How much do Google Ads cost?
October 13, 2023
If you’re a bit of a numbers nerd like me, you might really like this.
Remember: Google Ads are just bidding wars ⚔️ between different advertisers for the top spot. You’ll see a low and high end for each keyword – what you end up paying depends on the competition for the term, among other things.
Stats are pulled from an average across the greater Milwaukee area over the past 12 months.
Church near me
Avg. monthly searches: 4,400
Year-over-year change: +22%
Low end: $1.82
High end: $6.62
Low competition
Lutheran church near me
Avg. monthly searches: 720
Year-over-year change: +50%
Low end: $2.96
High end: $16.56
Low competition
Church in Milwaukee (your city might be different)
Avg. monthly searches: 720
Year-over-year change: +51%
Low end: $1.79
High end: $2.58
Low competition
School near me
Avg. monthly searches: 1,600
Year-over-year change: +26%
Low end: $5.55
High end: $33.09
Low competition
Private schools near me
Avg. monthly searches: 590
Year-over-year change: +22%
Low end: $2.20
High end: $12.59
Low competition
Elementary school near me
Avg. monthly searches: 880
Year-over-year change: +48%
Low end: $5.37
High end: $22.96
Low competition
High schools near me
Avg. monthly searches: 1,000
Year-over-year change: +46%
Low end: $2.21
High end: $4.94
Low competition
Christian schools near me
Avg. monthly searches: 210
Year-over-year change: -19%
Low end: $2.99
High end: $11.41
Low competition
SKIP IF YOU’RE NOT A NERD
Now you can do a little math. Let’s say you’re a high school charging 10k/year in tuition. How much of that 10k are you willing to give up to get a new student off of an ad? Let’s say you’re willing to risk $100.
Looking at “high schools near me” – you can expect to pay ~$2.50 per click. Your goal should be to enroll 1 student off of every 40 clicks ($100/$2.50).If this happens, great!
If it doesn’t, consider how you could improve your website, your ads, your targeting, or your budget before giving up on Google Ads entirely.
Are those numbers higher or lower than you expected? I’m curious to hear.
Remember: with Google, you don’t pay for views – only clicks. Since you’re only paying for someone who is interested enough to 1) search and 2) click, the higher spend makes more sense.
