The most common question I get from new clients: "Is our cost per lead normal?" Usually they've looked up a benchmark online and aren't sure what to make of it. Sometimes they're relieved, sometimes they're worried, and often they're looking at a number that doesn't quite apply to them. I'm a Google Ads specialist. I run lead-gen accounts across clinics, home services, and professional services. So I'll be straight with you: the benchmark data is useful as a rough anchor, but

A step-by-step guide to setting up Google Ads yourself as a service business, what to track, and the honest point where doing it alone stops paying off.

I get asked this before almost anything else, usually by an owner who has just been quoted three wildly different numbers by three agencies and can't tell which one is fair. One wants 15% of spend, one wants a flat €2,000, one quoted €500 and it sounded too good. None of them explained why. Fair warning up front: I run a Google Ads agency, so I'm a biased party on whether you should hire one at all. I'll keep this honest anyway, because the pricing itself isn't a mystery. The

Google Ads is burning through your budget but no leads are coming in? The real causes, in the order I check them, and how to fix each one.

Is a Google Ads agency worth the fee? It comes down to recovered wasted spend, extra booked jobs, and your own time. The honest math.

Your Google Ads budget comes down to a simple calculation: leads you want times cost per lead. The math, 2026 benchmarks, and the real minimum.