Key takeaways
- Google Ads cost two things: the clicks you pay Google, and a management fee if someone else runs your account.
- For trade and service searches in Brisbane, Google’s keyword data (October 2026) shows average clicks from about $12 for landscaping to about $85 for an emergency plumber.
- You set a daily budget. Google can spend up to double that on one day, but not more than 30.4 times your daily budget in a month.
- A click isn’t a customer. Track calls and quote forms, or you’re guessing.
- Start small, block the wrong searches and run ads only for the jobs you want.
How much do Google Ads cost?
Google Ads cost you two things: the clicks you pay Google, and a management fee if someone runs the account for you. The clicks are the big one, and for trade and service searches around Brisbane they average from about $12 to about $85 each, depending on the job.
Say you’re a sparky in Chermside who wants more switchboard upgrades. You set a daily budget, Google shows your ad when someone searches, and you pay when they click. With the usual click-based bidding, no click means no charge. Google charges 10% GST on Google Ads for Australian businesses.
Nobody can tell you your exact cost before you start, so here are real numbers to plan with.
What a click costs for trades around Brisbane
These come from Google’s keyword data, October 2026. Each figure is the average price advertisers have paid per click on that search. The data comes in US dollars, so we’ve converted it to Australian dollars and rounded.
- Emergency plumber Brisbane: about $85
- Plumber Brisbane: about $60
- Blocked drain Brisbane: about $45
- Electrician, air conditioning installation and solar installers (all Brisbane): about $30
- Tree removal and roofing: about $25
- Pest control: about $22
- Crane hire, accountant, builder and painter: about $14 to $17
- Concreter and landscaping: about $12
These move month to month, and they’re averages across every advertiser, so use them as a guide, not a quote. What you pay depends on your ad, your website and who else is bidding.
Two things stand out. Plumbing clicks are dear, and emergency plumbing most of all, probably because the job is urgent and worth good money to whoever wins it. And a click isn’t a customer: at $60 a click, ten clicks is $600 whether or not anyone rings.
How a budget works
You set an average daily budget. Google says it can spend up to twice that on any one day, but over a month it won’t charge you more than 30.4 times your daily budget. Those are the rules for most campaigns.
So a $30 daily budget is up to about $900 a month. At $30 a click, which is about what an electrician search costs, that buys about 30 clicks.
How many of those clicks turn into a call or quote request depends on your ad and your website, so we won’t make up a number. As an example only, if one click in ten became an enquiry, those 30 clicks would give you three enquiries at about $300 each in clicks.
Work out what a new customer is worth to you before you start. If the jobs you’d win from ads would cover the clicks with room to spare, ads can work. If not, sort your website or Google profile first.
Why one click costs more than another
Google runs an auction every time someone searches, and your bid is only one part of it. Google also weighs how relevant your ad and page are, the extras on your ad such as a phone number, and the search itself, including the person’s location and device.
That’s good news for a small local business. Google says a relevant ad can win a higher position at a lower price than a competitor who bids more. You set the most you’ll pay per click, and the actual charge is often lower, sometimes much lower.
You’ll hear about Quality Score, a 1 to 10 rating on each keyword. Google calls it a diagnostic tool and says it isn’t an input in the auction. What it measures still matters: whether your ad matches the search, whether people are likely to click it and whether your page is useful when they land.
The second cost: a management fee
If someone runs your account, you pay them as well as Google. Agencies charge the fee a few ways: a flat monthly amount, a percentage of your ad spend, or a setup fee plus a monthly one. The ad money itself goes to Google, and the fee goes to whoever manages the account.
A fee should pay for real work: setting up call and form tracking, finding the right searches, writing ads, blocking the wrong searches and a plain-English report each month. Ask any agency what you get each month, how they’ll report calls and quote requests, and whether the fee includes GST.
Whoever runs it, keep the Google Ads account in your name, so you can always see where the money is going and take it with you if you move on.
You can run it yourself too. Then the fee is your time, and any mistakes are your money. We don’t publish our prices because they depend on the account, so ask us for a quote. Our Google Ads service page shows what’s included, and we can audit an account that’s already running.
How to stop wasting money
These are the five things we’d check first.
- Start small. Pick one or two jobs you want more of and a budget you won’t miss. Give it a few weeks before you judge it.
- Track calls and forms. Google can swap the number on your website for a Google forwarding number at no cost, so you can see which ads bring calls, and you can set a minimum call length so short calls don’t count. Track quote form sends too. Without this you’re counting clicks, not jobs.
- Block the wrong searches. Negative keywords stop your ad showing for searches you don’t want. A plumber might block “plumber jobs”, “plumbing course” and “apprentice”. Each month, check the searches that triggered your ads and add the ones that were never customers.
- Set your location properly. Choose the suburbs or regions you really work in. Google recommends “presence or interest” for Search ads, which also reaches people who’ve shown interest in your area. Google says “presence” can suit you if you only want people who are physically there, like a concreter who only works around Logan.
- Advertise the jobs you want. Keywords start on broad match, which Google describes as the widest reach. Phrase and exact match give you more control over which searches trigger your ad. Send each ad to the page for that job, so “blocked drains” lands on your blocked drains page, not your home page.
Questions people ask
Do I pay if nobody clicks my ad?
No. With the usual click-based bidding you pay when someone clicks, not when your ad shows. It’s also why tracking matters: a click costs the same whether or not the person rings.
Can Google charge me more than my daily budget?
On a busy day, yes, up to twice your daily budget. Over a month, Google says it won’t charge more than 30.4 times your daily budget for most campaigns.
Is the management fee on top of my ad spend?
Yes. The ad spend goes to Google and the fee goes to whoever runs the account. Ask for both in writing, with GST shown.
Is SEO cheaper than Google Ads?
They work differently. Ads can start sending clicks quickly and stop when you stop paying. SEO takes months, but you don’t pay per click. Our guide to SEO pricing covers the other side.
If you’d like a second pair of eyes on an account that’s already running, or help setting one up, have a look at our Google Ads service. We’ll tell you what we’d change first, in plain English.