Start calculating your budget from how much a single inquiry or a single sale may cost you, not from an amount that is "no problem" for you. Before the first euro set up conversion measurement, create narrow search campaigns with a clear intent and do not judge the result by clicks.
Start from a calculation, not from an amount
Ask yourself how much a new client is worth and how much you are willing to pay to get one. That is your upper limit for the cost of acquiring a client.
An illustrative example: if an average order brings €120 of margin, and one out of ten inquiries becomes a customer, then an inquiry may cost at most about €12, otherwise you lose money. Your numbers will be different, but the logic is the same. If you do not know these numbers, the first task is to find them out.
How much is enough to start
There is no universal minimum. If the budget is so small that the campaign collects only a few clicks a week, you will not get enough data to conclude anything, and automated bidding strategies will have nothing to learn from. It is better to have fewer campaigns with enough budget than many campaigns with crumbs.
The most common and most expensive mistakes
- Launching without conversion measurement. Without it you do not know what pays off, and Google has no signal to optimize on.
- Broad match keywords without negative keywords, so you pay for clicks from people who do not want to buy.
- Sending all visitors to the home page instead of a page that matches the query.
- Launching a Performance Max campaign without understanding what is displayed and without enough data.
- Changing the campaign too often, so the system keeps starting to learn from scratch.
- Judging by clicks and impressions instead of inquiries and sales.
How to start sensibly
For most services a good starting point is a Search campaign on queries with a clear commercial intent, such as "service + city", with exact and phrase match keywords, tailored ads and a matching landing page. Only once you have collected data do you expand to other campaign types.
For the first few weeks the system is learning, so do not make big decisions after three days. Make your assessment over a period long enough to be meaningful, while continuously tracking cost per inquiry.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum budget for Google Ads?
Google allows very small daily budgets, but a budget that is too small gives too little data to learn from. It is better to start from a calculation of how much a single inquiry may cost you.
Is it better to invest in Google Ads or SEO?
They have different horizons. Ads bring traffic as soon as you launch them and stop when you stop paying. SEO takes longer, but builds more lasting visibility. Many companies use both.
How long does the learning phase last?
Usually a few weeks, depending on the amount of data. Avoid big changes during that period.
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