In short
What Google Ads costs an Irish business: the budget you set with Google, how its spending limits work, and management from €750 a month.
Google Ads in Ireland costs two things: the budget you pay Google for your ads, and the fee for whoever builds and runs them. Google has no fixed price, so you set the budget yourself and Google never charges you more than your monthly limit. With us, management is €750, €1,250 or €2,250 a month, and your ad spend goes straight to Google.
What are you actually paying Google for?
Your ad budget buys the clicks your ads receive. There's no rate card and no package from Google itself. You decide how much to spend, which searches to show up for and which parts of the country to cover, and Google bills you for the traffic your campaigns get within that budget.
That puts the cost in your hands, and it's why two Irish businesses in the same trade can spend very different sums. What you pay comes down to the searches you target, the counties and towns you show your ads in, how many other advertisers want the same customers and how much work you want to win.
The other half of the bill is management. Google Ads is easy to switch on and easy to waste money in. Somebody has to choose the keywords, write the ads, block the searches that never turn into work, set up tracking and adjust the account as the results come in. You either do that yourself or pay someone to do it.
How does Google stop you spending more than you planned?
You set an average daily budget for each campaign, and Google works to that across the month. Google's help centre, as it reads in October 2026, says a campaign can spend "up to twice your average daily budget" on a given day, and that by the end of the month you'll have spent no more than 30.4 times your average daily budget.
So a €20 average daily budget gives you a monthly ceiling of €608. Some days you'll spend more than €20 and some days less, and the total for the month stays inside that ceiling. Google also says that when the cost of the clicks served goes over your limits, you'll never actually pay more than your spending limits.
That matters when you're planning cash flow. Think of your budget as a monthly figure, divide it by 30.4 to get the daily amount, and you know the most Google will take.
Does Google charge VAT on Irish ad spend?
Yes. Google's Ads Help page on taxes in your country, as it reads in October 2026, says all Google Ads accounts in Ireland are subject to VAT "at the Irish rate", and that Irish accounts are served by Google Ireland. It also shows where to add your VAT registration number in your account settings.
So before you settle on a budget, ask your accountant how VAT on Google's charges applies to your business. That tax sits on Google's invoices for your ad spend, separate from anything you pay us.
How much should a small Irish business spend on Google Ads?
Work it out backwards from the jobs you want, not forwards from a round number. Start with what a new customer is worth to you, then how many extra customers you want each month, then how many enquiries it takes to win one. That tells you what an enquiry can cost before the ads stop paying for themselves.
From there, three things set the budget. The first is the searches: put your money behind searches from people ready to buy, and leave research searches until those are paying their way. The second is the area: covering Dublin, Cork and Galway takes more budget than covering one county. The third is time: a campaign needs enough clicks each week to show which keywords and ads bring enquiries, so a budget spread too thin across too many services teaches you nothing.
Your free audit with us recommends a starting budget built on those three things. You then set it and pay it to Google yourself, so it's never mixed up with our fee.
What does Google Ads management cost in Ireland?
Our management fee is a fixed monthly price in euro, on a 6-month minimum term. Every plan starts with a free audit, and campaigns go live in 5 days on average. The plans are:
- Starter, €750 a month: full campaign setup for up to 2 campaigns, keyword research, up to 6 ads, conversion tracking and a monthly report.
- Growth, €1,250 a month: everything in Starter plus up to 5 campaigns, remarketing, A/B ad testing and weekly updates.
- Scale, €2,250 a month: everything in Growth plus unlimited campaigns, a full funnel strategy, dedicated landing page builds and weekly strategy calls.
We adjust bids, keywords and ads every weekday. Your ad spend is paid directly to Google, and you set the budget. Our Google Ads work for Caltech Lifts, a UK client, brought 35 qualified leads and 15 completed sales. You'll find the full detail on our Google Ads page for Ireland.
Why does tracking change what Google Ads costs you?
You pay for the click whether or not the visitor ever gets in touch. Conversion tracking is what tells you which searches and ads bring calls and form enquiries, so you can cut the ones that don't and put more behind the ones that do. Without it, you're paying for clicks and guessing at the rest.
Tracking on an Irish website has rules attached. The Data Protection Commission's guidance note on cookies and other tracking technologies from April 2020 says "Cookies related to advertising are not strictly necessary and must be consented to." It rules out pre-checked boxes and consent by implication, and if your banner has an accept button, it must give equal prominence to an option to reject.
So your cookie banner must ask before any advertising cookie runs, and a visitor who says no isn't tracked. We set up call and form conversion tracking on every plan, and your reports count the enquiries from visitors who accept. This is general information, not legal advice.
Does your website change what each enquiry costs?
Yes. Google charges for the click, but your website decides whether that click turns into an enquiry. A slow page, a missing phone number or a form that asks for too much means you pay for visitors who leave.
If your site isn't ready, fix it before you raise your budget. We build one-page brochure websites in Ireland for €1,800 or €179 a month over 12 months, and bespoke lead generation websites of up to 20 pages for €5,500 or €599 a month, live in 5 days on average. See our web design prices for Ireland. The Scale plan includes dedicated landing page builds, so each campaign sends people to a page that matches their search.
Should you advertise on social media as well as Google?
Google Ads answers a search someone has already typed. Social media puts you in front of people before they search. The CSO's Information Society Statistics for enterprises for 2025 found that almost three-quarters of Irish enterprises (74.2%) used social media.
Start with Google if your customers search when they need you. Add Meta Ads when you want to reach people earlier or bring past visitors back. Our Growth Engine runs both together for €1,799 a month on a 12-month term, with Google Ads and Meta Ads every weekday, SEO and GEO every week, and a free custom website worth €5,500 that passes to you when the term ends. There are no setup fees, and ad spend is billed separately. It's for service businesses, not online shops. Read more about the Growth Engine in Ireland.
Frequently asked questions
Do I pay my ad budget to you or to Google?
To Google. You pay your ad spend directly to Google and set the budget yourself, and our management fee is separate.
Can I run Google Ads in only the counties I cover?
Yes. We target the counties and towns you choose, or a radius around your base, and exclude everywhere else so your budget goes on customers you can serve.
Is there a minimum contract?
Yes. Google Ads management has a 6-month minimum term. The Growth Engine is a 12-month commitment, and the free website becomes yours when it ends.
Do I need a cookie banner for Google Ads tracking?
Yes. The Data Protection Commission says cookies related to advertising aren't strictly necessary and must be consented to, so your banner asks first.
Ready to put real numbers on your own campaigns? Book your free audit and we'll recommend a starting budget and the right plan. We're remote-first, and we work with you by video call, phone and email. Call +44 1382 699595.
