Budgeting in paid search is about far more than plugging in a daily number. It means understanding how each platform paces spend, when it makes exceptions to those pacing rules, and what happens if you change budgets partway through the month. Most PPC advertisers adjust budgets mid‑month and want to know the performance impact. Enterprise programs add another layer of complexity, with fiscal calendars and promo flights that almost never match standard calendar months. The challenge is that many advertisers assume platforms will automatically distribute spend evenly. When that doesn’t occur, campaigns may overspend one week and underspend the next. Both scenarios are expensive. Overspending cuts into profitability, while underspending leaves conversions unclaimed and can even jeopardize future budget allocations. Budgeting isn’t just arithmetic or scheduling. It’s the backbone of paid search performance. Without a solid grasp of how spend is paced – and how that pacing lines up with client expectations – teams risk wasted budget, missed opportunities, and damaged credibility.
How budgets work in Google Ads At the campaign level, you choose a daily budget. Under normal conditions, that amount is distributed across the month. The monthly rule: A $100 daily budget becomes $100 x 30.4 days, or $3,004 for the month. The promise: Google Ads guarantees you won’t be billed more than that monthly maximum. The busy‑day rule (overdelivery): On high‑volume days, the system can spend up to twice your daily budget. So if you set $100, you could see $200 in spend on a Wednesday when demand surges, and only $25 on a slower Sunday. If you hit…