How Much Should You Spend on Google Ads?

The honest answer: it depends (but here's a real range)

Every business owner asks this question, and every marketing agency dodges it. I'm not going to do that.

For most small local businesses, a starting Google Ads budget of $1,000 to $2,500 per month in ad spend is where you'll see real results. Below that, you're spreading yourself too thin across too many keywords. Above that, you should already have data telling you exactly where to put the money.

That's ad spend alone — not including management fees. But let me break this down by industry so you can find yourself on the list.

Budget ranges by industry

Home services (HVAC, plumbing, roofing, electrical):

• Starting budget: $1,500–$3,000/month
• Cost per click: $8–$25
• Cost per lead: $30–$80
• These keywords are expensive because every lead is worth hundreds or thousands of dollars

Professional services (lawyers, accountants, dentists):

• Starting budget: $2,000–$5,000/month
• Cost per click: $15–$50
• Cost per lead: $50–$150
• Higher competition, but client lifetime value justifies it

Retail and restaurants:

• Starting budget: $500–$1,500/month
• Cost per click: $1–$5
• Cost per lead: $5–$20
• Lower cost per click but also lower transaction values

General contractors and remodelers:

• Starting budget: $1,500–$3,000/month
• Cost per click: $10–$30
• Cost per lead: $40–$100
• Seasonal swings are real — budget accordingly

What ROI should you actually expect?

Here's a simple way to think about it. If you're a roofer and your average job is worth $8,000, and your cost per lead is $60, you need about 15–20 leads to close one job. That's $900–$1,200 in ad spend to land an $8,000 job.

That's a 6–8x return on ad spend. Not bad.

But here's the thing most people miss: not every lead closes, and that's normal. A good closing rate on Google Ads leads is 15–25% for most service businesses. So when I say you need a $1,500/month budget, I'm accounting for the leads that don't convert.

The math only works if you:

• Answer the phone (or have automation that responds instantly)
• Have a landing page that converts (not just your homepage)
• Track everything so you know what's working

How to scale without wasting money

Don't throw more money at Google Ads just because you can. Scale based on data.

Start small and prove it works. Run $1,500/month for 60–90 days. Track your cost per lead, your close rate, and your revenue from those leads. If the math works, increase budget by 20–30% at a time.

Kill what doesn't work. Check your search terms report weekly. You'll find garbage keywords eating your budget — things like "DIY plumbing" or "free legal advice." Add those as negative keywords immediately.

Double down on what converts. If one campaign is generating leads at $30 each and another at $120, shift budget to the winner. This sounds obvious, but most people set campaigns and forget them.

The real cost of not running ads

Your competitors are already doing this. When someone searches "plumber near me" or "best roofer in Huntsville," the top three results are ads. If you're not there, you're invisible to the people who are ready to buy right now.

SEO is a long game (and you should be playing it). But Google Ads puts you in front of buyers today. The question isn't whether you can afford to run ads — it's whether you can afford not to.

If you're not sure where to start, we build and manage Google Ads campaigns for local businesses across North Alabama. We handle the strategy, the landing pages, and the ongoing optimization so you can focus on doing the work.