# How Much Does PPC Cost in the UK?

Source: https://dijitulmarketing.co.uk/guides/how-much-does-ppc-cost-uk/
Updated: 2026-10-18

> PPC in the UK has two costs: the ad spend you pay Google or Microsoft per click, and the fee for managing the account. dijitul manages Google Ads and Microsoft Ads from £150 a month + VAT, or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. Your ad spend is paid directly to the platform.

## Key facts

- PPC has two separate costs: ad spend paid to the platform, and a management fee paid to whoever runs the account
- Bark, the UK services marketplace, lists an average of £400 a month for PPC specialists (checked October 2026)
- dijitul PPC management is from £150 a month + VAT, or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher
- Google Ads can spend up to twice your average daily budget on a busy day, but never more than 30.4 times it in a month (Google Ads Help)
- You pay per click, and usually less than your maximum bid: only what is needed to hold your Ad Rank (Google Ads Help)
- Conversion tracking set-up is a one-off cost: dijitul charges £145 + VAT for GA4, Google Ads and Meta CAPI tracking
- No long contracts at dijitul: monthly, cancel with notice

## The two costs of PPC

Every pay-per-click budget splits into two parts, and it helps to keep them apart when you compare quotes.

- **Ad spend.** The money you pay Google, Microsoft, Meta or LinkedIn when someone clicks your ad. It goes straight to the platform on your own card or invoice. You set the budget and can change it at any time.
- **Management.** The fee for the person or agency who builds the campaigns, writes the ads, picks keywords, adds negatives, adjusts bids, checks tracking and reports back.

Some providers bundle the two into one monthly figure. That makes it hard to see how much actually reaches Google. Ask any provider to show the ad spend separately, and check the account is in your name.

## What the UK market charges for PPC management

There is no standard rate card. Bark, the UK marketplace that matches buyers with freelancers and agencies, lists an average of £400 a month for PPC specialists nationwide and £375 a month in London (checked October 2026). Those averages are drawn from the jobs listed on Bark, so treat them as a guide to the freelance and small agency end of the market rather than a ceiling.

Fees are usually set in one of three ways:

- **Flat monthly fee.** Simple to budget. Works well when spend is steady.
- **Percentage of ad spend.** The fee rises as spend rises, which reflects the extra work in larger accounts.
- **Hybrid.** A minimum monthly fee or a percentage, whichever is higher. This is how dijitul prices.

Many providers also charge a one-off set-up fee for building the account and installing tracking. Ask what that covers before you sign.

## What dijitul charges

Our Google Ads management starts from £150 a month + VAT, or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. The same pricing covers Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Microsoft Ads and remarketing. Paid social on Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok is from £150 a month + VAT plus ad spend.

One-off jobs are priced separately so you only pay for what you need:

| Item | dijitul price |

| Conversion tracking (GA4, Google Ads, Meta CAPI) | £145 + VAT, one-off |
| GA4 set-up | £95 + VAT, one-off |
| Looker Studio reporting dashboard | £145 + VAT, one-off |
| Audits, strategy and training | £45 an hour + VAT, or a fixed quote |

Ad spend is always on top and paid directly to the platform. There is no long contract: it runs monthly and you can cancel with notice.

## What decides how much each click costs

Google sells clicks through an auction that runs every time someone searches. Your position and price depend on Ad Rank, which combines your bid, the quality of your ad and landing page, and the expected effect of assets such as sitelinks. Google's own help pages say you usually pay less than your maximum bid: only what is needed to hold your Ad Rank.

Click prices rise when:

- Many advertisers chase the same keyword, as in legal, finance and emergency trades.
- Your **Quality Score** is low because the ad, keyword and landing page do not match well.
- You target a busy city rather than a smaller catchment.
- You bid on broad, research-stage terms instead of buying-intent searches.

To see likely costs before you spend anything, use Keyword Planner inside Google Ads. It shows a low and high range for top-of-page bids on each keyword in your chosen location. Our guide on how much to spend on Google Ads shows how to turn those numbers into a budget.

## How to avoid paying too much

- **Own your account.** The Google Ads account should be in your business name with you as an admin. If you leave a provider, the history stays with you.
- **Get conversion tracking right first.** Without it, Smart Bidding strategies such as Maximise Conversions or target CPA have nothing to learn from.
- **Ask to see search terms.** The search terms report shows what people actually typed. Irrelevant terms should be added as negative keywords every month.
- **Check location settings.** Targeting people who are in your area, rather than people showing interest in it, stops spend leaking outside your patch.
- **Be wary of guarantees.** Nobody controls the auction. A provider promising a fixed number of leads or a position is guessing.

If you already run ads and want a second opinion, a Google Ads audit is the cheapest way to find wasted spend.

## FAQs

### How much does PPC management cost per month in the UK?

Bark, the UK services marketplace, lists an average of £400 a month for PPC specialists (checked October 2026), though fees vary widely. dijitul charges from £150 a month + VAT, or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. Ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google or Microsoft.

### Is there a minimum ad spend with dijitul?

We do not set one. You choose the budget and pay it straight to the platform. We will tell you honestly if a budget is too small to gather useful data for your keywords and location, using Keyword Planner estimates for your market rather than a guess.

### Do you charge a set-up fee for PPC?

There is no separate account build fee in our monthly management. If tracking needs installing or fixing, conversion tracking across GA4, Google Ads and Meta CAPI is a one-off £145 + VAT, and GA4 set-up is a one-off £95 + VAT.

### Why does Google sometimes spend more than my daily budget?

Google Ads Help explains that a campaign can spend up to twice its average daily budget on a busy day to catch extra traffic. Over a month it will not charge more than 30.4 times the average daily budget, so the monthly total stays within your plan.

### Is percentage of ad spend or a flat fee better?

A flat fee is easier to budget when spend is small and steady. A percentage scales with the work in larger accounts. dijitul uses a minimum of £150 a month + VAT or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher, so small accounts are not overcharged.

### Does PPC management include Microsoft Ads?

Yes. Our management price covers Google Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Microsoft Ads and remarketing. Microsoft Ads can import Google campaigns, which keeps set-up quick, and it reaches people searching on Bing, including many using Edge on work computers.

## Prices and contact

Prices (all from, + VAT; ad spend separate): Google Ads management £150 a month; Paid social (Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok) £150 a month; Social media management £125 a month; Email marketing £95 a month; Marketing automation set-up £195; SMS marketing £75 a month; GA4 set-up £95; Conversion tracking £145; Data Studio (Looker Studio) dashboard £145; Conversion rate optimisation £195 a month; Content marketing £195 a month; Consultancy, audits and strategy £45 an hour. All prices are "from" and exclude VAT. Ad spend is separate and paid directly to Google, Microsoft, Meta, LinkedIn or TikTok. Paid media management is from £150 a month or 10 to 15% of ad spend, whichever is higher. You own every ad account, pixel, audience and email list we set up. Contact: https://dijitulmarketing.co.uk/contact/ · 01623 650333 · info@dijitul.uk