How much should you spend on Google Ads each month?

It is the first question every tradie asks. And it is the hardest one to answer. Because the right budget depends on your trade, your city, and how many jobs you can handle.

But there is a simple way to work it out. This guide walks you through setting a Google Ads budget that fits your business. No wasted money. No guessing.

If you are new to paid advertising for service businesses, this is where to start.

What You Need Before You Start

Before you spend a dollar, get these sorted:

• A Google Ads account. Free to create at ads.google.com.

• Your service area. Know the suburbs or cities you cover.

• Your average job value. What does a typical job pay you?

• A landing page. Not your homepage. A page built for one action: call, book, or quote.

• Call tracking. Google Ads can track phone calls from your ads for free.

Got those? Good. Let's set your budget.

Step 1: Pick the Right Campaign Type

Google Ads has many campaign types. Two work best for tradies.

Local Service Ads (LSAs) show at the very top of Google. They display your name, reviews, and a call button. You only pay when someone contacts you. Not when they click. This is the safest option for tradies starting out.

LSAs are available for most trade categories in Australian cities. Plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, and cleaners can all use them. You need to pass Google's verification process first.

Search campaigns show text ads when someone searches for your service. You pay per click. These give you more control over keywords and ad copy. But they need more setup to get right.

If you can run both, do it. LSAs catch people at the top. Search ads catch the rest.

Step 2: Work Out Your Target Cost Per Lead

This is the number that drives everything.

Start with your average job value. Say you are a mobile mechanic in Brisbane. Your average job pays $350.

Now ask: what would you pay to get that job? Most tradies are comfortable spending 10 to 15 percent of the job value on getting the lead.

$350 job x 10% = $35 per lead.

That is your target. Every part of your Google Ads setup should aim at hitting that number.

Google Ads has a bidding option called Target CPA. CPA stands for Cost Per Acquisition. You tell Google your target cost per lead. Google adjusts your bids to hit it. It is not perfect, but it keeps your spend in check.

Set your Target CPA to your number. In this case, $35.

Step 3: Set Your Daily Budget

Google Ads works on a daily budget. Here is how to set it.

Decide how many leads you want per month. Say you want 20 new leads.

20 leads x $35 per lead = $700 per month.

Divide by 30 to get your daily budget.

$700 / 30 = about $23 per day.

Start there. You can raise it later once you see results. You can also lower it if leads cost less than expected.

A good rule: start small. Run it for two weeks. Check your numbers. Then adjust.

Step 4: Target Your Service Area Only

This is where most tradies waste money. Google defaults to showing your ads across all of Australia. That is not what you want.

Go to your campaign settings. Under Locations, set your service area. You can target by:

• Suburb or city name. Show ads in Parramatta, Penrith, or Blacktown.

• Radius. Show ads within 25km of your base.

• Postcode. Pick specific postcodes you service.

Also change the location setting from "Presence or interest" to "Presence only." This stops Google from showing your ad to people who are just searching about your area but live elsewhere.

A plumber in Adelaide does not need clicks from Darwin. Set your area and keep your budget local.

Step 5: Track Every Lead

You cannot manage what you do not measure. Set up these three things:

Phone call tracking. Google Ads can give your ad a forwarding number. When someone calls it, Google records the call as a lead. This is free and takes five minutes to set up.

Form submissions. If your landing page has a quote form, track every submission as a conversion. Google shows you which keywords and ads bring in form leads.

Cost per lead. Check this number every week. If it is above your target, pause your worst keywords. If it is below, you might raise your budget.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has guidelines on advertising claims. Make sure your ad copy is honest and clear.

How Much Does Google Ads Cost for Tradies?

Here are real-world numbers for Australian trade businesses in 2026.

Local Service Ads cost between $15 and $60 per lead. You set a weekly budget. Google charges you per contact, not per click. A cleaner in Melbourne might pay $20 per lead. An electrician in Sydney might pay $50.

Search campaigns cost between $3 and $15 per click. Not per lead. Per click. It takes 5 to 10 clicks to get one lead. So your real cost per lead is $15 to $150, depending on your trade and city.

Monthly budgets for tradies typically sit between $500 and $2,000 AUD. Here is what that looks like:

$500/month gets you roughly 10 to 30 leads on LSAs. Good for a sole operator who needs a steady trickle. Enough to fill a few days each week.

$1,000/month gets you 20 to 50 leads. Good for a tradie with one or two staff. Enough to stay busy most weeks.

$2,000/month gets you 40 to 100 leads. Good for a growing business that can handle the volume. You will need to answer fast or calls go cold.

Start at $500. Scale up when you can prove every dollar comes back as revenue.

Is Google Ads Worth It for Tradies?

Yes. If you set it up right.

Google Ads puts you in front of people who are searching for your service right now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Right now. That is the power of it.

A removalist in Perth who shows up when someone searches "removalist Perth today" gets calls from people ready to book. No other marketing channel gives you that speed.

But it only works if you track your numbers and control your budget. Spend without tracking and you will burn cash. Spend with tracking and you will know exactly what each job costs to win.

Want help setting up Google Ads that actually bring in jobs? Let's chat about your setup and we will walk through what makes sense for your trade and your area.