How millions are made - click by click.

Every year Google makes its money through millions of clicks. People from shopkeepers to cryptocurrency dealers go online and they try to put their name along the route of online traffic. The key to making the most of Google is getting people to find you. Describing your niche like ‘Cape Town photographer’ can drive customers to you.

It’s a question of first come first served on the search engine – 46% of clicks go to the top three paid ads. Google claims those who click on ads are 50% more likely to make a purchase.

First you have to answer the questions: how much traffic is on your website and where do you want to drive your audience?

Through the Google Ads system you can set your daily budget. As a Cape Town photographer, my minimum budget was R7.49 per day, for 10 click throughs to my site per month, which I thought wasn’t value for money.

Google also tells you what the average amount a competing business will pay. The minimum rate a competitor, in my line of work, to pay was around R25.10 per click for 140-230 Ad clicks a month. The higher your budget, the more clicks you can expect, depending on your business.

A lot depends on what you are selling. For instance, if you only want to sell 500 packets of snacks a month you don’t need that many visitors. But if you are looking for thousands of orders a day, you are going to have to pay.

A click through doesn’t guarantee a sale. A recommended minimum budget should start from around R5,000, according to Cognite Marketing.

Sidebar: How much does Google make.

An estimated 65% of small to medium sized of the world’s businesses use Google to advertise. In its sales pitch, Google claims its ads bring you $8 for every $1 spent.

In South Africa, you can pay Google anything from R500 per month ($33) up to R20,000 ($1,350) and beyond for the world’s largest online advertising platform. You can pay Google on average a cost-per-click (CPC) around $1 to $2 on the Google search network.

Data published on Statistica found: between March 2019 and March 2020, the average monthly CPC in Google Ads search advertising for the insurance industry in South Africa reached $3.24 dollars was among the most expensive per click in the country. The cheapest was for the electronics sector at $0.09 per click.