Eramis →
Google Ads scares SMEs because you can spend without limit. In reality, a local campaign is steered with simple figures, and the budget is decided after a two-week trial, not before.
What a click costs here
On the Riviera and in the canton of Vaud, a click on a local search generally costs between 1 and 4 francs for a tradesperson or a shop, and up to 8 or 12 francs in highly contested fields (lawyers, insurance, removals). It is the competition that sets the price, not Google.
How many clicks for a call
With a clear landing page and a visible phone number, you can expect on average one call or enquiry for every ten to twenty clicks. With a slow site or a generic page, it's one in fifty: the budget goes up in smoke.
A starting budget
To measure without risk: 300 to 600 francs per month, on ten keywords and a single area. Within two weeks you know your cost per call. If it is good — often between 15 and 40 francs for a local SME — we scale up; if not, we fix the page before spending another franc.
What makes the difference
- Keywords to exclude (“free”, “jobs”, “course”): that is where the money gets lost
- One ad per intent, with the name of the town
- Call and form tracking, without which you are flying blind
- A landing page that answers the search in one line
Ads or organic SEO?
Ads for measurable results from the first week; SEO to last without paying for every click. Together they give the best data: what converts in Ads tells you which pages to write for organic search.
In short: start small, measure the cost per call, and only put budget on what brings calls in. Our Google Ads launch includes conversion tracking from day one.