What do Google Ads costs consist of?
The total cost has four parts that you should judge separately.
| Part | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cost per click | What you pay when somebody clicks your ad |
| Media budget | The monthly amount that goes to Google for traffic |
| Management | Setup, optimisation, reporting and adjustment |
| Landing page | Any cost to make that traffic convert better |
What does a click cost in Belgium?
Between roughly 50 cents and 17 euro, depending on the sector. The amounts below are the estimated bids for a position at the top of the search results, retrieved through the Google Ads Keyword Planner for Belgium and Dutch-language queries on 2 October 2026. They are ranges, not rates: what you pay depends on your quality score, your landing page and who else is bidding at that moment.
| Search term | Monthly searches | Low bid | High bid | Competition index |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| advocaat (lawyer) | 14,800 | 0.52 euro | 4.66 euro | 21 |
| warmtepomp (heat pump) | 12,100 | 0.83 euro | 2.86 euro | 96 |
| verhuisfirma (moving company) | 1,900 | 1.25 euro | 3.74 euro | 63 |
| airco plaatsen (install air conditioning) | 1,300 | 1.26 euro | 4.76 euro | 95 |
| zonnepanelen (solar panels) | 22,200 | 1.89 euro | 7.07 euro | 100 |
| keuken op maat (fitted kitchen) | 390 | 2.19 euro | 9.88 euro | 100 |
| loodgieter (plumber) | 5,400 | 2.68 euro | 13.91 euro | 42 |
| boekhouder (accountant) | 4,400 | 3.79 euro | 12.52 euro | 42 |
| dakwerken (roofing) | 5,400 | 4.41 euro | 16.81 euro | 44 |
Source: Google Ads Keyword Planner through the DataForSEO API, location Belgium, language Dutch, retrieved on 2 October 2026. Not every search term has public bid data. For tandarts (dentist) the same source returned no amounts that day, which means there is too little advertising data, not that advertising there is free.
Why does the competition index say little about your click price?
Because that index counts advertisers, not what they pay. Two rows in the table above show it most clearly. Heat pump has a competition index of 96 and a high bid of 2.86 euro. Roofing has an index of 44, less than half, and a high bid of 16.81 euro: almost six times more.
The explanation is the value of a customer, not the crowding. A roof is a one-off and expensive, so a contractor can afford a lot per click. Heat pumps are often searched through subsidy schemes and comparison sites, which draws many bidders working on thin margins. So choose your market on what a customer is worth to you, not on how busy it looks.
What determines your cost per click?
Competition, search intent, ad relevance, landing page and quality score. A better ad and landing page can therefore produce a lower cost per click than a competitor bidding higher.
That also explains the spread in the table. For plumber the high bid sits more than five times above the low one. That gap is not noise but the distance between a poorly aligned campaign and a well aligned one. In the same market one advertiser pays 2.68 euro and another 13.91 euro for the same placement.
How do you set a sensible monthly budget?
Count back from your goal. Decide how many leads you need, what a lead is worth and what conversion rate is realistic. Then you can estimate how many clicks are needed to gather enough data and enquiries.
A worked example with the figures above, for a roofer. Take 8 euro per click, between the low and the high bid. If your landing page converts 5 percent of visitors into an enquiry, you need 20 clicks per enquiry: 160 euro per lead. If you close one in three, a customer costs 480 euro. That is profitable on a roofing job worth several thousand euro and loss-making on a small repair. The click price alone therefore says nothing without your conversion rate and your order size.
| Step | Example | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per click | 8 euro | Starting point |
| Landing page conversion | 5 percent | 20 clicks per enquiry |
| Cost per enquiry | 20 times 8 euro | 160 euro |
| Close rate | 1 in 3 | 480 euro per customer |
| Judgement | Compare with your margin per customer | Profitable or not |
How do you lower the cost per lead?
With more relevant search campaigns, better negative keywords, stronger ad copy and better landing pages. The click price matters, but conversion decides whether the campaign becomes profitable.
How do Google Ads and SEO compare on cost?
Google Ads buys traffic per click. SEO takes more time but builds organic reach without a price per click. For many small and medium businesses the combination works best: Google Ads for existing demand and SEO for structural growth.