How Much Does Google Ads Cost in 2024?

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.

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!What factors determine Google Ads pricing?

Google Ads costs depend on several factors, including:

Industry

Market trends

Quality Score

Keywords

Bid

Budget

Industry

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.

For example, legal, accounting, and real estate industries have some of the most competitive keywords in Google Ads, which means you’ll need to pay a higher cost-per-click (CPC).

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.

Market trends

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.

Quality Score

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.

Keywords

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.

Bid

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.

Budget

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.

With that being said, let’s dive into the three steps that determine Google Ads cost-per-click:

1. Quality Score

Before Google determines your CPC, it will give you a Quality Score. We mentioned Quality Score earlier, but let’s go over a quick refresher.

Your Quality Score ranges on a scale from one to 10 determined by your ad’s landing page and its experience and relevance to the keyword.

Once Google has determined your Quality Score, it moves on to your Ad Rank.

2. Ad Rank

Google will now calculate your ad’s Ad Rank. Your Ad Rank determines where your ad will appear in the search results, if at all.

Google calculates your Ad Rank by using the following formula:

Ads that have the highest Ad Rank will earn top spots in the search results.

3. Cost-per-click

If 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!

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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 (44% of respondents) with most businesses paying $0.11 – $0.50 per click (61% of respondents) and $0.51 – $1000 per 1000 impressions (56% of respondents) 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 Marketing Agency and Data Analytics Solution or the Google Display Network.

Max bid X Quality Score = Ad Rank

[Summary] Google Ads pricing

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!

How much does Google Ads cost per month?

Google Ads typically cost $100 – $10,000 per month (44% of respondents). This Google Ads price per month will depend on your average CPC, maximum bid, ad network, and more.

What is the average CPC for Google Ads?

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.

What is the average cost per 1000 impressions for Google Ads?

The average cost per 1000 impressions for Google Ads is $0.51 – $1.00 on the Google Search Network and Google Display Network (56% of respondents).

How much do small businesses spend on Google Ads?

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.

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.

A PPC agency, like WebFX, develops, launches, and manages your paid advertising campaigns on platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising, plus helps improve your Google Ads optimization score.

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.