How much does it actually cost to run Google Ads for an ecommerce store each month?
The short answer
Running Google Ads for an ecommerce store costs two things: ad spend paid to Google, and a management fee only if you hire out. Budget at least 50 euros a day in spend, about 1,500 euros a month, so campaigns get enough data to work. Add a tiered fee on top if you hire an agency, starting near 10 percent and dropping as spend grows.
Ad spend: the money that goes to Google
Budget at least 50 euros a day in ad spend to start, close to 1,500 euros a month. Below that floor, Google usually cannot gather enough clicks and sales to learn who to show your products to, so campaigns stay stuck instead of improving.
Most stores that actually scale sit somewhere between 1,500 and 3,000 euros a month in spend before they push higher, and only raise the number once profit holds steady.
Management fee: the money that goes to whoever runs it
If you hire an agency instead of running ads yourself, expect a fee on top of ad spend, usually a percentage that drops as your spend grows. Our own tiers run from 10 percent on the first 10,000 euros of monthly spend down to 6 percent once you pass 150,000 euros.
There is normally no setup fee for a Shopify store and no long lock in contract, so you are only paying for the work being done each month, not a retainer.
So what should you actually budget?
At the very start, most stores just budget the ad spend and run it themselves, since around 1,500 euros a month is below the point where paying an agency makes sense. Hiring out usually only pays off once you are spending around 5,000 euros a month or more, where a good operator adds far more than the fee costs.
At that level, a fee near 10 percent on 5,000 euros is about 500 euros, and the percentage keeps stepping down as spend climbs past 10,000 euros a month. If a fee quote does not drop as your spend grows, ask why. It should.
Related questions
Keep going.
- How much should I budget for Google Ads for a dropshipping store?
- Is hiring a Google Ads agency actually worth it, or should a small store run it themselves?
- Does Google Ads actually work for dropshipping?
- Why is my Google Ads campaign spending money but getting almost no conversions?
- When should a dropshipping brand move ad budget from Meta over to Google Ads?
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