Google Ads for small business: a plain-English beginner's guide

Google Ads puts your business at the top of Google when someone searches for what you sell. You choose the searches, write the ad, and pay only when someone clicks. Done well, it is the fastest way for a small business to get enquiries. Done badly, it is the fastest way to spend $1,000 and get nothing.

This is the guide I give small business owners before they start, from six years of running Google Ads for local businesses.

How Google Ads works, in three sentences

You pick keywords: the searches you want to show up for, such as "plumber Frankston". When someone searches, Google runs an auction between the businesses bidding on that search, and ranks the ads on both the bid and how relevant the ad and landing page are. You pay when someone clicks, usually a few dollars to $20 or more a click for local services in Melbourne.

Is Google Ads right for your business?

It works when people search for what you sell at the moment they need it: plumbers, electricians, lawyers, clinics, event venues, anything urgent or researched. It works badly when nobody searches for your thing; a new product people have not heard of, or a service people do not know they need. For those businesses, Meta ads usually work better. Our channel finder gives you an answer in three questions.

What to budget

• Ad spend: at least $50 a day, around $1,500 a month. Below that, there is not enough data to learn what works.
• Management: if you hire someone, $700 to $2,500 a month in Melbourne. WEDEE charges $1,450 to $1,950.
• Your time: if you run it yourself, budget a few hours a week, especially in the first two months.

Our ad budget calculator works backwards from the number of leads you want.

Setting up your first campaign

1. Set up conversion tracking first. Calls from the ad, calls from your website, and form submissions. If you skip this, Google optimises for clicks, not customers.
2. Choose a Search campaign, not Performance Max or Display, for your first campaign. You see exactly which searches you pay for.
3. Start with a small, tight keyword list. Ten to twenty keywords that say what you do and where: "emergency plumber Frankston", "blocked drain plumber". Use phrase and exact match.
4. Add negative keywords from day one. "Free", "jobs", "course", "salary", "DIY". These stop you paying for people who will never buy.
5. Set your location to the areas you actually serve, and choose "people in" your area rather than "people interested in" it.
6. Write ads that match the search. Say the service and the suburb, give a reason to choose you, and say what happens next.
7. Send clicks to a page about that service, with your phone number at the top, not to your homepage.

The beginner mistakes that waste the most money

• Trusting the default settings. Google switches on Display and Search Partners by default. For most local businesses they bring cheap, low-quality clicks.
• Broad match with no negatives. Your "plumber" ad shows for "plumber salary" and "how to become a plumber".
• No call tracking. Half the enquiries are phone calls. If you cannot see them, you will turn off campaigns that work.
• Giving up after two weeks. The first month is learning. The biggest mistake I see business owners make is doing it themselves, deciding it does not work, and stopping before the account has enough data.
• Slow call-backs. A lead called back in ten minutes is worth far more than one called back tomorrow. Try up to five times before you give up.

What results to expect

For trades in Melbourne, around $50 a lead is typical in our accounts in 2026. Travis & Co Events got 380 conversions at $39.11 each. Our cost per lead benchmarks have the figures by industry, with sources.

Do it yourself or hire someone?

If your budget is under $1,500 a month and you have the time to learn, start yourself with the steps above. Once you are spending more, or the account is not making money after two months, a specialist usually pays for themselves in wasted spend saved. Whoever runs it, the account should be in your name.

Not sure where to start? Tell us about your business and I will tell you honestly whether Google Ads would work for you, and what I would spend.

Common questions

How much should a small business spend on Google Ads?

At least $50 a day, around $1,500 a month, in ad spend. Below that there is not enough data to learn which searches turn into customers.

Is Google Ads worth it for a small business?

Yes, when people search for what you sell at the moment they need it, such as trades, clinics and local services. If nobody searches for your product, Meta ads usually work better.

How long does Google Ads take to work?

Ads can bring enquiries in the first week, but the first month is mostly learning which searches convert. Judge it after about two months of proper conversion tracking.

What is the biggest Google Ads mistake for beginners?

Running it without conversion tracking, on the default settings. Google then optimises for clicks, Display and Search Partners eat the budget, and you cannot see which ads bring customers.

Sources. Client figures from each client's Google Ads account, with permission. Cost per lead ranges are from accounts WEDEE manages in 2026. Agency prices from each agency's published price page, November 2026.