Free tools / Penny
Google Ads planner. Spend only what pays back.
Enter your website and a few numbers about your business. You get a readiness check, ad groups built from real searches, negative keywords, draft ads and the most you can pay per click without losing money.
Why most small Google Ads accounts lose money
Three things cause most of the waste we see. No conversion tracking, so nobody knows which clicks brought sales. Broad keywords with no negatives, so the ads show for "free", "jobs" and "DIY" searches. And bids set by guesswork, higher than a sale is worth. This planner tackles all three before you spend anything.
How the budget maths works
Start with what one sale is worth to you after costs: the sale value times your margin. That is the most you can spend to win one sale and break even. Keep a share of it as profit, and what is left is your target cost per sale. Multiply that by the share of visitors who buy, and you get the most you can pay for a click. If Google's prices for your searches are above that number, fix the website before you raise the bids.
For a quick check on campaigns you are already running, use our ROAS calculator.
Rules that protect your money
- Set a daily budget you would not mind losing for a fortnight while Google learns.
- Pause any keyword that spends twice your target cost per sale without a sale.
- Raise budgets by about 20% at a time, and only when results have beaten your target for a week.
- Check the search terms report every week and add new negatives.
- Send each ad group to the most relevant page, never just the homepage.
Questions
Is this a replacement for Google Keyword Planner?
No. It uses real searches from Google's public autocomplete, which shows what people type but not how many or what a click costs. Use it to build the structure fast, then check volumes and bids in Google Keyword Planner inside your Google Ads account, which is free once you have an account.
Where does the maximum cost per click come from?
From your own numbers. If a sale is worth £80, you keep 40% of it and 2 in 100 visitors buy, you can afford about £0.64 a click before you lose money, or about £0.45 if you want to keep 30% of the profit. If Google's real prices for your searches are higher than that, ads will lose money until your site converts better.
What is break-even ROAS?
Return on ad spend is sales divided by ad cost. Break-even ROAS is the point where the profit on those sales just covers the ads: 1 divided by your margin. With a 40% margin it is 2.5, so every £1 of ads needs £2.50 of sales just to stand still.
How do I upload the campaign to Google Ads?
Download the two CSV files, open Google Ads Editor (free from Google), choose Account, Import, From file, and import the keywords file and then the ads file. Check everything, set your bids and locations, then post the changes. Campaigns import paused until you switch them on.
Why are some searches marked as negatives?
Searches with words like free, jobs, DIY, course or second hand rarely lead to a sale for a business, so adding them as negative keywords stops your ads showing for them and saves money from day one.
Can you run the ads for us?
Yes. We set up tracking, build the campaigns, write the ads and manage them with clear rules on spend. Ask for a quote and we will look at your site and your numbers first.
Want Penny on this every day?
On Lupaan your whole team works in the background and tells you when something needs you.