Google Ads works for an SME when people search for what you sell and one customer is worth a series of clicks. Then start narrow, with one search campaign in your own region and €500 to €1,500 in media budget per month, which a Belgian provider cites for a steady flow of enquiries [1]. You will have a reliable cost per enquiry after a quarter.
The budget is rarely the real problem, because Google sets no minimum [2]. What does cost money are settings that Google sets broadly by default. Whether you do it yourself or hire a Google Ads agency, you need to know those settings either way.
Does Google Ads work for your business?
| Question | Why it matters | How to check for free |
|---|---|---|
| Do people search for what you sell? | No search demand, no clicks | Keyword Planner in Google Ads [3], suggestions in the search box |
| Is a new customer worth enough? | You also pay for clicks without an enquiry | Margin per customer times the chance that an enquiry becomes a customer |
| Does your website turn a click into an enquiry? | What happens after the click decides the return | On your smartphone, can you find how to get in touch within five seconds? |
| Do you measure what an enquiry is? | Otherwise you don't know which search term brings in customers | Do the form and the phone number count as conversions, each once? |
| Do you follow up enquiries quickly? | An enquiry that is left lying is a wasted click | Who calls back, and how quickly? |
If you answer "no" to the first two questions, Google Ads is not the best use of your money right now. If you hesitate on the last three, fix that first: it is cheaper than making up for it with media budget.
What budget do you need?
For testing, the same provider cites €200 to €400 per month [1]. Another sees €500 to €1,000 as the minimum to collect enough data [4]. There is no fixed figure, because the cost per click varies up to thirteenfold between sectors: €500 buys well over five hundred clicks for a dentist (€0.92) and about forty for a plumber (€11.94) [5].
One lower limit comes from Google itself. According to Google, you evaluate Smart Bidding, where Google bids for enquiries automatically, over a period with at least 30 conversions, such as a month or longer [6]. My rule of thumb from that: if you want to judge every month, your budget is about 30 times your cost per enquiry.
If you are below that, bid on clicks with a cap and judge per quarter. How to work that out for your sector is in how much does Google Ads cost in Belgium.
A subsidy through the Flemish SME wallet (kmo-portefeuille) is no longer possible for advice on Google Ads. Since 1 February 2026 the advice pillar only supports cybersecurity; training within the recognised themes is still supported [7].
Which campaign do you start with?
| Your situation | Start with | Hold off on |
|---|---|---|
| Local service provider or tradesperson | A search campaign on your services, only in your service area | Display and broad campaigns |
| B2B service provider | A search campaign on the problems you solve, with narrow keywords | Broad keywords without conversion data |
| Online store | Shopping with a product feed from Merchant Center | Performance Max before your feed and conversion value are in order |
| Shop, restaurant or practice | Your Google Business Profile, then a search campaign in the area | Campaigns without a location restriction |
Performance Max, which chooses by itself between Search, YouTube, Display and other channels, is rarely the best start without conversion data and visual assets. When it does fit is covered in what is Performance Max. For a shop or practice, local SEO is the free counterpart: according to Google, local results revolve around relevance, distance and prominence [8].
Five settings that leak budget
- Broad match without conversion data. Broad match also shows your ad for searches that don't contain your keyword, and Google calls combining it with Smart Bidding "critical" [9]. Start with phrase and exact match, and every week exclude what doesn't fit, such as vacancy, job, DIY or free.
- Leaving "Presence or interest" on. That way you also reach people who merely show interest in your area [10]. For a local SME, the "Presence" option is usually the logical choice [10].
- One language for two markets. If you also serve French-speaking customers, create separate ads and keywords in French.
- Double or missing conversion tracking. A form that counts twice sends Google the wrong way. Your measurement also follows your visitors' cookie choice: consent mode passes it on to Google Ads [11]. How to set that up is explained by my colleague Cédric in Consent Mode v2 in practice.
- All clicks to the homepage. An ad about a service should land on the page about that service.
What can you expect month by month?
| Period | What you look at | What you don't decide yet |
|---|---|---|
| Month 1: learning | Does your tracking count each enquiry once? Which search terms do you exclude? | Whether the channel works |
| Month 2: adjusting | First cost per enquiry, quality of the enquiries | Whether to scale up |
| Month 3: baseline | Cost per enquiry over three months, share of enquiries that become customers |
With Smart Bidding, according to Google the learning period usually lasts 1 to 2 conversion cycles, and every major change to the bid strategy restarts it [12]. Excluding search terms and improving ads is fine every week; the bid strategy is best left alone most of the time.
Do it yourself or outsource?
Doing it yourself costs no management fee, but it does take a few hours a week and a learning curve. It suits one service in one region, if someone in-house has the time and interest. If you have it done, DeskCare for example charges from €499 for a one-off setup or from €249 per month for management [13].
At Izoard the SME Machine 500 is the entry point: Google Ads and Meta Ads fully managed for €500 per month, with conversion tracking, a monthly report and a quarterly call. You pay the media budget directly to Google and Meta, in accounts in your name. After a thirty-minute intake, the campaign is live within ten working days.
If an account is already running, start with a free Google Ads audit. You get the report, whatever you decide afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
Is Google Ads suitable for a small budget?
Yes, if you start narrow: one service, one region, keywords close to a purchase and a location setting that only reaches your service area. You do collect data more slowly, so you judge per quarter instead of per month.
How quickly do you see results with Google Ads?
The first clicks come in within a few days. A cost per enquiry you can base decisions on only comes after three months: first the campaign learns, then you adjust, and only then do you have a baseline.
Can you get a subsidy for Google Ads through the SME wallet?
Not for advice on Google Ads. Since the reform of 1 February 2026, the advice pillar of the Flemish SME wallet (kmo-portefeuille) only covers cybersecurity. Training within a recognised theme is possible. Check the current conditions with VLAIO before you apply.
Can I run Google Ads myself as an SME?
Yes, certainly with one simple search campaign in your own region. Do expect weekly work on search terms and exclusions, and have your conversion tracking checked: without reliable measurement you are flying blind.
Sources
- Brique Digital: Google Ads in 2026, kosten, AI en wat werkt voor KMO's (updated 8 September 2026)
- Google Ads Help: Choose your bid and budget
- Google Ads: Keyword Planner
- Convertix: Google Ads uitbesteden, kosten, modellen en wat je mag verwachten (10 August 2026)
- Nexuro Digital: Google Ads Cost in Belgium, 2026 CPC Benchmarks (17 July 2026)
- Google Ads Help: About Smart Bidding
- VLAIO: Hervorming kmo-portefeuille, vanaf 1 februari 2026 enkel nog advies voor cybersecurity
- Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking on Google
- Google Ads Help: About keyword matching options
- Google Ads Help: About advanced location options
- Google Ads Help: About consent mode
- Duration of the learning period for campaigns and what affects it — Google Ads Help
- DeskCare: Google Ads voor kmo's, kosten, audit en beheer (16 August 2026)