Google Ads is the fastest way to put a Canadian business in front of customers actively searching for what you sell — and the fastest way to vaporise a marketing budget if the account is mismanaged. Costs per click have climbed substantially across most Canadian verticals, and Google's automated bidding has shifted control away from advertisers. The right Google Ads programme can pay back many times over; the wrong one can quietly drain $3,000 a month for nothing. This page walks through what a healthy account looks like, what it should cost, and how to tell whether yours is being managed properly.
What a healthy account looks like
- Conversion tracking is set up correctly — phone calls, form submissions, bookings, purchases — and the numbers in Google Ads roughly match what you see in your CRM or analytics.
- Each campaign has a clear purpose (one product line, one service area, one offer) rather than 30 keywords mixed together.
- Negative keywords are actively maintained so you stop paying for clicks from people searching for things you don't offer.
- Landing pages match the ads. Someone clicking "emergency plumber Calgary" lands on an emergency-plumbing page in Calgary, not your homepage.
- You see the search-terms report — actual queries that triggered your ads — at least monthly.
- Spend is paced sensibly against your target cost per lead and your business margins.
What it costs in Canada
- Minimum useful ad spend (search): $1,500–$3,000/month for most small businesses. Below that, you can't gather enough data to optimise.
- Competitive verticals (legal, dental, contractors, home services in major cities): $3,000–$10,000+/month is normal.
- Management fee (agency or freelancer): $500–$1,500/month for accounts under $10K/mo spend, or 10–20% of ad spend on larger accounts.
- One-time account audit: $750–$2,500 depending on account size and depth of the review.
Be wary of "we'll manage your account for $99/month" offers — at that price, almost nobody is actually doing the work, they're just turning on Google's automated recommendations and hoping.
Five things to check on your account today
- Conversion tracking. Open Tools → Conversions in Google Ads. Are there active conversion actions? Have any fired in the last seven days? If not, you're flying blind.
- Search terms report. Pull the last 30 days. Are you paying for irrelevant searches? Add them as negative keywords.
- Smart Bidding settings. If your account is set to "Maximise Clicks" or "Maximise Conversions" with no target cost-per-action, Google will spend as much as possible without caring about lead cost.
- Auto-applied recommendations. Google quietly auto-applies suggestions if you don't disable them. Turn them off and review them manually.
- Geographic targeting. Make sure your ads are showing only in cities or regions you actually serve. Default settings often include "presence or interest" which means people anywhere in the world researching your area.
Red flags that you're being burned
- You don't have admin access to your own Google Ads account.
- Reports show clicks and impressions but no conversions, leads, or revenue.
- "We're doing branding spend" with no clear business outcome attached.
- The account uses one campaign with hundreds of mixed keywords.
- Performance Max is running your entire budget with no search-network campaign for comparison.
- Negative-keyword list is empty or hasn't been updated in months.
- Your provider can't tell you what you paid per lead last month.
Common Google Ads questions
How fast can I expect leads?
If conversion tracking is configured correctly and the account is set up properly, you should see real leads within the first week of launching. If you're not seeing leads after two weeks of meaningful spend, something is wrong — either the targeting, the landing page, the offer, or the tracking.
How much should I budget?
Work backwards from your customer value. If a new customer is worth $1,500 in lifetime margin and your historical conversion rate is 20% (1 in 5 leads becomes a customer), each lead is worth $300. A healthy cost-per-lead is typically 25–40% of lead value — so target $75–$120 per lead. Multiply by how many leads per month you can handle to get your budget.
Should I run Performance Max?
Sometimes — but not as your only campaign. Performance Max gives Google a lot of latitude in deciding where to show your ads (search, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, the display network). It works well for some advertisers and burns money for others. If you're going to use it, also run a tightly-targeted search campaign alongside so you can compare.
Is Google Ads worth it in 2026 with AI search?
Yes, for now. Ads still appear in Google search results, including alongside AI Overviews, and demand for paid placements hasn't softened. Costs continue to climb across most verticals, which means the quality of management matters more than ever.
Want a second opinion on your Google Ads account?
Tell us a bit about your account and we'll suggest the right next step — a self-serve audit, a Canadian agency referral, or just a few pointers if your situation is straightforward.
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