Are you ready to kickstart your marketing initiatives and monetise your online presence? Marketing has always been the driving force behind every successful business. Be it a brick-and-mortar business or an online store; you need to implement the right marketing strategies to reach your target audience and enhance the visibility of your products and services. 

While traditional advertising methods like billboards, newspapers, TV Ads, flyers and word-of-mouth marketing remain, there is an increasing shift towards digital modes of advertising. Unlike traditional marketing, online marketing allows you to reach a global audience. Several internet-based strategies like social media marketing, email campaigns, search engine optimisation (SEO), content marketing, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising are changing the marketing landscape. 

If we are to talk about each of these categories, it is not a task for a day. So, today, let’s restrict ourselves to one subset of online marketing: Google Ads. From how much Google Ads cost in Australia to how they work and how effective they are, let’s explore all questions in detail and determine whether this Pay-Per-Click (PPC) model is appropriate for your marketing initiatives. 

What is Google Ads? 

Google Ads is an online advertising platform developed by Google that allows advertisers (businesses and individuals) to run different types of ads to promote their products, services and content. Your ads will appear on a vast collection of websites, apps, and videos under the Google Display Network. This includes diverse news and media sites, blogging platforms, YouTube, gaming apps, Gmail, Google Maps, etc. 

There are not one but different kinds of Google Ads – 

• Search Ads: When a user searches for a keyword relevant to your business, these text-based ads appear at the top or bottom of the SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages). 
• Display Ads: These visual and banner ads will be displayed across the Google Display Network to promote brand awareness. 
• Shopping Ads: Shopping ads display images, prices, store names, and product details directly in search results.
• Video Ads: Ads displayed on YouTube before, during, or after video content.

Depending on your goals and audience preferences, you can invest in appropriate ad types and streamline your marketing initiatives. 

Why Invest in Google Ads? 

As Google is a dominant player within the search engine industry, your visibility on Google can determine the overall reach of your business. As of December 2024, Google’s worldwide search engine market share is approximately 89.74%. If you are to reach this significant global population, Google Ads is a non-negotiable for your business. 

Here is a key reason why you should consider running Google Ads – 

• Google processes over 3.5 billion searches daily, and most people using Google have specific needs or questions, which means they are most likely to take action if they see relevant ads. 
• Beyond ad posting, Google Ads offers analytics services. With detailed performance metrics, including clicks, impressions, conversions, and ROI, you can track campaign performance and improve for better results. 
• Being a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) model, you only pay for actual engagement, not just ad views.
• Google Ads allow precise targeting. You can target users based on keywords, geographical location, demographics, device, etc. 
• Unlike organic SEO, Google Ads function immediately, making them suitable for time-sensitive ad campaigns. 

All these factors make Google Ads worth your investment. 

How Does the PPC Model Work in Google Ads? 

Wondering how Google Ads work? Here’s the step-by-step process explained – 

• The advertiser (you) will create an ad (video, text or product) that you wish to run and set a budget for the same. 
• You will determine the keywords that should trigger your ads, meaning that every time that keyword is used as a search query, your ad could appear in the results. 
• Now, one keyword would be relevant to not one but several advertisers. So, how does Google determine which ad to display and in what order? There are some factors which determine the Ad Rank–
• Bid Amount: The maximum amount the advertiser is willing to pay for a click.
• Quality Score: Depends on the relevance of the ad, expected click-through rate (CTR), and landing page experience (quality of your web page).
• Ad Extensions: If your ad has additional call buttons, site links, or location information, it would be ranked better. 
• Based on the Ad Rank, your ad will appear in specific positions on Google Search results, partner sites, or YouTube.
• You must pay an amount (usually less than the maximum bidding amount) every time a user clicks on your ad. Based on the performance of your ads, you can adjust the bid amount and refine your campaigns. 

How Much Does Google Ads Cost in Australia? 

As mentioned, Google Ads follow the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising model. That means you won’t incur any cost unless a potential customer clicks on your ad. But that is if you run the ads independently and not through a professional like a freelancer or a digital marketing agency. Let’s look at these points in detail. 

• The average CPC (Cost Per Click) for Google Search Ads in Australia is between $2 to $4 AUD. While this is the average, based on your industry, the cost will vary highly. For instance, legal services can cost you around $10.61 AUD per click, whereas e-commerce businesses only cost around $1.76 AUD per click. 
• Based on their reach, number of ads and professional involvement, the monthly advertising budget – 
• For a small or medium-sized business, it can fall anywhere between $1,500 and $15,000 AUD. 
• A large business can go as high as $20,000 to $50,000 AUD. 
• If you opt for professional management of your Google Ads, a freelancer will charge you anything starting from $800 AUD monthly. As for a digital marketing agency, their services will be priced between $1,000 to $3,000 AUD per month, depending on their expertise and reputation in the industry. 

To conclude, no one cost fits all businesses. It will vary depending on industry competitiveness, chosen keywords, and campaign objectives. 

What are the factors that impact the cost of Google Ads? 

To better understand how much you will have to pay for your Google Ads campaigns, let’s have a look at the factors that impact the cost – 

• Keyword Competition: If the keyword you target has a high search volume, you will incur a higher cost per click (CPC). You can go for long-tail keywords as they are less competitive (will cost less) but can help drive more targeted traffic. 
• Industry: Competitive industries with a limited target audience, like finance and legal services, usually have a higher CPC as many players will bid for the same keyword. On the other hand, local industries face far less competition and therefore incur lesser costs. 
• Quality Score: If you achieve a high-quality score, you not only improve your ad placement, but it also leads to lower CPC. As mentioned earlier, the factors that impact your quality score are ad relevance, expected click-through rate and landing page experience.
• Ad Rank: Google determines your ad rank using this formula – Quality Score x Maximum Bid. Higher ad ranks mean better quality ads and lower costs. 
• Target: If your ads target broader or high-demand areas, they will cost you more. You can filter your audience by specifying age or gender and reduce irrelevant clicks, but the cost will increase if you choose a highly competitive demographic. 

How Do You Find Estimated CPC Costs & Search Volumes? 

Before you start your Google Ad campaigns, you might want to get a rough idea of the cost involved to plan your budget accordingly. The easiest way to find estimated CPC costs is to use the Google Keyword Planner. 

Google Keyword Planner is a free tool within the Google Ads platform that allows you to discover relevant keywords and estimate the cost of running ads for those keywords. Here’s all that it can help you with – 

• Discover keywords relevant to your products, services, or industry. 
• Access past search volume data and make your choice accordingly. 
• It displays the competitiveness of each keyword and helps you find cost-effective keywords. 
• The Cost-Per-Click (CPC) range for keywords based on Google Ads campaigns. 
• Predicts outcomes like clicks, impressions and conversions based on your budget. 

If you wish to optimise your ad spending, you must make the best use of Google Keyword Planner. 

Optimise Your Google Ads With Us at Make My Website 

Running a successful Google Ads campaign is not a one-step process. You must consistently monitor the progress, analyse key metrics and make the necessary adjustments. Let our experts manage it all and secure a smooth experience for you. At Make My Website, our marketing experts are familiar with the ins and outs of Google ads and will help you strategise, create and run a cost-effective Google Ads Campaign. Based on your budget, we will streamline our initiative and help you derive the maximum results on your investment. 

Contact us today to learn more about Google Ads or how we can help you advertise your business better. Let’s discuss, collaborate and take your business to greater heights.