How to Find Out How Much a Keyword Costs
Want to know how much a keyword costs on Google? We review some top tools to find the PPC price per click and search volume to help plan your ad budget.
If you are thinking about advertising on Google, the first question you probably have is: “How much is this going to cost me?”
In the world of online advertising, we call this the Cost Per Click (CPC). This is the amount you pay every time someone clicks on your advert. Some keywords cost pennies, while others can cost pounds.
Knowing these costs before you start is vital. It helps you set a budget and ensures you don’t get any nasty surprises.
In this guide, we will show you the best ways to find out what a keyword costs and how to work out if that cost is worth it for your business.
1. Use the Wiser IT Keyword Tool (free to use)
While Google has its own tool, you usually need to set up a full advertising account and hand over your billing details just to see the prices.
To make things easier, we provide a Free Keyword Tool.
Our tool is designed to give you the data you need without the faff. By simply typing in a word or phrase, you will get:
- The Cost: An estimate of what you’ll pay per click.
- Search Volume: How many people are actually searching for that word each month.
- Competition: How many other businesses are trying to bid on that same word.
This is the quickest way to get a realistic idea of what your industry looks like on Google.
2. Google Keyword Planner
If you already have a Google Ads account, the Google Keyword Planner is the “official” source of data.
It allows you to see “top of page bids.” This tells you the range of what people are paying to appear at the very top of the results versus the bottom of the first page. Keep in mind that these prices change constantly based on who else is advertising at that exact moment.
3. SEMrush and Moz
For those who want to dive deeper into what their competitors are doing, paid tools like SEMrush and Moz are very popular.
These tools show you which keywords your competitors are paying for and roughly how much of their budget they are spending. This is helpful if you want to “spy” on the market leader in your industry to see what is working for them.
However, these tools usually come with a monthly subscription fee.
Next Steps: What is a Lead Worth?
Finding out the cost of a keyword is only half the battle. Just because a click costs £2.00 doesn’t mean it’s a bad deal. If that £2.00 click leads to a £200 sale, you’d want to buy as many of those clicks as possible!
The real number you need to know is your Conversion Cost. This is how much you spend on ads to get one actual customer, new enquiry or ecommerce sale.
To help you work this out, we built the Google Ads Conversion Cost Calculator.
By using this calculator, you can plug in the keyword cost you found earlier and see:
- How many clicks you need to get a sale.
- What your total spend will be to reach your goals.
- Whether your profit margins can handle the cost of the ads.
Where to Start
Before you spend a single penny on Google Ads, follow these three steps:
- Research: To find the right keywords for your business, products or services.
- Check the price: Use our Keyword Tool to find the average cost of your chosen keywords and phrases.
- Do the maths: Use our Conversion Calculator to see if those costs make sense for your business.
- Start small: Never tip your whole budget in at once. Start with a small daily limit and a small selection of keywords, see what happens, and grow from there.
Understanding keyword costs doesn’t have to be complicated. With the right tools, you can plan your marketing with confidence and make sure every penny works hard for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
It mostly comes down to competition. If many businesses bid on the same word because it drives high-value sales (like “emergency plumber” or “business insurance”), the price goes up. It’s essentially a live auction that never stops.
Not exactly. The tools give you an average or a range based on recent history. Your actual cost can change depending on the time of day, your location, your target audience and how relevant Google thinks your advert is. It is best to use these figures as a helpful guide rather than a fixed price.
No. While Google’s own tool usually requires an ad account, you can use the Wiser IT Keyword Tool to check prices and search volumes for free, without signing up for anything.
A “good” cost is any price that leaves you with a profit. For example, paying £5.00 for a click might seem expensive, but if one in every five clicks results in a £500 order, that £5.00 was a great investment. This is where our Conversion Calculator can be really useful to see if the clicks would be worth it based on the expected conversions or sales.
We usually recommend starting with a small daily budget, perhaps £10 to £20 a day especially while we are testing which keywords work best, and it can take between 2 weeks and a month for Google Ads AI to learn enough about your keywords ads and landing pages before even the simplest ad campaign can start to give “real” data and can begin to work effectively. Once you see which words are bringing in customers, you can then consider increasing your ad spend.
Confused by the costs? You aren’t alone. Google Ads can be a bit of a minefield if you’re going it alone. If you’d rather have an expert team handle the research, the bidding, and the tracking for you, we’re here to help.
Contact Wiser IT today for a friendly chat about your business goals.