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Google Ads Campaign Cost: How Much to Budget by Type

3 min read

The cost of a Google Ads campaign varies dramatically depending on the campaign type, your industry, and your objective. Here are real-world ranges based on our experience managing $7M+ in ad spend.

Cost by Campaign Type

Search Campaigns

The most common format for lead generation.

MetricRange
Average CPC$1 – $15
Recommended min. budget$1,500/month
Average conversion rate3 – 8%
Average cost per lead$20 – $150

Search campaigns have the highest cost per click but are also the most profitable. You're capturing real purchase intent.

Display Campaigns (Banners)

Ideal for remarketing and brand awareness.

MetricRange
Average CPC$0.10 – $0.80
Average CPM$1 – $5
Recommended min. budget$500/month
Average CTR0.3 – 0.5%

Display is cheap for traffic acquisition, but direct conversion rate is low. For remarketing, however, it's one of the most cost-effective channels.

Shopping Campaigns

Essential for e-commerce.

MetricRange
Average CPC$0.30 – $3
Recommended min. budget$1,000/month
Average ROAS3x – 8x

Shopping CPC is generally lower than Search because Google shows the price upfront — the click is already pre-qualified.

YouTube Campaigns (Video)

For branding and top-of-funnel.

MetricRange
Average CPV$0.03 – $0.15
Recommended min. budget$2,000/month
View rate15 – 30%

YouTube is the cheapest channel by cost per view. But measuring direct ROI is difficult — its impact shows mostly in the conversion rate of your other campaigns.

Performance Max

The automated multi-channel format.

MetricRange
Equivalent CPCVariable (channel mix)
Recommended min. budget$3,000/month
Min. conversions required30+/month

PMax requires sufficient budget and conversion history to work. Below 30 conversions per month, the algorithm doesn't have enough data to optimize.

Total Cost: Ad Spend + Management

Don't forget that ad budget is only part of the total cost:

ComponentCost
Ad budget (paid to Google)Variable
Agency management$500 – $3,000/month
Landing pages$500 – $2,000 (setup)
Advanced tracking$500 – $1,500 (setup)

For management fee details, see Google Ads pricing. For choosing between agency and freelancer, see Google Ads agency.

Which Campaign Type for Which Budget?

Monthly BudgetRecommended Types
$500 – $1,500Search only (high-intent keywords)
$1,500 – $5,000Search + Remarketing Display
$5,000 – $10,000Search + Display + YouTube or Shopping
> $10,000Full multi-channel (Search + Shopping + PMax + YouTube)

The rule: start with Search, validate profitability, then diversify. Never spread a small budget across too many channels.


Need help sizing your budget by campaign type? Book a free consultation — we'll calculate the optimal mix for your objectives.

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Google Ads Campaign Cost: How Much to Budget by Type | IOquery