How Much Should You Spend on Google Ads in Melbourne? A Realistic Guide

"How much should I spend on Google Ads?" is the first question almost every Melbourne business owner asks us, and the honest answer is: it depends on your industry, your competition, and what a customer is actually worth to you. There's no universal number — but there is a realistic way to work one out.

Start with your customer value, not a round number

Before picking a budget, work out what a new customer is actually worth. A plumber charging $150 for a call-out can afford a very different cost-per-lead than a cafe selling $6 coffees. If your average job or sale is worth $500 and you're comfortable paying $50-100 to acquire that customer, your budget math starts from there — not from a figure a competitor mentioned once.

Typical starting budgets by industry

These are starting points, not guarantees. Competitive keywords in Melbourne's CBD or bayside suburbs cost more per click than the same search in an outer growth suburb, simply because more businesses are bidding for the same customers.

Why a small budget can still fail

A common mistake is spreading a small budget across too many keywords or too broad a location. $500/month split across 50 keywords covering all of Melbourne rarely gets enough clicks per keyword to learn what's actually working. It's almost always better to start narrow — a handful of high-intent keywords in the suburbs you actually service — and expand once you know your numbers.

The real answer

Most Melbourne local businesses see a realistic starting point somewhere between $500 and $1,500 a month, refined after the first few weeks of real data. The number matters less than having someone actively watching cost-per-lead and adjusting weekly — a campaign left on autopilot burns budget regardless of how well it started.