad is only seen.
That is why nobody can honestly name one price for Google Ads. Your spend is a decision you make, while the price of each click is a result of the auction. A daily budget works as an average: on a busy day Google may spend a little more than it and on a quiet day less, though across the month it stays within a limit tied to your daily figure.
What makes a click cost more or less
Several things set the price of a click. Your industry matters, because some services are fought over by many advertisers and others by few. Location matters too: ads aimed across the whole Lower Mainland meet more competition than ads aimed at a handful of Fraser Valley communities. Season, device and the hour of the day all change who is bidding.
Fraser Valley examples show the range. A roofer in Abbotsford competes with other trades and with large lead-selling sites. A U-pick farm near Chilliwack competes mostly in a few summer weeks. A car dealer in Langley meets bidders from across Metro Vancouver. Each faces a different auction, which is why borrowing another business's numbers leads you astray.
- How many advertisers want the same search
- The area you target, from one town to a wide region
- Season, day of the week and time of day
- The bidding strategy and the goal you give Google
- How well your ad and landing page match the search
Quality and relevance can lower what you pay
Google does not simply put the highest bidder first. It also weighs how useful your ad and page look for the search, a mix often called ad rank. A clear ad that echoes the words someone typed, sending them to a page about exactly that service, can earn a better position at a lower price than a vague ad that lands on your home page.
This is where careful setup earns its keep. Group related searches tightly, add negative keywords so you stop paying for irrelevant clicks, and give each main service its own page. A page that loads fast on a phone and has a tap-to-call number turns clicks into enquiries. Cheaper clicks mean little if visitors leave without calling.
Ad spend and management fees are different money
There are two separate costs. Ad spend goes to Google and buys the clicks or leads. A management fee, if you hire help, pays for building the account, watching it and improving it. Be wary of any proposal that blends the two so you cannot see how much of your money actually reaches the ads.
Ask for the ad account to sit in your name, with the agency added as a manager, so you can see every charge and keep the history if you ever leave. Our published prices are projects from $1,000 and $50 to $99 per hour. A free marketing audit comes before any proposal, and the proposal states the fee you would pay, in writing, before you commit.
- Monthly ad budget, paid to Google from your own account
- Management fee, shown as its own line
- Set-up work such as tracking and landing pages
- Reporting that shows enquiries, not only clicks
- Notice period and account ownership if you leave
Judge the cost by enquiries, not clicks
A click is not a customer. Before you spend, set up conversion tracking for calls, form submissions and bookings, so the account reports what each enquiry cost. Without it you see only clicks and spend, and you can pay for months without knowing whether the phone rang because of the ads.
Then review on a schedule. Look at the cost per enquiry, which searches produced them and what you can cut. For some trades and service businesses, Local Services Ads charge per lead rather than per click and show a Google badge, although availability depends on your category and area. Check that your service is covered before you plan around them.
More automation, so better inputs matter more
Google has been placing ads alongside AI-written answers, and automated campaign types such as Performance Max decide more of where ads appear. Control shifts from picking every keyword to feeding the system good information: accurate tracking, strong landing pages and clear goals. Your cost per enquiry will depend on those inputs more than on manual bid tweaks.
- 01Accurate conversion tracking feeding the automation
- 02Landing pages that answer the question behind the search
- 03Creative and offers that stay fresh through the seasons
Questions & answers
Google does not set a fixed monthly spend for search campaigns. You choose the budget. A budget too small to gather enough clicks will make results hard to judge, so decide what you can sustain through slow weeks and give a campaign time before you change it.
For standard search ads, no. You are charged for clicks, not for the ad being shown. Some formats, such as certain display and video ads, charge on views instead, and Local Services Ads charge per lead. Confirm the billing method for each campaign type before you launch.
Yes. You can raise, lower or pause campaigns whenever you like, and changes take effect quickly. Seasonal businesses use this to push spend ahead of busy weeks and ease off in quiet ones. If someone manages the account, agree how budget changes are approved so nothing comes as a surprise.
Both can work. A small search campaign is possible to set up yourself, but mistakes in targeting and tracking waste money quietly. Help pays off when your time is short or competition is strong. Either way, keep the account in your name and ask for monthly reports on enquiries.