How to set a Google Ads budget for a small business in India
A simple way to choose a starting budget, protect it, and know when an ad is worth more money.
Google Ads can bring customers the same day — or quietly spend money with nothing to show for it. The difference is usually not the budget size but how the budget is controlled.
Start from what a customer is worth
Before choosing a number, answer two questions: how much profit does one new customer bring you, and how many enquiries does it take to win one customer? If a new patient is worth ₹3,000 in profit and one in four enquiries becomes a patient, you can afford to pay up to ₹750 for an enquiry and still break even. That figure is your ceiling.
Start small and narrow
- One service, one area. Advertise your most profitable service in the places you can actually serve.
- Specific keywords. "root canal treatment kakkanad" brings people ready to book. "teeth" brings everyone.
- Exclude what doesn't fit. Add words like "free", "course" or "jobs" as negative keywords if they don't match what you sell.
- Ads in the customer's language. Write ad text in the language and script your customers search in.
- A fixed daily limit. Set a daily budget you are comfortable losing while you learn.
Decide with numbers, not feelings
Track enquiries — calls, WhatsApp messages and form fills — not just clicks. After two to four weeks, compare the cost per enquiry with your ceiling. Ads below the ceiling earn more budget; ads above it get fixed or paused.
Protect the budget
Set a monthly maximum, check the search terms report for wasted searches, and pause ads that spend without producing enquiries.
Doondo does these checks every day, never goes past the limit you set, and asks you on WhatsApp before increasing any spend.