PPC cost for a small business is usually the sum of your monthly ad spend plus a management fee, and most local companies in Orlando start in the $1,000 to $5,000 per month range all-in, then scale up once they see consistent lead quality.
The reason the range is wide is simple: you are buying attention in an auction, and Orlando can be competitive in categories like dental, legal, HVAC, roofing, and pest control. In some niches you might pay a few dollars per click, while in others each click can be far more expensive, so budget planning has to start with your goal (calls, forms, bookings) and your expected cost per lead, not with a random “daily budget.” If you want hands-on help setting a realistic starting budget and avoiding waste, our PPC management services are built around conversion tracking and lead quality, not just clicks.
What you are actually paying for
| Cost item | Typical range for small businesses | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Ad spend (paid to Google, Meta, etc.) | $1,000 to $10,000+ per month | Your actual media budget, billed by the ad platform |
| Management fee (agency or freelancer) | $500 to $2,500+ per month or 10% to 20% of spend | Buildout, targeting, ads, negatives, bidding, testing, optimizations, reporting |
| One-time setup | $300 to $2,500 | Account structure, conversions, audiences, initial ads, basic guardrails |
| Landing page (if needed) | $800 to $4,000+ | A focused page that matches the ad and makes it easy to call or book |
| Tracking tools | $30 to $150+ per month | Call tracking, form tracking, CRM syncing, offline conversion imports |
In practice, many local service businesses start with $1,500 to $3,500 per month total, because it gives enough volume to learn what searches and audiences produce real leads. Very small budgets can work, but they often move slower because you do not get enough conversion data to separate good traffic from junk traffic.
What drives your PPC costs up or down
- Industry and intent: “Emergency dentist” and “car accident lawyer” usually cost more than lower urgency searches.
- Location targeting: Tight radius targeting around your service area can reduce waste compared to broad county-wide targeting.
- Quality of your ads and landing page: Better match between keyword, ad, and page can reduce the price you pay for the same click.
- Conversion rate: If your page turns 1 out of 50 visitors into a lead, you will pay more per lead than a page that converts 1 out of 15.
- Tracking and lead filtering: If you cannot see which clicks became real customers, you will keep paying for the wrong traffic.
If you are unsure what a click should cost in your niche, start by understanding what CPC means in PPC, because CPC is only one piece of the puzzle and it does not tell you whether the traffic is profitable.
A simple way to pick a starting budget
Work backward from your sales math: how many new customers you want per month, your close rate, and what you can afford per lead. Example: if you want 10 new customers and you close 25% of leads, you need about 40 leads. If your target is $75 per lead, that suggests roughly $3,000 per month in total lead cost before management. This is also why it helps to benchmark against what a good cost per lead looks like for your goals and margins, not just what someone else pays.
One last practical note: PPC works best when the page is built for the exact service and city intent you are buying. If your ads are going to a generic homepage, you can end up paying more for fewer leads. When a dedicated page is the missing piece, our landing page web design work focuses on clear offers, fast load times, and friction-free calls and bookings so your ad spend does more work.
