Question 1

What does a Google Ads specialist cost?

Accepted Answer

At Northbound, the investment for Google Ads management starts at €650 per month, plus a one-off setup from €650. Exactly what you pay depends on your media budget, the number of campaigns and markets, and whether you use Shopping. You’ll know upfront, after the free account check. All amounts exclude VAT and your ad budget.

Question 2

What does Google Ads cost per day and per month?

Accepted Answer

Google Ads costs exactly what you set: you choose a daily budget and Google charges per click. We recommend at least €1,000 a month, averaging €33 a day. That brings in enough data to steer properly. Sectors with expensive clicks need more; we work that out with you in advance.

Question 3

How much do you pay per click on Google Ads?

Accepted Answer

A click usually costs between €0.30 and €25, depending on your sector and your competition. In our own measurements in Keyword Planner, the top-of-page bid for “heat pump cost” was between €0.61 and €1.95, for “bathroom renovation” between €2.84 and €11.38, and for “office chair” between €0.33 and €2.29. You only pay when someone clicks.

Question 4

What is the minimum budget I need?

Accepted Answer

Count on at least €1,000 a month, averaging €33 a day. With less, there are often too few clicks to see what works. The right budget depends on what a click costs in your sector and how many enquiries or sales you want. For online shops, it also depends on how many products you have and your margin. We work that out for you in the account check.

Question 5

Is Google Ads expensive for a small business?

Accepted Answer

Google Ads isn’t expensive if one new customer brings in more than you spend each month. That’s why we calculate upfront what a customer is worth to you and how many enquiries you need to earn back your investment. For a service with a healthy margin, one extra customer a month often pays for the management. For an online shop, what counts is whether every euro spent on ads brings in more margin than it costs.

Question 6

Do I get advertising credit if I’m new to Google Ads?

Accepted Answer

Yes, if you haven’t advertised with Google Ads before. As a Google Partner, we can give new clients advertising credit from Google. In the Netherlands it ranges from €360 to €3,600, in Belgium from €280 to €1,140, depending on what you spend in the first 60 days (as of October 2026). Your account must be new: we apply the credit within 20 days of it being created, and it also depends on our monthly partner credit with Google. We’ve already applied it for several clients. Google sets the terms and can change them.

Question 7

Outsource Google Ads or do it yourself?

Accepted Answer

You can do it yourself if you have time every week for search terms, bids and tracking. Most business owners lose budget to keywords that are too broad, missing exclusions and tracking that isn’t right. Outsourcing pays off when the specialist brings in more than they cost. In the free account check, you’ll see in advance whether that’s the case for you.

Question 8

Specialist, freelancer or agency: which suits me?

Accepted Answer

Choose based on who actually does the work and how much experience that person has, not on the name. A freelancer is direct but works alone. At a larger agency, your account sometimes passes through several people. With us, you work directly with two specialists who together spent eight years supporting advertisers on behalf of Google.

Question 9

What is a Google Partner and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

Google Partner is a status Google gives to agencies that meet requirements for performance, ad spend and certifications. You can check our status yourself on our Google Partner profile. The status covers Google Ads. Google does not assess or endorse our SEO services.

Question 10

Google Ads or SEO: which is better?

Accepted Answer

Google Ads brings in enquiries or sales within a few weeks. SEO builds lasting visibility over three to six months. For most businesses, the combination works best: Google Ads for now, SEO for later. We advise the order that pays off most for you.

Question 11

How does Google Ads work?

Accepted Answer

You bid on keywords your customers type in, and Google shows your ad above the search results. Which ad appears at the top depends on your bid and on the quality of your ad and your page. With Shopping, Google shows your products with a photo and price, based on your product feed. You only pay when someone clicks.

Question 12

What is the difference between SEA and Google Ads?

Accepted Answer

SEA stands for Search Engine Advertising: advertising in search engines. Google Ads is the platform you use to do that on Google, and also on YouTube and in Gmail. In the Netherlands and Belgium, people almost always mean Google Ads when they say SEA.

Question 13

How long does it take for Google Ads to deliver results?

Accepted Answer

Your ads go live in week 1 or 2, depending on what’s needed. If your account is already running, we take it over immediately. You often see the first enquiries or sales quickly. After about four weeks live, there’s enough data to review and assess the results together.

Question 14

Why isn’t my Google Ads bringing in customers?

Accepted Answer

Usually it comes down to one of three things: the wrong keywords, a page that doesn’t convince, or tracking that isn’t right. For online shops, it’s often a product feed with weak titles or disapproved products. Without good tracking, Google steers on clicks instead of customers. In the free account check, we find out where you’re leaking budget.

Question 15

What is a good ROAS for my online shop?

Accepted Answer

That depends on your margin. You break even at a ROAS of 1 divided by your gross margin: at a 40% margin that’s 2.5, or €2.50 in revenue per euro of ad spend. Everything above that is profit. That’s why we calculate with your margin, not a standard number.

Question 16

What is Performance Max and does it suit my online shop?

Accepted Answer

Performance Max is a single campaign that shows your products on Search, Shopping, YouTube, Gmail and Display. It works well with a strong product feed and tracking of real sales. You do have less control over where your ad appears, so we often combine it with Shopping or Search campaigns.

Question 17

What is a CSS connection and does it save you money?

Accepted Answer

A CSS (Comparison Shopping Service) is a comparison service you use to place Shopping ads in Europe. By default, that runs through Google’s own CSS, which charges a margin on it. With a different CSS that margin disappears, so you often pay up to around 20% less per click for the same position. We recommend it to every online shop.

Question 18

How do I give you access to my Google Ads account?

Accepted Answer

You invite us as a user in your own Google Ads account. It takes a few minutes and we’ll send you the steps. If you don’t have an account yet, we create it under our manager account and you become the owner. That also makes you eligible for the credit from Google.

Question 19

Who owns the account if I stop?

Accepted Answer

The account is and remains yours. If you stop, you keep all campaigns, data and tracking. You can cancel monthly, with one month’s notice.

Question 20

Do you also work for businesses in Flanders?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We work for businesses in the Netherlands and Flanders, fully online, in Dutch or English. We write your ads in your customers’ language, including English where your audience needs it: Flemish for Flanders and Dutch for the Netherlands. Flemish searchers also often use different words: ‘zetel’ instead of ‘bank’ (sofa), ‘loopschoenen’ instead of ‘hardloopschoenen’ (running shoes).

Google Ads specialist with experience on behalf of Google.

What does a Google Ads specialist do?

Outsourcing Google Ads, without handing over control.

Understand your business first

Tracking before the first campaign

Campaigns that fit your goal

Ads that stand out

Adjusting every week

Reporting and advice

Two specialists with experience on behalf of Google.

Aziz El M’Kadmi

Carlo Robben

What to look for when choosing.

What Google Ads delivered for clients.

The account showed 319 conversions. In reality, there were 91 bookings.

It wasn’t the ads but the landing pages that made every lead expensive.

What does Google Ads cost?

Your investment for management

What a click costs in your sector

Stronger in combination. And by sector.

Works well with Google Ads

Google Ads for your sector

In twenty minutes you’ll know where your growth is.

Pick a time now

Questions about Google Ads.

North is the right direction.