Abby is a data-driven content marketer with certifications in inbound marketing and content marketing. She’s written hundreds of articles covering digital marketing topics — a few of her specialties include first-party data, marketing and data analytics, marketing strategy optimization, and SEO. When she isn’t writing or optimizing content, Abby loves to spend time reading the latest mystery novel, having movie marathons with lots of snacks, and jamming out to Shania Twain.
Google Ads costs $100 – $10,000 per month with most businesses paying $0.11 – $0.50 per click and $0.51 – $1000 per 1000 impressions on average in 2024. Google Ads pricing can vary depending on various factors, like your industry, campaign targeting, and ad network.
Methodology
We asked 350 marketers to share how much they spend on Google Ads. Keep reading to discover their answers!
Asking yourself, “how much do Google Ads cost?” Looking to learn more about how much Google Ads costs and how to optimize your ad spend? Just keep reading this Google Ads pricing guide!
A big factor that influences your Google Ads pricing? Your industry.
Some industries have more competitive search results and search queries than others.
The more people searching for a particular phrase, and the more businesses trying to rank in one of the three ad spots for that phrase, the harder it will be for your ad to rank, and the more expensive your Google Ads costs will be.
How does the cost of Google Ads differ by industry?
Want to know exactly how Google advertising costs vary by specific industry? We’ve got you covered.
Factors like certain products, services, and competitors in your industry can all influence Google advertising costs.
View an overview of CPC rates on Google Ads by industry below:
INDUSTRY
AVERAGE CPC (SEARCH NETWORK)
AVERAGE CPC (DISPLAY NETWORK)
Advocacy
$1.43
$0.62
Auto
$2.46
$0.58
B2B
$3.33
$0.79
Consumer Services
$6.40
$0.81
Dating and Personals
$2.78
$1.49
Ecommerce
$1.16
$0.45
Education
$2.40
$0.47
Employment Services
$2.04
$0.78
Finance and Insurance
$3.44
$0.86
Health and Medical
$2.62
$0.63
Home Goods
$2.94
$0.60
Industrial Services
$2.56
$0.54
Legal
$6.75
$0.72
Real Estate
$2.37
$0.75
Technology
$3.80
$0.51
Travel and Hospitality
$1.53
$0.44
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.
Consumer and online advertising trends are constantly changing, so it’s essential to keep up with the latest changes. Your audience’s needs and shopping trends may change overtime, which means you might need to alter your keyword bidding strategy.
The average CPC may go up or down overtime as well as consumer trends shift, making some keywords more competitive than others.
Google Ads costs are also influenced by your ad’s Quality Score. Quality Score is a measurement of your ads’ quality and relevance. It usually ranges from a score of 1-10 and evaluates your ads’ landing page experience, keywords and click-through rate (CTR).
The goal is to have a Quality Score as close to 10 as possible. A higher Quality Score means that Google sees your ad as relevant and providing an experience that helps users, helping you get a higher placement in the SERPs.
Your Quality Score can affect how much you bid on keywords, because a lower bid plus a high Quality Score can help you earn a higher rank in the search results. If you have a lower Quality Score, you may need to place a higher bid to earn a top spot.
Like we mentioned before, some keywords are more competitive than others. That’s why your keyword choice can be a crucial factor in determining how much you’ll spend on Google Ads.
Depending on your industry and the keywords you want to target, you could spend a higher or lower CPC than the average business.
Another factor that can determine Google Ads pricing is your bid amount. Your bid is the maximum amount you will pay for a click on your ad. You can set this amount to whatever fits within your advertising budget.
It’s important to note that you’ll want to set a bid that’s high enough to compete with other bidders.
Your budget can also influence the cost of Google Ads. Your budget is the average daily and monthly amount you’ll spend per ad campaign. Just like your bid, you can set this amount to whatever fits comfortably within your advertising budget.
How does Google Ads determine your CPC?
When it comes to Google Ads pricing, there are a few factors that determine your CPC. You won’t always pay your maximum bid amount.
Expert insights from
Kayla J.Internet Marketing Specialist
“Google Ads determines your CPC by looking at your ad’s overall quality and how it compares to your competitors’ ads for that particular search. Specifically, Google will consider your ad’s relevance to the keyword, its expected click-through rate for that keyword, and what the overall landing page experience is like for people who search that keyword.
This means that optimizing your landing pages is just as important as optimizing your ad copy. If you have the most enticing, relevant ads but a slow-loading landing page that doesn’t align with the search intent, then not only could your conversion rate suffer, but your CPC could as well.”
With that being said, let’s dive into the three steps that determine Google Ads cost-per-click:
f your ad gets shown in the search results, you’ll only pay when someone clicks on it. However, you won’t always pay the maximum bid you set.
Google Ads determines your CPC with this formula:
Ad Rank of the ad below yours / Quality Score + $.01 = CPC
This formula makes it possible for companies with smaller advertising budgets to compete with larger businesses on Google. For example, you could pay less per click than another company who ranks below you because your ad has a higher Quality Score.
Google Ads pricing basics
Now let’s dive into a breakdown of the typical cost of Google Ads! We surveyed 350 marketers to uncover how much they spend on Google Ads. Here’s what they shared!
Key takeaways
61% of businesses pay $0.11 – $0.50 per click on Google Ads
56% of businesses pay $0.51 – $1.00 per 1000 impressions on Google Ads
44% of businesses pay $100 – $10,000 per month on Google Ads
37% of businesses pay $0.11 – $0.50 per click on the Google Search Network
31% of businesses pay $0.51 – $1.00 per 1000 impressions on the Google Display Network
25% of businesses pay $0.51 – $1.00 per 1000 impressions on the Google Search Network
24% of businesses pay $0.11 – $0.50 per click on the Google Display Network
How much does Google Ads cost in 2024?
Google Ads costs $100 – $10,000 per month (45% of respondents). However, your cost will depend on your cost per click (CPC) or cost per 1000 impressions (CPM).
Most businesses pay $0.11 – $0.50 per click (61% of respondents) and $0.51 – $1000 per 1000 impressions (56% of respondents) for Google Ads on average in 2024. Like we mentioned above, Google Ads pricing varies depending on multiple factors, like the keywords you target, your industry, and whether you advertise on the Google Search Network or the Google Display Network.
[Summary] Google Ads pricing
Check out a summary of the cost of Google Ads on the Google Search Network and Google Display Network below!
It’s important to note that these numbers are only averages, and you may spend more or less depending on your unique business and ad targeting.
Google Ads pricing FAQs
Curious about the Google Ads price per month? Have other questions? We’ve got you covered. Get answers to common questions about the cost of Google Ads below!
Google Ads typically cost $100 – $10,000 per month (45% of respondents). This Google Ads price per month will depend on your average CPC, maximum bid, ad network, and more.
The average CPC for Google Ads is $0.11 – $0.50 on the Google Search Network and Google Display Network (61% of respondents). Google Search Network ads appear in the search results on Google when someone searches for terms related to your keywords. Google Display Network ads can appear on more than two million websites, apps, and videos, such as YouTube and Gmail.
Small businesses spend $100 – $10,000 per month on Google Ads on average (62% of respondents). Like we mentioned above, your small business may spend more or less than this amount depending on the competitiveness of your industry and your chosen ad network.
source data
Small Business Google Ads Monthly Spend
% of Marketers
Less than $100
0.00%
$100 – $5,000
35.29%
$5,001 – $10,000
27.45%
$10,001 – $50,000
5.88%
$50,001 – $100,000
13.73%
$100,001 – $250,000
9.80%
$250,001 – $500,000
1.96%
$500,001 – $750,000
3.92%
$750,001 – $1,000,000
0.00%
More than $1,000,000
1.96%
What other Google Ads costs can I expect?
So now that you know the answer to the question, “how much does Google Ads cost,” let’s discuss some additional costs you can expect.
Typically, businesses can expect the following costs from Google Ads:
Professional PPC management
When businesses invest in PPC, it’s not uncommon for them to partner with a PPC agency.
PPC management from an agency costs $501 – $3000 per month on average (36% of respondents). Agencies often charge different rates for PPC services, and some may charge hourly. How much you’ll spend will depend on the pricing model you choose and your chosen agency.
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.
If you opt for a paid PPC management tool, prices range from $15 to $800 per month. Now that you have a background in the basics of Google Ads’ costs, are you ready to learn more about the platform and the ad auction that influences how much Google Ads costs your business? Just keep reading to get started!
How does Google Ads budgeting work?
When you start advertising on Google, you’ll come across several terms related to Google Ads costs, including:
Budget: The amount you’re willing to spend over 30.4 days for a campaign on a per-day basis.
Bid: The amount you’re willing to spend for a click on your ad.
Spend: The amount Google deducts from your budget when an ad wins an ad auction.
Cost: The actual amount you pay for a click on your ad.
Your daily average budget is the average daily amount per ad campaign you’re willing to spend over 30.4 days (the average number of days in a month).
When you set up your campaign in Google Ads, you’ll be asked to provide your daily average budget. You can choose to share this budget across all of your campaigns or set a separate budget for each campaign.
Your daily average budget gives Google a rough idea of what you’d like your daily spend to average out at the end of the month. That means you could exceed or fall short this amount.
There are two types of spending limits — the daily spending limit and the monthly spending limit.
The daily spending limit is the maximum amount you will pay for an ad campaign daily. And the monthly spending limit is the maximum amount you will pay for an ad campaign each month.
The pricing of Google Ads will also depend on your bid. Your bid is the maximum amount you’re willing to pay for a click on your ad.
You’ll want to make sure your bid is high enough to compete with other bidders to earn those higher positions in the search results.
You can choose to bid manually and set different bid amounts for each keyword in your ad group or set up automated bidding where you can set maximum bid limits.
Need help creating your Google Ads budget?
While most companies spend $100 to $10,000 per month on Google Ads, there isn’t a definitive answer to the question, “How much does Google Ads cost?” and that’s for good reason.
How much you spend on Google Ads is entirely up to you. The right Google Ads spend for your business depends on numerous factors, including ad performance, your industry, your goals, the tools you decide to use, and more.
Whatever approach you decide to take, Google Ads is a fantastic advertising method for almost any business out there. Worst case scenario, you might lose some of your budget on an unsuccessful test campaign.
But when you realize what you stand to gain from a successful Google Ads campaign, you’ll be asking why you didn’t give it a shot sooner! If you’re looking for help building your Google Ads budget, as well as developing your campaign, our PPC management services for Google Ads can help.
Just contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359to speak with an experienced strategist about Google Ads pricing for your business!
PPC Calculator
Calculate your estimated PPC and Google Ads costs now with our free calculator!
Abby is a data-driven content marketer with certifications in inbound marketing and content marketing. She’s written hundreds of articles covering digital marketing topics — a few of her specialties include first-party data, marketing and data analytics, marketing strategy optimization, and SEO. When she isn’t writing or optimizing content, Abby loves to spend time reading the latest mystery novel, having movie marathons with lots of snacks, and jamming out to Shania Twain.
