How Google Ads budgets work for a small practice

Many practice owners have tried Google Ads once, spent some money and couldn't tell whether it worked. Usually the ads weren't the only problem. The budget was set without a clear picture of how Google spends it, and nobody was counting the calls that came in.

You set an average daily budget

In Google Ads you don't set a monthly budget directly. You set an average daily budget for each campaign, and Google spends around that amount over the month.

On any single day, Google may spend up to twice your average daily budget when there are more searches than usual. Over a calendar month, it won't charge more than 30.4 times your average daily budget, which is roughly the number of days in an average month.

You pay Google directly

Your ad budget is charged by Google to your own payment method. If someone manages your ads for you, their fee should be separate from the ad spend, so you can always see exactly what Google charged. Ask about this before you sign anything.

What decides whether the money works

The budget sets how much you can spend. These settings decide whether it turns into enquiries.

Location

Target the area you actually serve. Google Ads also lets you choose whether to reach people who are in that area, or people who are only interested in it. For a local practice, people who are in or regularly in your area is usually the right choice.

Search terms

Choose keywords for the services you want more of, such as "physiotherapy for back pain" or "wills lawyer", rather than broad terms. Then check the search terms report regularly and add negative keywords for searches that aren't a fit, like job seekers or students looking for information.

Schedule

If your ads encourage people to call, run them when someone can answer. An ad that brings a call to a closed office is money spent for nothing.

The page people land on

The ad should lead to a page about the service it mentions, with your phone number and booking link easy to find on a phone.

Count enquiries, not clicks

Clicks are what you pay for. Calls, bookings and forms are what you want. Set up conversion tracking in Google Ads so it counts those actions, then judge your campaigns by the cost of each enquiry rather than the cost of each click. Our guide to telling which calls and enquiries come from Google covers the setup.

Give it time, and look at the numbers

New campaigns need a few weeks of data before the results mean much. Start with a budget you can sustain for at least a couple of months, focus on one or two services, and review the numbers monthly. If a campaign brings enquiries at a cost that makes sense for your practice, it can grow. If not, it can stop.

How much a click costs depends on your profession, your area and how many other practices are advertising, so be cautious of anyone who promises a specific number of calls for a fixed price.

The rules still apply

Ads are advertising, so your regulator's rules apply to every headline and description. Keep claims accurate and verifiable, avoid words like "best" or "specialist" unless you can support them, and approve the wording before it runs.

Sources

• Google Ads help: about overdelivery and your average daily budget
• Google Ads help: about conversion measurement

This guide is general information, not legal or professional advice. Rules and Google features change, so check the current source before acting.