Search lead budget
A campaign targets 120 leads at $4.50 CPC with a 6% landing page conversion rate.
- Target leads: 120
- Average CPC: $4.50
- Landing conversion: 6%
- Lead close rate: 12%
Paid acquisition
Google Ads Budget Calculator
Estimate the Google Ads budget needed to reach a lead target and check customer economics.
Paid acquisition
Google Ads Budget Calculator
Use this before running search campaigns where CPC, landing page conversion and lead-to-customer rate drive the budget.
How to use this calculator
Start with conservative inputs, copy the result, then test a best-case and worst-case version. For production decisions, compare the estimate against actual accounting, analytics and payment data.
Best used for
Use this before launching search ads to estimate budget required for a lead target and whether the funnel can support it.
Formula
Google Ads budgets are driven by the number of clicks required to produce the target lead volume. Customer conversion and margin show whether the budget can be justified.
Formula
Required budget = target leads / landing page conversion rate * CPC. Customers = leads * lead-to-customer rate.
Example
How to read the result
- Required budget rises quickly when CPC is high or landing conversion is low.
- Lead-to-customer rate determines whether lead volume becomes real revenue.
- Contribution after ads should be checked before expanding keyword coverage.
Common mistakes
- Forecasting from average CPC without segmenting brand and non-brand keywords.
- Optimizing for lead count while lead quality is weak.
- Ignoring sales follow-up capacity when lead volume increases.
FAQ
Is this only for Google Ads?
The model works for any CPC search campaign, but the page is written for Google Ads planning and keyword traffic tests.
Why separate lead conversion and customer conversion?
A campaign can generate cheap leads that do not become customers. Separating the steps makes quality visible.
Should brand keywords be modeled separately?
Yes. Brand keywords often have different CPC and conversion behavior than non-brand search terms.
Important limits
- Search CPC can change quickly by geography, keyword and quality score.
- Lead quality matters more than lead count when sales conversion is low.