Five inputs should determine the budget.
| Input | What to establish | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible local demand | Relevant searches in the actual service area, separated by care type and intent. | A national keyword estimate can exaggerate the opportunity available to one provider. |
| Expected click cost | A planning range based on current market evidence rather than a fixed industry average. | Competition and geography affect how many visits the budget can buy. |
| Website conversion | A cautious range for calls and forms, with tracking readiness assessed first. | Poor mobile experience or weak message match can waste otherwise relevant demand. |
| Enquiry suitability | The proportion likely to match service, location, timing and care need. | Raw lead volume hides recruitment and unsuitable enquiries. |
| Commercial value | The expected value and capacity implications of a suitable new care package. | The organisation needs its own acceptable acquisition range. |
Use ranges, not a single forecast.
A planning model should show what happens under cautious, central and stronger scenarios. Its purpose is to make assumptions visible—not to promise a result.
| Stage | Planning calculation |
|---|---|
| Potential clicks | Monthly media budget ÷ assumed average cost per click |
| Tracked enquiries | Clicks × assumed website conversion rate |
| Suitable enquiries | Tracked enquiries × assumed suitability rate |
| Cost per suitable enquiry | Monthly media budget ÷ suitable enquiries |
Capacity can be a stricter limit than demand.
A provider may have enough search demand to generate enquiries but insufficient carers, assessment capacity or service coverage to support them. Budget decisions should therefore be made with operations, not solely marketing.
- Which postcodes can accept new packages?
- Which services have the staff and skills to grow?
- How quickly can the team return a call?
- What happens outside office hours?
- When should a campaign be reduced or paused?
Paid search can respond to capacity faster than organic search, but location controls are imperfect. Campaign settings and landing-page claims must still be monitored.
Agree the evaluation rules before launch.
- Define the primary conversion actions and test the tracking.
- Choose the lead categories the care team will record.
- Set a review cadence for search terms, geography and budget.
- Agree the minimum evidence needed before increasing spend.
- Set stopping or correction conditions for irrelevant traffic, poor response or operational constraints.
- Review the whole enquiry journey—not only Google Ads metrics.
A short test with too little traffic may not resolve whether the channel works. A large test without lead-quality feedback can spend faster without creating better evidence.
Questions to ask before approving the number.
- Is the demand estimate limited to the locations we genuinely serve?
- Are jobs, training and unrelated searches separated from care demand?
- Does the website explain the exact service being advertised?
- Can calls and forms be tested before launch?
- Who will categorise enquiries after contact?
- What result would justify continuing, changing or stopping?
- Are media, management and setup costs shown separately?
Figures should be refreshed using current account and market data before publication or use in a commercial forecast. This page intentionally provides a framework rather than an industry spending recommendation.
