Google Ads Costs and Billing Methods Explained

One major question you might have before you get started with Google Ads is “How much does Google Ads cost?” You want to have an idea of how much your campaign will cost you before you run it. Instead of wondering how much you will be charged and how you will be billed, we give you everything you need to know.

The billing system of Google AdWords is centered around the idea of convenience for the advertisers. Therefore, the platform allows you to decide the amount of money you want to budget for an advertisement campaign that not only suits your business but also fits your budget. You have a lot of control as an advertiser over the amount you actually spend because of the budgeting options.

Google Ads Costs & Billing Methods Video

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How Google Ads Billing Works

You can find all of your Billing information from the main Tools & Settings link at the top of the Google Ads menu. You can see the image below.

From the very moment you create your campaign on Google Ads and drive clicks or video views, your business starts incurring charges. Furthermore, you will continue to be charged as long as your campaign is driving activity.

If you decide to pause your Google Ads campaign, then you will be charged for the amount it spent up until you paused it. In case you decide to re-run this ad campaign, you can always drive more clicks and activity even if you paused it at one point.

Google Ads Billing Summary

You can see how much you are charged by viewing your billing summary. It will show how much you have paid and the net cost for each month.

How to Customize Billing Options

To customize your ad campaign billing options, all you have to do is go to the Tools & Setting menu on the Google Ads dashboard and select the ‘Settings’ option under Billing.

Once you select either of these options, you’ll be given the following choices for making an ad campaign payment:

Google Ads Payment Settings

This section determines when you can pay for your ad campaigns. Depending on your country or region, you can choose from the following three payment settings:

Automatic Payments

After your ad campaign is live, Google AdWords will automatically charge you for it. Automatic payments is the most common setting for advertisers. You will be charged when you reach your payment threshold.



Manual Payments

In this mode, you’re supposed to clear the ad payment before it goes live. Once your ad campaign is running and you’re able to get the costs, the credit from your paid amount will decrease. Once you’ve used all your prepaid amount, the ad will stop running.

Monthly Invoicing

In this mode, Google AdWords will provide you with a line of credit to cover your ad campaign costs. You will need to pay your monthly invoice every single month to keep your ads running.

Google Ads Payment Method Options

You can choose to prepay for your Google Ads or pay after your campaign is running and you reach payment thresholds. Therefore, your options are prepaid or postpaid.

Prepaid

If you select the prepaid method, then an advance bill for your ad campaign will be generated every month and once your paid balance runs out, your ad will be stopped.

Postpaid

However, if you choose the postpaid method of payment, then you will either receive a bill every 30 days or when your Google AdWords account reaches its billing threshold.

In fact, Google encourages users to choose the postpaid mode of payment, simply to prevent your ads from getting stopped. This also prevents you from updating your billing information every month in contrast to a prepaid model.

Choosing Your Form of Payment for Google Ads

You can pay for your ad campaigns with the help of a debit or credit card or directly through your bank account. However, it’s preferred that you choose the card payment option for its convenience.

In case you have an issue with your credit card, you can also use other additional forms of payment. Furthermore, there are also several Google Ads promotional coupons available for new accounts.

Final Thoughts

In the end, understanding the various billing and payment methods with Google Ads is pretty easy and managing your costs is very easy. You can follow any budget you need to.