Key takeaways
- Concentrate a small budget on one campaign and a few high-intent keywords.
- Use phrase and exact match, plus negatives, to protect your spend.
- Target only the areas and hours you can actually serve.
- Judge results on cost per lead after 2–4 weeks, not after 2 days.
Is ₹500 a day enough?
₹500 a day is about ₹15,000 a month. Whether that's enough depends on your cost per click. If clicks in your industry cost ₹10–₹20, you get roughly 25–50 clicks a day, which is enough to learn and get leads. If clicks cost ₹100+, you'll get very few, so you need to be even more focused.
Check estimated costs in Google Keyword Planner before you start, and run the numbers in our budget planner.
Focus: one campaign, one goal
The most common mistake with a small budget is spreading it too thin. Instead:
- Run one Search campaign.
- Choose your best-selling service or product.
- Pick 5–15 high-intent keywords, the kind people search when they're ready to buy.
Keywords that bring buyers
High-intent keywords often include words like near me, price, cost, best, buy, book, repair, service or a city name. Use phrase and exact match, and add a negative list straight away: free, job, salary, course, training, DIY, how to (adjust for your business).
Settings that save money
- Turn off the Display Network and Search Partners at first.
- Target a tight location radius around where you serve.
- Run ads only during business hours if you rely on calls or WhatsApp.
- Add call and location assets.
Which bidding strategy?
With little conversion data, start with Maximise clicks and set a maximum CPC limit, or Manual CPC if you're comfortable managing bids. Once you're getting conversions regularly, test Maximise conversions.
Your first-month plan
| Week | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Launch, check tracking, add obvious negatives from search terms. |
| 2 | Pause expensive keywords with no leads; improve your weakest headlines. |
| 3 | Shift budget to keywords producing leads; tighten location and hours. |
| 4 | Calculate cost per lead and decide: scale, adjust or test a new offer. |
A small budget can work well if it's focused. Start narrow, learn fast and expand only what's proven.