How much should we spend on Google ads?

I've been asked this 100s of times over the last decade - and yet the answer always remains the same.

"It depends" 😬

But, in an attempt to explain - here is why a Google Ads Expert can never straight up tell you a number. (and if they do, then they probably aren't an expert)

The Goal of Google Ads

🎯 The goal of using Google Ads is to drive inbound on "autopilot" but in order to do that, you need to speak your prospect's language (aka where they are at in the marketing funnel).

Manufacturing Demand with Multiple Campaigns

🛠 To effectively "manufacture demand" you need to have multiple different campaigns running. The kinds of campaigns are segmented based on where the user is in the funnel (Top of Funnel, Middle of Funnel, Bottom of Funnel).

Different Strategies for Different Campaigns

🏔 Different campaigns have different strategies - while sometimes your audience gets smaller as you progress in the marketing funnel - sometimes you have disproportionate marketing funnels (larger BOF's than MOF's).

Example: Penetration Testing Industry

(Lot's of companies go straight for BOF terms instead of searching about their problem first which would be a traditional TOF campaign).

Importance of Competitive and Keyword Research

👆 For this very reason, it is incredibly important to not just pick a number and say we are going to run ads at $3k per month. Instead, doing competitive research and keyword research to understand your industry has to happen.

Setting Minimum Campaign Values

💸 I've assigned some values as absolute bare minimums on how much these campaigns need to garner enough data to confirm or deny that the strategy is working - however, I will say that there is another rule that you should roughly abide by when running Google Ads campaigns.

The Deal Size Rule

💯 Take your Average Deal Size and Multiply it by 2. This is the value you will need to spend before you can reasonably predict to "crack the code" and start to see REAL revenue from your Google Ads.

Example Calculation

Example) If your average deal size is $10,000 then that means you will need to spend $20,000 before you can reasonably predict to start generating consistent inbound pipeline.

Avoiding Unrealistic Expectations

Wayyyy to many CEOs and Founders I talk to want to turn Google Ads on in month 1, launch with bare minimum budgets ($2k per month) and then drive a $10,000 deal size within 4 weeks).

Simply put, that means they want to spend $2K to make $10k in 30 days... a 5x ROI... yeah, no lol that's wishful thinking.

The Silver Lining

Here's the silver lining - once you invest and build out this channel, the RIGHT way - it is stable and brings in consistent inbound pipeline every month.

Get a Personalized Google Ads Strategy

Want me to put together a Google Ads strategy for you?

Book some time with me to start my discovery process.

Until then.

To Your Success,
Ian "Realist" Binek

P.S. The minimum monthly's are sort of what I would call proportional values. The numbers themselves are not the point I am trying to make - it's the general trend of how each message's budget should scale as you proceed down the marketing funnel. I've selected pretty low numbers to make it kinda easy to follow. Higher deal sizes = higher ad budgets

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