If your second month of Google Ads costs more per enquiry than your first, the campaign is not breaking. In SoudCoh's research sample of newly launched Australian trade and home-service campaigns, the typical cost per enquiry was 31% higher in the second month after launch than in the first, and 68% of new launches paid more per enquiry in month two. It is the first month that is unusual.
Below: the launch pattern, why it happens, how to rule out seasonality, and how to set targets that survive month two.
Why does Google Ads cost more in the second month?
Usually because the first month after launch is unusually cheap, not because month two is broken. Month two is the real baseline.
Key facts
- The typical new campaign's cost per enquiry was 31% higher in its second month than in its first.
- 68% of new launches paid more per enquiry in month two than in month one.
- 84% of new accounts record an enquiry from their first three days of ads, and 95% within the first week.
| Period after launch | Cost per enquiry, typical new campaign (month one = 100) |
|---|---|
| Month one | 100 |
| Month two | 131 |
How we measure. Months are counted from launch in blocks of 30 days, so month one is the first 30 days of spend. An enquiry is a recorded phone call or a submitted form; cost per enquiry is ad spend divided by enquiries.
Is the first month a honeymoon or a learning period?
A honeymoon. The common story is that a new campaign pays a learning tax: costs start high while automated bidding learns, then fall. In SoudCoh's research sample the typical pattern ran the other way: the first month was usually cheaper than the second.
The reason is the mix of searches. A fresh campaign serves the most urgent, ready-to-book searches first. The person with water through the ceiling or no power in the kitchen is searching right now and calls the first credible result. Bidding has not yet widened its reach. As it does, the campaign starts buying the harder searches: people comparing quotes, researching prices or planning work for later. Those searches are harder to turn into a booked job.
That is why month two is when an owner who was told nothing starts to wonder whether the ads have stopped working.
Is the month-two rise just seasonality?
Check before you assume it. The obvious objection is that month two simply fell in a quieter or dearer part of the year. You can test that on your own account:
- If you run other campaigns or locations that were already live, compare their cost per enquiry over the same weeks.
- Check Google Trends for your main service in your state, to see whether search interest genuinely moved.
- Compare the search terms from month two with month one. A shift towards research and price-comparison searches fits the honeymoon ending; a fall in search volume across the board points to the season.
If demand held steady, treat the rise as the launch pattern above and work the steps below.
Month one is the honeymoon. Month two is the baseline.
What should happen in the first week of a new account?
The phone should ring. Search captures demand that already exists, and in SoudCoh's research sample 84% of new launches recorded an enquiry within their first three days of ads. A silent first week is far more often a measurement or answering problem than a keyword problem. Check these before touching a bid:
- Calls from the ad are recorded, and the number in the ad is the one you answer.
- Calls from the website reach a tracked number, and each caller is counted once.
- The form sends, arrives in an inbox someone reads, and fires a conversion.
- The phone is answered during the hours the ads run.
- The conversions are real enquiries. 32% of trade advertisers in the sample were counting taps on a phone number as conversions, which makes any month look better than the phone feels. See why phone-tap conversions inflate trade leads.
Our guide to checking your lead tracking walks through each test, our white paper From keyword to revenue covers measurement from the click to the won job, and our tracking work covers the set-up.
What should you do when month two costs more?
Tighten, do not stop. The dearer month is the campaign starting to buy harder searches, and the work is to make those searches pay:
- Read the search terms daily through month two. Negate clear patterns of work you do not do, after checking they have never converted.
- Promote what converts. Searches that have produced an enquiry more than once become exact keywords in the right ad group, with an ad that repeats the customer's words.
- Sharpen the page. The harder searcher is comparing. Put the phone number and a short form in the first screen, name the job and the suburb, and show proof such as licences, real job photos and what happens after someone enquires.
- Check the phone. Once each enquiry costs more to buy, every missed or after-hours call wastes more of the budget.
- Hold the budget steady. Do not raise it on the strength of month one, and do not cut it on the first dear week.
Month one is not the number to get back to; month two is the number to improve on. For more on reading a rising cost per enquiry, see why your cost per lead is going up.
How should you set targets and budgets for a new account?
Set the cost-per-enquiry target from months two and three, never from month one:
| Period | What it tells you | What to decide | What not to decide yet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week one | Whether tracking and phones work | Fix any measurement or answering gap | Whether the account works |
| Weeks one to four | Which services and areas produce enquiries | Where to focus search-term reviews | The budget |
| Month two | The real baseline | A draft cost-per-enquiry target | To stop because it is dearer than month one |
| Months three and four | Whether the target holds | Where to add budget | — |
We recommend a minimum of A$5,000 a month in ad spend for most businesses; the largest companies we work with invest up to A$30,000 a day. Whatever the level, keep it steady through the first two months so the comparison is fair, then move it towards the services and suburbs that hold their cost per enquiry. Our guide on how long Google Ads takes to get leads covers enquiry volume over the same months, and how long to give a campaign before judging it covers the decision itself.
A dearer second month is the signal to tighten, not to stop.
What should owners, managers and multi-site brands plan for?
- Owner-operators: agree the review dates before launch, and ask whoever runs the ads to put the month-two rise in the launch plan in writing. If nobody warns you, month two feels like the campaign breaking.
- Marketing managers: report month one separately from the months that follow, and never quote month one's cost per enquiry as the target to the business.
- Multi-site brands: stagger location launches where you can, and never compare a new location's first month with an established location. The new site's month one flatters it, and its month two will look like a decline that is really a return to normal.
The full launch method, from the first 30 days to the point where discovery is under control, is in our white paper Launch, discover, control. See how we plan launches for plumbing businesses, electricians, cleaning businesses and roofing businesses, or read about our Google Ads management.
Common questions about month two of Google Ads
Why is my Google Ads cost per lead higher in the second month?
Usually because the first month was unusually cheap, not because the account broke. In SoudCoh's research sample of new trade campaigns, the typical cost per enquiry was 31% higher in the second month after launch than in the first, and 68% of new launches paid more per enquiry in month two.
Does the Google Ads learning period make the first month more expensive?
No. In SoudCoh's research sample the opposite held: the first month after launch was usually the cheapest, and costs rose in the second. A fresh campaign serves the most urgent, ready-to-book searches first, then widens into harder searches.
Should I stop Google Ads if month two is worse than month one?
No. A dearer month two is the normal pattern: 68% of new trade campaigns in SoudCoh's research sample paid more per enquiry in their second month. Treat it as the signal to tighten search terms, ads and landing pages, and judge the account over months two to four.
When should I judge a new Google Ads campaign?
Use the first week to prove that calls and forms are recorded and answered, the first month to learn which services and areas produce enquiries, and months two to four to set and test a cost-per-enquiry target. Month one alone is too flattering to judge on.
How quickly should a new Google Ads campaign get its first enquiry?
Within days. In SoudCoh's research sample, 84% of new launches recorded an enquiry within their first three days of ads. A silent first week is more often a broken tracking number, a form that does not fire or an unanswered phone than a bad keyword.
Questions and answers
Should I raise the budget after a great first month?
Not yet. The first month usually flatters. Wait until cost per enquiry has held through month two, then add budget where enquiries already convert.
What if month two is cheaper than month one?
Some accounts do improve straight away. Check that tracking has not changed, then treat it as a good sign and keep the same review routine.