When considering running Google Ads, one of the first questions that comes up is "What is the bare minimum budget I need to drive successful results?"
For many small businesses and startups, a budget of £20 per day or £600 per month seems like a good starting point.
But Is £20 Per Day Enough?
Let's take a closer look at what kind of return you can realistically expect from a £20 per day Google Ads budget.
Assuming you're starting with search ads, you can expect an average cost per click of approximately £1.70, depending on the industry you are in. So at £20 per day, that gives you around 12 clicks per day.
Getting only 12 visits a day to your website from Google Ads just isn't very much. Whether it's Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or any other platform, these systems need data and activity to learn and optimise performance over time.
It Takes Time for Investment to Pay Off
The less budget you have to spend, the longer it will likely take for your advertising investment to pay off. While it's tempting to start with a very small budget, you may end up wasting money and effort as you won't gather enough data or website traffic for the platform to deliver great results.
You also need to consider your website's conversion rate. If your website is poor at converting visitors into customers or leads, and you currently have a conversion rate of less than 1%, then it means you will need 100 clicks before you can expect 1 conversion.
While Google Ads traffic tends to convert better thanks to strong targeting and relevancy, a weak website can still limit results.
The Bare Minimum is Closer to £50-£100 Per Day
Based on typical UK cost per click and conversion rates, the bare minimum budget most small businesses need to drive successful results from Google Ads is likely closer to £50-100 per day, or £1,500-£3,000 per month.
This provides enough budget for Google's algorithm to optimise performance and deliver targeted, converting traffic.
While paying £100 per day for clicks seems expensive upfront, the goal is to have Google Ads deliver a return on ad spend through online conversions and revenue.
This level of budget should drive 25-50 website visitors per day, which is enough for many small businesses to start seeing conversions.
The key is tracking conversions and return on ad spend closely in the platform itself. If you aren't seeing positive returns within 2-3 months, then the budget may need to be reevaluated or reallocated elsewhere.