Outsourcing Google Ads:
Management, clicks and budget in one place.
Whether you call it AdWords or Google Ads, there are always two bills. One to whoever runs your campaigns, and one to Google for the clicks. Here is what both cost, in real amounts.
What does outsourcing Google Ads cost per month?
At an agency, management starts around €285 a month and climbs past a thousand. On top of that you pay Google for the clicks: €1.84 per click on average for our clients over the last three months. At Growthdesk the management sits in your monthly plan, from €19.
Worked example: €196 ad budget a month
- Management fee
- from €285
- Clicks, paid to Google
- €196
The campaign only. The page the click lands on is not included.
- Plan
- €49
- Clicks, paid to Google
- €196
Your SEO, GEO, pages and conversion too. Cancel monthly.
The ad budget is the same amount in both. It goes straight to Google, not to the agency and not to us.
Three ways agencies charge
Most agencies put no price on their site. The ones that do charge in one of these three ways.
The most common. Predictable, but ask what you get for it: how often does someone actually look at your campaign?
On a €2,000 click budget that is €200 to €400 in management. Mind the incentive: the agency earns more as soon as you spend more.
Mostly freelancers. You pay for time, not for results. Ask up front how many hours a month they expect.
With every model, ask what falls outside the campaign. The landing page, the form and the tracking are often not included, while that is usually where the gain is.
What does a click cost in Google Ads?
There is no fixed price. Google auctions every click again, and the more businesses bid on the same keyword, the dearer it gets.
Over the last three months our clients paid an average of €1.84 per click on the search network. Between trades that ran from €0.68 to €4.62.
With €196 a month you buy around 100 clicks at that average. So do not plan from a price per click, plan from what one customer is worth to you.
How much ad budget do we manage?
Up to about four times your plan. Beyond that there is not enough optimisation time behind the money, and part of it simply burns.
| Plan | Per month | Ad budget up to | Together at most |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present | €19 | €76 | €95 |
| Grow | €49 | €196 | €245 |
| Scale | €149 | €596 | €745 |
| Maximize | €249 | €996 | €1,245 |
Want to spend more? Then the plan moves up, not just the budget. That way there is always enough time behind every euro.
About the cost of Google Ads.
What does outsourcing Google Ads cost per month?
At an agency you pay a management fee from around €285 to past a thousand a month, or 10 to 20% of your click budget, or €80 to €130 an hour. Your ad budget comes on top, and that you pay to Google. At Growthdesk the management sits in your plan, from €19 a month, with SEO, GEO, pages and conversion included.
What does outsourcing AdWords cost?
The same as outsourcing Google Ads: AdWords is the old name, it has been called Google Ads since 2018. You pay a management fee to whoever runs the campaigns, and the clicks to Google.
What does a click cost in Google Ads?
For our clients, €1.84 on average on the search network over the last three months. Between trades that ran from €0.68 to €4.62. Google auctions every click again, so the price depends on how many businesses bid on the same keyword.
How much ad budget do I need?
That depends on your market and on what one customer is worth to you. We manage up to about four times your plan: €76 on Present, €196 on Grow, €596 on Scale and €996 on Maximize, per month.
Do I pay the ad budget to you?
No. The campaigns run in your own Google Ads account, and Google charges the clicks to you directly. Our plan is only for the work.
Are there setup costs?
Not at Growthdesk: no setup fee and no separate Google Ads subscription, and you cancel monthly. At agencies it varies, so ask before you sign.
Is a fixed fee or a percentage better?
A fixed fee is more predictable. With a percentage the bill grows with your budget, even when the work does not, and the agency earns more as soon as you spend more. With either, ask how often someone looks at your campaign.
Is it not cheaper to run Google Ads myself?
You can, and then you only pay for the clicks. The bill moves to your evenings instead: excluding search terms, adjusting bids, testing ads. Where that stalls in practice is linked below.
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