Google Ads is Google's advertising system where you can pay to appear at the top when someone searches for what you offer. You usually pay per click (called CPC, "cost per click"), i.e. only when someone actually clicks on your ad. It sounds simple - and it is - but that's exactly why it's also easy to let the money run away without results.

How much does Google Ads cost?

The short answer:you decide the budget yourself.You can start with a few hundred Swedish kroner a week and increase when you see what it brings. The cost per click varies greatly depending on the industry – from a few kroner for simple keywords to over SEK 50 per click in competitive industries such as law or insurance.

The important thing is not the price per click per se, but what each click leads to. An expensive click that often becomes a customer is cheap in the long run. A cheap click that never yields anything is expensive.

Why do so many burn their budget?

Most people who fail with Google Ads make the same mistake. The most common are:

  • For broad keywords:advertising on "shoes" instead of "buy men's running shoes" draws tons of clicks from the wrong people.
  • No negative keywords:without a list of words younotwant to appear on (eg "free" or "jobs") you pay for irrelevant clicks.
  • Bad landing page:the traffic comes but the page doesn't convince - the money goes to clicks that bounce right away.
  • No measurement:without conversion tracking, you don't know what's working, and then you can't improve.
  • Set-and-forget:Google Ads requires ongoing supervision. An account left unreviewed is almost always a waste of money.
Rule of thumb: spend as much energy on where the traffic lands as on the ad itself. The best ad in the world does nothing if the landing page doesn't convince.

How do I get started - step by step?

Here's how to build a first campaign in a way that protects your budget:

  • 1. Set a clear goal.Do you want more quotation requests, sales or phone calls? The goal controls everything else.
  • 2. Choose buyable keywords.Focus on words that signal that the person is ready to act, e.g. "book", "price", "buy" or "near me".
  • 3. Add negative keywords.Exclude clicks you know are wrong right from the start.
  • 4. Write clear ads.Be specific about what you offer and why they should choose you, with a clear call to action.
  • 5. Send the traffic to the right page.Link to a page that matches the ad exactly - not just the home page.
  • 6. Measure conversions.Set up tracking to see which keywords and ads are actually driving business.
  • 7. Start small and scale.Start with a low daily budget, learn from the data and increase what works.

It's not either or.Google Ads gives quick results- you can be seen at the top already today, but the traffic stops the second you stop paying.SEO (ranking organically) takes longerbut builds a value that remains. Many companies use advertising to gain momentum immediately and build SEO in parallel to lower their reliance on ads over time.

How do I know if the advertising is paying off?

Look at what a customer is worth to you and compare it to what it costs to bring them in via Google Ads. If a new customer gives an average of SEK 5,000 and it costs you SEK 800 in ads to bring them in, you are clearly making a profit. The key is to measure – without numbers, advertising is a guessing game.

Want help getting started right?

OnZORChelps Swedish companies set up and manage digital advertising on Google - from strategy and keywords to ads, landing pages and ongoing optimization so that the budget works as hard as possible. Do you want an advertising plan that fits your budget and goals?Get in touch and we'll look at it together.