The question of how much money you should invest in Google Ads is one of the main doubts every potential advertiser asks before starting. Is there a minimum investment? Can I control the investment or do I have to pay a certain amount upfront? How will I be billed? How can I be sure I won’t be scammed?
Once these doubts are resolved, we move on to the more complex part: how much should you invest? The answer is always “it depends.” There are many factors to consider, both from Google’s system and from your business. “The more, the better” does not always apply to all sectors, although sometimes Google itself may recommend it.
[poll id=”11″]How do Google payments work and how will I be billed?
Google does not require a minimum investment. Budgets are set daily, so to determine our budget, we need to divide our total amount by 30.4 days to determine the daily budget.
Google states that daily, the system can consume up to 40% more than your daily budget, but over 30.4 days, it will never exceed your defined budget. For example, if your daily budget is €10, Google may spend €14 one day, but it will compensate by spending €8 on other days. These are examples to explain why Google can spend more than your set daily budget. This happens because the optimization algorithm detects high-performing days and uses them to invest more, balancing out days with lower performance.
In some countries, bank transfer as a prepaid method is available; in Spain, billing is post-paid. Google accepts different payment methods: debit/credit card, PayPal, or direct debit. Card and PayPal allow you to start campaigns almost immediately, while direct debit requires extra verification; Google will make a small deposit, and you must confirm the exact amount in Google Ads billing.
You can see more about payment methods available in Spain here.
Regarding billing, Google usually charges every 30 days or after reaching a certain amount (€200, €300, or €500), whichever comes first. For example, if you invest €1000 per month, there will be two charges of €500. If you invest €750, one charge of €500 and another of €250. This is because daily budgets are flexible and can be increased or decreased as needed.
There is the option to request a monthly invoice so Google charges for the whole month’s investment rather than in tranches, also allowing you to set a budget limit. However, this requires having a Google Ads account for at least 1 year and having consistently invested at least €5,000. This option is reserved for advertisers with large investments.
How much should I invest in Google Ads?
To determine how much to invest in Google Ads, we need to ask two main questions:
- What budget do I have?
- How big is my market on Google?
Remember that Google Ads is more than just search ads, but let’s start with those.
To determine the search volume for your product, you can use Google’s Keyword Planner. This tool allows you to select the country, language, and campaign period (default 30 days). Entering a list of keywords will give you search volume, competition, and recommended CPC.
Data estimation – source: Google Keyword Planner
This is an example investment estimation for the keyword “digital marketing agency.” The chart shows the number of clicks you could get relative to your budget; there comes a point where spending more will not proportionally increase traffic. This is key to determining your Google Ads investment.
How to determine the global investment?
The planner tool can also help conduct a keyword study if you haven’t done one yet. By entering keywords or your own website, Google suggests related searches. Use common sense: the more specific the product or service, the lower the search volume, and vice versa. It’s important to find a balance and also consider competition in your sector.
For other Google channels like YouTube or GDN, remember that the ideal investment depends on your target audience. Although cost-per-click is lower than search campaigns, the audiences are much larger.
You can start with a monthly investment between €300 and €500 and monitor results over the first 2–3 months. Some sectors, like insurance, locksmiths, moving services, or legal services, are highly competitive and require higher investments in search campaigns because CPCs are very competitive. In these cases, at least €1,000 per month is recommended.
Some campaigns perform well from the start, while others require trial and error. At Dos Setenta, we propose the investment we estimate is most suitable to achieve the best results possible. Need a recommendation? Request one here!
